Briston History
The Doomsday Book
Land in the village is recorded as 22 settlements being held by Toki prior to 1066. William the Conqueror and William of Warenne took over control of the village after the Norman Conquest.
The Village Sign/Shield
The sign consists of a shield with a bold red cross with a corn sheave at the top and wheat around the bottom. On the shield are four quadrants:
- Five crowns – no-one is quite sure what this represents, it may refence the link back to William the Conqueror.
- Five bar gate and farm animals – a reference to the stock farming in the area.
- Three corn sheaves – a reference to the arable farming in the area.
- Three wavey blue lines – the River Bure whose headland stream flows through the village – a rare chalk stream river.
- Finally the merry-go-round in the centre of the Red Cross is a reference to the historic horse fair which was held once a year on the village green.
Where does the name come from?
Briston’s name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the old English for a settlement or farmstead near to a landslip.
All Saints Church, Briston, Norfolk
Briston Parish Council is responsible for the war memorial in the graveyard and for mowing the grass in the churchyard and around the Salvation Army hall. There is also a War Memorial in the graveyard maintained by the Commonwealth War Memorials Service.
