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ON-LINE GUIDE TO NORFOLK
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This brief guide provides
summary information on towns, villages and places to visit
in Norfolk as well as some interesting
facts and anecdotes on the local area. To find a specific
place either scroll down the page or use the find
facility on your browser. Much more information can be
found in our
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Norfolk is home to Britain's finest wetland areas, the Broads, which cover some 220 square
miles to the northwest of Great Yarmouth. Three main rivers, the Ant, the Thurne and the
Bure, thread their way through the marshes,
providing some 120 miles of navigable waterways.
This area is also a refuge for many species of endangered birds and plants, and during
the summer and autumn the Broads are a favourite stopping off point for migrating birds.
The eastern coast, from Great Yarmouth to Sheringham, is almost one continuous strip
of excellent sandy beaches, dotted with charming holiday resorts such as
Caister-on-Sea, Mundesley and Cromer. Inland lies the
county town, Norwich, which is famous for its
Norman cathedral, its castle and a wealth of other
historic buildings. Norwich is also the home of
mustard and its best-known producer J & J Colman.
It is surprising to find one of England's most important medieval ports, King's Lynn,
at the southern end of the underwater maze of sandbanks of the Wash but then, of
course, keels were shallower. King's Lynn is still a
busy port today; several ancient ports along the
North
Norfolk coast are now holiday resorts. A little way inland is the Royal family's country estate
of Sandringham.
Thetford
The town's strategic position, at the confluence of the Rivers Thet
and Little Ouse, have made this an important settlement for
centuries and excavations have revealed an Iron Age enclosure that is
thought to have been the site of Boudicca's Palace.
In the charming heart of the town is the striking
Ancient House, a 15th century timber-framed house that is home to
a museum containing replicas of the Thetford Treasure.
The King's House is named after James I who was a frequent visitor here
from 1608-18. The town's 12th century Cluniac Priory is mostly in
ruins, though the impressive 14th century gatehouse still stands.
Thetford's industrial heritage is vividly displayed in the
Burrell Steam Museum, which has full-size working steam engines,
re-created workshops and vintage agricultural machinery.
To the west of the town lies Thetford
Forest, the most extensive lowland forest in
Britain, planted by the Forestry Commission in 1922. In
the heart of the forest are Grimes Graves,
the earliest major
industrial site discovered in Europe. At these Neolithic flint
mines, Stone Age labourers extracted materials for their axes and
knives from the chamber 30 feet below ground. On the edge of the
forest are the ruins of Thetford Warren
Lodge, built in the early 15th century when the surrounding
area was preserved for farming rabbits - a major element of the
medieval diet.
Around Thetford
Wymondham
19 miles NE of Thetford on the B1172
The town is home to one of the oddest ecclesiastical buildings in
the country, Wymondham Abbey, which was founded in 1107
by William d'Albini, butler to King Henry I.
Although many of the town's oldest houses were destroyed by
fire in 1615, some older buildings escaped, including 12th
century Becket's Chapel. Also of interest is The Bridewell which was built
in 1785 as a model prison and reputedly served as a model for
the penitentiaries established in the United States. It is now
the Wymondham Heritage Museum.
The town's historic Railway Station was built in 1845 on
the Great Eastern's Norwich to Ely line and, still in use, the buildings
house a railway museum.
Banham
12 miles E of Thetford off the B1077
To the southwest of the village lies
Banham Zoo, home to some of the world's most
endangered animals including monkeys and apes - a particular concern here.
Diss
16 miles E of Thetford on the A1066
Situated on the northern bank of the River Waveney, which
forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, Diss is an old
market town that developed on the hill overlooking
The Mere.
Just northeast of Diss, at Langmere, is the
100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum, a tribute to the US 8th Air Force
that was stationed here at Dickleburgh Airfield during World War II.
Two other interesting museums can be found at
Bressingham. The Bressingham Steam
Museum boasts a fine collection of locomotives and traction
engines. On the same site are two delightful gardens and the National
Dad's Army Collection.
