Coordinates: 52°33′N 1°12′E / 52.55°N 1.2°E / 52.55; 1.2

Hethel
Hethel  Hethel shown within Norfolk
Parish	Bracon Ash and Hethel
District	South Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places: UK • England • Norfolk

Hethel is a small village in Norfolk, England. It is located near the historic market town of Wymondham, and is approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of the city of Norwich.

According to the 2001 census, the Bracon Ash and Hethel parish^[1] covered an area of 9.84 square kilometres and had a population of 446 people within 171 households.

The village gave its name to the former RAF Hethel airbase, which has been the location of the Head Office and factory of Lotus Cars^[2] since the 1960s. The Lotus Cars test track uses sections of the old RAF Hethel runway.

Hethel is noted for containing the oldest known living hawthorn tree^[3] in East Anglia and possibly in the United Kingdom (reputed to be more than 700 years old). Planted in the 13th century, "Hethel Old Thorn" (a specimen of Common Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna)^[1][2] is located in the village churchyard, which is classified as the smallest reserve under the care of the British Wildlife Trusts partnership.^[3].

The name 'Hethel' is derived from the older name 'Het Hill'.

[edit] Church of All Saints

All Saints Church ^[4] displays an unusual juxtaposition of styles, from its square Saxon tower to the red-brick east end which includes the 18th-century Branthwaite family chapel on the north side of the chancel. It is a Grade I listed building[4].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Map of Hethel (east)
• Map of Hethel (west)
• Historic map of Hethel (map made in 1842)
• Photograph of Hethel Old Thorn
• Hawthown Gallery (includes an image of Hethel Old Thorn)

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