Pennoyers - the heart of Pulham St Mary

There has been habitation on the site since the Bronze Age, and many Roman artefacts have been found in the area. In the Domesday Book, this was one of the most populated areas of the country. The village name, Pulham, means "the village of the pools" in Saxon. During the later Middle Ages the principal source of income of Pulham was from hat-making and weaving.

The village was originally known as Pulham St Mary the Virgin reflecting the church of that name, with the neighbouring village of Pulham Market known as Pulham St Mary Magdalene, but in more recent times the shorter names have been adopted. Pulham Market's name reflects its long-standing market, which first began in 1249, but has not been run for over 300 years. More detailed information on the village follows overleaf.

In modern history, Pulham St Mary became famous for its Airstation where the airships ("Pulham Pigs") were sited from WWI. The village sign has an airship on it celebrating this important part of the village's life. The land for the Airstation was bought secretly on behalf of the Admiralty from Christ's Hospital School, which had been left the property in William Pennoyer's will. In order to maintain confidentiality, a rumour was leaked that the land was wanted for racing stables.

By 1916, the Airstation was fully operational, playing an important part in air defence during the First World War, as well as conducting experiments into parachute development and cinematography. In 1919, in the heyday of airship usage, the R34 completed the first two-way crossing of the North Atlantic, from East Fortune outside Edinburgh to New York and back to Pulham. However, in subsequent years, a series of airship disasters, culminating in the loss of the R101 in northern France in 1930, led to the decision to discontinue airship development. Pulham Airstation remained in RAF ownership until 1958.  For more information on airships at Pulham, follow the links on the left and also under e-learning.

Until the 1960s there was a branch railway line through the Pulhams that was used to take milk and vegetable produce to the London markets daily.