Norwich
By the time of the Domesday Book, Norwich was the third
most populous city in England and the Normans built a
Castle here that was replaced in the late
12th century by a mighty stone fortress. Norwich Castle never saw
military action and, as early as the 13th century, it was already being used
as the county gaol - a role it filled until 1889. The Castle is now
a lively Museum featuring a forbidding display of
torture instruments.
While the castle's function has changed over the years,
the Cathedral, consecrated in 1101, remains the focus of
ecclesiastical life in Norfolk. The most completely Norman cathedral
in England after Durham, this superb building has the largest
Norman cloisters in the country and is noted for its 400 gilded bosses that
depict scenes from medieval life. Among the cathedral's numerous
treasures are the Saxon Bishop's Throne in the Presbytery, the 14th century
altar painting in St Luke's Chapel and the richly carved canopies in the
Choir. The vast market square is dominated by City
Hall, which was modelled on Stockholm City Hall and
opened in 1938 by George VI. No mention of Norwich is complete
without telling the story of Jeremiah Colman who, in the early 1800s,
perfected his blend of mustard flours and spice to produce a condiment
that was smooth in texture and tart in flavour. Together with his
nephew James, he founded J & J Colman in 1823 and
The Mustard Shop commemorates the company's history.
To the south of the city are the remains of Venta
Icenorum, the Roman town that was established here after Boudicca's rebellion
in AD 61. Three miles to the north, next to Norwich
International Airport, is the City of Norwich Aviation
Museum, whose exhibits include a Vulcan bomber.
Around Norwich
Aylsham
12 miles N of Norwich off the A140
In the churchyard of St Michael's Church is the tomb of one of
the greatest English 18th century landscape gardeners,
Humphry Repton, who created some 200 parks and gardens around
the country.
One of Repton's commissions was to landscape the grounds
of Blickling Hall, which lies just to the north of the town. Built for
Sir Henry Hobart in the 1620s, the Hall is perfectly symmetrical and
its most spectacular feature is the Long Gallery that extends for
175 feet and has a glorious plaster ceiling.
Within a few miles of the Hall are two other stately
homes, Mannington Hall and Wolterton
Park. Repton also landscaped the grounds for the latter, an
18th century mansion that was built for the brother of Sir Robert
Walpole, England's first Prime Minister.
Sheringham
22 miles N of Norwich on the A149
A former fishing village which still has a fleet of fishing boats that
are launched from the shore, Sheringham was transformed into
a seaside resort with the arrival of the railway.
Although Sheringham's railway line was closed in the 1960s, it
was reopened in 1975 as the North Norfolk
Railway; it is also known as The Poppy Line because
these brilliant flowers can still be seen in the fields along the scenic
five-mile route.
Just to the west of the town, footpaths lead to the lovely
Repton-landscaped grounds of Sheringham
Park from where there are grand views along
the coast. Yet more glorious scenery can be found at the aptly
named Pretty Corner, a particularly beautiful area of woodland.
A little further along the coast is the shingle beach known
as Weybourne Hope (or Hoop) that slopes so steeply that an
invading force could brings its ships right up to the shore. The garrison camp
that defended this vulnerable stretch of beach during both World Wars
now houses the Muckleburgh Collection, a fascinating museum
of military equipment. East of Sheringham, at West
Runton, is the highest point in Norfolk -
Beacon Hill. Although only 330 feet high, it commands glorious views from
the summit. Close by is the Roman Camp, which excavations
have shown to have been an iron-working settlement in Saxon and
Medieval times. The village, too, is home to the
Norfolk Shire Horse Centre where the heavy horses
give demonstrations of the valuable work they once performed on farms.
Cromer
21 miles N of Norwich on the A149
A popular seaside resort since the late 18th century, Cromer is
famous for its crabs, reckoned to be among the most succulent in England.
