King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn,
is a
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
and
market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
in the borough of
King's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 147,451.
History
The district was ...
in the county of
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, England. It is located north of London, north-east of
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
, north-north-east of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
and west of
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
.
History
Toponymy
The
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of King's Lynn is uncertain. The name ''Lynn'' may signify a
body of water near the town – the Welsh word means a lake; but the name is plausibly of
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
origin, from ''lean'' meaning a
tenure in fee or farm.
As the 1085
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
mentions saltings at Lena (Lynn), an area of partitioned pools may have existed there at the time. Other places with Lynn in the name include Dublin, Ireland. An Dubh Linn....the Black Pool. The presence of salt, which was relatively rare and expensive in the early medieval period, may have added to the interest of
Herbert de Losinga
Herbert de Losinga (died 22 July 1119) was the first Bishop of Norwich. He founded Norwich Cathedral in 1096 when he was Bishop of Thetford.
Life
Losinga was born in Exmes, near Argentan, Normandy, the son of Robert de LosingaDoubleday and Page ...
and other prominent Normans in the modest parish.
The town was named ''Len '' (Bishop's Lynn) while under the temporal and spiritual jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Norwich, but in the reign of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
it was surrendered to the crown and took the name ''Lenne '' or King's Lynn.
Domesday records it as ''Lun'' and ''Lenn'', and ascribes it to the
Bishop of Elmham and the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
.
The town is generally known locally as ''Lynn''.
The city of
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
, north of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, was named in 1637 in honour of its first official minister of religion,
Reverend Samuel Whiting (Senior), who arrived there from Lynn, Norfolk.
Middle Ages
Lynn originated on a constricted site south of where the
River Great Ouse
The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...
now discharges into
the Wash
The Wash is a rectangular bay and multiple estuary at the north-west corner of East Anglia on the East coast of England, where Norfolk, England, Norfolk meets Lincolnshire and both border the North Sea. One of Britain's broadest estuaries, it i ...
. Development began in the early 10th century, but the place was not recorded until the early 11th century. Until the early 13th century, the Great Ouse emptied via the Wellstream at
Wisbech
Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
. After its redirection, Lynn and its port gained significance and prosperity.
In 1101, Bishop
Herbert de Losinga
Herbert de Losinga (died 22 July 1119) was the first Bishop of Norwich. He founded Norwich Cathedral in 1096 when he was Bishop of Thetford.
Life
Losinga was born in Exmes, near Argentan, Normandy, the son of Robert de LosingaDoubleday and Page ...
of
Thetford began to build the first
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
town between the rivers Purfleet to the north and Mill Fleet to the south. He commissioned
St Margaret's Church and authorised a market to be held on Saturday.
Trade built up along the waterways that stretched inland; the town expanded between the two rivers.
Lynn's 12th-century Jewish community was exterminated in the widespread massacres of 1189.
During the 14th century, Lynn ranked as England's most important port. It was seen to be as vital to England in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
as
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
was during the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. Sea trade with Europe was dominated by the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
of ports; the
transatlantic
Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to:
Film
* Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950
* Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s
* ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...
trade and the rise of England's western ports began only in the 17th century. The
Trinity Guildhall
Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...
was rebuilt in 1421 after a fire. Walls entered by the
South Gate and East Gate were erected to protect the town. It retains two former Hanseatic League warehouses: Hanse House of 1475
and Marriott's Warehouse, in use between the 15th and 17th centuries.
These are the only remaining buildings of the Hanseatic League in England.
Modern
![Kings Lynn Guild Hall (geograph 4626827)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Kings_Lynn_Guild_Hall_%28geograph_4626827%29.jpg)
In the first decade of the 16th century,
Thoresby College
Thoresby College (also Trinity College) was a 16th-century collegiate-style residence for thirteen chantry priests in King's Lynn, Norfolk, East of England. Located on Queen Street opposite the King's Lynn Guildhall, Guildhall, it has been conve ...
was built in Lynn by Thomas Thoresby to house priests of the Guild of The Holy Trinity. It had been incorporated in 1453 under a petition of its alderman, chaplain, four brethren and four sisters, who were licensed to found a
chantry of chaplains for the altar of Holy Trinity in
Wisbech
Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
. Lands were granted in
mortmain
Mortmain () is the perpetual, inalienable ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition. Historically, the land owner usually would be the religious office of a church ...
. Lynn acquired a
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
and corporation in 1524. In 1537 the king took over the town from the bishop. In the same century the town's two annual fairs were reduced to one. In 1534 a
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
was founded; four years later
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
closed the Benedictine priory and the three friaries.
