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Although the history of Brundall can be traced back 6,000 years, it wasn’t until the arrival of the railway in 1844 that it became a place of any significance. By 1891 it had merged with neighbouring Braydeston, there having been a very tortuous boundary between the two villages. Even so the population was only 347. There are only a handful of very old houses in Brundall and Braydeston including the listed buildings which are, apart from the churches, The Gables, The Lavender House, Manor House and Manor Garage.
At the beginning of the twentieth century however, when Norwich industry was thriving, businessmen decided that this pleasant village overlooking The River Yare was a convenient place to build their attractive Edwardian houses, and also, between the wars, tourists flocked to Brundall Gardens to such an extent that a second railway station was opened in 1924.
The grandest building was probably Brundall House, built in the early 1800s. It was an auxiliary war hospital from 1914 to 1916 and was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the housing estate in the centre of the village. This was when Brundall expanded to a population approaching today’s figure of approximately 5,000 and then for about three decades, apart from ‘infilling’, houses were not built in any significant numbers until 2014 saw the addition of ‘The Pastures’.
Evocative road names such as Cucumber Lane, Berryfields, Nurseries Avenue and Rosefields give clues to the use of much of the land in the past. The boatyards and the pubs have been part of the village for many years but the primary school, medical centre, and most of the shops are more recent. There is also The Memorial Hall, opened in 1948, where many activities take place.
Wherever you are in Brundall the countryside is not far away and even in the village many old trees have been retained giving it a rural look. |
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