Cromer Pier is the genuine article, complete with a Lifeboat
Station and theatre, and on the promenade is a museum dedicated to
the
coxswain Henry Blogg and 200 years of Cromer lifeboats.
The newly restored Cromer Museum is housed in a row of
restored fishermen's cottages.
Just inland from Cromer is one of Norfolk's grandest
houses, Felbrigg Hall, a wonderful Jacobean mansion dating from
the 1620s.
North Walsham
13½ miles NE of Norwich on the A149
A busy country town with an attractive market cross dating
from 1600, North Walsham was the home of Horatio Nelson,
who came to the town's Paston School at the age of 10. A dual place
of interest is the Cat Pottery and Railway Junk Yard, dealing
in lifelike handmade pottery cats and transport memorabilia. The
Norfolk Motorcycle Museum is home to more than 100 bikes from
the 1920s to the 1960s, along with old pushbikes and die-cast toys.
To the west of North Walsham, near the village of Erpingham,
is Alby Crafts and Gardens which promotes the excellence of
mainly East Anglian and British craftsmanship and where there
is also a Bottle Museum.
To the northeast is the quiet seaside village of
Mundesley, whose Maritime Museum in a former coastguard lookout
is believed to be the smallest museum in the country.
Happisburgh
17 miles NE of Norwich on the B1159
The coastal waters of Happisburgh
(pronounced Hazeborough) have seen many shipwrecks over
the centuries and the victims lie buried in the graveyard of
St Mary's Church. The large grassy mound on the north side of the
church contains the bodies of the crew of the ill-fated
HMS Invincible which was sunk on sandbanks here
in 1801. On its way to join up with Nelson's fleet at Copenhagen,
the ship sank with the loss of 110 sailors.
To the south, at Stalham, stands the tallest windmill in England,
the 80 feet high Sutton Windmill that dates from 1789 and that
finally ceased grinding in 1940. The site is also home to the
Museum of the Broads housed in traditional buildings associated for
centuries with the wherry trade.
Wroxham
7 miles NE of Norwich on the A1151
This riverside village, linked to Hoveton by a bridge over the
River Bure, is the capital of the Norfolk
Broads, and during the high season its boatyards are full of craft of
all shapes and sizes. The village is also the southern terminus of the
Bure Valley Railway, a nine-mile long steam railway that follows
the course of the River Bure through glorious countryside to the
market town of Aylsham.
Just to the north lies the Wroxham Barns, a
delightful collection of beautifully restored 18th century barns that house
a community of craftspeople, and to the east is
Hoveton Hall Gardens,
which offer visitors a splendid combination of lovely plants
and both woodland and lakeside walks.
Further up the River Bure is the charming village of
Coltishall, home to the Ancient Lime
Kiln, a reminder of Norfolk's industrial heritage.
Ranworth
9 miles E of Norwich off the B1140
A beautiful Broadland village, from where five Norfolk Broads, the
sea at Great Yarmouth and the spire of Norwich Cathedral can be
seen from the tower of St Helen's Church. Also to be seen is
the National Trust's Horsey Mill. Along with the views, the
church houses one of the county's greatest ecclesiastical treasures - an
early 15th century Gothic choir screen.
Great Yarmouth
18 miles E of Norwich on the A47
In Saxon times, Great Yarmouth was an island, but changes in
the flow of the River Bure means that it is now a promontory.
The seaward side has a five-mile stretch of sandy beach and
numerous family amusements, as well as the Maritime Museum of
East Anglia and the Elizabethan House, a merchant's house
of 1596 which is now a museum of domestic life. Behind South
Beach is the 144 feet Nelson's Monument crowned by a statue
of Britannia.
Most of Yarmouth's older buildings are concentrated in
the riverside part of the town, including the historic
South Quay
with an array of museums, including one celebrating the
life and times of Horatio Nelson.
