Middleton is the second village on the A47 road to Norwich, after North Runcton. The A47, the main road of Norfolk, runs through the village, and effectively divides the village in two. Fair Green and Blackborough End are both areas of Middleton. Fair Green is on the northern part of the village, whilst Blackborough End is in the southern half of the village.
Middleton Castle was a motte and bailey castle built during the Norman period. The motte is 49 m in diameter, protected by an 11 m wide ditch. The castle's crescent-shaped bailey and three rectangular enclosures of uncertain medieval date lay alongside the motte. The castle was built by the Normans on a pre-existing Anglo-Saxon estate centre.
On Monday 26 April 2010, bomb disposal experts were called to the village after a dog walker discovered an unexploded grenade in a field behind the primary school. The Ammunition Technician, from the bomb disposal team, said: “We were called to attend the scene following a call from police that an unexploded hand grenade had been discovered. The number 36 Mills grenade was then destroyed by demolition."
On 23 November 1944 a Mosquito aircraft which had taken off from nearby Little Snoring airfield crashed into Middleton Fen. Eyewitnesses saw the plane spiralling out of a cloud. It then righted itself before spinning into the ground. Both the pilot and navigator were killed. Mosquito DD736 was piloted by Flying Officer Charles Preece from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada. The navigator was a wartime hero – Flying Officer Frederick Ruffle DFC of 515 squadron. Before the crash Fred had flown over 61 sorties on intruder operations. Most of them with the elite 8 Group pathfinder squadron. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the part he played in a succession of bombing raids on the Dortmund–Ems Canal in Germany.
About Village Sign Caches
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This cache belongs to the Village Sign Series, a series of caches based on ornate signs that depict the heritage, history and culture of the villages that put them up (generally on the village green!).
The signs can be made of different materials from fibreglass to wood, from forged steel to stone. They can depict anything from local industry to historical events. The tradition probably started in Norfolk or Suffolk and has now spread across most of the country so we thought we would base a series on them!
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More information, bookmarks and statistics can be found at the Village Signs Website
If anybody would like to expand the Village Sign Series, please do.
I would ask that you request a number for your cache first at www.villagesignseries.co.uk
so we can keep track of the Village Sign numbers and names to avoid duplication.