Dent's County Guides

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EDITED BY

GEORGE A. B. DEWAR

NORFOLK

All rights reserved

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NORFOLK

BY

M Eh AM. A. DUTT
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WITH SPECIAL ARTICLES ON THE BIRD LIFE, BOTANY, ENTOMOLOGY,
GEOLOGY, FISHING, SHOOTING, ETC., OF THE COUNTY BY THE
REV. R. C. NIGHTINGALE, H. D. GELDART, CLAUDE
MORLEY, ELS, F, W. HARMER, F.G.5S.,

AND OTHERS

ILLUSTRATED BY J. A. SYMINGTON

BONDON: Jj. M: DENT & CO.

ALDINE HOUSE, BEDFORD STREET, W.C.
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CONTENTS

Part I

NORFOLK, ITS STORY AND SCENERY

Introductory

ITINERARIES.
‘© The City of Churches” (Norwich)

Byways and an Old Turnpike (Norwich to Caistor
Camp, Wymondham, and Thetford)

A Royal Town and a Flint Village (Thetford,
Brandon, and the Great Warren) .

Peggotty’s Port (Great Y armouth )
A Night on Breydon .

By the Wild North Sea (Yarmouth to Caister Castle,
Cromer, Cley, Wells, and Hunstanton)

In the Prince’s Country (Sandringham, Castle Rising,
and King’s Lynn)

An Excursion cross-country (Norwich to East

Dereham, Swaffham, and Houghton)

103

Contents

PAGE
In Ann Boleyn’s Country (Norwich to Aylsham,
Blickling, and Cromer) . " ‘ ne

The Broadland . : : ; : : eae

Down the Yare from Norwich to Reedham and
Yarmouth . : : ; ‘ ; { 150

Up the Bure to Acle, Wroxham, and Aylsham : 162

The Ant and its Broads : : x ; : 173 “a

The Thurne, Heigham Sounds, and Hickling Broad . 177
Up the Waveney from Breydon to Oulton Broad . 182

Oulton Broad to Beccles and Bungay . : -. tem

Wart LE

NORFOLK, ITS NATURAL HISTORY AND
SPORT

Bird Life in Norfolk (by The Rev. Robert C,
Nightingale) . ; é é ; oe

Botany in Norfolk (by H. D. Geldart) : . hem

Entomology in Norfolk (by Claude Morley, F.E.S., etc.) 207

Geology of Norfolk (by F. W. Harmer, F.G.S., etc.) 215

vl

Contents

Shooting and Fishing in Norfolk (by A. J. Rudd)
Sea Fishing off Norfolk (by E. A. Croxon)
Cycling in Norfolk (by H. Morriss)

Part LLL
The Chief Places of Interest in Norfolk .
Gazetteer .
Index

vii

PAGE

226
240

2.43

ZigE

255
343

HIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Wroxham Broad

Norwich Cathedral

The Castle

Guild Hall, Norwich .
Wymondham Church

“The Bell,” Thetford

The Great Warren

Row 99 . ; :

The Quay, Yarmouth .

Breydon :

A Norfolk ee

Cromer

Upper ee

Stffkey

The Principal Entrance, Pai btn
Castle Rising

Greyfriars s
The Custom House, King s ioe P
Bishop Hall’s Palace .

West Front, The Priory, Castle ies
Houghton Hall .

Market Place, Aylsham

Blickling Hall

A Wild-fowl Decoy

PAGE

Frontispiece

facing )

20/
29
a

Illustrations

PAGE
Reedham . ; 159
A Broadsman at Home . : ; ; : 160

Acle Bridge ; 7 ; ; . ‘ z 166
St Benet’s Abbey

167
Horning Ferry . 169
Florning Street . 170
On the Ant near Irstead ‘ : ; - (Vee
Barton Broad . : : ; (facing ) aah
Near Barton Broad E : : 175
Ludham yy
On the Thurne, Potter cpt 179
Hickling Broad 180
Burgh Castle 183
Iritton Lake 184
Thurlton . 188
The New Cut . 189
Section from Hunstanton to Yarmouth, showing the
Geological Structure of the District 215

LIST OF MAPS
Norwich to Wymondham, Thetford and Brandon

Norwich to Yarmouth

FACING PAGE
37 /

: 57/
Yarmouth to Caister Castle, Cromer, Coy wus Wells a7

Hunstanton, Sandringham, Castle Rising and Lynn. 103 4
Norwich to Dereham, Swaffham, Castle Acre and
Houghton . . ‘ » <a /
Norwich to Aylsham, Blickling ay Bulteah 133
The Broadland . 143 /

x

Norfolk

Dart F
TiS SLORT, AND: SCENERY:
By W. A. Durr

INTRODUCTORY
WE Norfolk folk, or “North Folk of East Anglia,” are
firmly of opinion that there is no county in England to
compare with our own. When people tell us of the York-
shire moors, we ask them if they have seen Dersingham
Heath and the Great Warren. When they go into raptures
over Windermere and Killarney, we invite them to take a
cruise on Wroxham Broad. When they grow enthusiastic
about the cathedral cities of other counties, we suggest
that they should see Norwich. When they try to im-
press us with descriptions of Norman castles outside our
borders, we tell them of our castles at Norwich, Castle
Rising, and Castle Acre. When they attempt to crush us
with Stonehenge, we stand defiant on our Ancient British
earthworks, or among the ‘“ Shrieking Pits”? of Aylmerton.
When they speak of abbeys and priories, we point to
Bromholm, Binham and Walsingham; and when they are
reduced to silence, and some friend, sympathising with
their discomfiture, comes to their aid with his impressions of
Chatsworth and Blenheim, we smile indulgently and ask him
what he thinks of Houghton, Blickling, and Holkham.
Content with having upheld the honour of our county, we
can then spare our would-be detractors further humiliation
by not reminding them of the manifold beauties of Broad-
land, glories of Poppyland, and the popularity of our charm-
Ing coast resorts.
A I

Norfolk

And yet, notwithstanding all this, and in spite of the fact
that so long ago as 1722 no less a personage than Daniel
Defoe wrote a kind of guide-book to the Eastern counties,
*‘ particularly fitted for the reading of such as desire to travel,”
Norfolk’s popularity as a holiday resort is of comparatively
recent development. A century ago hardly anyone visited
the county unless compelled by duty or business ; as to com-
ing here for pleasure, no one ever thought of such a thing.
Fifty years ago there was only one place on the coast
where casual visitors could find accommodation elsewhere
than at inns. Yarmouth, then, was of little repute save
as a fishing-port; Cromer had still many years to wait for
fame ; the Broadland meres and rivers were unexplored,
save by native wherrymen and fishermen; and the ninety
miles of East Anglian coast between Yarmouth and King’s
Lynn were less familiar to the English tourist than the sand
dunes of the shores of Holland. Norwich, it is true, was
a place of renown, and had been for several centuries; but
the people who visited Norfolk for the purpose of seeing
Norwich were few in number, and seldom strayed far beyond
the bounds of the ** City of Churches.”’ Even so recently
as 1884, Dr Jessopp, than whom no one knows Norfolk
better, lamented that there were no important watering-
places in East Anglia, and that no pleasure-seekers came
here, ‘* bringing their money with them and leaving it behind
them.” The “ discovery”’ of the Broadland and the mani-
festation on the part of the Broadlanders and coast-dwellers
of a disposition to welcome and accommodate strangers in
their midst were practically contemporary events. Having
once made up their minds that it would be to their interest
to attract visitors to Norfolk, the inhabitants set about
providing for them with enterprising expedition, and there
is now no county in England where the comfort and
convenience of tourists and less restless visitors are more
considered and better attended to. |

The result has been more than satisfactory to Norfolk
folk. Of late years the annual incursion of “ aliens”’ into

2

Introductory

Norfolk has probably been Jarger than into any other English
county, excepting Middlesex. The county has become a
playground of all classes. ‘The most popular of the world’s
princes has made a home here; statesmen and city men,
bishops and actors, have found rest on the quiet inland
waters and health on the breezy cliffs of Cromer and
Sheringham; and the “masses”? of London have pro-
nounced Yarmouth their ideal holiday resort. As a matter
of fact, Norfolk only needed to be known to attain the
widest popularity. A variety of attractions have combined
to make it famous. Once considered simply a flat, mono-
tonous, uninteresting county, it has been found to possess
something to please almost everybody. Increased facilities
of travel have revealed delights that before were not dreamt
of. Seekers of the picturesque have been astonished at the
loveliness of much of the Norfolk scenery. Antiquaries
have been delighted with the county’s wealth of antiquities
—at its grand old ruined castles, abbeys, and priories;
ecclesiologists with the number and _stateliness of its
churches. The quaint old-world hamlets of the interior
and the quiet fishing villages of the coast have charmed
people tired of less secluded places; and the bracing
breezes which come to Norfolk laden with the salt savour
of the North Sea waves have brought colour to cheeks
which would have grown paler in the sunnier but more
relaxing South. In the Broadland, yachtsmen and boating
parties have found a district unique and full of delights un-
imagined by those to whom Norfolk is an unknown land,
while anglers have gained a paradise. To sum up, Norfolk
has revealed itself a county of infinite variety and charm—
a county where pleasant pastoral scenery suddenly gives
_ way to wild sea-shore; where wide heaths, purple with
heather and golden with gorse or bracken, are found not
only along the coast, but in the midst of lands given up to
cultivation; where lazy rivers wind through green pastures
_ and bear voyagers into many a lovely lowland nook and
‘haunt of ancient peace.”

3

Norfolk

Statistics are dry literary diet to most readers, but some
might complain if nothing were said concerning the dimen-
sions, acreage, etc., of this county. Norfolk is one of the
largest counties in England, only Yorkshire, Lincolnshire,
and Devonshire exceeding it in size. Its greatest length, from
east to west, is 67 miles; its greatest breadth 43 miles. Of
its 14¢ miles of boundary about two-thirds consists of coast-
line. Its total area is 1,356,173 statute acres. Its popula-
tion, at the time of the last census (1891), was 456,475.
As to its natural features, its seaboard is of a varying
character, being made up of wide, level salt marshes, once
subject to periodical inundations, and still at times submerged ;
marram-grassed sandhills, arid shingle ridges, and here and
there, as at Mundesley, Cromer,! Sheringham, and Hun-
stanton, of fairly lofty cliffs. The greater part of the
interior is cultivated, the county being the most productive
agricultural district in England. It contains no extensive
woodlands, but innumerable plantations, some of consider-
able size, and is famous for its abundant game. The
western portion comes within the bounds of Fenland, much
of the land forming part of what is called the Bedford
Level, a district which, until a few centuries ago, was
almost entirely covered by water. It is difficult now to
realise what West Norfolk was like in those days; but
some idea may be gained from Messrs Skertchly and
Miller’s work, “The Fenland,” which says :—‘ Great
meres; existed which received the surplus waters; and,
surrounded with reed-brakes, such as even now the
county produces with surpassing beauty, afforded shelter to
myriads of wild birds, which found abundant food in the
waters. Dank morasses, covered with sedge and rush and
flags, abounded on the peat-lands, and the cushion-clumps
of sedge afforded a hazardous foothold to the nimble
wayfarer. On these morasses, and on the firmer, or rather

1 And at Sidestrand, too, one of the most charming seaside

hamlets imaginable, with its perfect sands, its acres of poppies,
and its “ Garden of Sleep” by the cliff side.—£z.

4

Introductory

drier, soil, grass attained a rank luxuriance; and here the
cattle grazed and throve wondrously. But in winter, nearly
all the peat-land was drowned, or as the old fenmen say,
‘surrounded,’ and then the hardy inhabitants went from
island to island in small boats, or travelled quickly over the
smooth ice.” Now, nearly the whole of this part has been
drained, and changed into lush pastures and fruitful corn-
fields, and, instead of experiencing periodical floods, it some-
times suffers from a scarcity of water. The south-east
corner of the county contains the marshlands, rivers, and
meres of Broadland. In the neighbourhood of Thetford,
Swaftham, and Sandringham, are considerable tracks of
heathland, some of them wild and lonesome, and, like the
Broadland, abounding with bird life. Although subject, in
winter and early spring, to keen sea winds, Norfolk is a
very healthy county.

Geologists are satisfied that ages ago that part of Eastern
England which now comprises Norfolk and Suffolk was
connected with the continent of Europe, probably by a wide
expanse of fen and forest. Evidence of this is found in the
similarity of the strata of the opposite shores of the North
Sea, and the unearthing in Britain of the remains of animals
which must have made their way into England before the
connecting lands were submerged. Many of these remains
are found in what is called the Norfolk Forest Bed, a
geological division, belonging either to the base of the Pleis-
tocene or the upper part of the Pliocene periods. For
thousands of years the sea has carried on an incessant siege
of the Norfolk coast, and the natural processes which
resulted in the severing of England from the Continent are
still going on. Since the days when Doomsday Book was
written Norfolk has lost, or nearly lost, the villages of
Shipden, Clare, Eccles, Whimpwell, Keswick, and Ness ;
and Suffolk has seen practically the whole of Dunwich, the
erstwhile famous capital of East Anglia, sink beneath the
waves. Extensive inroads of the sea have occurred at
varying intervals, damaging not only the coast-line hamlets,

5

Norfolk

but submerging vast tracts of low-lying land as far inland as
the Norfolk capital; and even during the last decade great
havoc was wrought by the waves.

The earliest inhabitants of Norfolk of whom mention is
made in ancient historical records were an Aryan people
the Romans called Cimmerii, whom Dr Thurnam identi-
fies with the broad-headed neolithic race of Belgium and
North-eastern France, and to whom he attributes the
construction of the round barrows found in the Eastern
counties of England. There seems little doubt, however,
that these Cimmerii had conquered an earlier race, a short,
dark, long-headed type, variously called Iberians, Silu-
rians, and Euskarians, who were, in all probability, the
makers of what are known as the ‘long barrows.” !
This earlier race were a Stone Age people of whom
many traces, in the shape of prehistoric dwellings and
stone implements, have been discovered in some parts
of Norfolk. More particularly has this been the case in
the neighbourhood of Thetford and Brandon, where not
only stone axes and arrowheads have been unearthed in
considerable quantities, but pits are still to be seen where
the flints of which the weapons were made were dug up
and fashioned.

That some of the prehistoric inhabitants of Norfolk
were lake-dwellers was proved in 1851, when the West
Mere at Wretham, a parish a few miles from Thetford,
was drained. Under the mud, in the centre of the mere,
a circular bank of hard white earth, between twenty and
thirty feet across and about four feet high, was discovered.
Close to the inner circumference of this ring was a well-

1 Mr Joseph Stevens speaks of the Silurians or Silures as “ dark,
short, narrow-skulled tribes . . , whose burial places are the ‘long
barrows,’ sometimes chambered, containing stone implements of
_ the Neolithic type, and whose descendants are present, as their
appearance testifies, particularly in South Wales and Ireland, though
they now speak a Celtic tongue.” — Ed.

Introductory

like circular hole, four and a half feet in diameter and
about six feet deeper than the bottom of the mere. This
hole was marked out by a circle of stout alder stakes,
and separated from the larger ring by the remains of a
flint-and-marl wall. In this hole were the remains of
a rude ladder, and in and around it were also found
bones of the Celtic ox (Bos Jongifrons) and antlers of
the red deer, most of the former having been broken,
evidently for the purpose of extracting the marrows,
while many of the latter had been sawn from the skulls.
No metal implements or weapons were discovered, but
flint disks such as are known to antiquaries as ‘sling-
stones’? were found in large numbers; a fact which
seems to prove that the tenants of this curious lake-
dwelling were people of the Stone Age. Five years
after the discovery of these prehistoric relics, another
mere, the Great Mere at Wretham, was drained, and a
number of oak posts, “‘shaped and pointed by human
art,’ were found standing erect but entirely buried in
the mud.

The Iceni, the conquerors of the Stone Age people,
were a tall, muscular, broad-headed race, who fought
with bronze weapons and were probably mentally as well
as physically superior to the Iberians. It was one of
their kings, Prasutagus, who when he died in the first
century of the Christian era, bequeathed half his kingdom
to the Romans and the other half to his wife Boadicea,
in the hope that this equal division would result in the
latter being allowed to enjoy undisputed dominion over
her lands. But the Romans failed to respect the dead
king’s wishes, seized the whole of his country and ill-
treated the widowed queen. This led to revolt and war,
but in the end the Britons were defeated and their lands
ravaged by Roman legions. Of the Roman occupation
of Eastern England there are many relics in Norfolk,
for the camps and forts erected to keep the vanquished
inhabitants in subjection, the roads made, and the banks

7

Norfolk

built to keep out the sea, were so constructed as almost
to defy the ravages of time. At Caistor, Tasburgh,
Brancaster, Castle Acre, and elsewhere in the county, the
work of the Romans may still be studied; and in
Norwich Museum are some of the most interesting Roman
relics in England, most of which were found in Norfolk.

Subsequent to the departure of the Romans, England
was invaded by certain tribes of Germanic origin, who,
for convenience sake, have been described as Saxons.
After a lapse of many years they divided the country
into eight kingdoms, one of which comprised Norfolk,
Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and perhaps a portion of Essex,
and was known as the kingdom of the East Angles.
Some of its kings held their courts in Norfolk, Norwich
being the chief seat of Anna, and Thetford that of
Edmund the Martyr. They soon had to contend against
invasions of the Danes, who eventually gained possession
of the whole of East Anglia, and whose settlement in
Norfolk is not only referred to by ancient chroniclers, but
indicated by the names of several hamlets.

After the Conqueror was firmly seated on the English
throne, one of his followers, Ralph de Guader, was
created Earl of Norfolk, but lost the favour of the king
through treasonable acts. He was succeeded by Hugh
Bigod, the first representative in England of a family
whose name was for a long time closely associated
with Norfolk, where castles and priories owing their
erection and foundation to the Bigods are still to be
seen. In the reign of William Rufus, however, one Roger
Bigod took up arms against the king, and, as a con-
sequence of his disloyalty, Norfolk became the scene of
several conflicts and was frequently devastated. Civil dis-
cord was a feature of the reigns of the Norman kings, and
in the times of Henry I. and John the inhabitants of Nor-
folk were seldom allowed to enjoy absolute peace. Later,
the county was overrun by French invaders under Louis;

and in the days of Richard II. the disaffection aroused by
8

*.

Introductory

Wat Tyler spread into Norfolk and led to much fighting
and loss of life. Of the Kett Rebellion which broke
out in the reign of Edward VI., some account will be
found in the description of the city of Norwich, outside
which a great battle was fought between the rebels and the
troops of the Earl of Warwick. Norfolk took an active
part in the civil wars of Charles I., Norwich, Yarmouth,
and other towns being garrisoned by Parliamentary forces.

During these unsettled times, and in the wars waged
abroad by the kings and queens of England, many Norfolk
men distinguished themselves, and scarcely a battle was
fought, either on land or sea, in which some Norfolk man
did not gain renown. The Norfolk families of Fastolff,
Paston, Wodehouse, De Vaux, and De Warrenne played
a prominent part in the earlier conflicts ; and since their day,
the names of many Norfolk men and women have become
famous. A county which has produced such heroes as
Lord Nelson and Sir Cloudesley Shovel, such a statesman
as Sir Robert Walpole, such philanthropists as Sir Thomas
Fowell Buxton and Elizabeth Fry, such artists as Crome
and Cotman—to say nothing of living men and women—
may well be proud of her sons and daughters.

Every visitor is impressed by the number of churches the
county contains. Norwich alone boasts of over fifty; there
are several high spots in the rural districts from which as
many as a score may be seen; while from one coast-line
height no less than forty are visible. But it is not only
their number that surprises: their stateliness and architec-
tural beauty also excite admiration. Some of the village
churches are of almost cathedral proportions, and their lofty
towers are landmarks for miles around. In many cases
their size and grandeur indicate that the villages in which
they stand once enjoyed great prosperity; and, indeed,
some of them, such as those at Worstead, Castle Rising,
and Cley, were the churches of important and prosperous

9

Norfolk

towns. Others owe their imposing proportions and lavish
endowments to the liberality of individuals or old county
families, who delighted to extend, improve, and beautify
their village shrines. Norman work is much in evidence in
Norfolk churches, and in some of them are traces of even
more ancient architecture. As to the country seats of
Norfolk, few counties can show as many fine old halls,
mansions, and moated granges. Houghton Hall, which
Sir Robert Walpole built; Blickling Hall, which replaces
the old home in which Anne Boleyn spent her childhood ;
Holkham Hall, where “ Coke of Norfolk ’’ made a wilder-
ness ‘blossom as the rose”’; Kimberley Hall, the home of
the Wodehouses; and Sandringham Hall, where kings,
queens, and princes are yearly guests, are among the stateliest
homes of England.

e

Norfolk is a convenient county for tourists, who, in con-
sequence of its admirable railway system and other means of
travel, such as coaches, brakes, and river steamers, are able
to visit a fair number of places of interest during even a
brief stay here. Hardly any of the castles, abbeys, and fine
churches for which the county is famous are far from some
railway station ; and in the few instances where they are in
out-of-the-way localities, means of conveyance are seldom
difficult to obtain. By the cyclist—and now-a-days it is
the cyclist who knows best the general aspect of rural
England—Norfolk has long been considered the ideal
county for a holiday tour. Its roads are, for the most
part, level, and in excellent condition; indeed, cyclists who
are familiar with Eastern England say that, without being
acquainted with the precise boundaries of its counties, they
can tell on the darkest nights when they cross the Suffolk
border and enter Norfolk, and this because of the difference
in condition of their respective highways. Norfolk has
always been noted for its good roads. Ogilby, in his
Itinerarium Anglia, writing of a journey through the county,

10

Introductory

says: ‘*'T’he way was for the most part hard and gravelly,
the lanes being here and there a little washy, but not in-
commoding the traveller.’”” He was especially delighted
with the road from Lynn to Norwich and on to Yarmouth,
which he describes as ‘‘everywhere good, much open and
healthy.”? Charles II., when in 1671 he visited Norfolk,
remarked that the county ‘‘ ought to be cut out into strips
to make roads for the rest of the kingdom.’’ Perhaps the
excellence of the roads has had something to do with the
survival of carriers’ vans in considerable numbers in Nor-
folk. In spite of increased facilities of travel there are
probably more carriers in Norfolk to-day than in any other
county in England. As to the rivers, for centuries they
have been means of communication between the coast and
several of the inland towns; and now they are navigated,
not only by the picturesque wherries which are characteristic
of them, but by such fleets of pleasure craft as no other
English river—unless it is the Thames—can show. In
the Broadland alone are two hundred miles of navig-
able waterway.

If anyone is desirous of knowing the kind of life Norfolk
country folk lived until a few years ago, and, in some
districts, are living to-day, he cannot do better than turn
to the pages of Dr Jessopp’s ‘‘ Arcady.”? Probably, if he
has had any experience of the county, he will not agree
with the author of that delightful book when he suggests
that notable changes have robbed its country life of its
romantic interest; but a perusal of his pages will help
him to understand and appreciate the Norfolk country-
man. ‘Taken as a whole, the farm hands, of whom
the greater portion of the rural population consists, are
good-natured folk, markedly lethargic, but generally willing
to put themselves to a great deal of trouble on behalf
of strangers. Some of them, in whom traces of Norse
descent are still evident, are sturdy handsome fellows, whose

II

Norfolk

massive frames, fair hair, and clear blue eyes make them
look like vikings. Near the coast this type is especially
in evidence ; and the readiness with which not only fisher-
men and beachmen, but farm labourers and cattle tenders
respond to calls for the lifeboat, proves that the danger-
defying spirit of the old sea-rovers is far from being extinct
among them. ‘T’o the various Broadland types special at-
tention is drawn in the chapters dealing with the Broads.

