Thetford

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Thetford
King Street, Thetford
Thetford Location within Norfolk
Area	29.55 km2 (11.41 sq mi)
Population	24,340 (2011 Census)
• Density	824/km2 (2,130/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TL8783
Civil parish	Thetford
District	Breckland
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	THETFORD
Postcode district	IP24
Dialling code	01842
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	South West Norfolk
Website	thetfordtowncouncil.gov.uk
List of places UK England Norfolk 52°25′N 0°44′E / 52.41°N 0.74°E / 52.41; 0.74

Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of 29.55 km² (11.41 sq mi), in 2011 had a population of 24,340.^[1]

There has been a settlement at Thetford since the Iron Age, and parts of the town predate the Norman Conquest; Thetford Castle was established shortly thereafter. Roger Bigod founded the Cluniac Priory of St Mary in 1104, which became the largest and most important religious institution in Thetford. The town was badly hit by the Dissolution of the Monasteries, including the castle's destruction, but was rebuilt in 1574 when Elizabeth I established a town charter. After World War II, Thetford became an "overspill town", taking people from London, as a result of which its population increased substantially.^[2]

Thetford railway station is located on the Breckland line and is one of the best surviving pieces of 19th-century railway architecture in East Anglia.