A piped
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
was created in the 16th century, although many could not afford to connect to the
elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
pipes carrying water under the streets. Lynn suffered from outbreaks of
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
, notably in 1516, 1587, 1597, 1636 and finally in 1665. Fire was another hazard – in 1572 thatched roofs were banned to reduce the risk. In the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, King's Lynn supported Parliament, but in August 1643 it was in Royalist hands. It changed sides again after Parliament sent an army and the town was besieged for three weeks.
Valentine Walton
Valentine Walton (c. 1594–1661) was an English politician, a member of the Parliamentarian faction in the English Civil War, and one of the regicides of King Charles I of England.
Biography
Walton came from an ancient and knightly family of G ...
brother-in-law of
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
was appointed governor.
A heart carved on the wall of the Tuesday Market Place supposedly marks the burning of an alleged witch, Margaret Read, in 1590. It is said that as she was burning her heart burst from her body and struck the wall. Other sources put forward Mary Smith, hanged in 1616, as the witch.
![Kings-lynn-customs-house](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Kings-lynn-customs-house.JPG)
In 1683, the architect
Henry Bell, once the town's mayor, designed the
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...
. He also designed the ''
Duke's Head Inn'',
North Runcton Church and Stanhoe Hall, having gained ideas while on travel in Europe as a young man.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the town's main export was grain. Lynn was no longer a major international port, but iron and timber were imported. King's Lynn suffered from the discovery of the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, which benefited ports on the west coast of England. It was also affected by the growth of London.
In the late 17th century, imports of wine from Spain, Portugal and France boomed, and there was still much coastal trade. It was cheaper to transport goods by water than by road at the time. Large amounts of coal arrived from the north-east of England.
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...
began to be drained in the mid–17th century and the land turned to farming, allowing vast amounts of produce to be sent to London's growing market. Meanwhile, King's Lynn was still a major fishing port. Greenland Fishery House in Bridge Street was built in 1605. By the late 17th century shipbuilding and glass-making had also developed.
In the early 18th century,
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
called the town "beautiful, well built and well situated". Shipbuilding thrived, as did associated trades such as sail-making and rope-making. Glass-making prospered; brewing was another important industry. The Norwich company of comedians had been visiting since the 1750s, in 1766 a permanent theatre was created. A new playhouse was built in 1805. The first bank in King's Lynn opened in 1784.
A fearsome example of penal brutality occurred on 28 September 1708, when a seven-year-old boy, Michael Hammond, and his 11-year-old sister Ann were
convicted of stealing a loaf of bread and sentenced to
hanging
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
. Their public executions took place near the
South Gates. The Member of Parliament at the time was
Sir Robert Walpole, generally regarded as the first
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
.
![cmglee_Kings_Lynn_railway_station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Cmglee_Kings_Lynn_railway_station.jpg)
The town's decline from the late 17th century was reversed by the arrival of the railways in 1847, mainly by the
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
, later the
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
, running to
Hunstanton
Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...
,
Dereham
Dereham (), also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about 15 miles (25 km) west of the city ...
and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. The town was also served by the
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN), with offices at Austin Street and a station at South Lynn (now dismantled), which was also its operational control centre. It relocated to
Melton Constable. The M&GN lines across Norfolk closed to passengers in February 1959.
The town's amenities continued to improve in the 20th century. A museum opened in 1904 and a public library in 1905. The first cinema, the
Majestic, officially opened on 23 May 1928. (The year is marked in a stained-glass window on the front of the building.) The town council began a programme of
regeneration
Regeneration may refer to:
Science and technology
* Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs
* Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis
...
in the 1930s.
During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, King's Lynn was one of the UK's first towns to suffer aerial bombing, on the night of 19 January 1915 by a naval
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
, L4 (LZ 27), commanded by Captain Lieutenant Magnus von Platen-Hallermund. Eleven bombs were dropped, both incendiary and high explosive, doing much damage, killing two people in Bentinck Street and injuring several more. When the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
began in 1939, it was assumed that King's Lynn would be safe from bombing and many evacuees were sent from London, but the town suffered several raids.
The local breweries had closed by the 1950s, but new industries included food canning in the 1930s and
soup-making in the 1950s. In the 1960s, the council sought to encourage development by adding an industrial estate at Hardwick. The new trades arriving included light engineering, clothing and chemicals. Fishing remained important.
In 1962, King's Lynn was classed as an overflow town for London. The population grew and estates were built at Woottons and
Gaywood. The town centre was redeveloped in the 1960s and many earlier buildings knocked down. Lynnsport, a sports centre, opened in 1982. The corn exchange became a theatre in 1996.
