Melton Constable - 2 |
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(continued from previous page) For 50 years Melton Constable was the hub of an intricate network of railway lines that criss-crossed North Norfolk, lines went out from Melton station in four directions. As recently as 1956, 32 trains per day passed through the station. Post World War II, the decline and line closures gained pace. The Beeching cuts of the 1960s culminated on the 4th April, 1964 with the arrival of the last passenger train, the 11.04pm from Sheringham. The station was demolished in 1971, to be replaced by a telephone exchange. Two of the spandrels that held up the station roof are utilised in the bus shelter on the Fakenham Road (below).
The land of the old railway works and sidings is now an industrial estate, but a number of the old buildings have been retained. Melton Constable Hall (click for image) was built by Sir Jacob Astley in 1680, with later additions, on the site of the previous Hall. This was used for the filming of Joseph Losey's "The Go-Between" in 1971. It stands in 800 acres of woodland and park, which has a circumference of 4 miles and contains herds of red and fallow deer. It belonged to the Astley family for seven centuries until its sale in 1965.
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Culpits Farm House, three-quarters-of-a-mile south-east of the church, has 17th-century shaped gables and has recently been sensitively renovated after decades of neglect.
The church, St. Peter's in Melton Park, was first consecrated in 1092 and has a central Norman tower. A Norman window on the north side of the church has survived. There is a low-side window and a curious window-seat in the chancel. The south transept was built in 1681 and contains the Astley family pew and a number of family memorials. Above the alter is a Flemish triptych, attributed to Rubens. Melton Constable has several shops in the centre of the village; including a Co-Op foodstore, a family butcher and fast-food take-aways Charles Thompson
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