I have said that it is difficult to agree with all Dr Jessopp
has written concerning the change which has come about
of late years in the nature of Norfolk scenery and
rural life. For instance, in a paragraph which is well
worth reproducing, even if it does not faithfully represent
the existing state of things, he says:—‘‘ The small fields
that used to be so picturesque and so wasteful—where one
could botanize with so much interest and pick up all sorts
of odd pieces of information—have gone or are rapidly
going; the tall hedges, the high banks, the scrub or the
bottoms where a fox or a weasel] might hope to find a
night’s lodging; the bye-lanes where the gipsies’ tents
used to pitch, where one could learn Rommany words,
and, if we were very liberal and very wary, even listen
to a Rommany’s song and the scraping of his fiddle—
all these things have vanished—‘been done away with,
sir’— .. . the broad tilths are clean as gardens, and
the face of the land looks up at you with a shiney, luxurious
self-complacency, suggesting rather a smirk than a smile.”

Now, this seems to me a rather deceptive picture of the
general aspect of rural Norfolk to-day, and suggests that
Dr Jessopp judged the whole county from some district
where a ‘*new broom”’ landlord had carried out alterations
in a somewhat merciless fashion, playing havoc with old-
established rural institutions. Even though some of the
smaller fields have been “thrown together ”’ to make large
ones, you may still botanize as profitably in Norfolk as ever,
and with a likelihood of discovering not a few rare and
interesting ‘aliens’? which Dr Jessopp could never have

12

Introductory

hoped to find in his ‘small fields.” Then there are
plenty of weasels in Norfolk if anyone wants them; and
only recently I sat by a camp fire on a Norfolk heath
and heard a genuine gipsy crone “rokker Rommany”’ with
a fluency as impressive as her physiognomy. ‘The Greys,
Coopers, Smiths —the Griengres, Wardo-engres, and
Petulengres of Borrow’s day —are still represented in
the county; and though they are not so numerous as they
once were, mainly in consequence of intermarriage with
the once despised £airengres (house-dwellers), the tourist
seldom travels far without meeting with some of them.
In spite of extensive enclosures, Norfolk still has its wild
heathlands, where the peewits cry mournfully and the
thick-knees whistle on summer nights; otters still dive-
for bream in its rivers; stoats still play havoc with the
eggs and young of birds which nest in the alder copses ;
‘and if the bittern and bustard are gone from its fens and
warrens, there are herons on its marshes and wild fowl on
its shores. va

No one can deny, however, that a welcome change has
taken place in the pastimes of rural Norfolk. At the
beginning of the present century a rough and rowdy game
called “ camping’? was very much in vogue.! It took
the form of a kind of football match between teams re-
presenting different villages, districts, or counties. ‘There
were practically no rules to prevent rough, and what would
now be called “foul,’”’ play; free fights were a common
accompaniment of the game, which was often attended with
fatal results. ‘There are men still living who can remember
the last of these camping matches, and they speak of them
as having been riotous and terrible encounters. Wrestling
of a kind that would astonish a present-day pugilist was
often indulged in on general holidays and at the hiring
fairs, and found keen supporters among the bucolic squires.
Cock-fighting was a favourite pastime with sporting

1See the account of villagers’ former rough games, in “ ee
shire ” (Guides to the English Counties ).— Za.

ae

Norfolk

farmers and others, and badger - baiting attracted large
crowds to the backyards of the least reputable inns.
Now-a-days the farm hands who seek recreation find ex-
citement enough in quoits; and the football matches which
have taken the place of the old-time ‘“campings”’ are
conducted under English Association rules.

During the last few months it has been my pleasing ex-
perience to renew acquaintance with many parts of Norfolk
I had not visited for some time, and to see not a few
places in the county of which’ my knowledge had hitherto
come through books or by hearsay. In the course of my
journeyings I have done my best to put myself in the position
‘of a total stranger to Norfolk, and to imagine what impres-
sion its towns, villages, and rural scenery would have upon
one who had seen most of the notable centres and famous
beauty-spots of our country. At times, when travelling
through districts wholly given up to cultivation, I have had
misgivings, and have asked myself how anyone familiar with
Devonshire lanes, Hampshire highlands, and the hills of
Wales, could possibly find pleasure in an unbroken succession
of corn-fields ; but almost invariably something has appeared
which banished my doubts and made me not only content
with but proud of my homeland. Perhaps it has been only
a thatch-roofed farmstead, with its eaves brooding over
a garden of fragrant, old-fashioned flowers, and a few corn-
ricks beside it, overhung by storm-scarred elms; yet it has
seemed to me that the traveller’s day would not be wholly
without profit and pleasure to him if, in the course of his
rambles, he came upon just such a farmstead. Or it may
have been that some isolated hamlet was suddenly discovered,
and in it a church containing some memorial associating
the place with a great historical event or world-famous
personage; and again I have found consolation. So, at the
end of my journeyings, when I can look back upon them as
a whole, I am assured that there is scarcely a district or
hamlet in Norfolk that has not something in it to delight or

14

Introductory

interest the tourist who can appreciate pastoral scenery and
has his share of the blessed gift of imagination. And when
I remember that there are not only pleasant pastures and
rich corn-fields, but purple heathlands, breezy cliffs, bird-
haunted woods, the Broadland, and a wealth of historical
and ecclesiastical buildings and relics, in Norfolk, I am not
simply proud of my county, but anxious that everyone
should know what a fine county it is and hasten to become
acquainted with it.

15

ITINERARY THE FIRST
“THE CITY OF CHURCH ES«

NORWICH

History of the City — Kett’s Rebellion — Macaulay’s Description
of Norwich —The Cathedral — The Erpingham Gate — St.
Andrew’s Hall—The City’s Churches— The Castle —The
Museum—View from the Castle Battlements—Norwich Mar-
ket—Mousehold Heath—Lavengro and Jasper Petulengro—
Sir Thomas Browne—Evelyn’s Visit to Sir Thomas Browne—
Other Norwich Worthies—The ‘ Maid’s Head.”

‘© A Fine old city . .. view it from whatever side you
will. . . . There it spreads from north to south, with its
venerable houses, its numerous gardens, its thrice twelve
churches, its mighty mound, which, if tradition speaks true,
was raised by human hands to serve as the grave heap
of an old heathen king, who sits deep within it, with his
sword in his hand, and his gold and silver treasures about
him. There is a grey old castle on the top of that mighty
mound; and yonder, rising three hundred feet above the
soil, from among those noble forest trees, behold that old
Norman masterwork, that cloud-encircled cathedral spire,
around which a garrulous army of rooks and choughs con-
tinually wheel their flight. Now, who can wonder that the
children of that fine old city are proud of her, and offer up
prayers for her prosperity?’? ‘Thus wrote more than fifty
years ago an East Anglian enthusiast, and few people who
have seen Norwich will complain of his excessive patriotism.
Norwich is a city of which not only its own inhabitants, but
those of its county and country, may well be proud. ‘The
‘‘ City of Churches,”’ as it has been called, ranks high among
England’s important provincial centres, few of which can com-
pete with it in beauty, picturesque surroundings, architectural
16

“ The City of Churches”

and antiquarian interest, and the production of eminent and
famous men. It is, and always has been, a worthy centre of
a notable county. From a time of which our records are
half historical and half legendary it has taken a leading part
in the affairs of Eastern England, and it still holds its own
among the chief towns of the kingdom.

Passing over the assumption, which, however, is not
without justification, that Norwich had its origin in the
erection of an Ancient British stronghold, there is good
reason for believing that Uffa, the first king of the East
Angles, built, in 575 a.D., a castle somewhere on the site
on which the city now stands, and made it his centre of
government. Later kings had their courts here, but in the
reign of Alfred the Great the place was ceded to the Danes.
After varying fortunes, being held sometimes by the Danes
and at other times by the Angles, and after being plundered
and burnt by Sweyn, it was rebuilt by Canute. From this
time it rapidly increased in size and importance, until in
1086 it contained 1360 burgesses. After the Norman
Conquest the Earldom of the city was bestowed upon Ralph
de Guader, who, however, was found conspiring against the
Conqueror and compelled to flee to Normandy. ‘The
castle was then given to Roger Bigod, who appears to have
lived here peaceably during the reign of William Rufus, and
to have gained the favour of Henry I. by espousing his
cause against that of his brother Robert. In 1122 Henry I.
visited Norwich, and granted its citizens a charter conferring
upon them like privileges to those enjoyed by the citizens
of London. In the days of Stephen the castle was in the
hands of Hugh Bigod, who in 1163 was appointed sole
governor of the city. In the reign of John, Louis, the
Dauphin of France, who had been granted the kingdom by
the Pope, ravaged Norfolk and Suffolk and gained possession
of the city and castle.

From this time until the middle of the 16th century
nothing occurred in connection with Norwich that need be
recorded here; but in the reign of Edward VI. a serious

B 17

Norfolk

rebellion broke out in Norfolk, organised by two brothers,
Robert and William Kett of Wymondham, whose
grievance was that the people were, by the system of
enclosure, being robbed of their rights of commonage on
waste lands and open pastures. The rebels, some 20,000
in number, encamped on Mousehold Heath, a wide
expanse of heathland near Norwich, where Robert Kett,
the elder brother, set up a so-called court of justice under
a tree known as the Oak of Reformation. For months
this ill-regulated congregation defied the authorities, and
pillaged the surrounding country. At length they broke
into the city and made several of the civic fathers prisoners.
The citizens appealed for help to the king’s Council, and
a body of troops under the Marquis of Northampton was
despatched to Norwich. This force was completely routed
by the rebels, who then looted and burnt different parts of
the city. Finally a large army, raised for service in
Scotland, and commanded by the Earl of Warwick, was
sent into Norfolk, and arrived under the city walls. The
gates were soon forced, and after a stubborn fight the Ketts—
and their followers retreated to Dussyn’s Dale, on Mouse-
hold. Here a big battle was fought, and resulted in the
total defeat of the insurgents, over 3000 of whom were
slain. The Ketts were both captured; Robert, who had
fled early in the fight, being found hiding ina barn. He
was hanged from a gibbet, erected on the top of the castle,
until he starved to death, his brother meeting with a similar
fate at Wymondham. About 300 of the ringleaders in the
rebellion were also executed.

With the exception of the granting of new charters,
several visitations of the plague, and the arrival in the
city of many of the Dutch refugees who had been driven
from their country by the Duke of Alva, no very stirring
events occurred in Norwich before the Civil War of
Charles I. The city was then held by the Parliament
troops, who are accused of robbing and doing considerable
damage to the bishop’s palace and cathedral.

18

“ The City of Churches”

Macaulay has given us a picture of Norwich as it appeared
during the latter half of the seventeenth century. It was
“the capital of a large and fruitful province. It was the
residence of a Bishop and a Chapter. It was the chief
seat of the chief manufacture of the realm. Some men
distinguished by learning and science had recently dwelt
there; and no place in the kingdom, except the capital
and the universities, had more attractions for the curious.
The library, the museum, the aviary, and the botanical
garden of Sir Thomas Browne, were thought by Fellows
of the Royal Society well worthy of a long pilgrimage.
Norwich had also a court in miniature. In the heart of
the city stood an old palace of the Dukes of Norfolk, said
to be the largest town house in the kingdom out of London.
In this mansion, to which were annexed a tennis court, a
bowling green, and a wilderness, stretching along the banks
of the Wensum, the noble family of Howard frequently
resided, and kept a state resembling that of petty sovereigns.
Drink was served to the guests in goblets of pure gold.
The very tongs and shovels were of silver. Pictures by
Italian masters adorned the walls. The cabinets were
filled with a fine collection of gems purchased by that Earl
of Arundel whose marbles are now among the ornaments
of Oxford. Here, in the year 1671, Charles and his
court were sumptuously entertained. Here, too, all comers
were annually welcomed from Christmas to ‘Twelfth
Night. Ale flowed in oceans for the populace. Three
coaches, one of which had been built at a cost of five
hundred pounds to contain fourteen persons, were sent
every afternoon round the city to bring ladies to the
festivities, and the dances were always followed by a
luxurious banquet. When the Duke of Norfolk came to
_ Norwich he was greeted like a king returning to his capital.
The bells of the Cathedral and of St Peter Mancroft were
rung; the guns of the castle were fired; and the Mayor
and aldermen waited on their illustrious fellow-citizen
with complimentary addresses. In the year 1693 the

i)

Norfolk

population of Norwich was found, by actual enumeration,
to be between twenty-eight and twenty-nine thousand
souls.”

Everyone entering Norwich is at once impressed by the
sight of its two chief buildings, the Cathedral and Castle.
The former, a splendid example of the Anglo-Norman
style of architecture, occupies a position which does not do
it justice. It stands on low ground, and the best views of
it are obtained from the surrounding hills. It is difficult to
realize, unless you stand immediately beside it, that its spire
is, with the exception of that of Salisbury, the highest in
the kingdom, being 315 feet in height. It was up the ©
outside of this spire that, on July 29th, 1798, a sailor lad
named Roberts climbed by means of the crockets and
amused himself by twirling the weathercock.

The founder of the Cathedral was Herbert de Lozinga,
who, in 1091, came over from Normandy, purchased the
bishopric of Thetford, and removed the see to Norwich. —
He erected the presbytery, apsidal chapels, transept, choir,
and the lower part of the tower. His successor Eborard
added the nave and its two side aisles. About the year
1250 a Lady-chapel was built at the east end, but of this
two arches are all that remain. In 1271 the tower was
struck by lightning ; and in the following year the cathedral
was considerably damaged in a conflict between the monks
and citizens, the latter of whom had to pay the cost of the
damage. It was reconsecrated in 1278, in the presence of ©
Edward I. and his Queen. - During the last years of the
thirteenth century a spire was added to the tower; but it
was blown down about sixty years later, when Bishop Percy
erected the one now standing, and the beautiful clerestory
of the presbytery. The cloisters, which were one hundred
and thirty-three years in building, were completed in 1430,
and are considered—at least by Norwich folk—as fine as
those at Gloucester. The roof of the nave was built by
Bishop Lyhart in 1450. His successor, Bishop Goldwell,
constructed the vaulting of the choir, and added the flying

20

NORWICH CATHEDRAL

“The City of Churches”

‘buttresses to the exterior. The stone roofs of the north
and south transepts were erected at the beginning of the
fifteenth century.

The Cathedral suffered a good deal during the Reformation,
when the people of Yarmouth, who wanted a workhouse,
petitioned the Lord Protector that ‘‘that great useless pile,
the Cathedral, might be pulled down, and the stones given
them to build a workhouse.”? Although the petition was
not granted, Bishop Hall had occasion to write:—‘“ It is
tragical to relate the furious sacrilege committed under the
authority of Lindsey, Tofts the sheriff, and Greenwood ;
what clattering of glasses, what beating down of walls, what
tearing down of monuments, what pulling down of seats,
and wresting out of irons and brass from the windows and
graves; what defacing of arms, what demolishing of stone-
work that had not any representation in the world, but the
cost of the founder and skill of the mason; what piping on
the destroyed organ pipes. Vestments, both copes and sur-
plices, together with the leaden cross, which had been newly
sawn down from over the green yard pulpit, and the singing
books and service books, were carried to the fire in the public
market-place; a lewd wretch walking before the train in
his cope trailing in the dirt, with a service book in his
hand, imitating in an impious scorn the tune, and usurping
the words of the Litany. The ordnance being discharged
on the guild day, the Cathedral was filled with musketeers,
drinking and tobacconing as freely as if it had turned ale-
house.’? After the Restoration the Cathedral was repaired,
and since then it has several times been restored and im-
proved.

The west front, which represents the termination of the
nave and aisles, and contains in its central division the fine
entrance doorway, dates from the reign of Henry VI. The
best near view of the Cathedral, however, is obtained from
the south-west corner of the cloisters. ‘The tower is Norman
in four stages, and has decorated battlements and crocketted
pinnacles. The octangular 1 is closely crocketted at the

21

Norfolk

angles, and supported by pinnacled buttresses. As for the
interior, the roof of the nave, which shows some very
elaborate carving, has been pronounced by Cockerel, the
Royal Academician, ‘the most beautiful in its structure,
order, tracery, and sculpture in England.’ On the south
side of the nave is the tomb of Chancellor Spencer and the
chantry of Bishop Nikke or Nix, who was imprisoned for
siding with the Pope against Henry VIII. The choir
and presbytery, the most ancient portion of the Cathedral,
is entered through a screen erected in 1472. The ante-
choir, a space between the screen and the choir, was formerly
used as a chapel, and dedicated to ‘Our Lady of Pity.”
Under the seats of the stalls are some curious and grotesque
Misereres. Ina small chapel on the south side is the tomb
of Bishop Goldwell. That of Sir William Boleyn, the
grandfather of Queen Elizabeth, is between the two last
piers of the south side of the presbytery. In the middle
of the chancel is the tomb of Herbert de Lozinga, erected
in 1682 to replace the one destroyed during the Civil Wars.
The presbytery also contains the tomb of Sir Thomas
Erpingham. At the junction of the choir and transept
hang the colours of the West Norfolk Regiment of Foot
—that regiment which, on board the Sarah Sands, in mid-
Atlantic, fought the flames and saved from total destruction
a half-consumed ship. There is a monument, too, in the
south transept, to the memory of the officers and men of
the gth East Norfolk Regiment who fell in the Afghan
and Sikh campaigns.

Opposite the west front is the Erpingham Gate, a fine
example of peculiarly East Anglian perpendicular flint-
work, erected by Sir Thomas Erpingham between 1411
and 1420. Its builder was the worthy knight who fought
at Agincourt, concerning whom Shakespeare puts into the

mouth of King Henry V. the words—

“Good morrow, old Sir Thomas Erpingham :
A good soft pillow for that good white head
Were better than the churlish turf of France.”

22

“ The City of Churches”

And Sir Thomas replies—

‘Not so, my liege; this lodging likes me better,
Since I may say, ‘Now lie I like a king.’”

A kneeling statue of the good old knight occupies a
niche in the pediment of the gateway. The Ethelbert or
Court Gate stands at the south end of the upper close.
It was built in 1272. In St Martin’s Plain is the Palace
or St Martin’s Gate, erected about 1430; and on the north
side of the Cathedral is the bishop’s palace, built in
1318 by Bishop Totington, and added to and ornamented
by several succeeding prelates. Close beside it is a chapel
erected by Bishop Salmon in the 14th century, and which
was used in the 17th century by the Walloon refugees. A
priory, dating from the beginning of the 12th century,
formerly stood on the south side of the Cathedral, and about
ninety years ago some remains of it—still to be seen—were
discovered during the demolition of an old building. The
Grammar School, which was at one time a chapel and
afterwards a charnel-house, stands in the close opposite a
statue of Lord Nelson, who was a scholar here.

While in the neighbourhood of the Cathedral you will do
well to visit St Andrew’s Hall, which stands a little way
west of the “ Norman masterwork.”’ It was originally the
nave of the conventual church of a monastery of Black
Friars, and is one of the finest examples of perpendicular
architecture. St Andrew’s Hall was rebuilt by Sir
Thomas Erpingham in the 15th century, and at the time
of the suppression of the monasteries was purchased by the
city authorities, who wished ‘‘to make the church a fair
and large hall for the mayor and his brethren, with all the
citizens, to repair unto at a common assembly.”? Many dis-
tinguished guests have been entertained in this fine old hall,
among them Queen Elizabeth and Charles II. Its walls
are covered with pictures by several famous artists, including
a portrait of Nelson by Sir William Beechy and works by
Gainsborough, Opie, and Herkomer. The ‘Triennial

23

Norfolk

Musical Festivals which have been held in Norwich since
_ 1824 are conducted here, and have brought to the city
some of the world’s greatest singers and musicians.
Norwich may well be called the “City of Churches,”
for, in addition to its cathedral, it possesses some fifty
churches and the remains of several more. Some of them
are of no great note, but others are fine and interesting
buildings. Of the latter, St Peter Mancroft, which adjoins
the market-place, is the largest and finest. It is a cruciform
church with a magnificent tower containing a splendid and
famous peal of twelve bells. A better example of the
perpendicular style of building would be hard to find in
Norfolk, though the county has many fine churches.
Norwich is exceedingly proud of it, and some old
buildings which concealed much of its beauty have
recently been pulled down. Among its mural monu-
ments is one to Sir Thomas Browne, the author of
Religio Medici; and another to Sir Peter Read, who,
according to an inscription here, not only worthily served
‘¢his prince and country, but also the Emperor Charles the
Fifth, both at his conquest of Barbary and his siege of
Tunis,’ and received from the Emperor the Order of
Barbary. St Ethelred’s, in King Street, has a fine Norman
doorway, and is one of the oldest churches in the city.
Some of its monuments and brasses were originally in St
Peter Southgate, which was pulled down in 1887. Artists
often make a pilgrimage to St George Colegate, which con-
tains a monument to “Old Crome,”’’ the founder of the
Norwich School of Artists. "The monument takes the form
of a mural tablet with a profile bust in bas-relief, and bears
the inscription, ‘“‘ Near this spot lie the remains of one of
England’s greatest landscape painters, born in this city,
December 21st, 1769, and died in this parish, April 22nd,
1821.” St Michael-at-Coslany is noted for its chapel of
the reign of Henry VII., said to be the finest example of flint
and stone panelled work in England. The altar piece of
this church is by Heins, and represents the Resurrection and

24

“ The City of Churches”

the four Evangelists; the black and .white marble with
which the floor is paved was brought from the domestic
chapel of the Pastons’ old home at Oxnead. St Andrew’s,
in Broad Street, is a fine perpendicular structure with a
clerestoried nave, but has nothing in it of very great interest.
St Stephen’s, Rampant Horse Street, however, contains
some good brasses, monuments, and stained windows. St
Giles’, in St Giles’ Street, to the west of the market-
place, is of old foundation, but its Norman work was all
destroyed when the church was rebuilt in the reign of
Richard I. Still it is one of the most striking churches
in the city.

Local historians say that the church of St Lawrence,
which has a lofty tower and fine interior, stands on a spot
where herrings were landed when an arm of the sea ex-
tended as far inland as Norwich. A good deal of anti-
quarian interest attaches to St Gregery’s, where the altar
is raised considerably above the level of the church in
consequence of a passage beneath it, and where there are
some remains of an old painted screen. Norman work
is again in evidence at St Michael-at-Thorn; and at St
Julian’s, in King Street, where the south doorway is
worth special attention. The round tower of this last-
named church, and that of St Mary Coslany, date from
before the Conquest, and although: sometimes called
‘Danish’ towers, are probably Saxon structures. The
Hospital Church of St Helen, in Bishopgate Street,
_ which was founded by Bishop Suffield in 12 50, is partly
fitted up with wards for the pensioners of a hospital of
ancient foundation. One of the wards, which is open
to the roof of the choir, is known as the Eagle Ward,
the choir roof being adorned with carved eagles. Some
other Norwich churches are of old foundation, but have
been wholly or partly rebuilt. A City of Churches,”
indeed, and of fine churches, too! There is interest
enough associated with them to last an antiquary a life-
time.

45,

Norfolk

Next to the Cathedral, Norwich contains no more
interesting building than its castle. At the risk of
proving wearisome to readers whose inclinations are not
towards antiquities and historical associations, I must
give a brief account of its history. In the first place,
it must be understood that only a portion of the imposing
structure now containing the Museum is the Castle—that
is the great Norman keep. The rest of the building,
enclosed within the massive granite walls, was erected in
1824 as a county prison, and served as such until the
erection of a new prison on Mousehold. As long ago
as 575 A.D., a fortified post is believed to have stood on
the site of the present castle. Its erection is credited to
Uffa, who then reigned over the East Angles; but
whether he was responsible for the heaping-up of the
great mound on which the Castle stands is unknown.
That the mound is artificial there is no doubt, for when,
some hundred years ago, a well was sunk from the base-
ment of the keep, a pathway was discovered which must
have crossed the spot it now covers. The first stone
castle was built by William Fitz-Osbern, a follower of
the Conqueror, who was instructed to keep in check the
vanquished people of the North. Little or nothing of
this building now remains; but the existing keep is the
castle erected by Earl Hugh Bigod, probably in the reign
of Stephen. In it the Earl set himself up as an indepen-
dent ruler, but he was compelled to surrender it to Henry
Il. In 1174, he again seized it and held it for some
time; but in 1217, King Louis of France obtained
possession and held it against King John. It subse-
quently came into the latter’s hands and was used as a
Royal prison. In 1345 it became the county gaol, and
continued as such until 1884, when, with the additional —
buildings erected in 1824, it was purchased by the
Corporation and converted into a Museum. Of the old
keep the features which attract most attention are the
portion called Bigod’s ‘Tower, access to which was

26

“ The City of Churches ”

formerly obtained by an external staircase; the remains
of the dungeons with their prisoners’ scrawlings on the
walls; a fine Norman doorway; and an ancient recess
which has been called a chapel.

