Congham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for a farmstead or homestead built upon a mound.[1]
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Congham is recorded as a settlement of 54 households located in the hundred of Freebridge. The village was divided between the estates of William de Warenne and Berner the Bowman.[2]
Congham Oil Mill was built in the village in 1797 and was used to process whale carcasses into oils and other products. The whales were brought to Congham from King's Lynn.[3]
In 1973, remains of a Roman villa were discovered close to Congham. Several artefacts were recovered from the site and are now exhibited in King's Lynn Museum.[4]
From the late 19th century, the Congham area was served by the Lynn & Fakenham Railway, later part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway. A railway bridge at Congham was designed by the M&GNJR engineer William Marriott, pioneering an innovative system of reinforced concrete components and blockwork. In 2021, National Highways infilled the bridge with hundreds of tonnes of aggregate and concrete, but without planning permission. The railway route had been identified as part of a proposed footpath and cycleway between King’s Lynn and Fakenham, and in January 2023 King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council demanded that National Highways submit a retrospective planning application.[6] National Highways' retrospective planning application received 280 objections.[7]
Congham's parish church is of Norman origin and dedicated to Saint Andrew. St Andrew's features a 13th-century example of a font made from Purbeck Marble.[8]
