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Denver
St Mary's Church
DenverLocation within Norfolk
Area	10.59 km (4.09 sq mi)
Population	912 (2021 census)
• Density	86/km (220/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TF613016
Civil parish	Denver
District	King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DOWNHAM MARKET
Postcode district	PE38
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	South West Norfolk
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°35′18″N 0°22′47″E / 52.58827°N 0.37959°E / 52.58827; 0.37959

Denver is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

Denver is located 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Downham Market and 37 miles (60 km) west of Norwich. The village is located along the course of the River Great Ouse.

History

Denver's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a passage or crossing used by the Danes.

Denver acted as the terminus for the Roman road the Fen Causeway, which began in Peterborough.

In the Domesday Book, Denver is listed as a settlement of 43 households in the hundred of Clackclose. In 1086, the village was part of the estates of William de Warenne.

Denver Sluice controls the water levels between the tidal and non-tidal Great Ouse. In 1651, the first sluice to help with the drainage of The Fens was built by the Dutch architect Cornelius Vermuyden. The sluice was rebuilt after bursting in 1713. John Rennie the Younger built a sluice and bridge in 1834. It was enlarged in 1923 and the flood gates have been replaced several times. The four-arched bridge has its piers extended to form two locks. It is Grade II listed.

Denver Windmill was built in the mid-nineteenth century and today not in use due to removal of the sails in 2017.

Denver Railway Station opened in 1847 as a stop on the Great Eastern Railway between King's Lynn and Cambridge. The station was closed to passengers in 1930.

In October, 1942 a Short Stirling bomber aircraft crashed in the parish killing all eleven crewmen on-board.

Geography

According to the 2021 census, Denver has a population of 912 people which shows an increase from the 890 people listed in the 2011 census.

Denver is located along the course of the River Great Ouse and at the junction of the A10, between London and King's Lynn, and the A1122, between Outwell and Swaffham.

St Mary's Church

Denver's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the Thirteenth Century. St Mary's is located on Ryston Road and has been Grade II listed since 1951.

St Mary's is largely built from carrstone and was heavily restored in the 1870s. The church features stained-glass installed by Ian Pace and a Victorian font.

Famous residents

• Robert Brady (1627-1700) academic and historian, born in Denver.
• George William Manby (1765-1854) author and inventor, born in Denver.
• Peter Sharpe (b.1944) Norfolk cricketer, born in Denver.
• Andy English (b.1956) wood-engraver and educator, born in Denver.

In popular culture

In the novels of Dorothy L. Sayers, the fictional Duke of Denver's family seat is supposedly based on the village.

Governance

Denver an electoral ward for local elections and is part of the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

The village's national constituency is South West Norfolk which has been represented by the Labour Party's Terry Jermy MP.

War memorial

Denver shares a war memorial with the nearby villages of Fordham, Ryston and Bexwell located on the village green taking the form of hexagonal stone column topped with a crucifix. The memorial lists the following names for Denver for the First World War:

References

1. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
2. "mnf2796 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
3. "Denver | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
4. "DENVER SLUICE, Denver - 1077851 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
5. "DENVER MILL, Denver - 1077850 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
6. "World-War-Two-aircraft - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
7. "Denver (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
8. "CHURCH OF ST MARY, Denver - 1342310 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
9. "Norfolk Churches". www.norfolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
10. "Roll of Honour - Norfolk - Denver incorporating Fordham, Ryston, Roxham and Bexwell". www.roll-of-honour.com. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
11. "Geograph:: Denton to Dunton cum Doughton :: War Memorials in Norfolk". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2024.

External links

• Villages in Norfolk
• King's Lynn and West Norfolk
• Civil parishes in Norfolk