Gillingham Hall is located within the parish and was built in the early-Sixteenth Century as a residence for Sir Nicholas Bacon. Today, the hall is owned by Edward Haughey.
On the night of the 6th and 7 November 1943, a Dornier 17 light bomber crashed in the village after being shot down by anti-aircraft fire whilst on a bombing raid of Norwich. Only one of the crew survived and attempts at excavation of the site were made by the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum during the 1970s.[3]
According to the 2011 Census, Gillingham has a population of 2,871 residents living in 1,269 households. Furthermore, the parish covers a total area of 16.80 square miles (43.5 km2).[4]
Gillingham's parish church was largely rebuilt in the mid-Nineteenth Century by Thomas Penrice and is dedicated to Saint Mary.[5] The church falls within the Deanery of Loddon which, in turn, is located in the Archdeaconry of Norfolk.
Gillingham is also home to the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Roman Catholic Church, which was built in late-Nineteenth Century by the Kenyon family of Gillingham Hall.
The village also has a playground, allotments and a village hall.
Transport
The village currently has a regular bus service to much of the surrounding area. First Norfolk & Suffolk run the X2 through the village, which gives access to Beccles, Loddon, Norwich and Lowestoft as well as the smaller surrounding villages and BorderBus run the 580 to Beccles, Bungay, Harleston and Diss and the connecting 581 to Beccles and Great Yarmouth and the 146 which runs between Norwich and Lowestoft via Loddon and Beccles. Bus services to other areas can be found in Beccles.