The Museum has no superior outside London. From
the time of its origin, some sixty years ago, the chief object
of its committee has been ‘‘the concentration of the
peculiar local natural productions of the district.”? In
this they have been quite successful; and through the
generosity of private individuals the Museum has also
become possessed of an abundance of objects of interest
and some very valuable collections. ‘To appreciate this
you need only glance at the excellent “ Official Guide,’”!
compiled by Mr Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S., an active
and ardent naturalist, and one of the vice-presidents of the
Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society. One of its
greatest treasures, and, as Mr Southwell says, ‘‘the gem
of the collection’? of British Birds, is a specimen of
the Great Auk or Gare-fowl, presented to the Museum
in 1873 with the Lombe Collection, consisting of 540
specimens and 289 species of British birds. This
collection also includes a Savi’s Warbler, a bird which
formerly bred in Norfolk, but which is believed to be
no longer a visitor; and a Red-footed Falcon, one
of three killed at Horning in 1830, which were the
first recorded British specimens. In the centre of the
room containing this collection is an unrivalled group of
indigenous Great Bustards, consisting of seven local
specimens, one of which is believed to be the last of
the native British race of these birds.) As may be ima- —
gined, the Museum contains a considerable number of
rare British birds, Norfolk being the most bird-favoured
county in England. It can also boast of a unique
collection of Raptorial birds, the result of the determina-
tion of the late Mr J. H. Gurney to acquire specimens

1¢: The Official Guide to the Norwich Castle Museum.” Messrs
Jarrold & Sons, Norwich and London.

ay

Norfolk

of as many as possible of the birds of prey. ‘That ardent
ornithologist recognised about 470 species, and of these
succeeded in obtaining over 400, all of which he pre-
sented to the Museum.

The Picture Gallery contains some 420 paintings, draw-
ings, and etchings, some of them by well-known artists,
and many of them the work of members of the Norwich
School of Artists, which had for its leaders John Sell
Cotman and “Old Crome.’’ John Crome, or ‘*¢ Old
Crome,”’ as he is generally known, to distinguish him from
his two artist sons, was not until recently well represented,
his best work being in other public and private collections.
Under the will of the late Mr J. J. Colman, however, the
Museum became possessed of several of his works, including
‘Yarmouth Jetty,’’ ‘* Bruges River,”’ and “ Back of the
New Mills, Norwich.”? John Sell Cotman is represented
by “A Mishap,” ‘‘ Fishing Boats off Yarmouth,” “ Old
Houses at Gorleston,”’ “ The Baggage Waggon ”’ (all under
the Colman Bequest), and one or two other pictures. In
addition to these there are works by J. M. W. Turner, R.A.,
J. W. Oakes, A.R.A., John Berney Crome, Henry Lad-
brooke, James Stark, Joseph Stannard, and others.

The geological section is particularly interesting, owing
to its important collection of East Anglian fossils, including
a remarkable series yielded by the Norfolk Forest Bed,
and mainly collected by the late Mr John Gunn. ‘The
“‘ Fitch Collection,’’ a valuable antiquarian collection, con-
tains innumerable relics of the days of Paleolithic and
Neolithic man, and the age of Bronze, as well as a fine
variety of Roman antiquities, including a bronze bust of
Geta, a Roman mirror, a figure of Bacchus, and a terra-
cotta relief of the head of Diana, all found at Caistor
Camp, about three miles from Norwich. Curios ancient
and modern, from all parts of the world, are to be seen in
the old keep, among them some horrible instruments of
torture, a gibbet iron from East Bradenham, and a shovel
board originally in the possession of the Paston family.

28

“ The City of Churches”

You must not leave the Castle without enjoying the
grand view from the battlements. From this elevated
position you get a good idea of the general plan of the
city which lies at your feet, and of the charming scenery
which stretches for miles around. The Cathedral, with
its graceful and lofty spire, naturally first takes the eye,

but. on all sides rise the towers of churches great and
small, some standing out boldly and clearly, others half
concealed by the surrounding buildings. Beyond the
Cathedral is the famous Mousehold Heath, where Kett
and his followers made their camp and fought the Earl
of Warwick; in another direction are wooded slopes
leading down to the peaceful valley of the Yare. All the

29

Norfolk

principal buildings in the city are seen from this point,
and should you be in Norwich on a Saturday it will be
worth your while to climb to the battlements and look
down upon the busy market-place lying almost directly
under the Castle walls.

The market is held on what is called the Castle Hill.
One needs the genius of a Hardy to describe the scene
to be witnessed here on Saturday, when from all parts
of the county and from the neighbouring counties, farmers,
breeders, dealers, and drovers flock in, and the great pens
are packed with cattle. The country folk come in by
road and rail, on foot, on horseback, in dogcarts, waggons,
tumbrils, and carriers’ vans. ‘The old inns and inn-yards
around the hill are full of life, extra ostlers are employed,
and the pigeons, which, during the rest of the week, feed
undisturbed on the corn scattered among the cobble-stones,
are driven to seek refuge on the roofs. As mid-day ap-
proaches all sorts of conveyances draw up around the hill.
Two or three old-fashioned farmers, with some of their
women-folk, arrive in ancient low-wheeled phetons, to
alight from which they have to descend barely a foot to
the ground. Gentlemen farmers favour dashing dog-carts,
drawn by high-stepping hackneys; dealers drive square,
heavy carts in which they often bring pigs or a calf.
Occasionally a bucolic blade, with an eye to an effective
appearance, comes up in a “sulky.” All day long you
hear the cracking of whips, the lowing of cattle, the
bleating of sheep, the neighing of horses, the squealing of
pigs, the barking of dogs, and the shouts of dealers and
drovers. All Norfolk comes, at some time or -another,
to the Castle Hill. As the city is the recognised county
capital, so is its Castle Hill the centre of the county’s
rural interests. Some of the romance .of old English
country life still lingers here, and .reminds you of the
days, after all not so very long gone by, when young
Borrow used to resort to the Hill, and, wondering, saw
the men, and especially the old men, take off their hats

30

“The City of Churches”

to an old one-eyed stallion, which proved to be the cele-
brated fast-trotter ‘‘ Marshland Shales.”? In those days
it was a thing to boast of that you had seen this wonderful
creature, which on August 3rd, 1810, “trotted seventeen
miles in 56 minutes, carrying 12 st. 2 lbs., and was after-
wards sold by auction for £305.’ Here, too, Borrow
met many of his Romany friends, whom he accompanied
to their camps on Mousehold, after seeing them display
that marvellous horsemanship for which they were re-
nowned.

I have more than once had occasion to refer to Mouse-
hold, and, as a pleasant change after rambling through old
churches and listening to the deafening clamour of the cattle
mart, you may wish to visit and explore the wild tract of
heathland which for centuries has been a favourite resort
of the Norwich citizens. From the neighbourhood of the
Cathedral the Heath can soon be reached by crossing the
old Bishop’s Bridge (which dates from 1295), and climbing
the steep roadway which leads past the Cavalry Barracks.
With the exception of that part which the Corporation has
planted with young trees and rhododendrons, this breezy
expanse is left in its primitive wild state, though I
cannot admit, as Dr Knapp would have me, that it is
‘resonant with the cries and wing-flappings of noisome
birds.”” ‘True, under certain aspects it has, like Egdon
Heath, ‘‘a lonely face, suggesting tragic possibilities,’ but
on a bright summer day, such as I should choose for a visit,
it is a delightful spot, conducive to good spirits and love of
life. It is a Norfolk Exmoor, with little tors and vales,
which are full of colour even at the end of September.
In spring its hillocks and hollows are ablaze with
gorse and broom; at mid-summer the Maltese crosses of
the tormentil, the white and yellow bedstraws, and the pink
bells of the cross-leaved heath, nestle amid the waving bents ;
and in autumn the slopes are purple with ling and fine-leaved
heath, amid which the flaring ragworts and graceful
St John’s-wort give here and there a dash of gold.

31

Norfolk

There are bramble thickets, too, in which the birds build,
and on which the whinchats utter those queer notes which
might have been learned from the primitive flint-knappers.
Such places are subject to little change save that which the
succession of seasons brings, and Mousehold has altered little
since Crome painted the picture of it now in the National
Gallery, and is probably little different to what it was
when the scene of Kett’s encampment. It may have been
partially wooded at one time, for we know that Kett held
his court under one of its oaks; but the trees have long ago
disappeared, and you will scarcely regret them, for you will
not look for trees on a heath. As you brush your way
through the bracken, listen to the songs of the larks and
linnets, and breathe the fresh upland air, it is impossible not
to think of that strange dialogue which took place here
between Lavengro and Jasper Petulengro, the Romany
griengro.

‘‘ Life is sweet, brother.”’

“Do you think so?”

“‘ Think so !—There’s night and day, brother, both sweet
things; sun, moon, and stars, brother, all sweet things;
there’s likewise the wind on the heath. Life is very sweet,
brother ; who would wish to die? ”’

<“‘T would wish to die—.”’

“You talk like a gorgio, which is the same as talking
like a fool—were you a Romany Chal you would talk
wiser. Wish to die, indeed!—A Romany Chal would
wish to live for ever! ”

“‘In sickness, Jasper ?”’

‘¢ There’s the sun and stars, brother.”’

‘¢ Tn blindness, Jasper ?”’

“'There’s the wind on the heath, brother; if I could
only feel that, I would gladly live for ever.”’

Although there were no gipsies encamped on Mousehold
when last I saw it, and no traces of their camp fires,
there were signs that either the hot weather or mischievous
boys had been responsible for a recent heath fire. The

32

SP PO FR LP

Pn ae S

“The City of Churches”

former seemed to me the more likely cause when I read
the notice posted up here and there by the Chief Constable,
which said that «* Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously
set fire to any furze, gorse, heath, fern, turf, peat, wood, or

GUILDHALL, NORWICH

bark, or any Steer of Wood or Bark, shall be guilty of
Felony,” and liable to *‘ Penal Servitude for Life! ”’
Refreshed with a breath of country air, you may return

to the market-place and look, in its north-west corner, for

the Guildhall, an ancient flint and freestone structure, erected
in the 15th century and partly rebuilt in the next. It
was originally a small thatched building where the market
tolls were collected. Among its portraits of famous Nor-

c 33

Norfolk

folk people is one of “Old Crome.’? The object of
greatest interest, however, is the sword of the Spanish
Admiral Don Xavier Francisco Winthuysen, who was
defeated at the battle of St Vincent. It was presented to
the city by Lord, then Sir Horatio, Nelson, and a letter
which accompanied the gift is still preserved.

I cannot conclude my notes on Norwich without referring
to some of those whose names will be for ever associated
with the grand old city. Among them none has attained
greater fame than Sir Thomas Browne, who lived in a house
which stood in the Haymarket. He was not born in the
city, nor was he of Norfolk parentage, his family having,
for a long time before his birth in London, resided in
Cheshire ; but he settled here in 1637, being then in his
thirty-second year, and remained here for the rest of his
life. Probably Sir Thomas Browne had previously com-
pleted his Religio Medici, but it was not published until 1642.
He married a Norfolk lady, Dorothy Mileham, who bore
him eleven children. During his life here he got together
a large library and devoted much time to the study of
languages, natural history, and antiquities. Evelyn, who
visited him at Norwich soon after he was knighted, tells us:
«* Next morning I went to see Sir Thomas Browne, with
whom I had corresponded by letter, though I had never
seen him before, his whole house and garden being a para-
dise and cabinet of rarities, and that of the best collection,
especially medals, books, plants, and natural things. Among
other curiosities, Sir Thomas had a collection of all the eggs
of all the foule and birds he could procure; that country,
especially the promontory of Norfolck, being frequented, as
he said, by several kinds which seldom or never go further
into the land, as cranes, storks, eagles, and a variety of
water-foule. He led me to see all the remarkable places of
this ancient citty, being one of the largest and certainly,
after London, one of the noblest in England, for its venerable
Cathedrall, number of stately churches, cleannesse of the
streetes, and building of flints so exquisitely headed and

34

“The City of Churches”

squared, as I was much astonished at; but he told me
that they had lost the art of squaring the flints, in which at
one time they so much excelled, and of which the churches,
best houses, and walls were built.”” After Sir Thomas
Browne’s death a number of MSS., dealing with the
monuments and ancient buildings of Norwich, and the birds
and fishes of Norfolk, were found and published. He was
buried in St Peter Mancroft, but some years ago his skull
was removed from his tomb and is now in the Museum of
the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

Sir Thomas Erpingham I have had occasion to speak of.
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who was born in 1516 and
beheaded on ‘Tower Hill in 1554, had two houses at Nor-
wich, one in Surrey Street and the other on Mousehold.
Dr Caius, the founder of Caius College, Cambridge, was
born here, as was also Sir John Fenn, editor of the
famous ‘‘ Paston Letters.” More recently the old city has
been the home of William ‘Taylor, the German scholar,
whose personal appearance and characteristics Borrow has
described in ‘‘ Lavengro”’; of John Crome, the son of a
journeyman weaver, who found in his native county the
subjects of his greatest pictures; Sir James Smith, the
founder of the Linnzan Society and author of the Flora
Britannica; Harriet Martineau, who “left off darning
stockings to take to literature’ ; John Sell Cotman, whose

work is now represented in the art gallery of the Museum;
Joseph John Gurney of Earlham, the large-hearted Quaker
brother of Elizabeth Fry ; and George Henry Borrow, the
y Walking Lord of Gypsy Lore,” who lived for several
_ years in a little house still standing in Willow Lane.

If space permitted I might say a good deal about the
Norwich inns, some of which are quaint and ancient build-
‘ings. The ‘ Maid’s Head” adjoins that open space in
front of the Cathedral Gate called 'Tombland. It is believed
that as long ago as 1287 there was an inn standing on the
site of the present one. Whether this is true or not, there
is no doubt that there was a ‘‘ Mayde’s Hedde”’ here in

35

Norfolk

1472, for John Paston, in announcing to his wife the
approaching arrival of a friend in Norfolk, suggests that if
“‘he tary at Norwich there whylys, it were best to setle hys
horse at the Mayde’s Hedde, and I shalbe content for ther
expences.” It was at the ‘‘ Maid’s Head” that certain
officers of the Earl of Warwick’s troops breakfasted on the
morning of the fight with Kett’s rebels on Mousehold.
Some of the men who partook of that breakfast were dead
before night, and were buried in St Simon’s Churchyard,
which is just opposite the inn. The church register contains
the names of four of them, with the appended note that
“thes 4 esquires weare slayne in the King’s army on

Mushold Heath.’’

36

geet term 'ts aialinngmic ioe lbh ewan pad aAdl bv
eae Reger oe erekegerte OF bene

aa ea

ED Lt aioe cat rie

NORWICH TO WYMONDHAM, THETFORD, AND BRANDON.

eerie eee See

|
|

ITINERARY THE SECOND

BYWAYS AND AN OLD TURNPIKE

NORWICH TO CAISTOR CAMP, WYMONDHAM,
AND THETFORD

Caistor Camp — Venta Icenorum — Keswick — The Wymondham
Turnpike — Wymondham—lIts Church and Abbey — The
Tragedy of Stanfield Hall—Kimberley Hall and the Wode-
houses—Attleborough and Thetford.

Someone has compared Norwich to the centre of a spider’s
web, and if you examine a Norfolk road map you will be
struck at once with the resemblance. From Norwich the
main roads of the county radiate in every direction, and
the city is therefore a convenient starting-point for several
interesting tours. So excellent are these main roads, that
you need some special attraction to tempt you to leave them,
their smooth level surface making driving a delight, cycling
an untiring exercise, and even walking scarcely accompanied
by fatigue. Yet it is often a mistake to keep to the old
turnpikes and highways, although they lead to important
centres and chief towns. In some districts ‘main road ”’ is
only another spelling of monotony: it too often means a
straight level highway bordered by a wearisome succession
of telegraph poles, and with an inn at fairly regular intervals.
Along such routes the seeker of the interesting and
picturesque often journeys in vain, when all the while, not far
away, down the winding byroads and leafy lanes, there are
charming scenes, peaceful waters mirroring waving willows,
old thatched homesteads, shade instead of sun-glare, dew
instead of dust, and birds’ songs instead of bicycle bells.

37

Norfolk

I would suggest, therefore, that when you set out to travel
any given stretch of highway, you do not time your
journeying by the number of miles between its beginning
and end. You will do well to allow for pardonable lapses
from the strict straight course; remembering that pleasure
is to be obtained otherwise than by speedy progression,
and that at the end of a holiday more delight is got from
the memory of some out-of-the-way streamlet, with banks
bright and fragrant with wild flowers, than from the con-
templation of a cyclometer. Bearing this in mind, you
must not be surprised that, at the commencement of the
first of our tours out of Norwich, you are taken into a
little-known neighbourhood, where, although the high-
roads are good, the by-roads are pot always all that could
be desired. The proposed journey is from Norwich to the
Roman Camp at Caistor St Edmunds, and on to Wymond-
ham, Attleborough, and Thetford; and if before he
comes out upon the Thetford turnpike the cyclist has to
complain of a “rough stretch’? here and there, he must
console himself with the thought that in all probability it
is a piece of a Roman road.

To reach Caistor (not to be confused with Caister,
near Yarmouth, which you will see later) the best route
is that which leaves Norwich by way of King Street, and
branches out from Prince of Wales’s Road near the Post
Office. It is a queer old street, with quaint waterside
inns on the left hand and traces of the old city walls
on the right, and it takes you past the enormous factories
of a firm of world-wide reputation—Messrs J. & J.
Colman, the mustard makers. It emerges into Bracondale,
where you turn into Martineau’s Lane, a narrow leafy
byway named after the noted family which formerly
occupied Bracondale Lodge. The lane skirts the pleasant
grounds of Bracondale Woods—the home of Mr Russell
Colman, whose father represented Norwich in Parlia-
ment for many years, and was one of the city’s chief
benefactors—and terminates at the old thatched Cock Inn

38

Byways and an Old Turnpike |

at Lakenham. Crossing the little Tas, Taas, Tase, Taes,
or Tesse (it is so variously spelt), you are in open country.
Like all the roads leading into Norwich, that from Caistor
is, towards the end of the week, traversed by droves of
cattle and sheep on their way to the Castle Hill; and it is
no uncommon thing to encounter here a flock of sheep
following, instead of being driven by, a shepherd or drover.

The Camp at Caistor, which is about three miles from
Norwich, is a fine relic of the Roman _ occupation.
Although not so impressive at first sight as Burgh Castle
(the Roman fortress near Yarmouth), it is in good state
of preservation, the four sides of a parallelogram being
distinctly traceable. ‘The camp measures 438 yards from
east to west, and 362 from north to south, and is reckoned
to have been capable of containing a force of 6000 men.
In several places the masonry, which closely resembles that
at Burgh Castle, being composed of flints and regular
courses of bricks, is in good condition. At the western
end, which overhangs the ancient bed of the Tas, are the
remains of a round tower and water gate, where vessels
were unloaded which brought supplies for the garrison. On
the east side is a deep fossa, heaped with masses of detached
masonry. ‘The church of St Edmund stands in the south-
east corner of the camp, and is largely built of flints and
bricks from the ruins. ‘The general opinion among anti-
quaries now is that Norwich occupies the site of the Venta
Icenorum of the Romans; but some authorities have
suggested that that important Icenic settlement was at
Caistor. The late Mr Hudson Gurney, in a letter to the
late Mr Dawson Turner, remarks that he is strongly in
favour of the former theory, and states: —‘In 1834 I
went over the camp at Caistor, and the country adjacent,
with Colonel Leake, who may be considered the greatest
living authority for the sites of ancient cities and fortified
camps, and he at once said that he was convinced that
Norwich was the Venta Icenorum, and the capital of the
Iceni, and Caistor the fortified camp planted by the

39

Norfolk

Romans over against it, on the other side of the estuary,
to bridle, as was their custom, a hostile population.”
Several valuable antiquities unearthed here are in the
Norwich Castle Museum.

Again crossing the ‘T’as (which must have shrunk con-
siderably since the Roman galleys sailed its waters), and
also the railroad and the Norwich and Ipswich turnpike,
you are in Keswick, and catch a glimpse of its church tower
rising from a grove of trees. Upon closer view the tower
proves to be all that is left of the church, and upon inquiry
you may learn that nearly three hundred years have elapsed
since a service was held within the now vanished walls.
Hereabouts it may be necessary to inquire your way to the
Wymondham turnpike, for ‘‘ four cross ways’’ are numerous,
and not all possessed of signposts. In Norfolk, however,
you need never hesitate to interrogate the country folk ;
even the old women on their way to market are glad of
an excuse to stop and chat, and, in addition to giving the
information you require, will tell you all about themselves,
their family history, and the rector and squire and their
family histories. It was from such a talkative old dame
that I learnt that within the last few years Keswick church-
yard had been re-opened for interments. ‘ You see,’’ she
said, ‘‘the first lot have had time to get crumbly;”’ and
on my apologising for stopping her, she said hastily: ‘ Bless
your heart, my old hoss is glad of a rest! ””

Keswick is a pretty little village of very few houses.
Those it consists of, however, are of the better order of
rustic dwellings, and most of them are surrounded by very
charming gardens. Close beside them, too, are groves of
trees, each with its tangle of underwood, amid which the
burdocks and willow-herbs grow ten feet high. By the
roadside you continually come across the great mullein,
the “‘hig-taper”’ of country folklore, with its soft woolly
leaves and dense spike of large yellow blossoms. ‘The
sylvan surroundings of the village are very favourable to its
bird life, and therefore calculated to afford considerable

40

Byways and an Old Turnpike

pleasure to Mr J. H. Gurney, the ornithologist, and presi-
dent of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society, who
lives here. ‘The people of Keswick, when they wish to go
to church—and I have no reason for assuming that this is
not the case every Sunday—have to journey to the neigh-
bouring parish of Intwood, which is still blessed with a
serviceable sanctuary. It formerly had also a fine old
mansion, built by Sir Thomas Gresham, the founder of

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(——

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peat

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‘

Si ae OS

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Be Fsrch /

the London Royal Exchange. In it Sir Thomas enter-
tained the Earl of Warwick when he came into Norfolk to
suppress the Kett Rebellion.

At length, after a pleasant ramble along by-roads, you
come out on to the Norwich and Wymondham turnpike,
and can “follow the wires” all the way to the latter town.
You are still only three miles from Norwich; but now, as
you set out for Hethersett, every step increases the distance,
and by the time you reach Hethersett church, which stands
a little back from the road, you are five and a half miles

4I

Norfolk

from your starting-point. In June and July the roadside
banks about here are decked with the beautiful white
blossoms of one of our rarer Rosaceae, the burnet rose,
which is usually most plentiful near the sea. Another
three and a half miles brings you to Wymondham, a little
town where at least an afternoon may be profitably spent,
for it possesses some quaint old buildings, a fine church,
and some interesting ruins. ‘The adjoining hamlets, too,
are remarkable for their ancient manor and farm-houses.
In spite of its railway station and several good modern
houses, Wymondham does not yet seem to fully realise
that this is the nineteenth century, so seldom’ is there any-
thing like stir or liveliness in its narrow streets, brooded
over here and there by projecting, high-peaked gables.