Recent changes
![Kings-lynn-river-great-ouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Kings-lynn-river-great-ouse.JPG)
Since 2004, work has been under way to
regenerate the town under a multi-million-pound scheme. The 1960s Vancouver Shopping Centre (now the Vancouver Quarter) was refurbished in 2005 under the scheme, but was expected to last only 25 years, according to the construction firm, even with a planned extension. An award-winning £6 million
multi-storey car park
A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...
was built.
To the south of the town, residential housing appeared on a large area of
brownfield land
In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...
. Plans for another housing estate alongside the
River Nar
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
were opposed locally and halted by the economic situation. There is also a business park, parkland, a school, shops and a new relief road in a £300 million-plus scheme.
In 2006, King's Lynn became the United Kingdom's first member of The Hanse (''Die Hanse''), a network of towns across Europe that belonged historically to the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
. The league was an influential medieval
trading association of merchant towns around the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
and the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, which contributed to Lynn's development.
![Dow Chemical works - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Dow_Chemical_works_-_geograph.org.uk_-_650287.jpg)
The Borough Council commissioned and accepted a 2008 report by DTZ that dubbed King's Lynn's workforce as "low-value" with a "low skills base" and the town as having a "poor lifestyle offer". The quality of services and amenities was "unattractive to higher-value inward investors and professional employees with higher disposable incomes". Average earnings were well below regional and national levels, and many jobs in tourism, leisure and hotels were subject to seasonal fluctuations and likewise poorly paid. Education and workforce skills were described as below the national average. The borough ranked 150th out of 354 for social deprivation.
In 2009, a proposal was made for the Campbell's Meadow factory site to be redeveloped as a employment and business park. In June 2011 Tesco gained a permit for a superstore. On 8 June 2010, it unveiled regeneration plans that would cost £32 million and were billed to bring 900 new jobs.
Tesco pledged £4 million of improvements in other areas of the town. While it planned to spend £1.6 million widening Hardwick Road, the Sainsbury's bid was preferred by the Council as offering the town more benefits.
![Kings-lynn-campbells-soup-tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Kings-lynn-campbells-soup-tower.JPG)
Sainsbury's £40 million plans for a superstore opposite Tesco on the Pinguin Foods site yielded an estimated 300 jobs. This was the key to securing the future of Pinguin Foods in King's Lynn. Pinguin Foods released of its site to accommodate the proposed store. Mortson Assets' and Sainsbury's plan included a link road between Scania Way and Queen Elizabeth Way to improve access and allow the industrial estate to attract new employers, while Sainsbury's maintains its store in the town centre. It has pledged £1.75 million for highways improvements and a further £7 million to invest in the Pinguin Foods factory.
At 8 am on 15 January 2012, the landmark Campbell's Tower was demolished – competition winner Sarah Griffiths pulled the switch. Her father, Mick Locke, had died in 1995 aged 52 after being scalded by steam at the factory. It was Campbell's first UK factory when it opened in the 1950s. At its peak in the early 1990s it employed over 700.
A
fire station was opened by Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
in February 2015.
Governance
King's Lynn became a
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
in 1883. The present
Borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk was an
amalgamation
Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form.
Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal
**Pan am ...
of the Borough of King's Lynn, the
urban districts of
Downham Market and
Hunstanton
Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...
, and the
rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...
s of
Docking,
Downham
Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford.
Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...
,
Freebridge Lynn, and
Marshland.
Heraldry
The shield in the coat of arms of King's Lynn and West Norfolk that of the ancient Borough of Lynn, recorded at the
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...
in 1563. It shows the legend of
Margaret of Antioch, who has appeared on Lynn shields since the 13th century, and to whom the
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
is dedicated.
The
per chevron
In heraldry, the field (background) of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name (e.g. a shield divided in the shape of a ch ...
division and addition of a
bordure serve to distinguish the shield from its predecessor, while retaining its medieval simplicity. The bordure also suggests the wider bounds of the new authority, with the seven parts symbolising the seven amalgamated authorities.
The
gull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
on the crest is a maritime reference. It has appeared as a supporter in some representations, but officially stands on a
bollard
A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. It now also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent automotive v ...
to make it distinctive. It supports a crown or
coronet like a King's Lynn supporter and a lion from the crest of Downham Market.
The coronet refers to the Borough's royal connections. The cross held by the gull is an extension of the two in the shield, and the cross in the coat of arms of
Freebridge Lynn Rural District
Freebridge Lynn Rural District was a rural district in Norfolk, England from 1894 to 1974.
