HETHEL is a parish and village of scattered houses 3 miles south-east from Hethersett station, about 2 north from Ashwellthorpe station 6 south-east-by-south from , and 4 north-east from Wymondham, in the Southern division of the county, Humbleyard hundred, Wymondham county court district, rural deanery of Humbleyard, archdeaconry of Norfolk and diocese of Norwich. The church of All Saints is a small building chiefly of flint, consisting of chancel, nave and north aisle, with a square tower containing 1 bell: the windows in the chancel have recently been renewed at the cost of the rector. The register dates from the year 1768. The living is a rectory, yearly value £474, with 60 acres of glebe, in the gift of John Steward esq. and held since 1863 by the Rev. Henry Dteward B.A. of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. The rectory-house is plesantly situated, and is surrounded by a moat, which stil remains full of water. Near the church is a thorn, called Hethel thorn, which dates as far back as the time of King John, 1214. Hethel Hall, the property of Sir Francis George Manninham Boileau bart. is a modern buildinbg, occupying the site of the old Hall, which was pulled down in 1825 : it is now unoccupied. Potash Farm House is at present unoccupied. John Henry Gurney esq, who is lord of the manor, John Steward esq, Sir Francis George Manningham Boileau bart D.L., J.P. and Major Reginald Gwynne, are the principal landowners. The soil is clayey; subsoil, marl. The chief crop are wheat, beans, peas, turnips &c. The area is 1,428 acres; rateable value £2,472; and the population in 1881 was 149.