At first sight Wymondham church seems almost of
cathedral proportions, owing to its two towers. The east
end tower is the older of the two, being a portion of
a Benedictine abbey founded in 1107 by William
d’Albini, an ancestor of the Earls of Arundel. There are
extensive ruins of the conventual church of this abbey in
the churchyard, and other traces of the abbey in the Old
Green Dragon Inn in Church Street. The monks of
Wymondham appear to have been a most exemplary set,
for at the dissolution of the monasteries very little could
be urged against them, and the abbot was granted an annual
allowance of £66, 13s. 4d. Previous to this, in the reign
of Henry I., a special grant was made to the abbey of
‘all wrecks on that part of the coast lying between Eccles,
Happisburgh, and Tunstead, and a rent in kind of 2000
eels annually from the village of Helgay.” Pilgrims used
to resort to the town to drink of a sacred well, the waters
of which still bubble up near the church. The Grammar
School was formerly a chapel dedicated to St Thomas
a- Becket.

As I have said, there are some fine old country seats
around Wymondham. There are also some interesting
moated houses. Among the latter are Stanfield, Gunvil,

42

Byways and an Old Turnpike

and Burfield Halls, all of which are within easy distance
of the town, and really form part of it. The two places
which naturally attract most attention are Kimberley Hall,
the seat of the Earl of Kimberley, and Stanfield Hall, the
scene of one of the most atrocious and sensational murders
recorded in the annals of crime. But Kimberley is three
and a half miles from Wymondham town, so before visiting
it you will perhaps glance at Stanfield Hall, while I make
some reference to the gruesome event which made it famous.

In the year 1848 this Elizabethan moated mansion was
occupied by Mr Isaac Jermy, the Recorder of Norwich.
He had for his bailiff and tenant a well-known farmer
named James Blomfield Rush. Ill-feeling appears to have
existed between master and bailiff for some time, in conse-
quence of the rescinding of certain leases, and the issuing
of distress warrants whereby Rush was ejected from one of
his farms. Other legal proceedings ensued, and Rush pub-
lished a pamphlet in which he described Mr Jermy as a
villain, and asserted that he had no right to Stanfield Hall.
He also made a young woman, whom he had engaged
as governess, draw up certain documents by which Mr
Jermy, whose name was forged, entered into certain agree-
ments beneficial to his bailiff-tenant. The murders after-
wards committed were for some time premeditated, for Rush,
in addition to going out late at night under the pretence of
watching for poachers, gave instructions that straw should
be laid down on the footpath between his house, Potash
Farm, and Stanfield Hall, evidently with the idea of pre-
venting his footprints being traced. Also, before the night
of the murders he sent away from his house everyone except
Emily Sandford, the governess, and a lad named Savory.
On the evening of November 28th, 1848, after having tea,
he disguised himself in widow’s weeds, armed himself with
a double-barrelled gun, and left his home.

Shortly after eight o’clock that night, Mr Jermy was
alone in the dining-room, his son and daughter-in-law, who
lived with him, having retired to the drawing-room for a

43

Norfolk

game of cards. After dinner it was the Recorder’s custom
to’ look out of the hall door or take a short stroll in front
of the house. Rush, who no doubt was aware of this,
concealed himself near the door, and when Mr Jermy
appeared in the porch fired at him and shot him through
the heart. [he murderer then ran to a side door, pushed
his way past the butler, and arrived in the staircase hall just
as Mr Jermy, junior, who had heard the report of the gun,
appeared in the hall. At him Rush also fired, and he fell
dead at his feet. Mrs Jermy, who had remained in the
drawing-room until she heard the second explosion, then
entered the hall, where she saw the dead body of her hus-
band. Her screams for help brought Eliza Chastney, one
of the servants, on the scene, and together they saw Rush
emerge from the dining-room and point a gun at them. He
fired twice, wounding Mrs Jermy in the arm and the servant
in the leg, and then fled from the house by a side door.
Meanwhile a stableman, who believed the house to be
attacked by a band of robbers, had swum the moat, obtained
a horse at a neighbouring farm, and ridden to spread the
alarm at Wymondham. The butler, too, had run to another
farm for assistance.

After leaving the hall the murderer returned to Potash
Farm, where, on being admitted by Emily Sandford, he
went upstairs and took off his disguise. He then came
downstairs and told the girl that if inquiry were made about
him she was to say he had not been out of the house more
than ten minutes. Later in the night, when footsteps
were heard outside the house, he came to her bedside and
said, ‘‘ Now, you be firm and remember that I was out only
ten minutes.’ She noticed that as he spoke he was trem-
bling violently. Next day he was arrested and taken before
the magistrates, when Emily Sandford persisted in stating
that on the previous night he was not out of the house more
than a quarter of an hour. At the ensuing inquest, how-
ever, she told the truth, and related all that had passed
between herself and the murderer. Rush’s disguise was

44

Byways and an Old Turnpike

found in the house, and the gun he had used was discovered
in a rubbish-heap. The forged deeds he had compelled
Sandford to draw up were found under the floor of a closet
at Potash Farm.

The trial at the assizes, which commenced on March
29th, 1849, in the Shirehall at Norwich, was followed
with intense interest by the whole country. ‘The prisoner
conducted his own defence. Mr Sergeant Byles, who pro-
secuted, not only by calling witnesses clearly proved the
facts already stated, but by the production of the forged
documents showed a powerful motive for the murders.
Several of the Stanfield Hall servants believed the prisoner
to be the man they had seen in disguise, and Eliza Chastney,
the injured girl, who was brought into court on a couch,
closely attended by doctors, pointed out Rush as the
murderer. Emily Sandford also gave evidence, and her
statements went a long way towards confirming those of
the witnesses from the Hall. The prisoner commenced his
defence on the fifth day of the trial, and spoke for about
fourteen hours. He admitted that he knew an attempt was
to be made to obtain possession of the Hall on the night of
the murders (an attempt had been made some years before),
but said he had advised the parties concerned not to do so.
Such a weak defence naturally failed to influence the jury,
who soon returned a verdict of guilty, and the prisoner was
sentenced to death. He was executed on the bridge in
front of Norwich Castle on April 21st, thousands of people
journeying from all parts of the city and county to see
him hanged. Potash Farmhouse, where the murderer
lived, is still to be seen in the parish of Hethel, near
Wymondham, but its name has been changed to Hethel
Wood Farm.

In the middle of the sixteenth century Stanfield Hall
was occupied by Sir John Robsart, who was twice High
Sheriff of the county. He was the father of the un-
fortunate Amy Robsart, whose husband, Lord Robert
Dudley, son of the Earl of Warwick, probably first met

45

Norfolk

his future wife when he was Sir John Robsart’s guest
here at the time of the Kett Rebellion. He married
Amy Robsart in the year following the Rebellion.
Although the village of Kimberley is rather more than
three miles from the town, Kimberley Hall is in the
parish of Wymondham. The Wodehouse family, into
whose possession the estate came in the reign of Henry
VI., and who trace their descent from the Fastolffs, is
now represented by the Earl of Kimberley, who pre-
serves in the hall a throne erected for Queen Elizabeth,
who stayed here in 1578 when on her way from Norwich to
Cambridge. The hilt of an old sword and a poniard, said
to have been used by Sir John Wodehouse who fought
at Agincourt, are among the family heirlooms. The
present hall was built at the beginning of the eighteenth
century, not far from the site of an earlier mansion, the
demolition of which is described in some old verses quoted

by Blomfield—.

“First fell Elizabeth’s brave lodging room,
Then the fair stately hall to ruin came ;
Next falls the vast great chamber arch’d on high
With golden pendants fretted sumptuously.
Yet of four parts there still remained the seat
Unto that heir who first was baronet,
And to his son, till that long parliament
Nobles and gentry brought to discontent ;
In which sad humour he lets all the rest
Of this fair fabric sink into its dust:
Down falls the chapel, then the goodly tower,
Tho’ of material so firm and stower
Time scarce could uncement them: but, sad fate,
Now England suffers both in church and state.
But these may God rebuild and raise again
By the restoration of our sovereign.”

The park at Kimberley, which comprises portions of
four parishes, is well wooded and has recently been re-
stocked with deer. A large lake, made by the widening
of a small river, adds much to its beauty.

Leaving Wymondham by a south-westerly route yon
46 |

Byways and an Old Turnpike

enter upon that part of the Norwich and Thetford road
which is said to have been the first turnpike road con-
structed in England, and about half-way to Attleborough
you come upon the remains of an obelisk erected to the
memory of Sir Edward Rich, who, in 1675, contributed
what was then considered a large sum towards the repairing
of Norfolk highways. A journey of a little more than five
miles brings you to Attleborough, where there is little to
detain you except the church, which contains two ancient
chapels and some fine monuments and tablets of the thir-
teenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. Here, if you
choose, you may leave the Thetford turnpike and make an
excursion by way of Old Buckenham to Diss. Such an
excursion, however, will scarcely be worth your while
unless you decide to return through Kenninghall and
Quidenham to the turnpike, when you will have the
doubtful gratification of gazing at some mounds variously
conjectured to mark the site of an ancient British settle-
ment or a Roman camp, and the unquestionable pleasure
of a glimpse of Quidenham Hall in the midst of its well-
timbered park, and perhaps of enjoying a day’s fishing in
the lake in the park. ‘True, there was once a palace at
Kenninghall in which the Princess Mary lived until, on
the death of Edward VI., she claimed the crown; but
nothing is now left of it except some of its ornamental
brickwork, which may be seen in some of the houses
of the adjoining villages. If, however, you keep to the
turnpike, you will, after a twenty miles’ journey, find
_ yourself at Thetford. Save for a more or less ruined
church here and there, or old country house of no
unusual interest, the journey is rather a barren one from
the tourist’s point of view, and you may prefer to make
it by rail. You will then be able to devote more time
to the ancient town of Thetford and the wild heathlands
around it.

47

ITINERARY THE THIRD
A ROYAL TOWN AND A FLINT VILLAGE

THETFORD, BRANDON, AND THE GREAT
WARREN

The Metropolis of the Heptarchy—Antiquities of Thetford—
Castle Hill—Abbey Gate— Monastic Houses — Churches—
Royal Residences——’The Great Warren — Warren Lodge—
Brandon — Flint-knapping — Prehistoric Relics — Grimes’
Graves—A Flint Village—Gun-flint making—Spurious Flint
Implements—Breckland.

Why it should be so is hard to say; but Thetford does
not receive that amount of tourist patronage it deserves.
Nor is the neighbourhood of this ancient town so well
known as it ought to be. Places far less accessible and
with smaller claims to attention have become popular,
while Thetford, which was a royal city and the ecclesi-
astical centre of East Anglia ere Norwich could boast
of a bishop, is neglected; and this in spite of the fact
that the town is on the main line from London to
Norwich and only an hour’s railway journey from the .
Norfolk capital. A possible explanation is that most of
the guide-books are made up of itineraries which com-
mence at Norwich and terminate somewhere along the
coast. A delightful district is thus ignored, and many
tourists leave Norfolk without having explored one of
the most interesting parts of the county. ‘his is the
more to be regretted because the neighbourhood of
Thetford is quite different to the greater portion of
Norfolk. Certain parts of it, it is true, are not unlike
what is to be seen elsewhere along the borders of Fen-

48

A Royal Town and a Flint Village

land; but only around Sandringham and Swaffham, and
even there in a less degree, are there such wild expanses
of heathland, such wide and breezy warrens, and such
dusky fragrant pine woods as are found around Thetford.
One of the most attractive features of the district is, at
least to my mind, its remoteness from the regular tourist
routes, and the absence of any indication that its inhabitants
are desirous of seeing it popularised. Yet, as one journeys
through it and gets to know its delights, the conviction
comes that it will not much longer remain neglected.
Everything is against its retaining its primitiveness. Still,
it will be some time before popularity spoils Thetford, and
the building of rows of suburban houses drives the lapwings
from its heaths and the rabbits from its warrens.

First, turn your attention to the town. Even if you are
unaware that the first king of the East Angles made it a
royal city, you will, immediately upon entering it, become
conscious of its antiquity. A first impression is that old
buildings—inns, shops, and private houses—predominate
over modern ones; so numerous are they, indeed, that
recent buildings and modern improvements seem strangely
out of place here. What right, one is inclined to ask, has
a plate-glass window to face an ancient house with Eliza-
bethan gables? and might not that fine old carved doorway
be content with its grotesque knocker, and do without an
electric bell? Such questions, however, even if the mind
frames them, usually remain unasked, for the streets of
Thetford are a perfect maze, and all one’s interrogations are
generally directed towards finding one’s way about the town.
If it were not for the river, strangers would probably spend
their time in flitting out of one county into another and
back again without knowing it, for Thetford is a borderland
town, partly in Norfolk, partly in Suffolk. When it was
the “ Metropolis of the Heptarchy”’ it was the centre of a
kingdom whose limits reached far beyond the Little Ouse,
and there was no town council to condemn its designers’
building plans. Those designers probably made streets of

D 49

Norfolk

the old Icenic trackways which led down to the river; and
so because some hunter long dead chose a circuitous path to
the place where he kept his coracle moored, you to-day
must wander about Thetford by devious ways.

The inhabitants of Thetford are very proud of a big
mound on the eastern side of the town, which they call the
Castle Hill. What it is they do not know, but they are
certain it is something very wonderful. One local historian
suggests that it is a memorial mound similar to ‘‘ the mount
of Alyattes on the Tmolus ridge of Asia Minor, and the
tumuli of Odin, Thor, and Freya, at Upsala.”” There is
little doubt that, like the Castle Hill at Norwich, it is an
artificial mound, and of great age. It is about 100 feet in
height, and of considerable circumference. ‘The ditch or
moat which surrounds it is now dry, but may at one time have
been connected with the Thet or some tributary of that river.

A less puzzling relic of the past is the fine old Abbey
Gate which stands a little to the right of the road leading
to the town from the station. ‘This massive gate, still in
fairly good condition, was once the entrance to an abbey
or priory which, like many other monastic buildings in
Norfolk and Suffolk, owed its foundation to the warlike
family of Bigod. For a long time this abbey was the
burial-place of the three families which successively bore the
title of Dukes of Norfolk—the Bigods, Mowbrays, and
Howards. Its ruins cover a good deal of ground; but the
Gate is the only portion which has withstood time and
other destructive agencies. ‘The remains of another monas-
tery, founded by Uvius or Urius, an Abbot of Bury in
the reign of Canute, now form part of the buildings of the
«¢Place’’ Farm, the conventual church being used as a
barn. The ruins of this monastery are the oldest in the
town. Onthe Suffolk side of the river, and partly contained
in a comparatively modern residence called ‘The Canons,”
are the ruins of the church and other portions of the
monastery of the Holy Sepulchre and Sacred Cross,
founded in 1139 by William de Warrenne.

50°

A Royal Town and a Flint Village

In Thetford to-day there are only three churches used
for worship. In the reign of Edward III. there were
about twenty; but of more than a dozen of these not a trace
is left, while of the rest the remains are only fragmentary.
In the Boys’ Grammar School is the south transept arch of
the old church ‘of Holy Trinity, which was the cathedral
church of the diocese as long ago as the eleventh century ;
but apart from this the ruins are scarcely worth seeking.
Of the existing churches the finest is that of St Mary, on
the Suffolk side of the river. It contains a Norman font
and a portion of the tomb of Sir Richard Fulverstone, the
founder of the Grammar School, who was interred here in
1566. St Peter’s, at the corner of King Street, used to
be called the Black Church, because it is built of black
flints. St Cuthbert’s, the smallest of the three churches,
which stands near the market-place, was almost entirely
rebuilt in 1852, and is only of interest on account of its
fine oak screen and grotesque gargoyles.

Thetford may well claim to be considered a royal city, for
from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries the old King’s
House in King Street, or the building it replaced in the reign of
Elizabeth, was a country residence of the English kings. It
was given to Sir Philip Wodehouse by James I., and the
arms and motto of the Wodehouse family are carved on a stone
in the conservatory. ‘The grounds were formerly far more
extensive than they are now. At the south end of Well
Street is another house supposed to have been a royal resi-
‘dence. It is called the Manor House, and was the seat of
the Earls of Warrenne, from whom it passed into the
possession of the Crown. This is one of the oldest houses
in the town; but the Bell Hotel, once a famous posting-
house, is an Elizabethan inn well worthy of a visit, and
there is a house in White Hart Street which dates from the
same period. ‘The Guildhall, where the Lent Assizes for
the county of Norfolk were held until they were removed
to Norwich, was originally the hall of a religious guild of the
thirteenth century. ‘The Grammar School is chiefly notable

51

Norfolk

for having had for a scholar Thomas Paine, the author of
“Common Sense,”? “The Rights of Man,” and “The
who was born in a house which formerly

9)

Age of Reason,

stood in White Hart Street. Many of the houses strike
one as being considerably older than they really are, owing
to their being built of the stones of vanished monasteries,
halls, and churches. This helps to give the town its look
of antiquity.
A day may be profitably spent in exploring the straggling
52

A Royal Town and a Flint Village

streets of this quaint old Borough; but if you tire of old
churches, old ruins, and old houses, there are wide heaths
and breezy uplands just outside the town, where the air is
as invigorating as a sea breeze and wild nature calls to you
in many voices. Such a delightful expanse is the Great
Warren which stretches away westward towards Brandon.
Leaving the town by the Brandon Road, you enter at once
upon this grand tract of moorland, across which the hedge-
less road winds like a grey ribbon through bracken, heather,
and bugloss. Scarcely has the last house of Thetford been
left behind before the rabbits, of which there are thousands
here, are seen scurrying across the road and in and out of the
fern, while on all sides the peewits rise and wheel overhead,
crying plaintively. Gazing around you see scarcely a sign
of human habitation; almost the only house in sight is a
curious one known as the Warren Lodge, which stands on
the highest point of the Warren. Its origin is unknown.
At a distance it somewhat resembles a low-towered church,
but a closer inspection shows that what is apparently the
tower is an ancient square erection something like a castle
keep. A cottage adjoins the “keep,’’ and is occupied by
the keeper of the Warren. From him you may learn that
a good many years ago the “keep”? was tenanted by a
warrener and his men, who sometimes caught as many as -
2,000 rabbits in a night by means of pitfalls; and he will
point out the bare old chamber in which these men slept,
and the old wooden platters and salt-cellars they used at their
meals. You are told, too, that the Warren was once a
“great place’’ for silver-grey rabbits, many thousands of
which were annually sent to London; but the race is
believed to be quite extinct here now.

Of late years large tracts of the Great Warren have
been planted with trees, and these have, to a certain extent,
robbed it of wide vistas. Still it is an ideal place for a
summer day, when the sun shines warmly on the heather,
the breeze is Jaden with the fragrance of the pines, the
rabbits are gambolling on every side, and the pretty little

53

Norfolk

sand lizards are basking on the footpaths or wriggling out
of sight among the heath and ling. And at nightfall there
is a gloomy grandeur about this tawny heathland with its
fretted ridges of pines. The sun sets upon it as upon a
landscape of some dead planet. You realise then how little
it has changed since the Stone Age; and it is not difficult
to arrive at such a mood that even the appearance of a
“‘troglodytic Eskurian,’? armed with stone axe and clad
in cloak of skins, would scarcely cause surprise. Iceni,

Roman, Saxon, and Dane, all have been here, have lived,
fought, and died here; but they have left few traces of
their presence. A flint arrow-head, a shattered urn, a few
defaced copper coins, these are all that is left of them, and
the ragged gorse, which grows so freely in Nature’s wild
places, blooms above their dust. Under the stars the Great
Warren is as lonely as a mountain top, for the calling of the
plovers and the loud whistling of the stone curlews are
scarcely companionable sounds.

If you venture so far as the middle of the Great Warren,
it will be worth your while to follow the road to Brandon,
a journey of about six miles from Thetford. You may do
this because Brandon possesses an interest which attaches to

54

w

4 Royal Town and a Flint Village

no other town or village in the world. It is the only place
where flint-knapping, or the manufacture of gun-flints, is
still carried on.. There is reason for believing that even in
the days of prehistoric man this district was resorted to by
hunters and warriors who required good flints for axes and
arrow-heads, for the flints of this neighbourhood are noted
for their quality, and at Weeting, in a desolate locality
adjoining Brandon, there is a great number of circular
excavations now recognised as the pits from which the men
of the Neolithic Age obtained their flints. Here, too, they
must have fashioned them, for when, in 1870, the Rev.
Canon Greenwell made a scientific examination of what are
locally known as Grimes’ Graves, he discovered not only
flakes and cores of flints, but a number of flint implements
which must have been used in the making of axes and arrow
and spear heads. After paying a visit to these ancient pits,
which are thousands of years old, it is a strange experience to
enter Brandon and find men still engaged in fashioning
flints in much the same manner as the hunters of the Stone
Age.

Brandon, indeed, may be described as a flint village; for
its church and chapels are built of flints, and so are its
cottages and their garden walls. ‘The present-day knappers
devote most of their time to the fashioning of ornamental
flint-work for decorative building, but some of them, as I
have said, still make gun-flints. That there should still be
a demand for gun-flints is surprising; but one of the knap-
pers, named Field, says that of late years he has been able
to sell large quantities of them, and he believes they are
traded away to the native tribes of Africa. ‘There are
three stages in the making of a gun-flint. First, the flints
are ‘ quartered,”’ that is, the great stones are broken with
a large hammer. They are then ‘ flaked”? or split into
angular strips by taps of a small hammer. Lastly, the flakes
are “ knapped”’ or shaped with a small hammer and a kind
of hard chisel fixed upright in a low wooden bench. Gun-
flints are made in four sizes, for muskets, carbines, horse

55

Norfolk

pistols, and small or single-barrelled pistols, and a set of
these can easily be obtained from a Brandon knapper.

A great many of the spurious flint implements, which
have been accepted by antiquaries as genuine and have found
their way into museums and private collections, were manu-
factured at Brandon, and some of the knappers are still
skilled hands at making them. Most of the workers, how-
ever, possess not only flint weapons of their own manufac-
ture, but some fine genuine ones which they have come upon
while excavating flints. ‘The uninstructed observer is quite
unable to detect the false from the true, but a knapper
has no difficulty in doing so. But it does not follow that
he is always ready to enlighten a stranger on the subject
of spurious flint implements. I can only assure you that
if, while in Brandon, you wish to become possessed of an
ancient British arrow-head you need not wait long for it!

The trip to Brandon is only one of several pleasant
excursions which may be made into Breckland if you make
Thetford your headquarters for a time. As is stated at
the beginning of this chapter, the neighbourhood is at
present practically an unknown country, so far as tourists
are concerned. ‘This I can promise you, that if you decide
to devote a day or two to the isolated Breckland hamlets,
the wide heaths and warrens, the meres and the churches,
you will not regret it. ‘There are over a hundred churches
within a twelve-mile radius of Thetford, and some of these
not only contain good examples of Norman workmanship,
but are possessed of old Danish or Saxon round towers.
Norfolk, where it is not made up of marshlands, is chiefly
given up to cultivation; so it is as well that you should
pause a while in a district which presents a totally different
aspect to what you will find general elsewhere within the
county.

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N

ITINERARY, THE .FOURTH
PEGGOTTIY’S, PORT

GREAT YARMOUTH

Norwich to Yarmouth—Acle—Across the Marshes—Yarmouth—
« The Norfolk Gridiron”—England’s Largest Parish Church
—A Town won from the Waves—Beachmen and Beach Com-
panies—A Vanishing T'ype—Salvage Work—A Dangerous
Coast— Notable Wrecks—Historical Houses—Defoe’s Impres-
sions of Yarmouth.

Onty very brief reference need be made to the journey
from Norwich to Yarmouth, as much of the country through
which it leads is dealt with in the chapters devoted to the
Broadland, Yarmouth, and the Norfolk coast. Indeed, it
is doubtful if many tourists, except those who cycle, will
follow the route now indicated, for the river trip down the
Yare, from the Norfolk capital to Norfolk’s largest port,
is so pleasant that most people who do not travel by rail
prefer it to the journey by road.