It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Freebridge Lynn rural sanitary district, and was named after the Freebridge Lynn hundred. ...
.
The supporters are based on the crest of the
Hunstanton
Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...
Urban District Council. The lion is a variation of the lions, or leopards, in the
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom
The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varian ...
and its fish tail suggests the borough's links with the sea.
The fish–lion is also the central feature in the borough's badge, but here it is surrounded by a
garland of oak leaves as a reference to the rural nature of much of the district. Oak leaves also appear in the coronet in the crest of the former Downham Market Urban District Council.
Twinning
King's Lynn is
twinned with:
*
Emmerich am Rhein
Emmerich am Rhein ( Low Rhenish and nl, Emmerik) is a city and municipality in the northwest of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city has a harbour and a quay at the Rhine. In terms of local government organization, it is ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
*
Sandringham Sandringham can refer to:
Places
* Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia
* Sandringham, Queensland, Australia
* Sandringham, Victoria, Australia
**Sandringham railway line
**Sandringham railway station
**Electoral district of Sandringham
* Sand ...
,
Victoria,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
*
Jičín,
Hradec Králové,
Czechia
*
Mladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants.
Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive ind ...
,
Central Bohemian Region
The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...
,
Czechia
Geography
Topography
![RIVER GAYWOOD the mouth of the river at Kings Lynn joining the river Great Ouse 12th March 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/RIVER_GAYWOOD_the_mouth_of_the_river_at_Kings_Lynn_joining_the_river_Great_Ouse_12th_March_2007.JPG)
King's Lynn is the northernmost settlement on the
River Great Ouse
The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...
, lying north of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and west of
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
.
The town lies about south of the
Wash, a fourfold
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
subject to dangerous tides and shifting sandbanks, on the north-west margin of
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
. King's Lynn has an area of .
The Great Ouse at Lynn is about wide and the outfall for much of the
Fens' drainage system. The much smaller
Gaywood River
Gaywood River (sometimes known as the River Gay or River Gaywood or, in King's Lynn, as the Fisher Fleet) is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the west of the county of Norfolk.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 250 - Norfolk Coast W ...
also flows through the town, joining the Great Ouse at the southern end of South Quay, close to the town centre. A small section known as
West Lynn lies on the west bank, linked to the town centre by one of the oldest ferries in the country. Other districts of King's Lynn include the town centre,
North Lynn
North Lynn is an urban residential area of King's Lynn, in the unparished area of Kings Lynn, in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England.
There are three main parks in North Lynn: Peck's field (named after t ...
,
South Lynn
South Lynn is an area of King's Lynn, in the unparished area of King's Lynn, in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located directly south of the town, near the A47 and A418 roads.
History
Sou ...
, and
Gaywood.
Climate
King's Lynn has a
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(
Köppen: Cfb). The annual mean daytime temperature is around . January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between . July and August are the warmest, with mean daily maximum temperatures of some .
There are two
Met Office
The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
weather stations close to King's Lynn: Terrington St Clement, about to the west and RAF Marham, about to the south-east.
The absolute maximum temperature at Terrington stands at recorded in August 2003, though in a more average year the warmest day will only reach , with 13.8 days in total attaining a temperature of or more. Typically all these figures are marginally lower than those for the southern half of the Fens due to the presence of onshore sea breezes, and occasional
haar (cold sea fog), especially in early summer and late spring. However, with a strong enough offshore breeze, the area can be notably warm. Terrington (along with Cambridge Botanical Gardens) achieved the national highest temperature of 2007,
The absolute minimum at Terrington is , set in January 1979. A total of 41.6 nights will report an air frost at Terrington and 51.9 nights at Marham.
Annual rainfall totals at Marham, and at Terrington, with 1 mm or more falling on 115 and 113 days, respectively. All averages refer to the 30-year observation period 1971–2000.
Parks
The largest of the town's several public parks are
the Walks
The Walks is the premier urban park in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
History
The Walks were originally established in the 18th century.
Landmarks Red Mount Chapel
Sitting in the centre of The Walks is the Red Mount chapel, also known as 'Our Lady's C ...
, a historic 17-hectare
urban park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
in the centre of King's Lynn. They are the only town walk in Norfolk to survive from the 18th century. The
Heritage Lottery Fund donated £4.3 million towards restoring them and adding modern amenities. They also include the Red Mount, a
Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
-listed 15th-century
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
. In 1998, the Walks were designated by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
as a Grade II
national historic park
National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...
