Costessey lies in the valleys of the Rivers Wensum and Tud. Archaeological records indicate that there was a strong farming community on this site during the late Bronze Age and Roman times. Anglo-Saxon settlers established a community at some point after 600 AD, and it is generally believed that the name Costessey, translated as Kost's Island, dates from this time. Furthermore, records from 1648 recount that Oliver Cromwell referred to the village and estate as Cossey, indicating that the unorthodox spelling and pronunciation of the name have long existed. There is also evidence to suggest that the name was changed from Cossey to Costessey in the 19th century due to this spelling problem.
Costessey features in the legend of St Walstan, the little-known patron saint of farm labourers, who is remembered in villages across Norfolk and north Suffolk. According to legend, Walstan was born into nobility at neighbouring Bawburgh (then part of Costessey estate) circa 970, but he relinquished his privileges, choosing instead to spend most of his life working as a farm labourer in Taverham. His initial route by foot from Bawburgh to Taverham took Walstan through Costessey Park, where it is said he donated his noble garments to two passing peasants. Following his death and the return of his body by cart to Bawburgh, springs of holy water are said to have arisen at three sites in Taverham, Costessey and Bawburgh.
Costessey Hall & Manor
In Domesday records, the village of Costesela appears, with mention of a mill, and of a manor with over 80 square miles (210 km²) of estate across Norfolk, including the only listed hunting park in Norfolk. This formerly belonged to one Earl Guert but was awarded by William the Conqueror to the Count of Brittany, a commander at the Battle of Hastings. Here began a 500-year period in which ownership of the manor passed through a variety of families, regularly being reverted to the Crown and reallocated.
In 1546, Henry VIII granted the manor to Anne of Cleves, although evidence suggests that she never actually occupied Costessey Hall. A surviving early Tudor building sited in what remains of Costessey Park is thought by some to be the hall granted by Henry. In 1555, Queen Mary granted Costessey Manor to Sir Henry Jernegan, heralding a long period of occupancy by the Jernegans, Jerninghams and Stafford Jerninghams. Sir Henry commissioned the building of a new Tudor Hall on Costessey Park, beginning his residency there in 1565. >>more<<