To reach Yarmouth by road you leave Norwich by that
fine thoroughfare, Prince of Wales’s Road. You soon
arrive at Thorpe Hamlet and Thorpe village, two distinct
but adjoining places, the former of which is a ‘parish
within the county of the city of Norwich.’’ ‘Thorpe, the
scene of many old-time water-frolics, is a very picturesque
place, straggling along the north bank of the Yare. Its old
church is now in ruins, but a new one has been erected for
the villagers and the numerous Norwich citizens who have
here suburban homes. Between Thorpe and Acle you pass
through portions of the parishes of Postwick, Brundall,

57

Norfolk

Blofield, and Burlingham, and get some charming glimpses
of the river valleys scenery of the Broadland. After
leaving Brundall you lose sight of the Yare, but at Acle
you cross the Bure by the last bridge which spans the river
as it flows seaward into Breydon Water. Acle church, the
greater part of which was built in the fourteenth century, is
one of the numerous Norfolk churches roofed with thatch.
At one time Acle was a market town; but it has lost the
especial privileges granted it by Richard II., and is now
glad to cater for the many anglers who find their way here,
and the yachting parties which visit the Broads and rivers.

The most direct route from Acle to Yarmouth is a new
road across the marshes. It is a rather dreary and mono-
tonous road, but those who travel it are able to gain a good
idea of the far-stretching Norfolk marshlands. For nearly
nine miles it is bordered on both sides by flat lands which
have been reclaimed from what was once a wide estuarine
valley. ‘They are almost featureless except for the windmills
which pump the flood-water out of the dykes, and a few
isolated marsh farmsteads and cattle-tenders’ cottages. Here
the wild fowl from the Breydon flats spend most of the
hours during which the flats are covered by the flood tides ;
herons stand sentinel by the dykesides or wing their way
heavily to their nesting-place at Reedham; gulls are as
numerous as rooks; and green plovers and redshanks cry
mournfully as they rise from their nests amid the rushes and
tussock grasses. In summer these and the many other birds
which dwell in the marshes are seldom disturbed by man ;
but when the close season is over, and their numbers are
increased by large flocks of fowl driven southward from the
frozen North, the flight-shooter makes his presence felt
among them, and neither by night nor day are they safe from
his gun. Except for the birds, you will have few companions
as you travel this road, and will probably be glad when you
arrive at the Yarmouth toll-gate and pay your halfpenny for
admission into the town.

The other route from Acle to Yarmouth is by way of

58

Peggotty s Port

Burgh St Margaret and St Mary, and a bridge over a
narrow neck of Filby Broad. Burgh St Margaret and
St Mary were formerly distinct parishes, each possessing
a church; now they are but one, and all that is left
of the church of St Mary is a small portion of the tower
in the middle of a field. When you have passed site
Burgh and Mautby you find yourself
in Caister, a coastline village famous
for its ruined castle. The distance
from Caister to Yarmouth is incon-
siderable, and you enter the most
popular place in East Anglia by a
road which leads you past the largest
parish church in England. ae

If you make Yarmouth the starting- = /|
point of a ramble along the Norfolk
coast you may not feel disposed to
stay long in this old town, which in
the holiday season is so _thronged
with pleasure-seekers that one longs,
while in the midst of its crowd, for
quiet retreats, sunny, lonesome sea-
boards, and peaceful waterways. Yet
the town has attained such popularity
as a holiday and health resort that
almost all England has, at some time
_ or another, slept within its walls. Its
places of interest and historical and
literary associations are not a few,
and even amid the stir of crowded
beach and Marine Drive, the clamour of the busy market-
place, the trafficking of High Street, and the active interests
of quays and fish wharves, one cannot but call to mind that
this is the town which first welcomed the Norfolk hero
Nelson on his return from his victories; that kings have
stayed here in houses that are still standing; that Sarah
Martin, the self-sacrificing prison visitor, was born near by

Le

Norfolk

and laboured for the good of the vicious and down-trodden
in the local gaol ; and that Charles Dickens laid the scene
of a great part of “ David Copperfield ”’ in the fishermen’s
quarters near the harbour. Dickens called Yarmouth “ The
Norfolk Gridiron,’? on account of the number of narrow
lanes, locally known as ‘‘rows,’’ which connect the wider
thoroughfares; but the people are not eager for the fame
of their town to be perpetuated by this name. They
prefer it to be known that their parish church is the largest
in England, that their quay—about a mile in length—was
once considered ‘superior to any other in Europe save that
of Seville’? ; and that for centuries Yarmouth has been an
important centre of the North Sea herring fisheries.

The larger Norfolk towns seem to have been ambitious to
eclipse in some respect all other towns in the kingdom.
Norwich boasts of possessing a larger market-place and
greater number of churches than any other provincial town
or city; Yarmouth of the biggest parish church in England.
Very few cathedrals exceed it in size, and viewed from
whatever aspect it is fine. It is dedicated ‘to St Nicholas,
the fishermen’s patron saint, and was founded by Herbert
de Lozinga, who, in 1091, accompanied William Rufus
from Normandy, and purchased the bishopric of Thetford.
As a penance for the sin of simony he was enjoined by the
Pope to build sundry churches and monasteries. He erected
St Nicholas’ on the site of an earlier church dedicated to
St Bennet; and tohim Norfolk is indebted for its Cathedral
and Priory at Norwich, its Priory Church of St Margaret
at Lynn, and other ecclesiastical buildings. Since Bishop
Lozinga’s day St Nicholas’ has been several times enlarged,
and at one time contained no less than sixteen chapels,
each with its altar and priest. During recent years it has
been so restored that its interior has much the appearance of
a new church. Some of the old Norman arches, however,
are still to be seen, and among the objects of interest within
its walls are the Prior’s Tomb, the Fastolff Tomb, and the
‘¢ devil’s seat,’”? made of the skull of a whale; while the

60

Peggotty’s Port

library contains, among other rare works, a Hebrew roll of
the Book of Esther. A curious relic of the days when all
sorts of mummeries were played in churches are the church
books, which contain an account of certain payments made
for making, working, and renovating a piece of pantomimic
deception known as ‘* The Miraculous Star.” You find in
it such instructive passages as these: In 1465, “ paid for
leading the star, 3d. on the twelfth day ” ; in 1506, “for
hanging and scouring the star,’’ and “a new balk line to
the star, and rising the star, 8d.”’; in 1512, “for a nine
thread line to lead the star.”” Charges are also included for
the “ mending of angels.’’ About seventy years ago body-
snatching on a considerable scale was carried on in St
Nicholas’ churchyard by a resurrectionist named Vaughan,
who is mentioned in the biography of that distinguished
Yarmouthian, Sir Astley Cooper.

All towns are much alike to one who is anxious to get
out into the fields and on to rural highways and byways;
but a seaport, be it ever so much connected with the fishing
industry, is never so stifling as are the streets of some old
inland towns; and so, as you ramble through the narrow
rows, descend into the dungeons of the old Tollhouse and
Gaol (now a public library and the museum of the local
branch of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society),
visit the house where Louis X VIII. of France stayed, and
the inns where Charles II. and George IV. lodged, you
are all the while conscious of inhaling a salt-laden air, and
that at any time you can, without going far out of your way,
stroll down on to the sands and be refreshed by a sea breeze.
Even an examination of what is left of the town’s old
fortifications is not enough to keep your mind in an anti-
quarian groove, for you realise that it was against enemies
which might come from over-sea that the stout walls and
watch-towers were built; and go where you will the low
level of the land reminds you that Yarmouth has been won
from the waves and is only held from them by a frail tenure.

Centuries ago the waves swept over the site upon which the
61

Norfolk

town now stands, and flooded inland up the eastern
valleys. ‘The dwellers where Norwich now lifts its spires
then saw Roman galleys sail up a wide estuarine waste
of waters, the mouth of which gaped from the Roman camp
at Burgh to that of Caister. All along the East Anglian
coast the sea has been the maker and destroyer of towns

and hamlets; and when you remember this you are glad to
go down to the harbour mouth and think over what it has
done and is still doing for the old town. ‘There, too, you
may see the smacks come in from the North Sea trawling
grounds, the ’longshore boats put out for a cruise among
the surf-whitened shoals, ice-barques and steamers arrive
from Norway, and timber ships from the Baltic. Out in
the roadstead steam-tugs tow ships and trawlers towards

the port, fisheries protection gunboats lie at anchor, and
62

Peggotty's Port

wind-bound coasters roll and dip to the undulations of the
waves. It is impossible for the hours to weigh very heavily
when the fishing boats are racing for the bar, and fishermen,
clad in gleaming oilskins, and with spray-drenched faces,
bring them up to the wharves. And even if it were, there
are stories to be told of stormy nights and the old free-
trading days; and there are beachmen whose fathers ‘¢ ran’
many a keg and bale, and who themselves have had many
strange adventures, to tell them.

The beachmen of Yarmouth, and of the Norfolk coast
generally, deserve more than a passing mention, for their
record is one of which England may well be proud. They
are the heroes of many a hard fight against wind and wave ;
they have done deeds which merit a more permanent
memorial than a scanty notice in the public press. Their
daring and hardihood have won for them a certain local
fame; but a reference to them does not stir men’s hearts
as it should, and there is a likelihood that in the not far
distant future much of their brave work will be forgotten ;
for the era of the beachmen is almost over. True, they
still man the lifeboats, and are seldom found wanting when
their services are needed; but the genuine beachman is a
vanishing type. Steam-tugs and salvage companies have
taken out of his hands most of the work once left to him;
his graceful yawls and slender gigs lie rotting on the shingle.
The old beach companies, which, by their keen rivalry,
ensured speedy assistance to ships in distress, are almost
extinct institutions. Here and there may be seen a tumble-
down wooden shed or ‘‘court,’? adorned with defaced
figure-heads and battered name-boards, and in it the
members of some old company still meet on stormy
nights; but of late years many such buildings have dis-
appeared.

Anyone who is familiar with the coast-line of East
Anglia can easily picture the scene presented in the old
days when the burning of a flare, the soaring of a rocket,
or the booming of a gun, announced to the beach com-

63

Norfolk —

panies’ watchers that a ship had struck on a shoal. In a
moment loud cries would arouse the sleepers in the beach-
men’s cottages; lights would gleam from the windows,
doors would be flung open, and men, putting on pilot-coats
and oilskins as they ran, would hasten down to the shore.
Within a hundred yards of each other the members of rival
companies would striye with might and main to get their
yawls afloat, and when the swift-sailing boats were beyond
the shore surf, a strenuously contested race would ensue.
The first man to lay hand on the endangered vessel would
probably win for his crew and company the prize, the
masters of ships, when in need of help, generally engaging
the services of the first arrivals. If possible, anchors would
be laid out and the ship got off the shoal, and when she
was brought into port her owners would have to settle a
heavy salvage claim; but should she be hard aground or
breaking up, the crew would be landed and the beachmen
would do their best to save the cargo. Every member of a
beach company who so much as laid a hand on a yaw! as it
left the beach was entitled to a share of the profits of a
voyage.

Forty years ago there were seven beach companies at
Yarmouth, the Holkham, Standard, Young, Diamond,
Roberts’, Star, and Denny’s companies. At the neigh-
bouring port of Lowestoft there were several similar insti-
tutions, and three of them, the Old, Young, and North
Roads Companies, exist to-day. Writing in 1866, Mr
J. G. Nall, author of “Chapters on the East Anglian
Coast,”’ says: ‘* Of late years the competition of the steam-
tugs has greatly interfered with the gains of the beachmen.
They sally out of the haven and intercept the beachmen’s
prizes, and also render ships’ masters more independent
of their aid. The beachmen complain bitterly that when
a valuable cargo is the prize, the steamers get before them ;
but in cases of wreck, and where human lives only are at
stake, they are suffered to risk theirs in the rescue unop-
posed.”’ If this could be written five-and-thirty years ago,

64

Peggotty’s Port

it is little wonder that the beachman’s calling is now scarcely
worth following.

Owing to the network of sandbanks lying off Yarmouth,
the coast has always had a bad reputation among seamen.
Many lamentable disasters have occurred here, and almost
every winter adds to their number. Over 1000 seamen
are computed to have lost their lives here in 1692, when,
out of 200 coasters which anchored in the roads, 140 were
wrecked by a terrible storm. Nearly a hundred years later,
thirty ships and 200 men were lost; and in 1801 H.M.S.
Invincible, after striking on Hammond’s Knowl, went down
with her captain and 400 men. Six years later the gun-
brig Snipe ran ashore at the harbour mouth, sixty-seven sailors
perishing within a few yards of the shore. Good came,
however, of this disaster. It set the inventive barrack-
master, Captain G. W. Manby, to work upon the con-
struction of an apparatus by means of which people on the
shore might communicate with and rescue those on a
stranded ship. His invention was brought before Parlia-
ment in 1814, and two years later there were about sixty
stations of his life-saving apparatus along the coast. Cap-
tain Manby died in Yarmouth in 1854—not before he
had the satisfaction of knowing that his invention had been
the saving of over a thousand lives.

The sea front or Marine Drive is one of the finest in
England. There are two piers and a jetty, and delightful
beach gardens, where military bands play every day. The
south end of the drive opens upon the spacious South Denes,
where are Nelson’s Monument and the race-course. Among
other places of interest are the Royal Aquartum (now a
theatre), the Town Hall, the remains of the Grey Friars’
Cloister, the Sailor’s Home (which contains a_ small
museum), and the Duke’s Head and Star Hotels. Both
the hotels date from Elizabethan times, and the latter 1s
said to have been occupied by the regicide Bradshaw. It
contains a finely panelled chamber, known as the Nelson
room, decorated with some good carving and ceiling work.

E 65

Norfolk

Over its fireplace are the arms of the Company of Merchant
Adventurers.

Daniel Defoe, who visited Yarmouth at the beginning
of the eighteenth century, was quite enthusiastic when he
came to write of its “magnificent buildings and merchants’
houses, which look like little palaces rather than the dwelling-
houses of private men.”’ ‘The greatest defect of this beauti-
ful town,”’ he wrote, ‘seems to be that, though it is very
rich and increasing in wealth and trade, and consequently in
people, there is not room to enlarge the town by building,
which would be certainly done much more than it is, but
that the river on the land side prescribes them, except at
the north end without the gate; and even there the land is
not very agreeable. But had they had a larger space within
the gates there would before now have been many spacious
streets of noble fine buildings erected, as we see is done
in some other thriving towns in England.” Nearly two
hundred years have elapsed since these words were written,
and during that time Yarmouth has conquered the difficulties
of its awkward situation. Again Defoe says: “ It is also a
very well governed town, and I have nowhere in England
observed the Sabbath day so exactly kept, or the breach
so continually punished, as in this place, which I name to
their honour. Among all these regularities it is no wonder
if we do not find abundance of revelling, or that there is
little encouragement to assemblies, plays, and gaming meet-
ings; and yet I do not see that the ladies here come behind
any of the neighbouring counties either in beauty, breeding,
or behaviour; to which may be added, too, not at all to
their disadvantage, that they generally go beyond them in
fortunes.”

I wonder what Defoe would say if he could see Yarmouth
to-day, with its race meetings, theatres, daily concerts in the
open air, and the “revelling ”” of thousands on its beach !

To my mind Yarmouth is a place to be visited in early
spring or late autumn rather than in summer, for then the
thousands of pleasure-seekers who throng its streets and sea

66

Peggotty’s Port

front in the holiday season are absent, and you may better
appreciate the breeziness of the Drive and tawny sand-dunes,
and the continental features of the long, tree-planted quay.
Then, while rambling through the beachmen’s quarter, you
may be able to reconstruct the Yarmouth that Dickens
knew, and even gain some idea of what the town was like
when Miles Corbet lived in that house in the market-place
known as the “* Weavers’ Arms,”

67

ITINERARY THE FIFTH
A NIGHT ON BREYDON

No lover of wild life should leave Norfolk without explor-
ing Breydon Water, a wide expanse of ooze flat and tidal
water lying inland of Yarmouth. Breydon Water—or
Breydon, as it is generally known—is the estuary of the
three principal Broadland rivers, the Yare, Bure, and
Waveney. Its length from Yarmouth Haven Bridge to
Berney Arms is about four and a half miles, and its width
about a mile in its widest part. Seen under whatever
aspect, it presents a striking appearance, whether its flats
are steaming under a mid-day summer sun or its waste of
waters is reflecting the ruddy glow of sunset. There is
still something primeval about it, and except for the arti-
ficial barriers which have been built to protect the marshes
from its tides, it must present much the same aspect now as
it did when, as a vaster estuary, it occupied the entire valley
of the surrounding lowlands. It can have altered little since
the days when the Iceni crept out in their coracles upon its
waters, and the Romans, who built the massive fortress at
its upper end, signalled across it to their camp at Caister.

I think I cannot give a better idea of Breydon than by
describing a visit paid to its tidal waters towards the end of
August 1899, when I accepted an invitation from a well-
known Norfolk naturalist, Mr A. Patterson, to spend a
night with him in his house-boat the Moorhen. We left
Yarmouth shortly after mid-day, starting from a character-
istic Breydon boathouse, with its eel-spears, butt-darts, fish
boxes, punt sails, and bobbing poles, in a typical Breydon
punt. Visitors to the Broadland soon become familiar

68

A Night on Breydon

with boats of this description, which, however, often differ
slightly, according to the taste and fancy of the owner. Our
boat was better constructed than most of them, having been
specially designed to meet the requirements of a naturalist.
Space economy was one of its special features. It was flat-
bottomed, decked-in fore and aft, and had a roomy central
“ well.’’ It carried a lug sail, and had a rudder instead of
the customary sculling rowlock.

The sea itself could scarcely have presented a wider

outlook than did Breydon when we commenced our inland
voyage, for the tide was at flood and all the flats were
submerged. Ina little while, however, the ebb set in, and
one by one the flats, instead of being wholly hidden, be-
came simply awash, so that the succulent water weed
locally known as ‘‘ widgeon grass,’’ which grows freely
upon them, began to fall in matted masses on the mud.
Then we saw our first signs of wild life in the shape of
a bunch of knots which, uttering their musical note, came
flying towards us over the water. An Arctic tern also
came within a few yards of us, and some ringed plovers
settled on a ‘rising’ flat.

After a pleasant sail, during which we passed several

| 69

Norfolk

stranded and rotting hulks, and the floating headquarters
of ‘ Ducker’’ Chambers, the Norfolk and Norwich
Naturalists’ Society’s watcher, we arrived at the Moorhen,
a snug and well-fitted-up little house-boat in which my
friend often lives the life of a water gipsy. She was
moored in a creek on the north-west side of Breydon, near
Banham’s Farm, the home of a handsome, fair-haired, blue-
eyed, marshland farmer, in whose veins is the blood of the
Vikings. Several other house-boats were to be seen not
far away, belonging to local gunners and fishermen. My
friend’s, however, was the only naturalist’s house-boat on
Breydon, and both in situation and convenience was
admirably suited to his work. Behind it stretched mile
after mile of level marshland, intersected by the winding
waterways of the Broadland; in front were hundreds of
acres of ooze flats, to which the curlews were just return-
ing, and on which the gulls were settling to feed on crabs
and flounders. Sea asters were blooming on the shores
of the creek, and -whenever we emerged from the cabin
we inhaled the fragrance of sea southernwood, dense masses
of which grew all along the “ walls.”

As the weather was warm we lit a fire on the side of the
wall and boiled our kettle there. A cup of tea and a pipe
made us supremely happy, and after a few minutes’ chat
with the Norseman, who, glad to exchange a few remarks
with a human being, strolled down to us from his farm, we
set out on a ramble along the walls towards Berney Arms.
A bunch of eight common sandpipers rose from the foot of
the wall as we neared one of the drainage windmills, and
we counted thirty-two curlews in a flock which came over
from the marshes. The year 1899 was a good one for
curlews — at any rate so far as Norfolk was concerned,
for we saw more there then than we had seen for many
years.

Sunset on Breydon is often a sight to be remembered,
but that night, as we were moored on the north-west side,
we saw the sun sink, not into the water, but beyond the

7O

A Night on Breydon

far-off horizon of the marshes. It kindled a glorious
glow among the fleecy cloud-drift, and for a few too
brief moments it seemed as though the western sky were
afire. ‘The suggestion of a vast conflagration was empha~
sised by the mist which rose out of the dykes and creeks
at sundown, and drifted like smoke across the lowlands.
A quarter of an hour later land and water were hidden by
a dense fog, which had a disturbing effect upon the fowl
on the flats, for as we sat in the (Moorhen we heard an
almost incessant clamouring of gulls, curlews, and smaller
shore birds. As long as the fog lasted the fowl continued
to call, chatter, and whistle; but there were periods of
comparative silence, when the fog lifted for a while and
the flats were lit up by the moonlight. Most of the gulls
were black-headed gulls, but now and again we ‘distinguished
the Jaka-laka of a ‘saddle-back.’’ After we closed our
cabin door a heron flapped down close to the house-boat
and at intervals shouted “‘ Frank ”’ across the flats.

I was in no hurry to sleep that night, for my companion
possesses a fund of interesting information and reminiscences,
and has much to say about the wild life of Breydon. We
talked together of the times, remembered by some of the
older gunners, when the flats were often white with fowl,
and that ardent naturalist, Mr E. T. Booth, brought from |
them some of his rarest and finest birds. There are still
a few punt-gunners on Breydon in autumn and winter,
but the Wild Birds Protection Acts have made it im-
possible for them to gain a livelihood by gunning alone.
They complain, too, that nothing like such quantities of
fowl visit the flats as in former days; but it must be
borne in mind that of late years we have experienced
several mild winters, and only comparatively small numbers
of birds have been driven southward in search of food.
The last time we had a severe winter Breydon and the
Norfolk marshes were alive with wild fowl, and there is
little reason to doubt that under like circumstances just such
flocks will come to us again. As to the Breydon smelt-

VI

Norfolk

fishers, whose house-boats are moored where the Yare and
Waveney unite and form the estuary, the decreasing depth
of the water and the making-up of the flats has had much
to do with rendering theirs an unprofitable occupation. An
old broadsman whom I know can remember the time when
the wherries could sail over what are now called Burgh
Flats, and he tells me that these flats ‘made-up ”’ four
inches in one year. Smelting was once such a paying
business that the fishermen ran all sorts of risks in defying
the River Commissioners and police during the close season.
But although smelt-fishing on Breydon has seen its best
days, there are still several methods by which the Brey-
doners profit by the time they spend on their home waters.
Eels abound in the mud of the flats, and the eel-picker is
often at work with his spear; butt-darting is a favourite
sport, and trawling for butts and flounders and dredging
for mussels are resorted to by some men desirous of earn-
ing an honest penny.

It is impossible to record here one half of the subjects
discussed as we sat in the Moorhen’s lamp-lit cabin and
listened to the cries of the fowl and the lapping of the tide.
When at length we stretched ourselves out on the cushioned
settles to sleep, we found our minds still occupied with the
matters upon which we had discoursed, and not a few
amusing incidents of life on the tidal waters were recalled.
My friend suddenly remembered how one night, while in
his house-boat, he had tried to sleep, but found it impos-
sible, owing to the uneasiness of his couch. After tossing
restlessly to and fro for hours, he recollected that he had
placed under his thin mattress two saws and a hammer!
I, myself, while occupying a water-bailiff’s house-boat,
had been kept awake all night by the singing of the sedge
and reed warblers in the riverside reed beds. On another
occasion my companion had been considerably startled by
the violent rocking of the Moorhen, and discovered that it
was due to the attentions of a horse, which was amusing
itself by rubbing against the edge of the roof. No such

2

A Night on Breydon

disturbing incident occurred that night, however, though
we were now and again aroused by the roar of a punt-gun,
which proved that in spite of the close season extending for
another week some gunner was already after the fowl.

Morning dawned upon a cloudy sky and misty earth ; but
the sunlight soon broke through the clouds, dispelled the
mists, and the roofs of Yarmouth were seen, at first dimly
and then distinctly, across the water. We opened our
cabin door carefully, not knowing what strange visitors
might be in our neighbourhood, and were rewarded by
catching a glimpse of five sheldrakes paddling in a goose-
like fashion near the boat, and a small flock of wild ducks
some distance away. ‘The flats, often so unsightly under a
lowering sky, were transfigured by the sunlight, which here
and there streaked them with glistening bars of greenish gold.
The far-spreading marshlands, too, with their many wind-
mills, isolated homesteads, innumerable cattle, and abundant
bird life, presented a very pleasing picture, and reminded me
of what a somewhat neglected Yarmouth historian wrote,
some forty years ago, concerning Breydon and its sur-
roundings. He said: ‘“‘ There is a peculiar charm in the
contemplation of these wide and fertile vales, under the
ever-changing aspects of sun and sky, with all their
subtle gradations of light and shade. Raised above the
river’s banks, the eye takes in a landscape which has that
true and powerful element of the sublime—wide expanse—
above us soars a vast o’er-arching canopy, and below (is)
the bright glancing stream, flowing through a rich champaign
country, and as it gleams cheerily in the clear bright sunny
air, filling the soul with an infectious gladness: anon the
clouds are flinging down their flickering shadows as we flit
past, now in sunshine, now in shade. . . . Here are rich
poetical landscapes equalling aught of the great Dutch
masters, tranquil cattle pieces worthy of Paul Potter, sunny
Cuyps, romantic Hobbimas, gloomy Ruysdaels, pee
Vanderneers.”’

After breakfast we walked across the marshes to the

73

Norfolk

banks of the Bure, arriving, after an hour’s easy strolling, at
Mautby Swim, where lives Fred Smith, an intelligent mill-
man who is also an enthusiastic sportsman and observer of
wild life. Although still only a young man, he can boast
of having shot no less than nine spoonbills. One of these is
said to be the finest specimen ever procured in England ;
and judging from an excellent photograph in Smith’s posses-
sion, I should say there are grounds for the assertion. In
addition to a stuffed kingfisher, which unfortunately is too
common a feature of the marshman’s home, the millman
pointed out to me a white-tailed starling and a handsome
merlin. Among the rare birds which have fallen to him of
late years were a broad-billed sandpiper (Limicola Platy-
rhynca), only about half a dozen of which species have been
taken in England, and four of these on Breydon; and a
pectoral sandpiper (/Yeteropygia maculata), an American
species. About two months before the date of my visit he
had seen a roller (Coracias garrulus) at Mautby. One of
his especial bird friends is a winged hooded crow, which, on
account of its injury, is unable to re-cross the North Sea,
and has frequented the marshes in all seasons for two or
three years. Ramblers on the marshes and voyagers on the
Bure will do well to pay a visit to the picturesque home of
this entertaining marshlander, if only to climb the tower of
his windmill and view the surrounding country. ‘There was
formerly a wild-fowl decoy at Mautby, but it is now disused.
Plenty of good fishing may be had in the neighbourhood,
especially at Stracey Arms, where, in all probability, a
railway station will soon be built. Mautby is about seven
miles from Yarmouth and two and a half miles from Acle.

Shortly after two o’clock we started on our homeward
voyage, following the winding of the walls instead of crossing
the flats. We had not gone far before we saw something
which reminded us of a cruel and stupid practice of some of
the summer season cruisers on these inland waters. I refer
to the useless and unsportsmanlike shooting at gulls which,
even if they are hit, can only be left to die on the flats. As

74

A Night on Breydon

we glided along by the flint-faced wall a bird dragged itself
up the stones and hid amongst the coarse sea grasses. My
companion jumped ashore, and in a few moments returned
with a winged black-headed gull, which he took home and
placed in an aviary rather than leave to the mercy of the
Breydon rats. The local gunners seldom waste their powder
and shot upon gulls, and it is a pity that yachtsmen, who
cannot leave their yachts and venture upon the flats to get

the birds they shoot, do not refrain from this questionable
sport.

: Near a couple of quaint little houseboats we encountered
a typical Breydoner in his gun-punt. In a few days he
would probably be prowling about in search of fowl; and
even though the 1st September had not yet arrived, the
long-barrelled, pistol-stock gun pointing over his boat’s bow
looked as if it might go off accidentally (!) should a bunch of
fowl settle ona flat. Apparently he wished us to understand
that he was engaged in the harmless occupation of collecting
driftwood ; but he seemed to have his eyes open for other

75

Norfolk

things than stray fish boxes and floating timbers. He was
an elderly man, and no doubt could call to mind many days
of exciting sport, when the ftats were almost hidden by fowl,
and the discharge of his murderous-looking gun filled the air
with wheeling and crying birds which left a score or more
of their kind lying dead or dying on the ooze.

By four o’clock we were back in Yarmouth, and I was
saying good-bye to the friend to whom I was indebted for -
such a delightful holiday. If any reader is desirous of
spending just such another he cannot do better than com-
municate with Mr A. Patterson, who of all the Norfolk
naturalists knows most about Breydon, and than whom no
one is more ready to assist and impart information to a
kindred spirit.

76

ITINERARY THE SIXTH
BY THE WILD NORTH SEA

YARMOUTH TO CAISTER CASTLE, CROMER, CLEY,
WELLS, AND HUNSTANTON

The Sea’s Siege of Norfolk—Caister Castle—Sir John Fastolff—
Martham—lInroads of the Sea—The Chronicles of John of
Oxnead—Bromholm Priory—Paston—Tombs of the Pastons
—Sir John Paston and his Friends and Enemies—Sandhills
and Cliffs—The Old Forest Bed—Trimingham, Overstrand,
and Cromer—The Beauty Spot of Norfolk—The Lighthouse
Hills—On the Cliffs at Night—The Lost Town of Shipden
—The “Shrieking Pits” of Aylmerton—Beeston Priory—
Gresham and Margaret Paston—Sheringham—View towards
Blakeney Point—Salthouse Marshes—The Alighting-place of
Migratory Birds—Rare Warblers—Cley and its Fine Church
—Wells— Walsingham Priory —Kingly Pilgrims — Binham
Priory—Stiffkey—A Queer People—Holkham Hall—“ Coke
of Norfolk”—The Wild Grey Geese—The Birthplace of
Nelson—Brancaster—Hunstanton.

Aut along the eastern shores of England signs of the
erosive action of the waves are to be seen, and nowhere
more apparent than along the Norfolk coast. This is a
fact which no traveller making a coast-line journey from
Yarmouth to Hunstanton or Lynn can fail to be impressed
with. Should you follow the route I now propose to de-
scribe, you will not only skirt stretches of seaboard where
hamlets and churches, fields and waste lands, have been
demolished or submerged, but you will see the sea’s siege
still going on. You will soon understand, too, how it is
that the question of protecting the East Anglian coast against
inroads of the sea has become a serious one. The inhabi-

77

Norfolk

tants of towns and villages which have lately become widely
known and popular health and holiday resorts cannot watch
unmoved the wasting of their cliffs and destruction of their
sandhills. ‘Chey have too much to lose to be indifferent
to the sea’s siege; but for the most part they are helpless,
owing to the costliness of really effective protective measures.

I intend, in this and the succeeding chapter, to indicate
a route which follows the curve of the coast-line nearly the
whole way from Yarmouth to Lynn. If you follow this
route you will not only see Mundesley, Cromer, Sheringham,
and Hunstanton, but Holkham Hall, Sandringham Hall,
and some of the most interesting ruins and delightful scenery
in Norfolk. Should you be a cyclist, you will have no
difficulty in visiting every place I shall mention; and even
if you make this coast-line journey by rail you may, if you
do not mind the frequent alightings, plan your travelling
so as to miss few of them. Most directly, the distance
from Yarmouth to Lynn along the coast is about ninety
miles; but in this tour it will be increased by occasional
excursions into districts not strictly by the sea.

Between Yarmouth and Caister the shore is made up of
sandy beach and marram-grassed sandhills, so, as you will
have ample opportunity for becoming acquainted with this
kind of coast before you reach the Norfolk cliffs, you may
prefer to leave Yarmouth by the Caister Road, which enters
the town near St Nicholas church. This is a straight, level
road, fringed with young firs and willows, and bordered on
the one hand by the marshes of the Bure valley, and on
the other by sand-dunes and an occasional tract of gorsey
common land. Caister village, an enterprising little place
which has learnt to make the most of its proximity to frolic-
some Yarmouth, is too near that town to have retained any
degree of rusticity. But commonplace as is its appearance,
it is famous on account of its castle—a grand old ruin which,
fortunately, stands a little more than a mile from the village
street.

Caister Castle is no Norman fortress, owing its erection

78

By the Wild North Sea

to some warlike baron, but ‘is undoubtedly one of the most
ancient brick buildings in England. It was built between
the years 1443 and 1453 by Sir John Fastolff, who obtained
a license from the Crown to employ six ships in conveying
building materials to Caister. This Sir John was a famous
soldier in his day, for he took a leading part in the battles
at Harfleur, Agincourt, and Verneuil, and during the siege
of Orleans defeated the French troops in an action known
as the Battle of Herrings, because its object was the cutting
off of supplies. Apparently he lived in considerable state
here, for in an inventory of his property in the “ Paston
Letters’’ it is shown that, in addition to gold plate, he
possessed 13,400 ounces of silver plate, while his ban-
quetting table was adorned with two hundred and fifty-one
‘‘chargeours, disshes, and platters” of silver and silver gilt.
But he did not live long to enjoy the sight of a lavish dis-
play suggestive of loot, for he died a few years after the
castle was completed, bequeathing it to Sir John Paston, a
member of a family whose name has become well known
through the publication of the famous ‘ Letters.”? Sir
John Paston was not permitted to retain undisputed pos-
session. ‘Chomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, maintained
that Sir John Fastolff had, during his life, given him the
castle, ‘and that he would have it plainly.’? At the head
of 3000 men he succeeded in taking the new stronghold,
and held it until his death, when Sir John Paston regained
possession. Although not occupied after the reign of
Elizabeth, it remained, in his family until 1659, when it
was sold to a citizen of London to whom the Pastons were
indebted to the extent of £6500.

All that is left of the castle is a lofty circular tower and
considerable portions of the north and west walls, about
which, when I last saw them, many pigeons were fluttering
or nestling in the crevices. Only a few of the tower steps
remain intact, so it is practically unclimbable. Strange to
say, very little ivy clings to the walls, the only vegetation,
except a few recently planted fruit trees, being wall-flowers,

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Norfolk

pellitory, dyer’s rocket, and here and there an elder bush
which has rooted itself in the brickwork. Some old iron
guards are still fixed to one of the tower windows, near an
open hearth with a smoke-blackened chimney. The moat,
which is often almost dry, is overshadowed by trees and
littered with fallen bricks and masonry. ‘The whole ruin
seems sadly neglected, and I never saw a place of historic
interest so desecrated with the scrawlings of silly trippers.
This, no doubt, is due to its nearness to Yarmouth. Like
many other ruins, those of the castle are seen at their best
by moonlight, which fails to show the traces of vandalism
so conspicuous in the daytime. There is an old tradition
that a headless horseman, who drove a coach and four
headless horses, used to haunt the neighbourhood of
Caister.

About half a mile from the castle, the road from the
village joins the high road from Yarmouth to Norwich, an
excellent stretch of highway, which, however, may with
advantage be abandoned for a by-road on the right
leading to Great Ormesby. The distance is a little over a
mile, and it is not a mile to be hurried over. ‘There are
pleasant cornfields and pastures on either hand, and wood-
bine and wild roses in the hedgerows. ,

Great Ormesby church should be visited, if only to
examine its Norman doorway; and then you may take to
the road again, which leads you past a village green and
forge to Little Ormesby church and the Eel’s-foot Inn and
Sportsman’s Arms. The hostelries are favourite resorts of
anglers who come to fish the local broads. ‘Then the
whispering of reeds and the gleaming of waters speak of
Broadland, for you have reached Ormesby Broad. The
scene, made up of lovely lights and shadows on the water,
skimming swallows, quiet pastoral pictures, sallows, willows,
and wild flowers, is a familiar one to travellers in this part
of Norfolk. You continue your journey to Martham, a
small town whose church of St Mary might fittingly be the
sanctuary of a place ten times its size. Apart from its

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By the Wild North Sea

church Martham has little to claim attention. My sole
impressions of it are of a bank which opens for three hours
on two days a week, a green with geese, some ponds around
which the willows grow so close together that they seem
to be crowding each other in efforts to reach the water,
and a local shopkeeper’s harvest sale bill, which announced
that this annual event was causing ‘‘Great Excitement in
Martham.”’

But it will not do to stray too far from the coast at
the commencement of your tour, so you will do well to
return to it by way of Winterton, a village gaining favour
among people of quiet tastes owing to its splendid beach
and secluded position. You soon find yourself in the midst
of a district which within the last few years has experi-
enced disastrous inroads of the sea. ‘To the north of
Winterton, at a place known as Horsey Gap, there is a
weak spot in the sandhill bastions which protect the coast.
Here the sea has several times swept in and inundated the
adjoining lowlands. As long ago as 1287 the surrounding
hamlets were subject to such floods and encroachments,
for in the chronicles of John of Oxnead we read that in
that year, “‘in the month of December, the seventh of the
Kalends of January, the 8th day of the moon, the sea,
in dense darkness, began to be agitated by the violence of
the wind, and in its agitation to burst through its accustomed
limits, occupying towns, fields, and other places adjacent
to the coast, and inundating parts which no age in past times
had recorded to have seen covered with sea=-water. For,
issuing forth about the middle of the night, it suffocated
or drowned men and women sleeping in their beds, with
infants in their cradles, and all kinds of cattle and fresh-
water fishes; and it tore up houses from their foundations
with all they contained, and carried them away, and threw
them into the sea with irrevocable damage. Many when
surrounded by the waters sought a place of refuge by
mounting into trees, but benumbed by the cold they were
overtaken by the water and fell into it and were drowned.

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Norfolk

Whereby it happened that in the town of Hyckelingge nine
score of different ages and sizes perished in the aforesaid
inundation.”” Again in 1608, according to Blomfield, a
great breach occurred between Winterton and Waxham,
through which the sea flowed at every flood tide, over-
flowing many thousand acres of marsh, and seriously damag-
ing the fresh-water fisheries even so far inland as Norwich.
In 1781 and 1791 there were repetitions of these disasters ;
but after that there were no serious breaches until November
1897, when between Winterton and Palling, and also at
Cley and Salthouse beyond Cromer, great damage was done
by rough seas and unusually high tides again causing the
coast walls to give way. At Horsey the sea swept through
the sandhills, drowning a large number of rabbits which
had their burrows there. A native of the district who
saw the sea come in, said afterwards, “ It was pitiful to see
?em clamber for the higher holes and then, when the water
came in, jump clean up a good yard or more. ‘Then they
struggled against the wash a minute, but were toppled over
and swept on to death amongst the rubbage. Some went
tumbling down the cliff front (he called the sandhills cliffs)
as their burrows were halved by the sea, then scrambled
up again, to be licked off by the waves that broke upon
them—and down with marrums, faggots, and sand they
went into the boiling waters below.’? From 150,000 to
200,000 tons of sea-water were subsequently pumped off
the adjoining marshes. At Eccles, a parish of which only
a few acres are now left, the church tower could until
recently be seen standing forlorn on the beach, but it has
now fallen, and is likely to be soon hidden by the sand
or the sea.

While in this neighbourhood you should not fail to see
the deserted Hall at Waxham; but the remains of the
Austin Priory there are so few as to be scarcely worth
a visit. In the parish of Bacton, however, which you
reach after passing through Happisburgh, or Hasboro’,
where Cowper stayed for some time, are the ruins of

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Bromholm Priory, founded in 1113 by William de
Glanville, and famous for its Holy Rood, which pil-
grims came from far and near to worship, and which
was reputed to have power to cure all ills that flesh is
heir to and cast out demons. Sir John Fenn says that
it was ‘‘a monastery of some celebrity. Though not,
at least in its latter days, one of the most wealthy
religious houses, for it fell among the smaller monas-
teries at the first suppression in the reign of Henry
VIII., its ruins still attest that it was by no means in-
significant. . . . Among the numerous monasteries of
Norfolk, none but Walsingham was more visited by
strangers, and many of the pilgrims to Walsingham turned
aside on their way homeward to visit the Rood of
Bromholm. For this was a very special treasure brought
from Constantinople . . . composed of a portion of the
wood of the true cross.”” ‘ Helpe, holy cross of Brom-
holm,”’ was the cry of the affrighted miller’s wife of whom
we read in Chaucer ; and Piers Plowman invokes the Rood
of Bromholm to “bryng’’ him “out of Dette.”” Time
has played havoc with Bromholm Priory, and neglect
has resulted in dilapidations and base usage of portions
of the old shrine ; but still you may see the great empty
arch of the east window of the chapel, flanked by narrow
pointed windows, something of the refectory, and the
gatehouse with its pointed arches.

Adjoining Bacton, and on the road to Mundesley, is
the coast-line village of Paston, where you should not
fail to visit the church, and examine its memorials of the
Paston family. The most imposing of these is a fine
monument, with a recumbent effigy, to Catherine, the
wife of Sir Edmund Paston, who died in 1628. The
tomb is the work of the sculptor Nathaniel Stone, whose
diary contains this entry :—‘‘In 1629, I made a tomb
for my lady Paston, and sat it up at Paston, and was
very extraordinarily entertained, and pay’d for it £340.”
The earliest monument, however, is an altar tomb bear-

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Norfolk

ing the date 1538 upon a brass which also informs you
that
“‘ Here Eastimus Paston and Marye his wiffe
enclosed are in claye,
Which is the Resting place of fleache
until the latter daye.”

Sir Edmund Paston, who died in 1632, and Clement
Paston and Beatrice his wife, are also interred here; but
William Paston, who was appointed justice of the Court
of Common Pleas in 1429, is buried in Norwich Cathedral.
John Paston, the husband of the devoted Margaret whose
letters are the most interesting epistles in the famous collec-
tion, was interred within the walls of Bromholm Priory.
He it was who had so many enemies, against whom, in
his absence from home, his brave and faithful wife de-
fended, as long as she could, his house at Gresham. But
in spite of the fact that his legal duties compelled him to
spend most of his time in London, he seems to have had
good friends in Norfolk as well as enemies, and they and
his wife kept him well informed of what was going on
at home. Thus, when his houses at Hellesdon and
Drayton were in the hands of the Earl of Suffolk, one
of his neighbours wrote to him as follows:—-“ And as
for Haylysdon, my Lord of Suffolk was ther on Wedens-
day in Whytson Weke, and ther dined and drew a stew
and toke gret plente of fych; yet hath he left you a pyke
or ij, agayn ye come, the wych wold be gret comford to
all your frendes, and dyscomford to your enmys; for at
hys beyng ther that day ther was never no man that played
Herrod in Corpus Crysty ! play better and more agreable
to hys pageaunt than he did. But ye shale understond
that it was after none, and the weder hot, and he so feble
for sekeness that hys legges wold not bere hyme, but ther
was ij men had gret payn to kepe hym on hys fete; and
ther ye were juged. Som sayd ‘Sley’; som sayd ‘ Put
hym in preson!’ And forth com my lord, and he wold
1 A reference to the acting of Mysteries at Whitsuntide.
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By the Wild North Sea

met you with a spere, and have none other mendes for the
troble at ye have put hym to but your hart blod, and that
will he gayt with hys owen handes; for and ye have
Haylesdon and Dreton, ye schall have hys lyff with it.”’ 1

The old home of the Pastons has entirely disappeared
from the village which bears their name; but you may still
see a big Elizabethan barn here, which was built by Sir
William Paston.

By the time you arrive at this point of your coast-line
journey, you begin to lose sight of the sandhills, with their
ragged marram-grown ridges and scanty floral crop of sea
holly, restharrow, and sea bindweed. From Happisburgh
to a spot some distance west of Sheringham the coast in
most places lifts up above the sea a sheer face of cliff, often
to a considerable height. ‘These cliffs are of great interest
to the geologist, for they contain the so-called Forest Bed.
It extends nearly sixty miles along the coast, but is especi-
ally conspicuous at Bacton, Happisburgh, and Cromer,
while out at sea it is often met with at considerable depths
by the East Coast trawlers, who bring to light many of its
fossil bones. These include remains of the mastodon,
several elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, beavers, oxen,
and several kinds of deer, specimens of which are in Nor-
wich Castle Museum.

Almost at the commencement of this cliff-line you enter
upon a stretch of coast which of late years has seen such
changes that its elderly inhabitants may well wonder if they
are dreaming or witnessing some phantasmal transformation
scene. Until a comparatively recent date it was practically
an unknown land, so far as the tourist and pleasure-seeker
were concerned ; nowit is famous. All England has heard
of Trimingham, Overstrand, Cromer, and Sheringham.
There is something in the scenery around these delightful
places that makes a lasting impression. One cannot forget

1 Extract from a letter from J. Whetley to Sir John Paston,
written on May zoth, 1478, and appearing in the ‘ Paston
Letters.”

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Norfolk

the wave-fretted cliffs which show so bold a front to the
sea, the ruined shrines which, lonesome and storm-beaten,
are landmarks to the mariner, the quiet hamlets backed by
sunny fields and pastures and lovely woodlands. It is not
difficult to foretell the future of Cromer and the villages
which surround it. ‘There is such a future in store for
them as Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and many of the popular
places on the East Coast can never hope to enjoy. To-
gether they make up the “beauty spot”’ of Norfolk. The
very naming of them suggests “dreams of delight ’?—
Felbrigg Woods, the Lighthouse Hills, Overstrand and
Sheringham Cliffs, Runton, Roughton, and Gunton—they
bring to mind the play of light and shade on the cliff-top,
the wind-blown runnels of sand which trickle down to the
beach, the crooning of wood-doves, the waving of bright
seaweeds in the rock pools, the piping of shore birds, and
the ceaseless song of the sea. Even the summer birds
seem to sing and the summer flowers to bloom later here
than elsewhere along the coast; while as for the sea, the
Mediterranean can scarcely show a deeper, lovelier blue.

You are indeed in the “beauty spot’”’ of Norfolk, and it
is difficult to tell of a tithe of its charms. I might write
of Mundesley, with its splendid beach and crumbling cliffs ;
of Overstrand, with its leafy byways and ruined church,
containing the simple tomb of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton,
the abolitionist of slavery ; of Cromer, with its hills and
vales, quiet shady lanes, grand church, and famous golf
links; of Trimingham, where the cliffs are 300 feet high,
and from whose Beacon Hill nearly forty churches can be
seen; of Beeston and its Priory; of the Skelding Hills
and Sheringham’s bird-haunted woods and breezy uplands.
I might write in detail of all these, but so much would still
remain untold that I should despair of being able to do
anything like justice to them. It is all so enchanting ; it is
a bit of Devon and Cornwall transplanted to the shores of
the North Sea, only it is Devon and Cornwall without the
relaxing air of the south. The sea breezes are of the most

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By the Wild North Sea

bracing kind—there is no land between Cromer and the
North Polar regions, and the winds are often fresh with the
keenness of the ice-fields. People who regularly go to the
coast say that even if one is dying it is impossible to feel ill
here. And it is astonishing how good homely country fare
tastes when it is eaten at one of the coast-line farmsteads.

If you wish to appreciate the charms of Cromer and its
surroundings, and to get a good view of them, you cannot

~

choose a better vantage ground than the Lighthouse Hills.
You may stay there all day and not tire of the prospect
before you. There is colour enough in it—in the house-
roofs and cornfields, sea and shore—to satisfy everyone.
Existence here becomes idealised, presents boundless possi-
bilities; there is nothing to limit the imagination; the vista
of life is as wide as the sky. ‘The cries of the sea birds and
humming of the bees are in harmony with the voices of
wind and wave. From dawn till sunset you are content to
lie amid the wild mignonette and silvery sea buckthorn, and
watch the flying clouds and their shadows on land and sea.

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Norfolk

And even when night falls, and the sky is filled with stars,
it is with slow steps that you leave the Lighthouse Hills ;
for it is then you are reminded of what Hardy has written
of such a wind-swept height: ‘‘'To persons standing alone
on a hill during a clear midnight . . . the roll of the world
eastward is almost a palpable movement. ‘The sensation
may be caused by the panoramic glide of the stars past
earthly objects, which is perceptible in a few minutes of
stillness, or by the better outlook upon space that a hill
affords, or by the wind, or by the solitude; but whatever
be its origin, the impression of riding along is vivid and
abiding. ‘The poetry of motion is a phrase much in use, and
to enjoy the epic form of that gratification it is necessary to
stand on a hill at a small hour of the night, and, having
first expanded with a sense of difference from the mass of
civilised mankind, who are horizontal and disregardful of all
such proceedings at this time, long and quietly watch your
stately progress through the stars. After such a nocturnal
reconnoitre among these astral clusters, aloft from the cus-
tomary haunts of thought and vision, some men may feel
raised to a capability for eternity at once.”

At Cromer, again, you have striking evidence of the effect
of the sea’s siege of the Norfolk coast, for the old town of
Shipden, mentioned in Doomsday Book, and once a royal
demesne, occupying a position seaward of the present town,
has wholly disappeared. Local fishermen affirm that at low
water portions of its old church of St Peter, which went
down-cliff in the fourteenth century, may be seen, with other
traces of the vanished town. Apart from these questionable
relics, however, the district possesses several objects of his-
torical and antiquarian interest. On Toll’s Hill, said to
have been a smugglers’ signalling station, are the remains of
an old beacon, similar to that which, before the erection of
a more modern structure, stood on the Lighthouse Hills.
At Aylmerton, a hamlet about three miles from Cromer, is
a tract of high heathland, noted for its numerous hollows,
pronounced to have been the dwellings of some primitive

By the Wild North Sea

inhabitants of the district. ‘They are known as the “ Shriek-
ing Pits,” owing to a tradition that loud shrieking is some-
times heard from them, and that a white figure peers into them
and wrings its hands in an agonised manner. Mr A. D.
Bayne, in his ‘¢ History of Eastern England,”’ says: ‘* The
northern part of Norfolk appears to have been densely
peopled by the Iceni, as indicated by the burrows, pits,
and remains of dwellings and pits near Cromer. ‘There is
the site of a large British village, consisting of remains of
several thousand inhabitants. It begins at Felbrigg and
runs up to Beeston. It is divided across the middle by a
bank, the base of which is from twelve to twenty feet in
width. At each end of this encampment are two large
burial grounds where have been found quantities of pottery.
At Weybourne there are above a thousand pits, supposed to
have been Icenic dwellings or hiding-places.”’

Between Cromer and Sheringham are the ruins of
Beeston Priory, founded in the reign of King John by
Lady Isabel de Cressey. These ruins, which are not far
from the village church, are very picturesque, though only
the west end of the conventual church, a small belfry
tower, and a portion of the chapter-house are now to be
seen. ‘The church, when intact, was a large cruciform
structure, but without aisles. The village church has been
recently restored ; but a piece of the screen which, at the
time of restoration, was placed behind the communion
table, interests ecclesiologists, as do the corbels which
carried the rood-loft, the clerk’s seat, and one or two old
brasses. At Gresham, a village five miles from Cromer,
and of which a son of Chaucer once held the living, are
the foundations of the house in which Margaret Paston
and a few servants kept at bay for some time a thousand
of Lord Molynes’ rabble retainers, who, on January 28th,
1450, besieged it, armed with ‘‘cuirasses and brigandines,
with guns, bows, and defensive armour.’ To gain posses-
sion of a place almost entirely unprotected, they also em-
ployed ‘mining instruments, long poles with hooks, called

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Norfolk

cromes, used for pulling down houses, ladders, pickaxes,
and pans with fire burning in them.”” Needless to say, in
the end they succeeded in breaking into the house.

Before losing sight of Cromer, as you continue your
journey towards Sheringham, it is interesting to make note
of the words of an old guide writer, who, in 1819, said:
“‘ Cromer was first frequented as a watering-place about the
year 1785, by two or three families of retired habits, whose
report of the beautifully diversified scenery of the neigh-
bourhood, of the simple manners of the inhabitants, and
the excellent beach at low water, made others desirous of
sharing in this rural enjoyment.’’ He also remarks that
“Fish are scarce at Cromer, except lobsters, which are
good but small, and sold at 8d. or gd. a pound; when
dear, they are called ‘hanged’ lobsters.’

Sheringham, which the author just quoted did not
consider worthy of mention, promises to become a rival
to Cromer, and even now there are not a few people who
prefer it to the better-known place. From the west cliffs
of Sheringham you get a grand view of the coast as far
as Blakeney Point. The height of the cliffs gradually
decreases in that direction, until they give way entirely to
the Salthouse Marshes, a somewhat dreary district often
visited by the gunner and ornithologist on account of its
being a favourite haunt of waders and other birds. The
marshes, which are protected on the seaward side by a long
pebble ridge, are wide, treeless, and almost featureless.
At the time when the sea last broke through the ridge they
lay for a long time ‘‘sea-soaked and water-logged.”’ Ina
recent article in a weekly paper reference is made to the
favour shown these marshes by the smaller land birds in the
migration season. ‘ [tis then,” says the writer, ‘ that the
‘ blue-throats,’ birds once deemed among the rarest migrants,
come yearly, and remain to rest before passing southwards.
. - + Here the ‘barred warbler’ was first seen and
identified in England, and later Pallas’s barred warbler,
a little bird from the far East, was found there. It was

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By the Wild North Sea

taken for a gold-crested wren as it flew along the beach,
but the sharp eyes of a local gunner detected the difference,
and it was ‘collected.’ The aquatic warbler has also been
taken recently at the same spot, and the list of minor
rarities there secured is too long to set out... . Black
storks, rare grebes, and ibises, are among the visitors to
Salthouse, and some of the rarest of all ducks taken in
Norfolk or in England were shot at Blakeney. These

were, it is believed, four specimens of Steller’s duck, one
of which, in the Norwich Museum, was for fifteen years
the only specimen of this bird killed in England and
preserved.’ Of the arrival of the migrants the same writer
says: ‘ By night most of the shore birds and sea birds
come—stints, plovers, terns, ducks, and phalaropes; but
by day the land birds drop in at all hours. You may
wander down at all hours towards Blakeney Point with-
out seeing a bird, and on returning find the bushes of sueda
and furze full of thrushes and fieldfares. . . . Walking
on the great shingle bank at dusk, while the eternal roar
of the waves over the nine-mile barrier rises and falls with
a noise like the roaring of a 10-inch shell, you may see the

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Norfolk

little birds coming in from the sea, just topping the waves,
and alighting only a yard beyond the froth of the last
roller on the beach. ‘Then they flutter to a grass tuft, and
creeping in, fold their weary wings and sleep in the sound
of the breakers.”’

A great deal about the wild life of this particular district
and of that lying further west, between Wells and Bran-
caster, may be learnt by consulting Mr C. J. Cornish’s
“ Nights with an Old Gunner,” in which sport on the
North Norfolk coast is fully and entertainingly described.

Cley, which is now only a village though it calls itself
a town, was once a flourishing place, carrying on a con-
siderable trade with foreign ports. ‘That time, however,
has long gone by, and the only indications of its former
prosperity are its grand old church and the quaint old grey-
pebble houses which survive the decay of the town’s trade.
Mariners nowadays scarcely recognise Cley as a port, but
in 1406, when James, son of Robert Bruce of Scotland,
was driven by stress of weather to the Norfolk coast, he
sought refuge here. He met with a reception scarcely
calculated to give him a favourable impression of the place,
for the loyal mariners of Cley would not allow him to
depart when he wished, but sent him prisoner to London.
Cley church, which is partly in ruins, is one of the finest
in the county. If it could have been kept in thorough
repair and its transepts, which were never finished, owing to
the ravages of the Black Death, completed, it would attract
the attention of every English ecclesiologist. As it is, it
is a noble structure, and seems strangely out of place in a
little out-of-the-way coast-line village. Its building was
commenced in the decorated style, as may be seen by the
chancel nave and aisles; but the nave was not completed
nor the tower built until a time when the perpendicular
style was generally adopted in the erection of sacred build-
ings. ‘The unfinished transepts, although in ruins, possess
some beautiful decorated tracery; and the clerestory
windows, in which the ordinary form alternates with

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By the Wild North Sea

cinquefoils enclosed in circles, are of the same period. The
south porch is an especially fine one. In addition to em-
blems of the Trinity and the Passion, it bears, in the
spandrels, the arms of Richard II., impaling those of
Anne of Bohemia; while in the moulding of the jambs are
represented the Agnus Dei, the Cross Keys, the arms of
England, and those of the noted Norfolk families of
De la Pole, Erpingham, and De Warrenne. There is an
ogee arch to the church doorway, the boss of which shows
an old woman flinging her distaff at a fox which has stolen
a goose. ‘There are several old tombs and brasses. One
brass, which bears the effigy of a priest, is to the memory
of John Yslington, who died in 1429; while in the south
aisle is another, with effigies in shrouds, to John Symons,
a merchant who died in 1508. An altar tomb in the
churchyard is that of Captain James Greeve, a gallant sailor
who fought beside Sir Cloudesley Shovel. It bears the
inscription: ‘* Here lyeth the body of James Greeve, who
was an assistant of Sir Cloudesly Shovel in burning ye ships
in ye port of T'ripoly in Barberii, January 14th, 1675-6,
for his good service pformed was made Capt. of the ship
called the Orange Tree of Algier in 1677, and presented
with a medal of gold by King Charles ye 2. He died
April 14, 1686, aged 48 years.”’

Blakeney, which, in spite of its decaying trade, still looks
upon itself as a port, has a stagnant aspect like Cley. The
scenery, however, is not without its attractiveness to those
who can appreciate lonely marshland and deserted shore.
Inland of Blakeney, by way of Morston, is Langham
Bishops, where lived Captain Marryat, who here wrote
“¢for the classes and not the masses,’ and amused himself
with the working of a wild-fowl decoy, while in the neigh-
bouring hamlet of Cockthorpe Sir Cloudesley Shovel was
born. The little market town of Holt, which is only a
few minutes’ railway journey from Sheringham, stands on
rising ground a few miles from the coast, but is scarcely
worth a visit except for the sylvan scenery which surrounds

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Norfolk

it. It overlooks the valley of the Glaven, one of those
little streams which Mr Walter Rye assures us are dis-
tinctly perceptible to the naked eye.” x
Wells, although it boasts of a harbour and small export
and import trade, scarcely suggests a seaport, as a mile-wide
stretch of salt marsh lies between it and the sea. ‘To me it
always seems a dull, not to say dismal, little town, containing
little or nothing to reward the tourist. It must be admitted,
however, that it is a convenient starting-point of one or two
interesting excursions, notably that to Walsingham, a small
town about five miles away, once famous for its shrine of
“‘Our Lady of Walsingham.” This place first came into
repute in consequence of a widow named Rychold de
Favranches being moved by a vision to erect here a chapel
of similar design to the Sancta Casa at Nazareth. This she
did towards the end of the eleventh century. Subsequent to
her death, her son Geoffrey de Favranches started on a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land; but before leaving his home
he ‘granted to God, St Mary, and to Edwy, his clerk,
the chapel which his mother Rychold had built at Walsing-
ham, together with other possessions, to the intent that the
said Edwy should found a priory there.’? Thus was
founded the famous priory for Augustine canons which
became the resort of innumerable pilgrims, who were be-
lieved to be guided here by the Milky Way, then known
in Norfolk as the “ Walsingham Way.” Henry III.,
Edward I., Edward II., Bruce of Scotland, and Henry
VIII., are recorded to have visited the priory; but rever-
ence does not appear to have been the sole incitement to the
pilgrimage of the last King Henry, who carried away with
him a considerable quantity of votive gifts, in the form of
gold and jewels. Far more creditable were the motives
which brought here Margaret Paston, who, when her
husband was lying ill in the Inner Temple, wrote to him,
‘“Ryth worchipful hosbon, I recomande me to yow,
desyryng hertely to her yowr a mendyng of the grete dysese
that ye have hade; and I thanke yow for the letter that ye

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By the Wild North Sea

sent me, for be my trowthe my moder and I wer nowth in
hertys es fro the tyme that we woste of yowr sekenesse tyl
we woste verely of your a mendyng. My moder be hestyd
a nodyr ymmage of wax of the weytte of yow to oyer
Lady of Walsyngham, and sche sent iiij nobelys to the iiij
Orderys of Frerys at Norweche to pray for yow, and I have
be hestyd to gon on pylgreymmays to Walsingham, and to
Sent Levenardys for yow; by my trowthe I had never so
hevy a sesyn as I had from the tyme I woste of your seke-
nesse ty! I woste of your a mendying.”’ !

Erasmus came here in 15113; but was more impressed
with the beauty of the shrine than the conduct of the
pilgrims. He found that, besides the image of * Our Lady,”’
the priory contained a vial of the Virgin’s milk, and one of
St Peter’s finger bones! ‘The latter seems to have aston-
ished him by its size, for he inquired whether St Peter was
agiant! ‘The ruins, which are in the grounds of Walsingham
Abbey, consist of the western gateway of the priory, a part
of the east end of the church, a Norman arch leading to a
stone bath, some lancet arches, and the west window of
what may have been the refectory. In the hamlet of East
Barsham, which adjoins Walsingham, is the fine ‘Tudor
Hall built by Sir William Fermor, and afterwards occupied
by the Calthorpes. From this hall Henry VIII. is said to
have walked barefoot to Walsingham. ‘The wayside chapel
of Houghton, known as the Old Shoe House through a
tradition that pilgrims here cast off their shoes, is within a
mile of the priory.

When you are at Walsingham you are only about three
miles from the ruins of another once famous monastic house—
Binham Priory, which stands in the valley of the small river
which flows by Walsingham, and enters the sea at Stiffkey.
This priory was founded in 1104 by Peter de Valoines, and
was at one time subject to the abbey of St Peter at Clugni.
In the reign of King John it was besieged by Robert, Lord

1 Extract from a letter written by Margaret Paston on September
28th, 1443, and included in the “ Paston Letters.”

95

Norfolk |

Fitzwalter, who claimed the patronage, and wished to rein-
state a prior who had been deposed by the prior of St
Albans, to which abbey this foundation was originally a
cell. ‘The king, however, sent a force to its relief, and
Lord Fitzwalter was compelled to raise the siege. The
village church of St Mary was formerly the conventual
church of the priory, and its Norman work is especially
interesting. The three eastern bays of the nave are Early
Norman, as are the transepts and part of the south wall; but
the fine west front is Early English (thirteenth century), and
so are the three western bays.

Probably, until you read the name of the place in the
foregoing paragraph, you had never heard of Stiftkey. Or
you may have heard of it and yet failed to recognise it as
Stiftkey, for in the neighbourhood of Wells, and in the
village itself, it is always known as ‘‘Stewkey.”’ Yet this
Stiftfkey is one of the most delightfully situated hamlets in
Norfolk, lying in a beautiful retired vale through which a
charming rivulet winds towards the sea. It is about three
and a half miles east of Wells, and the road to it is by no
means a promising approach to such a lovely spot; but if
you are not disheartened by this you will be amply rewarded
for your pains and perseverance. ‘I’o judge from the
remarks of the natives of the surrounding villages, Stiftkey,
in spite of its beauty, has not a very good reputation. This
is due to the fact that its inhabitants, who are mainly
dependent upon cockle-gathering for a livelihood, are a
people who, as we say in Norfolk, ‘‘keep themselves to
themselves.’? This is at once evident from their appearance,
for they are a type distinct from their neighbours, with
whom they seldom or never intermarry. Most of them
have red hair, and it is plain to the most casual observer
that the ‘‘ keeping of themselves to themselves ”’ which has
brought this about has also resulted in physical and mental
deterioration. Most of the cockle-gathering is—or was
until recently—done by women and girls, who, when they
are at work on the shore at low-water, wear short and

96

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by the Wild North Sea

sometimes bifurcated skirts. Mrs Berlyn, in her ‘ Sunrise-
Land,” draws a gloomy picture of village life at Stiffkey,
which, indeed, is unlike that of any other hamlet in the
county. As to the hardships endured by the women, she
writes: ‘* When the east wind blows in from the sea it
cuts like a flail on the naked legs of the women, stooping
hour after hour to pick the slimy, glistening molluscs from

the pools, and rheumatism, say the old ‘minders,’ is the
inevitable lot of them all; for however bleak and cold it
may be, and whatever may be their constitutions, they will
plunge into the water knee-deep again and again, day after
day, to rake from the incoming waves an extra peck to swell
their sacks. Sometimes it is in the waning light, according
to the tides, that the women come down for their spoils,
but always in gangs, for the sea is treacherous; and once,
they say, it carried away one of their number, who, working
alone in the glooming with her back to the waves, learnt
only of her danger when it was too late.’’ So it is a some-
what ‘‘unlovely life” that is led by the dwellers in this
lovely peaceful vale.

There is an old farmhouse at Stiff key, which goes by the

= 97

Norfolk

name of “The Hall.” It was built by Sir Nicholas
Bacon, who was Lord Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth ;
but it never attained the dimensions he intended, though it
was formerly a castellated mansion with imposing circular
towers.

About two miles from Wells is Holkham Hall, the seat
of the Earl of Leicester, standing in the midst of a large and
beautiful park. ‘The estate came into the possession of the
family in the seventeenth century; but the hall, which has
been described as one of the ugliest buildings imaginable, was
built between the years 1734 and 1760. The great agricul-
turalist, Thomas William Coke, better known as ‘ Coke of
Norfolk,”’ succeeded to the estate in 1776, and was created
Earl of Leicester and Viscount Coke in 1837. He found
his land sandy and barren: as he was in the habit of saying,
‘““he used to see two rabbits quarrelling for one blade of
grass.’’ le was assured that nothing could possibly grow
upon it; but discovering under the sand a stratum of marl,
he, by having it dug and spread, eventually obtained from
his property an annual yield to the value of something like
4#20,c0o. At the present time the park is well stocked
with deer and cattle, and the woods produce more pheasants
and partridges than any others in England. The park is
open to the public once a week; but an inspection of the
interior of the hall, which at the beginning of the century
was granted every Tuesday to all except foreigners and artists,
can only be obtained by special permission. In the park is
a large artificial lake dug by ‘¢ Coke of Norfolk,’’ which is
visited by large numbers of wild fow]. Anyone standing
beside it on a winter’s day may well be astonished at what
he sees there. More particularly will this be the case after
a long spell of severe weather, for then, as a writer has said,
the fowl ‘lie as thick as ducks on a mill pond.”’ Not only
mallard, teal, and widgeon then come to the lake, but scoters,
golden-eyes, and goosanders. ‘There is a heronry in the
park, most of the nests being built in beeches which have
attained such a height that they are visible a long way off.

98

By the Wild North Sea

Holkham is also noted for being a favourite haunt of the
wild grey geese, concerning which Lord Leicester has
written : “As long as I can recollect, wild geese have
frequented the Holkham and Burnham marshes. Their time
of appearance in this district is generally the last week of
October, and their departure the end of March, varying a
little according to the season. Till November they rarely
alight on the marshes, or elsewhere in the neighbourhood,
but are seen passing to and fro from the sea. Where they
feed in October I know not; but from early in November
till their time of departure for the north, the Holkham
marshes have almost daily some hundreds of geese feeding
in them.” ‘The geese referred to are the “ pink-footed ”
species, dnaser Brachyrhynchus, which breeds in Iceland and
Spitzbergen. Mr Bowdler Sharpe, who has had oppor-
tunities of observing them at Holkham, says he has seen
them flying out day after day to the sandbanks beyond the
bar of Wells Harbour, uttering their musical « tin-trumpet ’’-
like call.

The Holkham estates are practically a wild fowl
sanctuary ; but beyond their borders the shore-gunner finds
plenty of sport as soon as the season sets in. Across the
lonesome flats and among the grey sandhills he prowls in
search of the birds which have been driven southwards
from the frozen North. Night and day he is on the look-
out for them. Grey dawn often finds him crouched in a
duck-hole scooped out of the wind-heaped sand, waiting for
a brace of mallards or a flock of widgeon to come within
_ range of his gun; and the red light of winter sunset often
_ fades ere he returns to his cottage by the shore. He is
inured to the inevitable hardships of his calling; he will lie
for hours on the bleak sea beach if there is chance of a bag.
The chill winds may blow and the keen frosts cover the
pools with ice; still he remains at his post, and many and
strange are the sounds he hears and the sights he sees.
Almost everything is ‘fair game”? which comes to him;
- even a grey gull or hooded crow is not despised ; but it is

9
Pete ?

Norfolk

the sight of the wild geese flighting that gladdens his
heart.

Westward of Holkham are the seven Burnhams. Pro-
bably, only official land surveyors know where one begins
and the other ends; but that need not trouble you, for you
will only care to visit Burnham Thorpe, the birthplace of
Nelson. Even here you will find little to repay you for
your pilgrimage. Of the rectory in which the hero of the
Nile and Trafalgar first saw the light, nothing marks the
site except an old well; but the church lectern is made of
wood from the Victory. Brancaster, which lies beyond the
Burnhams, and from which a Roman road’ formerly ran all
along the coast to Caister, is supposed to be the Roman
Branodonum ; but most people go to Brancaster nowadays to
play golf rather than to seek traces of the entrenchments of
the ‘* Count of the Saxon shore.”? Those who are not
fond of salt marshes, even when overgrown with scentless
sea lavender, will, however, after exploring Holkham, do
well to take train to Hunstanton, where on the summit of
the breezy chalk cliffs they may enjoy a wider prospect of
sea and shore than they have seen since they left Sheringham.
Hunstanton is another of those pleasantly situated coast-line
retreats which have begun to compete with Cromer for
popularity. There is a wide beach, with plenty of rock
pools at low water, when the tide ebbs so far from the
white cliffs that even the smart little pier can scarcely wet
its iron feet in the sea. Ona windy day, when the tama-
risk on the cliff-top is blown about like a cloud of grey-
green smoke, and you are trying to reach the lighthouse from
the town, you may perhaps think the place a little too
breezy ; but people are not blown over the cliff every day,
and a spice of danger gives a zest to pleasure.

The old village of Hunstanton, which 1s a little more
than a mile from the new tdwn, is notable for its church
of St Mary and the ancestral home of the L’Estranges.
This family has held the lordship of the place ever since
the Conquest, and has produced some famous men. The

10G

,
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.
;

By the Wild North Sea

fine entrance gate and a great part of the old moated hall
were built by Sir Roger L’Estrange, who died in 1506,
and to whose memory there is a fine brass in the village
church. Other portions of the building were added by Sir
Hamon L’Estrange in the seventeenth century. Thirteen
generations are represented in the family portraits contained
in this typical old English mansion, which is filled with
valuable heirlooms and curiosities gathered together during
many centuries. Apparently it has been the praiseworthy
aim of its holders to keep it, as nearly as possible, in its
original condition; for to-day you may enter its old armoury,
hung with rusty suits and coats of mail; visit the old buttery
and kitchen in which old-time retainers congregated while
their masters feasted in the great hall, and see rooms filled
with furniture which is as old as the house itself. Such a
place is a part of our English history, as might be realised
even if it were not for the portrait of the first Pretender
which hangs upon the great oak staircase, and the know-
ledge that the L’Estranges have played a prominent part
in many historical events, and formed alliances with many
famous families. Probably, in earlier days, they were con-
sidered rather dangerous neighbours, for we read that in
1644 Sir Roger L’Estrange planned to capture the neigh-
bouring town of Lynn. He was betrayed by some of his
conspiring associates, and condemned to death; but this
sentence was commuted to one of imprisonment, and he
eventually escaped to the Continent. After the Restoration
he again appeared on the scene, this time as a political writer,
in which direction he was far more successful than as a con-
spirator. He established the Public Intelligencer, a paper
superseded by the London Gazette, and was appointed
“‘ Licenser of the Press.”’ ‘T’he church of St Mary owes
its good condition to the family whose memorials are its
most interesting feature. In the neighbouring village of
Heacham there is another old hall, occupied by the Rolfes,
a family which claims to have in its veins the blood
of the unfortunate Virginian Princess Pocahontas, who
IOI

Norfolk

married John Rolfe, an adventurous comrade of Sir Walter
Raleigh. ©

The neighbourhood of Hunstanton, however, is only a
comparatively small tract of upland between wide expanses
of salt marshes, so, as there is little to be gained by con-
tinuing your coast-line tour across these monotonous levels,
you will probably prefer to take train at Hunstanton, and
thus make your way to Sandringham and King’s Lynn.