.
The Walks as a whole had a different, earlier origin, conceived of not as a municipal park, as one understands the term today, but as a promenade for citizens, away from the smell, grime and bustle of the town centre.
Harding's Pits form another public park, to the south of the town. This informal area of open space with large public sculptures was laid out to reflect the town's history. Harding's Pits are managed by local volunteers under a management firm, which successfully fought off a Borough Council attempts to turn them into an
attenuation
In physics, attenuation (in some contexts, extinction) is the gradual loss of flux intensity through a medium. For instance, dark glasses attenuate sunlight, lead attenuates X-rays, and water and air attenuate both light and sound at variable att ...
drain.
Demography
In 2007, King's Lynn had a population of 42,800.
At Norfolk's 2007 census, King's Lynn, together with West Norfolk, had a population of 143,500, with an average population density of 1.0 persons per hectare.
For figures after 2011 see
King's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 147,451.
History
The district was ...
.
Economy
King's Lynn has always been a centre for fishing and seafood (especially inshore prawns, shrimps and cockles). There have also been glass-making and small-scale engineering works – many fairground and steam engines were built here. It still contains much farm-related industry, including food processing. There are several chemical factories and the town retains a role as an import centre. In general, it is a regional centre for a still sparsely populated part of England.
King's Lynn was the fastest growing port in Great Britain in 2008.
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
figures show that through-put increased by 33 per cent.
In 2008, the German Palm Group began to erect one of the world's largest paper machines, constructed by
''Voith Paper''. With a web speed of up to 2000 metres a minute and a web width of 10.63 metres, it can produce 400,000 tons a year of newsprint paper, based on 100-per-cent recycled paper. The start-up was on 21 August 2009.
The
Port of King's Lynn has facilities for dry
bulk cargo
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities.
Description
Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...
such as cereals and liquid bulk products such as petroleum products for
Pace Petroleum
Kuwait Petroleum International, often referred to by its trademark Q8 (pronounced Que-Eight, or Kuwait), refines and markets fuel, lubricants and other petroleum products in Europe. Established in 1983, it is the international subsidiary of Kuw ...
. It also handles timber imported from
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
and the
Baltics and has handling sheds for steel imports.
![2009-02-02-vancouver-quarter-kings-lynn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/2009-02-02-vancouver-quarter-kings-lynn.jpg)
King's Lynn is the prime retail centre in West Norfolk. The town centre is dominated by budget shops, reflecting the spending power of much of the population. The town centre fulfils a leisure role with entertainment centres, bars and restaurants, and has a range of service functions. It provides about 5,300 retailing jobs.
The town centre has 73,000 sq. m. of retail floor space in 347 shops, which exceeds the comparable centres of
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. However, whilst the percentage of floor space in comparison shopping and that occupied by multiple retailers is above the national average, King's Lynn offers a more limited range of choice.
Tourism in King's Lynn is a minor industry, but it attracts visitors to its historic centre, and as a base for visiting
Sandringham House and other country houses in the area. Within the town and across the nearby
Fenland are some of the finest historic churches in Britain, built in a period when King's Lynn and its hinterland were wealthy from trade and wool.
Transport
Roads
King's Lynn is linked to the cities of
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
and
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
by the
A47, to Cambridge by the
A10, and to Spalding and the North via the
A17. Parts of north and east Norfolk are reached by the
A148 and the
A149.
Railway
King's Lynn railway station
King's Lynn railway station is the northern terminus of the Fen line in the east of England, serving the town of King's Lynn, Norfolk. It is from and measured from London Liverpool Street.
The station and most trains calling are operated b ...
, terminus of the
Fen Line, is the sole railway facility in King's Lynn. It provides regular services to
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
and
London King's Cross
King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United King ...
.
South Lynn railway station
South Lynn railway station was a railway station serving the areas of South Lynn and West Lynn in King's Lynn in Norfolk, England. The station was on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.
History
The Lynn & Sutton Bridge Railway was ...
closed to passengers in 1959, as did
Hunstanton
Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...
in 1969.
West Norfolk Council is still considering ostensibly reopening a railway between King's Lynn and Hunstanton. The possibility was proposed at a meeting of the council's ''Regeneration and Environment Panel'' on 29 October 2008, having last been discussed in the 1990s. An environmental case was made for reviving the line to relieve road congestion.
Buses
Nearly all
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
services in the area have been withdrawn, leaving most services in King's Lynn operated by
Lynx
A lynx is a type of wild cat.