For centuries, incredible quantities of herring were landed
at Yarmouth and the trade involved so many fishermen that there
were more boats registered here than in London. It was a Yarmouth
man, John Woodger, who developed the process to produce that
great essential of a proper English breakfast - the kipper.
Yarmouth's literary connections include Anna Sewell, the author of
Black Beauty, born here in 1820, and
Charles Dickens, who stayed at the Royal Hotel in 1847 to 1848 while
writing David Copperfield.
When the Romans established their fortress, Garionnonum,
now known as Burgh Castle a few miles west of Great Yarmouth,
the surrounding marshes were still under water and the fort stood
on one bank of a vast estuary commanding a strategic position.
Today's ruins are impressive, its walls of alternating layers
of flint and brick rising to some 15 feet in places.
To the north of Yarmouth lies
Caister-on-Sea, a holiday resort that was an important fishing
village for the Iceni tribe. The Romans built a castle here of which
little remains; the Caister Castle seen today dates from 1432 and
was built by Sir John Fastolf who distinguished himself leading
the English bowmen at the Battle of Agincourt. The castle is home to
a Motor Museum which houses an impressive collection of
vintage and veteran cars, the oldest being a Panhard Levassor
from 1893.
King's Lynn
An ancient town that is a harmonious mix of
medieval, Tudor, Jacobean and Flemish architecture and with some of
the finest old streets anywhere in England. It is not surprising
that King's Lynn was chosen by the BBC to represent early
19th century London in their production of Martin
Chuzzlewit. One of the most striking sights in the town
is the 15th century Guildhall of the Holy
Trinity with its distinctive chequerboard design of black
flint and white stone. Next to it, in the late-Victorian Town Hall, is
the Museum of Lynn Life, whose greatest treasure is King
John's Cup, a dazzling piece of medieval workmanship. Close by,
standing proudly on the banks of the River Purfleet, is the handsome
Custom House of 1683 that was designed by the local architect Henry Bell.
Other buildings of note, and there
are many, include the Hanseatic Warehouse, the South Gate,
the Greenland Fishery Building and the Guildhall of St
George, the oldest civic hall in England and now
home to the King's Lynn Arts Centre.
The pretty village of Castle Rising, just northeast of
King's Lynn, is overshadowed by its massive Castle
Keep, whose well-preserved walls rise to some
50 feet. Built in 1150 to guard what was then the sea approach to
the River Ouse, Castle Rising was much more a residential building than
a defensive one and it was to here, in 1331, that Edward III banished
his ferocious mother Isabella who had been instrumental in his
father's murder.
Around King's Lynn
Dersingham
8 miles NE of King's Lynn on the B1440
A large village close to some pleasant walks through
Dersingham Wood and the adjoining Sandringham Country
Park. The Royal family's country retreat,
Sandringham House is a relatively recent addition to
the family and was purchased by the Prince of
Wales, later Edward VII, as a country refuge to match
the
retreats his parents enjoyed at Balmoral and Osborne.
To the north of Dersingham lies
Snettisham which is best known for its spacious,
sandy beaches and the RSPB Bird Sanctuary
Hunstanton
14½ miles N of King's Lynn on the A149
A busy seaside resort, Hunstanton boasts two unique features:
its cliffs of colourful layers of red, white and brown strata and
its west-facing position - unique for an east-coast resort! Developed in
the 1860s with the arrival of the railways, the town was assured
of its social standing after the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII,
came here to recover from typhoid fever and it retains a distinct 19th
century charm.
To the north lies Old Hunstanton, a charming village
at the beginning of the Norfolk Coastal
Footpath which leads eastwards, around the coast,
to Cromer. Just a little further up the coast is
Holme next the Sea, which lies at the northern end
of another long distance footpath, the 50-mile long
Peddars Way which starts at Thetford. This village
is the site of Sea Henge, a 4,500-year-old Bronze Age tree
circle discovered on the beach.
To the south lies Heacham, the home of
Norfolk Lavender, the largest lavender growing
and distilling operation in the country. Visitors can take a guided
tour around the working farm, which also contains the
National
Collection of Lavenders.
A few miles south of Hunstanton stands the
five-storey Great Bircham Windmill, one of few in Norfolk to have found a
hill to perch on, and it's still working.
Burnham Market
19 miles NE of King's Lynn on the B1155
The largest of the seven Burnhams strung along the valley of the
River Burn, Burnham Market has an outstanding collection of
Georgian buildings surrounding its green. To the southeast lies Burnham
Thorpe, the birthplace of Horatio Nelson, whose father was the rector
here for 46 years. He was born in 1758 at the now demolished
Parsonage House, and both the local inn and the church contain
memorabilia from his life.
Wells-next-the-Sea
23½ miles NE of King's Lynn on the A149
Wells was a working port from the 13th century, and in 1859,
to prevent the harbour silting up completely, an embankment,
cutting off an area of marshland, was built; today, the harbour lies more than
a mile from the sea. Running alongside the embankment,
which provides a pleasant walk, is the Harbour
Railway that runs from the small museum on the quay
to the lifeboat station by the beach. This narrow-gauge railway
is operated by the same company as the Wells and
Walsingham Railway which carries passengers on the delightful ride to
Little Walsingham.
Just west of the town lies
Holkham Hall, a glorious classical mansion built by Thomas Coke
that was completed in 1762. The magnificent rooms are
only overshadowed by the superb collections they contain,
including classical sculptures, paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck,
and tapestries. A museum at the Hall has exhibits of social, domestic
and agricultural memorabilia.
Further along the coast, to the east, lies the pretty village
of Stiffkey (pronounced Stewkey) and the
Stiffkey Salt Marshes, a National Trust nature reserve
that turns a delicate shade of purple in July when the sea lavender is
in bloom. Here also are found the famous Stewkey Blues -
cockles that are highly regarded as a delicacy. Away from the coast
can be seen the picturesque ruins of Binham Priory, founded in
1091 and once one of the most important religious houses
in Norfolk.
Cley-next-the-Sea
30 miles NE of King's Lynn on the A149
In early medieval times, Cley was a more important port than
King's Lynn, a fact that is hard to believe today as the town lies a mile
from the sea. The subject of thousands of paintings,
Cley Mill was built in 1713, remained in use until
1921 and is now open to visitors during the season.
From Cley there is a walk along the shoreline to
Blakeney Point, a spit of land that stretches
three miles out to sea and which is the most northerly extremity of
East
Anglia.
Another fine old mill can be found at the village of
Glandford, which is also home to the Glandford Shell
Museum, featuring seashells gathered from around the world, and the
Natural Surroundings Wild Flower Centre that is dedicated
to gardening with a strong ecological emphasis.
To the west of Cley is one of the most enchanting of
Norfolk's coastal villages, Blakeney, where the silting up of the estuary
has created a fascinating landscape of serpentine creeks and
channels twisting their way through mudbanks and sand hills. Down
the B1156 from Blakeney is Langham Glass, where visitors can
see regular demonstrations of glass-making and walk through the
2005 Lord Nelson Maize maze.
Thursford Green
24 miles NE of King's Lynn off the A148
This village is home to one of the most unusual museums in
Norfolk, the Thursford Collection - a
fascinating collection of steam-powered traction
engines, fairground organs and carousels. At the
regular live
music shows, the most astonishing exhibit, a 1931 Wurlitzer
organ, displays its virtuosity.
To the northwest lies the village of Little
Walsingham that still attracts pilgrims who come
to worship at the Shrine of Our Lady of
Walsingham. In 1061, the Lady of the Manor had
a vision in which she was instructed to build a replica of the
Holy House of Nazareth and her Holy House soon became a place
of pilgrimage. In the mid 12th century, an Augustinian Priory
was established to protect the shrine and, today, the largest
surviving part, a stately gatehouse, can be seen on the east side of the
High Street. Henry VIII went on to Slipper
Chapel, a beautiful 14th century building at
nearby Houghton St Giles. Other buildings of interest in
this attractive village are the 16th century octagonal
Clink in Common Place; the scant ruins of a 14th century
Franciscan Friary; and the former Shire Hall that is now a museum.
Fakenham
20 miles NE of King's Lynn off the A148
A prosperous market town and home to a National
Hunt Racecourse, Fakenham is a major agricultural centre for the region.
An attractive town, it must be one of the few places in the
country where the former gasworks have become an attraction and here
they house the Museum of Gas and Local
History. To the east of the town lies Pensthorpe
Waterfowl
Park, the home to Europe's best collection of endangered and
exotic waterbirds and where over 120 species can be seen in their
natural surroundings.
Castle Acre
12 miles SE of King's Lynn on the A1065
William de Warenne, William the Conqueror's son-in-law, came
here very soon after the Conquest and built a Castle that was one of
the first, and largest, in the country to be built by the Normans. Of
that vast fortress, little remains apart from the gargantuan
earthworks and a squat 13th century gateway.
Much more has survived of Castle Acre
Priory, founded in 1090 and set in fields beside
the River Nar. Its glorious West Front gives a powerful indication of
how majestic a triumph of late Norman architecture the complete
Priory must have been.
Castle Acre village is extremely picturesque, the first place
in Norfolk to be designated a Conservation Area, in 1971.
Most of the village, including the 15th century parish church, is built
in traditional flint, with a few later houses of brick blending
in remarkably happily.
Swaffham
14 miles SE of King's Lynn on the A47
A town with many handsome and interesting buildings, including
the Assembly Rooms of 1817 and the elegant Butter Cross, a
classical lead-covered dome standing on eight columns. Swaffham was
the birthplace in 1874 of Howard
Carter, who found and opened Tutankhamen's tomb.
Swaffham Museum is located in the Town Hall, and just to
the southwest of the town, archaeologists have reconstructed
a village from the time of Boudicca - Cockley Cley Iceni Village
and Museums. A more recent addition to Swaffham's attractions is
the EcoTech Centre, opened in 1998, which explores current
innovations as well as technologies of the future.
Southwest of Swaffham lies Oxburgh Hall, a lovely
moated house dating from the 15th century which was visited by Henry
VII and his Queen in 1497.
Dereham
23 miles SE of King's Lynn off the A47
One of the most ancient towns in Norfolk, where in AD 654
St Withburga founded a nunnery. Her name lives on in
St Withburga's Well, which marks the place
where she was laid to rest. The poet William Cowper lived here for
the last four years of his life, and in the nearby hamlet of Dumpling
Green, one of the country's most celebrated travel writers,
George Borrow, was born. A much less attractive character connected
with the town is Bishop Bonner, the enthusiastic arsonist of
Protestant heretics during the reign of Mary Tudor. Rector here before
being appointed Bishop of London, he lived in the exquisite
thatched terrace that is known as Bishop Bonner's
Cottages, now the home of a small Museum.
To the north of the town, at Gressenhall,
is the Roots of Norfolk Museum housed in an
imposing late-18th century former workhouse. The many
exhibits here concentrate on the working and domestic
life of Norfolk people over the last 150 years.
Downham Market
10 miles S of King's Lynn off the A10
A compact little market town on the very edge of the Fens, with
the River Great Ouse and the New Bedford Drain running side by
side at its western edge. Of particular note here in the market place is
the elegant and highly decorated cast-iron Clock Tower
that was erected in 1878.
Just to the south, at the village of
Denver, is the Denver Sluice which was built in 1651 by
the Dutch engineer, Cornelius Vermuyden, as part of a scheme
to drain 20,000 acres of land owned by the Duke of Bedford.
Running parallel to this is the modern Great Denver Sluice
that was opened in 1964. Also here is Denver
Windmill, built in 1835 and reopened in 2000 after
being carefully restored.
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