Stephen Browning - Visitors Historic Britain: Norwich and Norfolk: Bronze Age to Victorians: Stone Age to the Great War

VISITORS HISTORIC BRITAIN

NORWICH AND NORFOLK

STONE AGE TO THE GREAT WAR

VISITORS HISTORIC BRITAIN

STONE AGE TO THE GREAT WAR

STEPHEN BROWNING AND DANIEL TINK

First published in Great Britain in 2020 by

Pen & Sword History

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Stephen Browning and Daniel Tink, 2020

ISBN 978 1 52670 8 427

ePUB ISBN 978 1 52670 8 441

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52670 8 434

The right of Stephen Browning and Daniel Tink to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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available from the British Library.

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This book is dedicated to my brother, Nigel John Browning.

Stephen Browning

This book is dedicated to my son, Charlie Daniel Tink.

Daniel Tink

Thanks go to the staff of all Norfolk libraries, in particular the Millennium Library in Norwich, and the British Library in London for unfailing and courteous help. There are some fine collections of materials in Norwich that are of interest to historians including local newspapers and the journals of the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society. Also of help has been an online resource, the Archaeological Journal of the Royal Archaeological Institute, which has been digitally scanned and made available by the Archaeology Data Service www.archaeologydataservice.ac.uk . In addition, it is wonderful to come across all manner of individual studies that have been made by members of the Norfolk public into historical and archaeological matters, from a single coin to a complete abbey complex, that appear in many kinds of publications from those personally funded and local magazines, to the journals of prestigious societies.

Local historian David Berwick has been of immense help in researching the sections on Mundesley and Happisburgh. Thanks to author and storyteller Sarah Walker, for information on Diagon Alley; at time of writing Sarah is researching a book on the underground street. We are grateful to The Missing Kind for permission to take photographs. AVIVA Archive have kindly supplied the map of fourteenth-century Norwich. Thanks to The Dean and Chapter of Norwich for allowing us to photograph the beautiful interior of Norwich Cathedral. Thanks to the Norfolk Museums Service and the National Trust for photography permission.

At Pen and Sword, we are grateful to Roni Wilkinson for all his help and advice.

Thanks to Karyn Burnham for editing and making some excellent suggestions.

You either get Norfolk, with its wild roughness and uncultivated oddities, or you dont. Its not all soft and lovely. It doesnt ask to be loved.

Stephen Fry

This is the first study yet published to trace the history of Visitors Historic Britain - Norwich and Norfolk from the time of earliest life to the outbreak of the First World War. It is divided into traveller-friendly sections for those, either singly or in groups, who wish to explore the host of fascinating places on offer in what the Norfolk-born authors believe to be the most unspoilt and mysterious county in England.

Norwich has its own section along with three possible walks taking in many of the recommended sites; for those who wish to find particular special features, each of these is highlighted in bold print in the text or can be located via the comprehensive index. The vast coast is presented next, starting at Kings Lynn, which has its own walk, and proceeding in a clockwise direction around to Great Yarmouth there is another walk here which takes in the town centre, Quays area and seafront ending at Hoptonon-Sea. Then the book travels to central Norfolk, which is divided into west and east the legendary Broads and the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path are covered here, too. A final chapter considers Visitors Historic Britain - Norwich and Norfolk through time using rare archive and archaeological material to give a taste of life in days gone by; special features look at life in the Regency and Victorian periods and at Norwich as the Great War approached. Appendix 1 contains a short fictional story set in 1814 incorporating genuine news items of the day. Appendix 2 features some of Norfolks lost villages.

All in all, there are over 120 photographs and illustrations, most taken especially for publication while some are rarely seen archive images.

Both of us were brought up in Norfolk and now live in Norwich; this is our sixth co-authored book on aspects of our home county. One thing we have learnt over the years is how good are our neighbours in the county at spinning a yarn. Everywhere you go there are stories and legends, often greatly embellished by multiple retellings. However, almost every tale has at least a grain of truth in it and we have gathered the most interesting together in separate sections headed Folklore. We hope, by giving details of where and when these stories took root, our readers can enjoy investigating the exact degree of truth for themselves.

Throughout, telephone numbers, websites, and site details are given. There are endnotes and a bibliography designed to facilitate further study. All in all, it is hoped that readers will enjoy what is designed to be a toolkit to unlock the secrets, history, sites and stories of this vast county. We wish everyone very happy travels in both space and time!

Norwich has two cathedrals, one Anglican and the other Roman Catholic. However, when people talk of Norwich Cathedral they generally mean the cathedral church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, the Anglican cathedral, situated off Tombland. It is undoubtedly Norwichs Jewel in the Crown and more people probably come to visit this magnificent building than any other. You can usually see the cathedrals spire over your left or right shoulder wherever you are in the city and it is only a short walk from anywhere you may be in the central area.