Lynx may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Lynx (constellation)
* Lynx (Chinese astronomy)
* Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory
Places Canada
* Lynx, Ontar ...
or Go To Town (West Norfolk Community Transport Project).
King's Lynn is served by the ''
excel
ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...
'' bus route between
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
and
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
operated by
First Eastern Counties. The ''Coasthopper'' route from King's Lynn runs round the Norfolk Coast to
Cromer, but since Stagecoach withdrew from Norfolk, the western section has been run by Lynx as ''Coastliner'' 36 and extended inland from
Wells-next-the-Sea to
Fakenham. The Wells–Cromer section is run by
Sanders Coaches and still known as Coasthopper, but now extends inland to North Walsham.
South Transport Project
![Lynn routes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Lynn_routes.png)
A £7 million programme to redevelop the infrastructure of the town centre in the 2010s was largely provided by the
Community Infrastructure Fund
Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF) is a UK government initiative created as a joint venture by the Department for Transport and the Department for Communities and Local Government., it was created following the recommendation of the Barker Revie ...
. The department programme is a collection of smaller developments, which are detailed below.
Work on a cycle and bus route between the town centre and South Lynn began in June 2010, at a cost of £850,000. It is 720 metres long, from Morston Drift to Millfleet, with buses in both directions, and features a separate path for pedestrians and bicycles, which coincides with the bus route when crossing the Nar sluice. As part of the development, the Millfleet–St James' Road junction is being developed.
[
A contraflow lane for bicycles was proposed, but not built along Norfolk Street from Albert Street to Blackfriars Road. This would have included a development of the Norfolk Road/Railway Road junction to better accommodate buses and bicycles. Similar work was to have taken place at the Norfolk Street–Littleport Street junction, so that buses would not get caught in the town-centre gyratory system.]
Bus priority measures have been added to four sets of traffic lights along St James' Road. These give buses quicker access to the town centre and normalise journey times.
Southgates Roundabout has been redeveloped. Many of its approach roads have been widened in the run-up to the junction and the road markings redone in an attempt to improve lane discipline. Southgates Roundabout is a noted congestion hot spot.
Other small developments are taking place to make junctions more car-friendly.
Media
King's Lynn has two local newspapers; the twice-weekly '' Lynn News'' owned b
Iliffe Media
and ''Your Local Paper'', a free weekly. ''KL magazine'' is a free lifestyle magazine that promotes the best of west and north Norfolk. It has been published monthly since October 2010 and is distributed to local businesses. It also issues special Food and Home Design & Build editions.
King's Lynn is served by BBC Radio Norfolk
BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Norfolk.
It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Forum in Norwich.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...
, Greatest Hits Radio West Norfolk
Greatest Hits Radio West Norfolk is an independent local radio station which broadcasts to King's Lynn and West Norfolk. The station was formerly called KL.FM 96.7 and broadcast from a former bank building at 18 Blackfriars Street in King's Lyn ...
, West Norfolk Radio, KL1 Radio and all national BBC radio stations. The local college has a web-based TV station run by media students, entitled SpringboardTV.com, and holds an awards ceremony at the end of each academic year.
Television services are provided by BBC East, BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, ITV Anglia
ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated ...
, and ITV Yorkshire.
Education
Three of King's Lynn four secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
s are located in the town: King Edward VII School, the King's Lynn Academy
King's Lynn Academy (formerly "the Park High School") is a 11-16 mixed secondary school in the West Norfolk town of King's Lynn. It is situated on Queen Mary Road in Gaywood; and is one of four schools serving the town and adjacent villages. ...
and Springwood High School. The fourth, St Clements High School
St Clement's High School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the village of Terrington St Clement, in the English county of Norfolk.
History
Having been judged one of the most improved comprehensives in Engla ...
, is in the nearby village of Terrington St Clement
Terrington St Clement is a village and civil parish in King's Lynn and West Norfolk borough and district in Norfolk, England. It is in the drained marshlands to the south of the Wash, west of King's Lynn, Norfolk, and east of Sutton Bridge, L ...
. The first is known for its physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
department, King's Lynn Academy for its maths and IT specialities, and Springwood for performing arts and drama. The nearest independent school is Wisbech Grammar School in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
.
The town's further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
college, the College of West Anglia, was founded in 1894 as King's Lynn Technical School. In 1973, it was renamed Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, and, in 1998, merged with Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture, which added campuses in Wisbech
Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
(now closed) and Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
; it changed the name to the College of West Anglia. It retained this name in April 2006, when it merged with the Isle College in Wisbech.
