Flitcham, Norfolk

Evidence has found that there was substantial settlement within the parish during the period of Roman occupation in Norfolk. In 1940 archeologist found a villa and bath house on slopes overlooking smaller settlements in the river Babingley valley. These substantial buildings were found in Denbeck Wood, a little north west of Flitcham near Appleton. The excavations revealed the main house, which had glazed windows and a tessellated floor, and a courtyard surrounded by small buildings along with the bath house which had pink painted wall plaster. The dig also found a number of Roman artefacts which included coins, pottery, brooches and other metalwork dating from the 3rd to the early 4th centuries. Another building was discovered near Flitcham Hall on the northern side of Common Drove. On this site, pottery, flue tiles and other architectural fragments were unearthed. These two buildings are part of a group of villas in the area, including others at Congham and Gayton.

During the excavations of the Denbeck Wood villa other artefacts were found from the Anglo-Saxon period. These included early Anglo-Saxon pottery, brooches and other metalwork, as well as Middle and Late Anglo-Saxon pottery and metalwork.

Flitcham has an entry in the Domesday Book of 1085 where its population, land ownership and productive resources were extensively detailed[4] In the survey Flitcham is recorded by the name of Flicham, Phlicham and Plic(e)ham. The main tenants being the Bishop of Bayeux, William de Warenne and Robert and Ranulf Fitz Walter from Roger Bigot. The survey also listed 4 mills, a church, 3 acres (12,000 m²) of meadow, paunage for 27 swine, 3 cows, 1 beast for carriage and 180 sheep. In the Domesday book the size of woodland was normally given as the number of swine a wood[5] could support in this case 27 pigs.