About SWANTON MORLEY 

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Swanton Morley is a village and civil parish situated in the English county of Norfolk.

It is situated in the heart of Norfolk 18 miles from the centre of Norwich and three miles from Dereham.

It covers an area of 11.14 km2 (4.30 sq mi) and has a population of 2,100 in 723 households at the 2011 Census.

For the purposes of local government it is in the Elmham and Mattishall Division of Norfolk County Council and the Lincoln Ward of Breckland District Council.

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The village has a long history; it was documented in the 11th-century Domesday Book, and was home to the ancestors of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.

It has links to the armed forces through the nearby Robertson Barracks.

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The village has won several awards including the Calor Village of the Year award 2009/10 for the East of England, and became the first 'Mindful Village in 2022.

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The first part of the village's name "Swanton" is derived from the Old English for herdsman's enclosure. The second part, "Morley", refers to Robert de Morli, who held the lordship of the manor in 1346. The village was the home of Richard Lincoln (1550–1620), a local churchwarden who built the building which is today The Angel public house.

Lincoln was the wealthy grandfather of Samuel Lincoln, and Richard's coat-of-arms can be seen today in the east window of All Saints' Church in Swanton Morley. Richard Lincoln disinherited Samuel's father Edward from his will in favour of his fourth wife, thus throwing the Lincoln family into penury and forcing young Samuel to flee to Hingham, Massachusetts. His great-great-great-great-grandson was Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.

Richard Lincoln is buried under the centre aisle of St Andrew's Church in Hingham, Norfolk, a privilege reserved for the gentry