Culture
St George's Guildhall
The Guild of St George was founded in 1376 and acquired land for the Guildhall of St George
The Guildhall of St George, also known as St George’s Guildhall, is a Grade I listed building in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England, currently in the ownership of the National Trust. At present it is leased on a long lease by the Borough Council of ...
in 1406, which was in use by 1428. It offered plays in the Guildhall, the first known being a nativity play in January 1445. This makes it the UK's oldest working theatre.
The Guildhall was used for meetings, dinners and performance until 1547, when King Edward VI dissolved the Guilds. It then became the property of Lynn Corporation and known as the Common Town Hall. Research by the University of East Anglia confirms as probable the oral history of King's Lynn that William Shakespeare performed in the Guildhall in 1593. This is the only still-working theatre in the world that can credibly claim to have hosted Shakespeare. In 1766, Guildhall shows were so popular that a new interior was built inside the present structure, probably on the earlier footprint. By 1945, the Guildhall was almost derelict and in danger of demolition. It was bought by Alexander Penrose, who gave it to the National Trust in 1951. The Pilgrim Trust, Arts Council and public subscription led to conversion into an Arts Centre. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
opened it in July 1951 and launched the King's Lynn Festival.
Today, the Guildhall is owned by the National Trust and leased to the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. Various groups hire the building for a year-round programme of theatre, dance, music, lectures and film; amongst them are Shakespeare's Guildhall Trust, King's Lynn Festival, King's Lynn Community Cinema Club. Shakespeare's Guildhall Trust have volunteers who open the theatre to visitors.
Arts
Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
visited King's Lynn in January 1905 and collected several folk songs from the area.
Ruth, Lady Fermoy, a concert pianist, moved to King's Lynn in 1931 as the bride of Lord Edmund Fermoy, who would become the town mayor and local MP. She helped to organise concerts of high-standard professional music.
In 1951, Lady Fermoy complemented the Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people:
...
with a King's Lynn Festival of the Arts. She was a friend and lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
to Queen Elizabeth – later the Queen Mother – who agreed to become the festival patron and, in July 1951, officially opened the restored St George's Guildhall. She remained an enthusiastic and active supporter and patron of the festival until her death in March 2002.
The King's Lynn Festival remains the premier music and arts festival in West Norfolk. It is primarily known for classical music, but also hosts jazz, choral, folk, opera, dance, films, talks and exhibitions, along with fringe events each year.
The King's Lynn Literature Festivals are held on single weekends in March (fiction) and September (poetry) each year, usually in the town hall. The Annual Hanse
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...
Festival first took place in 2009.
Displays
Storeys of Lynn Museum opened in March 2016, as part of the King's Lynn Town Hall complex. Set within the newly-revealed vaulted undercroft of the 15th-century Trinity Guildhall, it presents the town's collection in an extensive, nationally significant interactive and multi-media exhibition. True's Yard Fisherfolk Museum
True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum is a social history museum in King's Lynn, Norfolk. It is an independent museum run almost entirely by volunteers and depicts the story of the old North End fishing quarter of King's Lynn. Support was received from ...
displays the social history of the North End fishermen, run by volunteers. It includes a cottage and a smokehouse. Since 2013, there has been a local award-winning Military Museum operated by The Bridge for Heroes Charity to raise funds. Lynn Museum, run by Norfolk Museums Service in Market Street, covers the town's local history and the Bronze Age timber circle Seahenge
Seahenge, also known as Holme I, was a prehistoric monument located in the village of Holme-next-the-Sea, near Old Hunstanton in the English county of Norfolk. A timber circle with an upturned tree root in the centre, Seahenge, along wi ...
.
Festival Too
Festival Too is a free music festival held yearly in King's Lynn, Norfolk, in the East of England, running throughout July. It has been running since 1985. It is free for anyone to attend, and is funded by donations and through local business supp ...
is held in Tuesday Market Place each summer. Performers have included Midge Ure
James Ure (born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s ...
, Deacon Blue, Suzi Quatro, 10cc
10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...
, Mungo Jerry, the Human League, the Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...
, M People, Atomic Kitten, Kieran Woodcock, S Club
S Club 7 were a British pop group from London, created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller and consisting of members Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O'Meara, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens and Tina Barrett. The group ...
and Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...
.
The Majestic Cinema in the town centre is the town's only cinema.
King's Lynn's main venue for concerts, stand-up comedy shows and other live events is the Corn Exchange, in Tuesday Market Place. Many smaller venues such as ''Bar Red'' and ''the Wenns'' contribute to the local music scene, along with acts from other parts of the country.
