The busy
A164 runs through the heart of the Village cutting it into two
halves but that does not effect the neighbours in this small
community.
The Village is made up of a number of houses
both old and new with farms in the surrounding locality being
served by St Mary’s Church which is a small Tudor brick built
building built in the 16th Century.
The
Village also had a Methodist Chapel built in 1887 but this is now
a private dwelling.
Watton is famous for its Priory which
was founded in 1150 by Eustace Fitzjohn. It was a Gilbertine
Priory and unusual because it housed both monks and nuns,
separately, but under the same roof! The original house was 600
feet long, the west wing occupied by the nuns the west wing by the
monks and in its time was the largest house of its type in
England. The Priory was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII. The house
sadly no longer remains but the prior’s lodgings house is
now a private dwelling known as Watton Abbey.
During the
Second World War an airfield was built at Watton which played an
important role to the RAF. Some of the old concrete run way can
still be seen but buildings have long since disappeared. The few
that were left until very recently (1998) were those of the
gymnasium, cinema and living quarters but the land is now part of
a local pig farm and sadly the last of the buildings are being
demolished to make way for modern pig units! A hospital was built
near to the Priory and a huge petrol store was situated near to
the Watton railway crossing, both of these have now disappeared.
| | |