Great Yarmouth

Bed and Breakfast Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Approximate Population: 47,288

Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, 20 miles east of Norwich.

It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea. For hundreds of years it has been a fishing port dependent on the herring fishery, and today it services offshore natural gas rigs. The town has a popular beach and two promenades.

The town itself is on a thin spit sandwiched between the North Sea and River Yare. It is home to the historic rows and the main tourist sector on the seafront. The area is linked to Gorleston, Cobholm and Southtown by Haven Bridge and to the A47, A149 and A12 by the Breydon Bridge.

The unparished urban area that makes up the town of Great Yarmouth has an area of 26.54 km² and according to the Office for National Statistics in 2002 had a population of 47,288. It is the main town in the larger Borough of Great Yarmouth. The ONS identify a Great Yarmouth Urban Area, which has a population of 66,788, including the sub-areas of Caister-on-Sea (8,756) and Great Yarmouth (58,032). The wider borough of Great Yarmouth has a population of around 92,500.

Bed and Breakfast Great Yarmouth Norfolk

North Walsham

Bed and Breakfast North Walsham Norfolk

Approximate Population: 11,998

North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is within the North Norfolk district, and is situated some 12 km south of Cromer and the same distance north of Wroxham. The city of Norwich lies 30 km to the south.

The civil parish has an area of 17.27 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 11,998 in 5,245 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.

North Walsham was an Anglo-Saxon settlement. Both North Walsham and the neighbouring Worstead became very prosperous from the 12th century through the arrival of weavers from Flanders. “Walsham” was a light-weight cloth for summer, and “Worsted” a heavier cloth. The 14th-century “wool churches” are a testament to the prosperity of the local mill owners. North Walsham’s church of St. Nicholas was originally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is one of the UK’s largest parish churches. It was also the site of a wayside shrine to St. Thomas of Canterbury. This church had the second-tallest steeple in Norfolk until its collapse in 1724. Plans for its rebuilding were abandoned at the outbreak of World War II. The ruined tower dominates the town centre and is a famous landmark of the area, visible from many miles away.

North Walsham was formerly a traditional market market town and an important hub in the centre of North Norfolk’s agricultural economy, but the town today reflects the trend towards homogeneity and suburban anonymity characteristic of many small British towns that have lost their primary role and function.

Bed and Breakfast North Walsham Norfolk

Wymondham

Bed and Breakfast Wymondham Norfolk

Approximate Population: 12,539

Wymondham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies 9 miles (14 km) to the south west of the city of Norwich, on the A11 road to Thetford and London.

Wymondham’s most famous inhabitant was Robert Kett (or Ket), who in 1549 led a rebellion of peasants and small farmers who were protesting the enclosure of common land. He took a force of almost unarmed men, and fought for and held the City of Norwich for six weeks until defeated by the King’s forces. He was hanged from Norwich Castle. Kett’s Oak, said to be the rallying point for the rebellion, may still be seen today on the road between Wymondham and Hethersett.

The civil parish of Wymondham has an area of 44.31 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 12,539 in 5,477 households. This relatively large parish includes one nearby village, Spooner Row.

Wymondham is governed by a town council of 15 councillors. The town is split into five wards each of which returns three members. Since the last election (2007) fourteen councillors are members of the Conservative Party and one is from the Liberal Democrats. The current mayor is Len Elston.

For the purposes of local government, Wymondham civil parish falls within the district of South Norfolk returning five district councillors, one for each ward.The town as a whole returns one county councillor to Norfolk County Council – Daniel Cox, who is also the Leader of Norfolk County Council.

As of 2009, several notable residents living in or close to Wymondham include / have included George Szirtes, a prize winning poet; Clarissa Upchurch, the artist; Oliver Winterbottom, a designer of TVR and Lotus cars; John Ottaway, a commonwealth gold medallist bowls player who is still a member of the Wymondham Dell Bowls Club; Donald Topley a former county cricketer with Essex, Simon Beaufoy, the writer of the film ‘The Full Monty’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’; Bill Bryson, the travel writer; Justin Hawkins, singer with The Darkness; and the late Edwin Gooch, MP and President of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers.

Bed and Breakfast Wymondham Norfolk

King’s Lynn

Bed and Breakfast King’s Lynn Norfolk

Approximate Population: 34,564

King’s Lynn is a town and port in Norfolk, England. Over the years, the town has been known variously as Bishop’s Lynn and Lynn Regis, while it is frequently referred to by locals as simply Lynn, the Celtic word for lake.