Mart
In the 16th century, King's Lynn's Tuesday Market Place hosted two trade fair
A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...
s that attracted visitors from as far as Italy and Germany. As the importance of such fairs declined, the Mart has become a funfair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks.
Types
Variations of fairs incl ...
, reduced to a single fortnight's annual event that begins on 14 February (Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
). It is also a memorial to Frederick Savage, who partnered the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain
The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain exists to protect the interests of Travelling Showmen in Great Britain.
The Showmen's Guild was founded as the United Kingdom Van Dwellers Protection Association in 1889 in Salford. The formation of the guild ...
to develop new funfair attractions.
Sport
King's Lynn Town has been playing from the 2021–22 season in the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
. It was formed in 2010, after the original King's Lynn F.C.
King's Lynn Football Club was an English association football club based in King's Lynn, Norfolk. The club was founded in 1881 and they were wound up at the High Court on 25 November 2009 with debts of £77,000, going out of business in Decemb ...
was wound up in December 2009. Its home games are played at the Walks Stadium in Tennyson Road.
King's Lynn's speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
team, the King's Lynn Stars, races at the Adrian Flux Arena in Saddlebow Road. The track has been run since 1965 on an open licence. It hosted Speedway-type events in the 1950s.
One of the town's basketball clubs, King's Lynn Fury
The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 4 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish B ...
, previously played in the National League out of Lynnsport and represented the town in national competitions from 2004 to 2017. Lynn Nets, formed in 2008, also runs a programme in local competitions.
The historic hockey team The Pelicans, dating from 1920, currently plays at Lynnsport, having been based in nearby North Runcton until 1996.
Notable people
Location
In popular culture
Ruth Galloway, fictional heroine of Elly Griffiths' novels, is a forensic anthropologist living in a cottage near King's Lynn and teaching at the University of North Norfolk.
Peter Grainger's DC Smith Investigation series of detective novels is set in "Kings Lake", a thinly-disguised King's Lynn.
The fictional comedy character Alan Partridge was born in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. It is located on the outskirts of King's Lynn, to the eastern edge of the town. The catchment area of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital covers the West Norfolk area, South Lincolnshire and N ...
. The character itself, played by Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...
, grew up in Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
and frequently makes references to Norfolk.
Media appearances
King's Lynn and surroundings have since the early 20th century been popular with film and TV producers. Their architecture and landscape often allow them to stand in for other parts of the world, especially the Netherlands and France. The town appeared as the Netherlands in ''The Silver Fleet'' (1943) and ''One of Aircraft Is Missing'' (1942), as Germany in ''Operation Crossbow'' in 1965, and as France in '''Allo 'Allo!
''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a French caf ...
'', the long-running BBC comedy.
The town served as an earlier Dutch New York in the 1985 feature film ''Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
''. The BBC series ''Lovejoy'' also used the town, as did the Anglia Television series '' Tales Of The Unexpected'' and the Granada series ''Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
'', starring Jeremy Brett
Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He played fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in four Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series), Granada TV series from 1984 ...
in the title role.
In the early 2000s, the BBC used the town bus station, local roads and the nearby Royal estate of Sandringham in the comedy drama series ''Grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
'', featuring Simon Day. It has, in recent times, appeared many times on programmes such as the BBC's '' Antiques Road Trip'', ''Flog It!
''Flog It!'' is a BBC television series that has been broadcast since 27 May 2002, presented by Paul Martin (although the first five episodes were presented by Mark Harnden).
Description
The show follows a similar formula to ''Antiques Roadsho ...
'', and a BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 documentary ''The Last Journey of the Magna Carta King'', following the trail of John, King of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
and how he lost his treasure in the Wash.
* King's Lynn Minster (St Margaret's)
*King's Lynn Power Station
King's Lynn Power Station is a combined cycle natural gas power station near King's Lynn in Norfolk, commissioned in 1997, and now owned by RWE. It was mothballed on 1 April 2012. It can generate 325 MW of electricity and employed 40 people. ...
*List of buildings in King's Lynn
King's Lynn is an English market town in West Norfolk. This list details a selection of some of the more prominent buildings in the town.
Churches All Saints' Church
All Saints' Church () in South Lynn predates the Domesday Book of 1086, ...
* List of people from King's Lynn
Further reading
References
External links
*
Information from Genuki Norfolk
{{DEFAULTSORT:King'S Lynn
Towns in Norfolk
Market towns in Norfolk
Ports and harbours of Norfolk
Port cities and towns of the North Sea
Populated places on the River Great Ouse
Trading posts of the Hanseatic League
Unparished areas in Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk