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Little Hautbois
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That sense of something
Vanished
like ghost light fleeing
In the Bure's mirror.
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Little Hautbois (prounounced
Hobbis) lies 9 miles north-east of Norwich. The
name is not related to 'high wood' in French but derives from
'meadow with tussocks'. (Or possibly from its connection
with the de Hait Bois family.) Both Little Hautbois and
Great
Hautbois are deserted villagers; they both sit on the River
Bure - just above Coltishall.
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Little Hautbois Hall
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The village is now consolidated
with Lammas but at one time was a separate parish with its
own church - St Mary's. The church was abandoned in the 16th
Century and once stood in what are now the grounds of Little
Hautbois Hall - close to the river. No remains of the
church are visible today. The hall is an Elizabethan style
brick mansion - originally built in 1553.
In 1334
Little Hautbois was tiny; in 1428 it was exempt from Lay
Subsidies and in 1845 it had only 42 residents.
Today the village is very sparsely populated
with a couple of houses and a farm. There is a picturesque
bridge over the River Bure, a lovely walk across the water
meadows and the Bure Valley miniature railway runs through the
village. It is also a great place to launch a canoe.
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More photographs of Little Hautbois
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Supported
by Norfolk Tourism