King’s Lynn is the third largest settlement in Norfolk after the city of Norwich and the town of Great Yarmouth. Sandringham House, the Norfolk residence of the British Royal Family, is 6 miles (9.7 km) north-east of King’s Lynn. It is best known as the birthplace of Captain George Vancouver RN (June 22, 1757 – May 12, 1798) an officer in the Royal Navy who was the first to explore the Pacific coast of the modern day Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Alaska, Washington and Oregon and also the southwest coast of Australia. It is also the place of the first school attended by Diana, Princess of Wales.

While it is believed there has been some form of habitation at King’s Lynn for well over a thousand years, it was not until St Margaret’s Church was founded in 1101 by Bishop Herbert de Losinga that the town started appearing on records. The town would originally have been named something like Llyn, after the Brythonic (Celtic) for ‘lake’. Later, it acquired the prefix ‘Bishop’s’ as the town was part of the manor of the Bishop of Norwich in the 12th century.

By the 14th century, the town ranked as the third port of England – and is considered as important to England in Medieval times as Liverpool was during the Industrial Revolution. It retains two buildings that were warehouses of the Hanseatic League that were in use between the 15th and 17th centuries. They are the only remaining building structures of the Hanseatic league in England.

Bed and Breakfast King’s Lynn Norfolk

Norwich

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Norwich Norfolk

Approximate Population: 132,200

Norwich was the eighth most prosperous shopping destination in the UK in 2006.  Norwich has an ancient market place, established by the Normans between 1071 and 1074, which is today the largest six-days-a-week open-air market in England.   The market has recently been downsized and undergone redevelopment, and the new market stalls have proved controversial: with 20% less floorspace than the original stalls, higher rental and other charges, and inadequate rainwater handling, they have been unpopular with many stallholders and customers alike.

Indeed, the local Norwich Evening News characterises Norwich Market as an ongoing conflict between the market traders and Norwich City Council, which operates the market.

The Mall Norwich (Castle Mall until 2007), a shopping mall designed by local practice Lambert, Scott & Innes and opened in 1993, presents an ingenious solution to the problem of sensitively accommodating new retail space in a historic city-centre environment - the building is largely concealed underground and built into the side of a hill, with a public park created on its roof in the area south of the Castle.

Bed Breakfast Norwich Norfolk

Norwich

Bed and Breakfast Norwich Norfolk

Approximate Population: 131,900

Norwich is a city in Norfolk, East Anglia which is in Eastern England. It is the regional administrative centre and county city of Norfolk. During the 11th century Norwich was the second largest city in England, after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom.

The great immigration of 1567 brought a substantial Walloon community of weavers to Norwich. Norwich has been the home of various dissident minorities, notably the French Huguenot and the Belgian Walloon communities in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These immigrants were known locally as ‘Strangers’. The merchant’s house - now a museum - which was their earliest base in the city is still known as ‘Strangers’ Hall’.

It seems that the Strangers were integrated into the local community without a great deal of animosity, at least among the business fraternity who had the most to gain from their skills. The arrival of the Strangers in Norwich bolstered trade with mainland Europe, fostering a movement toward religious reform and radical politics in the city. During this time Norwich became the second largest city in the country second only to London.

The city’s economy, originally chiefly industrial with shoemaking a large sector, has changed throughout the eighties and nineties to a service-based economy. Norwich Union, an Aviva company, still dominates these, but has been joined by other insurance and financial services companies.

Bed and Breakfast Norwich Norfolk

Thetford

Bed and Breakfast Thetford Norfolk

Approximate Population: 21,588

Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland area of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish (area of 29.55 km²) has a population of 21,588.

Thetford is traditionally thought of as the royal residence of Boudica, Queen of the Iceni. The Iceni were a Celtic tribe living in Norfolk and parts of Cambridgeshire. Archaeological evidence suggests that Thetford was an important tribal centre during the late Iron Age and early Roman period. A ceremonial ‘grove’ was uncovered there during excavations.

East Harling, nr Thetford hosts an annual Autumn Equinox Festival for astronomy. The festival has featured Patrick Moore of The Sky at Night. Thetford is also the site for the UK’s Star Party, as it is centrally located in a rural area with dark night skies. An annual concert, STORM, also calls Thetford home.

Thetford has been home to Tulip International, large-scale manufacturers of bacon, beef and pork. The factory opened its doors in 1966 and was one of the biggest bacon production factories in the UK. In 2007 the factory ceased production of fresh bacon, beef and pork with the loss of 350 jobs, although cooked bacon and fried products are still made in the factory.

Bed and Breakfast Thetford Norfolk