King's Lynn

King's Lynn, in the north of Norfolk, was our destination for the next two nights. Primarily due to its location providing access to western European ports, this twelfth century settlement was for many years the fourth busiest trading port in England. Until 1537 the town was known as Bishops Lynn.

We stayed at the Duke's Head Hotel in Tuesday Market Place. This blue Georgian building is not easy to miss. The building dates back to the seventeenth century when it was built for a local politician by Henry Bell who was the architect for may buildings in the area including the Customs House.

King's Lynn is situated on the banks of the Great Ouse River. A statue of local identity, Captain George Vancouver, is located the river. The Customs House can be seen behind the statue.

When I first walked down to the river it was low tide.

The surrounding land is flat and was on the border of land known as the fens (marshlands).

Later that evening we returned to the river and had dinner with Robin's cousin, Ros, and John and Tuppence.

The sun was beginning to set as we strolled back to the hotel.

There are many old, impressive buildings in King's Lynn.

On the Saturday Market Place can be found St Margaret's Church (now King's Lynn Minster) originally founded as a Benedictine Priory in 1101.

Other buildings in this area include the King's Lynn Town Hall and Trinity Guildhall building. The original guildhall dates back to 1421.

Around the corner from the hotel is St Nicholas Chapel. A chapel has been on this site since 1146. Building of the first stone chapel commenced in 1200.

The Lynn Museum is now located in the former Union Baptist Chapel.

Before we left King's Lynn, on the morning of 4 August, I continued exploring this interesting town. Above is a photograph of the public library opened by Andrew Carnegie in May 1905.

Grey Friars Tower is all that is left of a Franciscan Monastery established in King's Lynn in 1235. When the monastery was destroyed in 1538 the bell tower was kept as it was a navigation aid for sailors.

Red Mount Chapel, originally the Chapel of St Mary, was built between 1483 and 1485.Originally it was used by pilgrims travelling to the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. After its forced closure it has been used for storing water, as a study, storing gunpowder during the Civil War, as an observatory and as a stable.

The Red Mount Chapel is only one of the buildings situated in the parkland known as The Walks. The morning I visited there was a fun run was in progress in the park.

On the way back to the hotel I passed St John's Church on the outskirts of the park.The church dates back to 1845.

In New Conduit Street, off High Street, is a statue to King John (1167-1216). King John is remembered in Kings Lynn as he granted the settlement a special charter in 1204 enabling the guilds to govern themselves therefore establishing the town as a free borough. The statue was unveiled on 26 October 2016.

There is also a plaque commemorating King John on the wall of the guildhall building.

For an overview of King's Lynn visit Time Machine - Kings Lynn - https://www.tmkl.co.uk/.

Fakenham - County Game 3

Friday 3 August saw us travel to the Fakenham Cricket Club.

The driveway to the clubrooms is lined with flowers making a bright welcome.

In this match Australia was to play a combined Norfolk and Suffolk team.

Australia won the toss and batted. Tom Wood (50 retired), John Stackpoole (33), Ian B Gibson (50 retired), Stirling Hamman (48), John Terrell (27) and Ian A Gibson (26 not out) all contributed to Australia's innings of 4 for 245.

After tea Norfolk/Suffolk made 6 for 127 off 45 overs. Tim Spear (2 for 24 off 7) and Ron Kasputtis (1 for 16 off 7) opened the bowling. Wickets were also taken by Tom Wood, Phil Smith and Stirling Hamman. An excellent day’s cricket at this pretty ground.

During the afternoon the seagulls arrived and strutted around the ground.

Exploring Norfolk with Ros

On 11 July we met Robin's cousin, Ros, at the the hotel and then set out to quickly explore part of Norwich as Robin had not had time to look around.

Places that we visited included St Stephen's Church before passing the old Guild Hall

as we walked towards the Cathedral.

We set out to locate the herb garden that I missed visiting the previous day.

The small garden was extremely colourful.

We then walked down to the river and waited at the Red Lion while Ros collected the car.

The Bishop Bridge which crosses the river  at this point was built in 1340 and is the only surviving medieval bridge in Norwich.

From the other side of the bridge we watched people on the dragon trail.

We then set out to drive to the coast where we were to meet John and Sam (Ros and John's dog).
On the way we stopped off at the village of Reepham for a hot drink and a scone.

Ros then took us to the White Horse hotel overlooking the marshland at Brancaster Staithe where we met John and Sam.

We enjoyed dinner on the decking overlooking the coastal path and spent time catching up on events since our last visit four years ago.

We then went for a relaxing stroll along part of the coastal path.

The tide was out and many small boats were sitting on the mud waiting for the water to return.

Others were afloat in channels.

We said goodbye to John and Sam and Ros drove us back to the hotel in Norwich.
It was great catching up with Ros and John and Sam again and also experiencing different aspects of Norfolk.

Game 2 against Norfolk at Old Buckenham Cricket Club

While I was exploring Norwich there was still a game of cricket to be played. The bus trip to the Old Buckenham Cricket Club, Attleborough in Norfolk, took only took 20 minutes - a short trip compared with some of the others undertaken. Australian financier, Lionel Robinson, lived at Buckenham Hall about 110 years ago and established the cricket club. In 1921 Warick Armstrong and other members of the Australian cricket team played a match at this club. A South African team had played a match at the ground in 1912 while the an Australian Imperial Forces team played a match there in 1919.

Victoria batted first and scored 9 for 209 runs. Bill Wigmore made 50 runs while Gordon Cowling made 41. Norfolk then batted. They had agreed to retire batsman at 50 runs so they all had a bat. One of their batsmen Martin Pearse returned at the end of the innings. Norfolk needed 7 runs off the last over and the result was a thrilling tied game.

On the trip back to the hotel the happy Victorians called into the Game Keeper pub for dinner.

Exploring Norwich

We drove to Norwich after the game against Essex at Old Brentwoods Cricket Club, Brentwood, arriving late at night. On 10 July I decided to skip the cricket and explore Norwich instead.

Outside the door of the Travelodge Hotel where we stayed is part of the city wall built between 1337 and 1344. The wall also included gates and towers.

Several sections of the wall still exist. Norwich had been a town long before the 14th century but much of the building was undertaken during the mediaeval period.

Wandering around the streets of Norwich in July 2015 you will be greeted by a series of dragons, large like this one. Trail maps are available to locate the 84 large dragons which are on display from 21 June until 5 September. Schools in the area helped design each dragon and each dragon has an individual name. There are also 120 smaller versions mainly in shop windows. The dragons will be auctioned for charity in October. They are bright and colourful and I came across groups of children, and adults, following the dragon trail. In 2013 models of gorillas took over the city.

I found a nest of baby dragons in the children's section of the Norfolk Library. Story Time was on when I was there and the stories, not surprisingly, were about dragons.

Within the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library can be found the 2nd Air Division (USAAF) Memorial Library. Although it is in the library building it is a separate library though books are borrowed via the library charging system. The library commemorates the strong relationship that developed between the people of East Anglia and men in the American Air Force stationed in the area. There were a number of different divisions but the 2nd Air Division maintained the strongest contacts with Norwich. The library consists of books relating to America and relies on monetary donations, often from the families of former servicemen, to keep the book stock up to date. There is also an archive of photographs and documents relating to the Americans in Norwich during World War II. The money to set up the library as a memorial to the men who served in this region and the friendships formed with the local people was initially provided by the Association.
 
Norwich has many churches. Some still hold services while the buildings of former churches are used for other purposes. St Margaret's church was an art gallery when I visited while the church of St John Maddermarket is hired out for functions and activities.

Churches such as St Stephen's have along history in Norwich dating back to Saxon times. The Domesday Book in 1086 records 25 churches in Norwich. Much of the rebuilding of this church was undertaken in the 15th century.

Another prominent church in the city is the church of St Peter Mancroft.

The Catholic Cathedral is a recent addition in church history terms as it was constructed in 1877 as a gift to the city by the 15th Duke of Norfolk.

Norwich Cathedral is also a most impressive building and has been in existence for 900 years. Part of the Norman church still exists but the church was extended in the 14th and 15th centuries necessitated after the collapse of the original spire.

A new extension has recently been added incorporating the entrance to part of the former monastery - a blending of old and new.

It is a beautiful building.

A link with Norwich's industrial past is the font now used for baptisms. When Caley's Chocolate factory closed in 2004 the former copper vat used for making chocolate was donated to the Cathedral.

The cloisters are complete and you can imagine the monks in times long ago walking slowly along the corridors.

On the ceiling of the church and the cloisters are these carved figures - hundreds of them.

The profile of the church stands out among the surrounding buildings.

Another prominent building in Norwich is Norwich Castle. The building of the castle began in 1047. Originally this Norman castle was a wooden structure surrounded by deep defensive ditches. The stone castle later replaced the wooden structure.

A map showing the layout of castle buildings in the 1120s.

When the castle was built the market was relocated so that it could be in full view from the castle. This remains the case today.

Stephen Street is one of the main shopping streets in the city but there are also other streets and a network of lanes providing shopping opportunities.

The River Wensum runs through the city. It was originally used for trade - a means for bring goods to and from the town.

Pull's Ferry was one of the crossing points on the river. Stone from France for building the Cathedral was delivered by boat to this point and then carted to the site. Obviously there was no dragon guarding the entrance at the time.

Like all cities, towns and villages there is some interesting housing and architecture.

Norwich is a great city to visit and explore.