Bradwell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is immediately to the west of, and largely indistinguishable from, the built-up urban area of the town of Great Yarmouth.

History

Bradwell's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a 'broad spring or stream.' Bradwell is not featured in the Domesday Book. There are numerous listed farm buildings in Bradwell. These include Bradwell Hall (Eighteenth Century) with an accompanying barn, Old Hall Farmhouse (Seventeenth Century) and Church Farmhouse (Eighteenth Century) with an accompanying barn. During the Second World War, Bradwell was hit by several Luftwaffe air raids designed to hit Great Yarmouth, however, the craters from the bomb damage were filled in after 1945. There were also searchlight batteries and pillboxes built in Bradwell during the war.

Geography

The civil parish has an area of 9.74 km2 and according to the 2021 census, Bradwell has a population of 11,628 people which shows a large increase from the 10,528 people recorded in the 2011 census. The A143, between Gorleston-on-Sea and Haverhill, bisects Bradwell.

St. Nicholas' Church

Bradwell's parish church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas, is located on Church Walk and is also one of the 185 surviving English Round-tower churches, built before the Norman Conquest. The church boasts a Fifteenth Century font which shows clear signs of an iconoclastic attack in the Seventeenth Century.

Education

Bradwell's' schools include: Hillside Primary School, Homefield Church of England Primary and Nursery School, Lynn Grove Academy, Wroughton Academies and Woodlands Primary and Nursery School.

Parish Council and Local Government

For the purposes of local government, the parish today falls within the district of Great Yarmouth. However prior to the Local Government Act 1972, the parish was within Lothingland Rural District in Suffolk. Bradwell Parish Council has responsibility for a number of amenities within the village, and will make representations to the borough council, county council, police and others to secure improvements to services within the village. Its 'base' is the Leo Coles Pavilion, located on the Green Lane Playing Field site – its meetings take place there, and the clerk's office is situated there. The council publishes a twice-yearly newspaper, The Bradwellian, which is delivered to every household in Bradwell by a team of volunteers.

Governance

Bradenham is part of the electoral ward of Lothingland for local elections and is part of the district of Great Yarmouth. The village's national constituency is Great Yarmouth which has been represented by the Reform UK's Rupert Lowe since 2024.

War memorial

Bradwell's War Memorial is an obelisk made from red granite located on Church Walk. It bears the following names for the First World War and the Russian Civil War: And, the following for the Second World War:

Notable residents