102

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HUNSTANTON, SANDRINGHAM, CASTLE RISING, AND LYNN.

18

ITINERARY THE EIGHTH

IN THE PRINCE’S COUNTRY

SANDRINGHAM, CASTLE RISING, AND
KING’S LYNN

The Prince’s Railway Station—Sandringham Heights—Sandringham
Hall—The Church in the Park—Its Monuments and Memorials
—West Newton and Dersingham—lIngoldisthorpe Hall—The
Murder of Drugo Chamberlain—Dersingham Heath—Bustards
—Castle Rising—The Prison of the “ She-wolf of France ”—
The Bede House—King’s Lynn—The Reclamation of the Fens
—Fighting the Sea—The Red Mount Chapel—The South Gate
—Greyfriars’ TTower—Eugene Aram’s School—Lynn Churches
—The Red Register—The Hamlets of Marshland—Their Fine
Churches—The Bailiff’s Daughter of Islington—Dr Jessop and
“* Marshland.”

TRAVELLERS on the coast railway between Hunstanton
and King’s Lynn, when they have completed about two-
thirds of their journey to the latter town, find the train
draw up at a station which at once strikes them as being
vastly different to all others they have come across in their
journeyings, and which has more the appearance of a fair-
sized bungalow than a railway station. ‘This is Wolferton
Station, the nearest stopping-place to Sandringham, and the
alighting-place of the Prince of Wales when he visits his
Norfolk home. Here there are no disfiguring advertisements
on the walls, no automatic machines—not even a weighing
machine or a porter’s barrow litters the smooth-paved plat-
forms. AQ special approach for royal carriages leads up to
royal waiting-rooms; even the gas lamps with which the
station is brilliantly lighted have royal crowns. The row of
fire-buckets, too, are of such ornate design as to make one
tremble for the effect upon them of use at a fire. It seems
103

Norfolk

almost sacrilege to step upon the spotless platforms without
wiping the dust from your boots; but if you wish to see
Sandringham you must alight here, and follow the pleasant
turf-bordered woodland road so often used by the lord of
the manor when he is in residence at Sandringham House.
It is difficult to imagine a more delightful neighbourhood
for a prince whose tastes are thoroughly English than this
of Sandringham. Nowhere in Norfolk is there another
like it ; indeed the greater part of it might have been trans-
planted from some county of woods and wild moorlands.
To gain some idea of its beauty, take your stand upon the
summit of a hill about a mile from the station, known as
the Sandringham Heights. From here you get a wide
view not only of the Prince’s estate, with its heathery
hills and dales and well-stocked preserves, but of the
cattle-dotted marshes which stretch away from the foot of
the upland slopes to the low-lying shores of the Wash.
On a clear day it is possible to see, apparently rising like
a far-off lighthouse from the sea, the tower of Boston
church, better known in Norfolk and Lincolnshire as
*‘ Boston stump.” The outlook embraces a variety of
scenery. As a writer who devoted considerable time to
describing Sandringham and its surroundings has said :—
‘© Sea, heath, hil), and woodland combine with the soil
under cultivation, and the well-ordered and well-condi-
tioned villages, to give this estate the charm of variety,
which, it must be acknowledged, is also not wanting in
the climate.”’ Of all the coverts in view from the heights
the best is Wolferton North Wood, which covers a slope
leading down to the level shores of the Wash. Indeed,
it is one of the best coverts in the best shooting county
in England, and provided excellent sport for the Kaiser
when he last visited Sandringham. As a rule it is reserved
for a big “shoot”? on December 1st, the Princess of
Wales’s birthday. On this and other important occasions,
the beaters are usually garbed in old English smock frocks,
such as have almost entirely vanished from rural England.
104

In the Prince’s Country

Eighty years ago, when an interesting work, illustrated
by John Sell Cotman, and entitled ‘“‘ Excursions through
Norfolk,’’ was brought out, a couple of lines were con-
sidered sufficient to describe Sandringham, or, as it was
then spelt, Sanderingham. Now, not a day passes without
mention of the place being made in some newspaper, every
month sees special articles devoted to it in the magazines,
and even books have been written about it. ‘The event
which led to this great change, occurred in 1861, when
the Prince of Wales purchased from the Hon. C. Spencer
Cowper, a son of Lady Palmerston by her first husband
Earl Cowper, the Sandringham estate for the sum of
£220,000. The Sandringham House of that time was
a solid building occupying three sides of a square, and
the estate, which comprised the parishes of Sandringham,
Babingley, Appleton, West Newton, Wolferton, and some
part of Dersingham, was one of about 7,000 acres. As
soon as the house became a royal residence it proved too
smal] and inconvenient for the requirements of the house-
hold, and, after a scheme of enlargement had been pro-
nounced impracticable, it was pulled down and the present
house (commenced in 1869 and completed in 1871) built
by a local man.

Through the favour of the Prince the public are now
admitted to the grounds on one day in the week, when
the royal family is not in residence. Visitors to the
neighbqurhood who avail themselves of this opportunity of
seeing the beauties of the park and gardens come away
with delightful recollections of the Prince’s country home.
The park, which comprises about 300 acres, has for its
main entrance the famous Norwich Gates, presented to
the Prince in 1862 by the county in recognition of the
favour he has shown Norfolk in living here. ‘These gates
are made of wrought iron, fashioned into elaborate designs
of flowers and creeping plants; and the piers are sur-
mounted by bronze griffins, supporting armorial shields on
which are represented His Royal Highness’s various titles.

105

Norfolk

Above the gates are the royal arms, a royal crown, and
the Prince of Wales’s plumes, the whole being well worthy
of the skill of its makers, a Norwich firm of ironworkers.
An avenue of limes leads from the gates to the house,
through delightful gardens. There is a lake, with a
central island, in the park, and another in the west garden
amid grassy slopes and lovely flower beds. Beyond this
garden, and stretching away southward, is the park, where
the deer wander amid fine oaks, some of which are many
centuries old. The stables are on the east side of the
house, and are reached by a broad walk bordered by
foreign conifere. Several members of the royal family
possess valuable and curious pets, and most of these are
usually to be seen in the neighbourhood of the stables,
where are a bear pit, monkey house, and aviary. Across
the road which skirts the east side of the pleasure-grounds
are the kitchen gardens, home farm, and the Princess’s
dairy. York Cottage, which stands in the park, and now
belongs to the Duke of York, was formerly known as the
‘‘ Bachelors’ Cottage,”’ as it was built for the accommo-
dation of male members of the royal suite.

Sandringham House is a building of irregular outline,
in which some attempt is made to reproduce Eliza-
bethan architecture. Comfort rather than luxury was the
end the designer had in view, and he seems to have been
successful in attaining it. This is not the place for a
description of the interior of a house which is a home
and not a show place, so I will be content with mention-
ing that the clock in the turret over the ball-room entrance
was erected by local tradesmen as a memorial to the late
Duke of Clarence and Avondale, and that the granite lions
on the terrace are from Japan, and were presented to the
Prince by Admiral Keppel.

An avenue of Scotch firs leads to Sandringham Church,
which stands on rising ground within the park walls.
Before the estate became a royal desmesne the church
had been completely restored by the late Lady Cowper,

106

In the Prince's Country

wife of the Hon. Spencer Cowper, “ to commemorate their
only child; ”’ but since the Prince has occupied Sandring-
ham, it has been greatly beautified and adorned. ‘There
are memorials in the chancel to H.R.H. Princess Alice,
H.R.H. the Duke of Albany, H.I.M. the Emperor
Frederick III. of Germany, and H.R.H. the Duke of
Clarence and Avondale, who died at Sandringham on

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January 14th, 1892. Painted windows in the transept
were the gifts of Her Majesty the Queen, and H.R.H.
the Duke of Edinburgh; and the brass lectern bears an
inscription which shows that it was presented by the
Princess of Wales as a thank-offering for the Prince’s
recovery from a serious illness contracted in 1871. ‘There
are also memorial windows to the infant Prince Alexander,
son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, whose grave is in
the churchyard; brasses to the Rev. W. L. Onslow, M.A..,
the late rector, and Mr Edmund Beck, the late estate agent;
107

Norfolk

and a painted window to the memory of Colonel Grey, one
of the Prince’s equerries. In the nave hang the old colours
of the Norfolk Regiment, the gth Foot.

Inside and outside the park walls there is so much to be
seen, that one visit to Sandringham scarcely aftords oppor-
tunities for gaining more than general impressions. The
cottages of the workers on the estate, the farm where the
stock is raised which competes so successfully at agri-
cultural shows, the village of West Newton with its church,
club-house, and school, all of which owe much to fhe
Prince’s generosity, al for more attention than can be
bestowed upon them in one day. West Newton church
is especially interesting on account of the numerous valuable
offerings which have been made to it by members of the
Royal Family. At Babingley, another hamlet in the
Prince’s estate, the church is believed to stand on the
site of the first Christian church erected in England—that
built by St Felix, the Burgundian bishop, when he intro-
duced Christianity into East Anglia; while at Dersingham,
a large parish adjoining Sandringham, is a fine church
which you should not leave the neighbourhood without
examining. It has a splendid thirteenth century east
window, a ‘“lowside”’ or lepers’ window, a _ curious
aumbry, and a fine old parish chest with representations
of the Evangelists on its panels. At Ingoldisthorpe,
neighbouring hamlet, is a house with which it is possible
to associate a great deal of romantic interest. It is the
dreary old moated manor-house known as Ingoldisthorpe
Hall. Many centuries ago an ancient lord of the manor,
one Thomas de Ingoldisthorpe, was, with a certain
Herbert de Pastele, implicated in the murder of one
Drugo Chamberlain. A brother of the murdered man
sued De Pastele, who was compelled, by a king’s license,
to travel to Jerusalem, “there to serve God for the soul
of Drugo who was slain, during the space of seven years,”
while Thomas de Ingoldisthorpe was ordered to find a
monk or canon to pray for Drugo’s soul, and had to pay

108

In the Prince's Country

Drugo’s parents twenty marks. Some of the gruesome
interest of this story still seems to cling to the ancient
walls of Ingoldisthorpe Hall.

South of Dersingham are nearly 2000 acres of sandy
heath and warren. This wide heathland was one of the
last haunts of the great bustards. In 1838, a bustard
sold at Cambridge was ascertained to have been the last
survivor of a drove which had frequented this district for
many years. Droves of great bustards which had haunted
the heaths and warrens of ‘Thetford and Icklingham, on the
Suffolk border, and the heaths around Swaftham, became
extinct about the same time. If you are fond of botan-
izing you will find the neighbourhood of Sandringham a
good one, for the variety of soil produces almost every kind
of flora. On the salt marshes and fenny tracts of Wolfer-
ton, on the seashore and heaths, and in the woods, fields,
and meadows, there is an abundance of wild plant life, in-’
cluding many rare species.

Midway between Sandringham and Lynn, and about two
miles from North Wootton Station, is Castle Rising. There
was a time when this little village was a Parliamentary
borough, whose mayor ranked as the chief municipal digni-
tary of the county; but its glory has departed, and now it
is principally noted for its grand old castle, which dates
from the reign of William Rufus. The most striking
portion of the ruins of this once famous fortress, which is
erected within ancient earthworks, is its keep, built by
William D’Albini, the first Earl of Sussex. It measures
seventy-five feet from east to west, sixty-four from north
to south, and is about fifty feet high. An ornamented
staircase leads up to the first floor, which contains a square
room lighted on three sides by Norman windows, two
galleries with a hall between them, and a small decorated
chamber. North of the tower are the remains of a
Norman chapel, discovered during the present century,
and displaying architecture said to be older than the keep.
The approach to the castle is through a Norman gate-
109

Norfolk

house. A number of curiosities are preserved by the
present owner of this ancient stronghold, and are ex-
hibited by its custodian. In the fourteenth century the

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‘G aplle /j 1108 :
castle was bought by Edward III., whose mother, Queen
Isabella, the “She-wolf of France,’’ was imprisoned here

after the execution of her favourite Mortimer. The village
church, which stands amid a grove of fine old trees, is one

IIo

In the Prince's Country

of the best examples of Norman architecture in England,
and has some singular external ornamental work on either
side of the old window at its west end. Adjoining the
churchyard is what is known as the Bede House, an old
almshouse founded in the reign of James I. It is inhabited
by a number of old women who on Sundays go to church
in a curious garb of the Jacobean period, consisting of blue
gowns, bright red capes, and frill-lined, ‘extinguisher ”’-
crowned beaver hats. A little chapel, with old oak
benches, is connected with the Bede House, and here
prayers are supposed to be offered daily for the soul of
the founder of the charity, Henry Howard, the eccentric
Earl of Northampton. There is accommodation in the
almshouse for twelve inmates, who, to be eligible for
admission, must, in accordance with the stipulations of
the founder, ‘be of an honest life and conversation,
religious, grave, and discreet, able to read, if such a one
may be had, a single woman, her place to be void upon
marriage, to be fifty years of age at least, no common
beggar, harlot, scold, drunkard, haunter of taverns, inns,
or alehouses.”’

An hour and a half’s walk, or a few minutes’ railway
ride, will now take you to King’s Lynn, the terminating
point of your journey along the Norfolk coast. A good
many people who do not live at Lynn, and not a few who
live there, have not a good word to say for the town; and
I must admit that, if I could, I would choose a different
place for the ending of this coastline tour. ‘A decent
place if every second turning did not take you into a slum,”
says one who would have you believe he is expressing a
general opinion; but what he would call “slums” are not
uncommon in ancient towns. The writer of the only local
guide-book to be obtained ‘ for love or money ”’ begins his
description of the place with a gloomy picture of an almost
shipless harbour, hollow-sounding warehouses and granaries,
and a depressing succession of empty houses; though he
hastens to assure you that these were features of the Lynn

III

Norfolk

of the 1860s, and are not those of the Lynn of to-day.
An air of stagnation certainly seems to pervade the town,
and the number of idlers observed on doorsteps and at
street corners is disproportionate to its size; still, a borough
in which by some means or other, nearly 20,000 people
contrive to exist cannot be entirely wanting in commercial
enterprise. For my present purpose, however, it suffices
that the town contains several “sights”? and antiquities
calculated to afford pleasure to a stranger within its gates.
If space could be afforded, a great deal might be written
here about the past history of Lynn and its neighbourhood,
and some interesting information included concerning the
devastating inroads of the sea which occurred when what
is now known as the Fenland really deserved the name.
In the days when the Romans descended upon East Anglia
the land for fifty miles around the shores of the Wash was
scarcely land at all, and only here and there, in places
almost inaccessible to the invading legions, the natives
managed to exist in small settlements surrounded by vast
swamps. ‘Then, the south of Lincolnshire, the west of
Norfolk, part of Suffolk, nearly the whole of Cambridge-
shire, and portions of Huntingdonshire and Northampton-
shire—or rather of the districts which now bear these
names—were submerged by every flood tide, and if Lynn
existed at all it was only as a small settlement. It un-
doubtedly owed the importance it had attained to in the
time of the Conqueror to the Romans, who either them-
selves raised, or caused the vanquished Britons to construct,
solid embdakmicate along the coast, which served, in a
measure, to keep out the sea. I.and was thus reclaimed,
and turned to good account by the planting of orchards,
the laying down of pastures, and the cultivation of corn 5
so that the Fens, as they are still called, became a ‘¢fat”’
land, noted for its fruitfulness in cattle and crops. Men
learned to live peaceful lives, devoted to their farms and
homesteads; but all the while they had an enemy at their
gates, ever ready to take advantage of an opportunity to
112

;
:
]

,
j
:

4

In the Prince’s Country

devastate their hard-won lowlands. ‘This enemy was the
sea, and often during the centuries which elapsed between
the Conquest and the comparatively recent completion of a
really effective system of drainage and defence its waves
for a time won back its ancient bed and

desolated Fenland fields and homes. ‘The

intervals between these disastrous floods, how- ES
ever, were long enough to enable the fenmen 4a@eiit'ni}
to repair the damage done and maintain the :
general condition of the district, so Lynn,
the chief port of the coast and a favoured
borough of several kings, grew in wealth and
fame.

One of the first of Lynn’s antiquities which
you see, as you leave the station and turn into
the pleasant “ Walks’? which open out near
by, is the Red Mount Chapel, an
octangular erection on a mound in
the midst of this popular summer
resort. The prior of Lynn in the
year 1483 was responsible for its
building, and it contains three
storeys, the lower of which is a
vault and the upper a cruciform
chapel with a beautiful groined Nig One Day
roof. Mackerell says that ‘this Gye BERT
religious place was a receptacle for bi oe a
the pilgrims who took this in their Groyfnarg
way, to say their orisons at, as they
travelled along towards the sometime famous and celebrated
priory or convent of our Lady at Walsingham.’’? Not far
from the walks, and on the way to the cemetery, is the
massive South Gate, built in the fifteenth century to replace
an earlier one which formed part of the early fortifications
of the town. Above the main archway, in which the
groove of the portcullis is still to be seen, is a guardroom,
and on either side are smaller arches for the convenience

H 113

Norfolk

of foot-passengers. Although not such a substantial build-
ing as the South Gate, the Greyfriars’ Tower, which
stands in the Grammar School Garden, is a finer relic
of the town’s past. ‘This lofty tower, supported by four
piers, is all that is left of a monastery founded in the
thirteenth century. ‘The Grammar School near the tower
is not, as is often stated, that in which Eugene Aram
was an under-master when, in 1758, he was arrested for
the murder of Daniel Clark of Knaresborough. ‘The
school at which Aram taught was held in a chapel con-
nected with the parish church. ‘This chapel was demol-
ished in 1779. There was once an Austin Friary in
Austin Lane, to the south of St Nicholas Church, but all
that remains of it is a bricked-up gateway.

Like Norwich Cathedral and St Nicholas’ Church at
Yarmouth, Lynn parish church owes its foundation to the
Norman bishop Lozinga. Its architecture is of various
periods, Norman, Early English, and the Decorated styles
being each in evidence. Ai little more than a century and
a half ago the nave and aisles were destroyed by the falling
of the spire of the south-west tower ; but they were soon
restored, the nave in what someone calls ‘a conscientious
manner but debased style.’? ‘There are some curious miserere
seats in the stalls, under which are grotesque carvings.
The most interesting things in the church are a couple of
brasses of Flemish workmanship to the memory of Robert
Braunche and Adam de Walsoken. ‘They are in the
south-west tower. On the Braunche brass is depicted what
is supposed to be a banquet given to Edward III. by Braunche
during his mayoralty. Comment is often made upon the
fact that one of the guests is represented in the act of strad-
dling across the table in his eagerness to get at one of the
dishes of peacocks being brought in by female attendants.
The other brass is engraved to represent a vintage harvest.
The church is very much smaller than it used to be, for at one
time its length was 240 feet and its width 118 feet, while
its south-west tower and spire rose to the height of 275 feet.

114

In the Prince’s Country

St Nicholas’, a chapel-of-ease to St Margaret’s, stands a
little way from the market-place. It was built in the 14th
century, and is an impressive structure, though pronounced
by an authority on church architecture ‘¢a bad specimen of
a good style.’’ It has magnificent east and west windows
and a beautiful south porch. Among the monuments on its
walls is one to the memory of Sir Benjamin Keene, K.B.,
a native of the town, who was Ambassador at the Court of
Spain, and died at Madrid in 1757. His remains were
conveyed to England and buried here. Let into the floor
is a gravestone which bears the name of Robinson Cruso, and
near the font is another to the memory of a certain ‘Thomas
Hollingworth, who is described as having been “an eminent
bookseller. . . much esteemed by gentlemen of taste for the
neatness and elegance of his binding.”” The modern church
of St John, near the station, owes its existence to the late
Mr Motteux of Sandringham Hall, who, on being twice
ejected from pews in St Nicholas, made inquiries as to the
accommodation in the Lynn churches, and, finding it insuffi-
cient, contributed £1,500 towards the building of a new
church. 7

The Guildhall or Town Hall is an ancient building in the
Saturday Market-place. Its Elizabethan porch attracts
attention, and should you enter the Assembly Room you
will find there a number of portraits worth examining, in-
cluding those of William III. and Mary, Lord Nelson, and
Sir Robert Walpole. Among the records preserved in the
hall is the “‘ Red Register of Lynn,’ which dates from
1309 and is one of the oldest paper books in England. A
goblet known as King John’s Cup, said to have been given
by that monarch to the Corporation, is to be found in the
possession of the mayor.

The old merchant princes of Lynn were able to build
substantial and imposing mansions, some of which are still
to be seen in the streets of the old town, though most of
them have lost something of their impressiveness and sub-
stantiality. One of the best preserved is in Queen Street,

115

Norfolk

which opens out of the Saturday market-place. It has two
inner courts and an old brick tower; but the glory of it is
gone. This was a splendid Jacobean mantelpiece which was

ie
| < Ghe G ‘uslom Bouse

sold not long ago for £go00. In the same street are some

ancient buildings that once constituted a college for priests,

founded by Thomas Thoresby, a 16th century mayor of the

borough; and in King Street is the Custom House, which
116

In the Prince's Country

dates from 1683, and has a statue of Charles II. over the
entrance. It is just such a building as one might imagine
that to have been which Hawthorne refers to in his introduc-
tion to “The Scarlet Letter,’’ where he writes of a decay-
ing New England port. In King Street, too, is St George’s
Hall, an old guildhall sometime used as a theatre. Lynn
scarcely looks a place where a touring theatrical company
would draw large audiences, and in this respect it cannot
have altered much since the time when George Stephens,
after an unsuccessful season, parodied in this hall Lorenzo’s
address to Jessica :

“‘O Jessica, in such a night as this we came to town,
And since that night we’ve shared but half-a-crown.
Let you and I, then, bid these folks good-night,

For if we longer stay they’ll starve us quite.”

A visit to the Docks suggests that, after all, Lynn’s
commercial stagnation is more apparent than real, for these
are not ancient docks with decaying wharves, but modern
basins with every sign about them of considerable maritime
trade. As a fishing port, however, Lynn will not bear
comparison with Yarmouth and Lowestoft, for the boats
which carry on the local whelk and mussel fisheries are
only cockle-shell—or shall I say mussel-shell—’longshore
craft.

A glance at an ordinary atlas might lead you to imagine
that by going to Lynn you would be able to bathe in the
sea and enjoy the golden sands. But Lynn is quite two
miles from the Wash, and a much greater distance must be
travelled before you can step upon a sandy beach. By a
stroll along the banks of the Lynn Cut, however, you may
obtain a wide view of the reclaimed land and unreclaimed
ooze flats and salt marshes which stretch away towards the
sea. ind if the sight of these tempts you to explore still

“further into the recesses of Marshland, you may, by journey-
ings south and west of the town, gain some idea of the
Fenland of to-day, and of the strenuous efforts which its

117

Norfolk

old-time inhabitants made to win it from the waves. In
the course of your peregrinations you will come across some
grand old churches, first rank among which must be accorded
to those of Terrington St Clement, Wiggenhall St Mary,
and Walpole St Peter. Of Tilney Smeeth, a wide ex-
panse of pasture upon which the men of Marshland had
a right to feed their cattle, and which is referred to in one
of the romantic tales of Tom Hickathrift, the fighting giant,
a story is told which deserves to be true. A courtier is
said to have spoken of it to King James I., and, referring
to its fertility, stated that “if over-night a wand or rod was
laid on the ground, in the morning it would be covered with
grass of that night’s growth so as not to be discerned.”
The King’s response to this assertion was that he ‘‘ knew
some grounds in Scotland, where, if a horse was put in
over-night, they could not see or discern him in the
morning! ’’ At Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalene was
founded that Crabb or Crabhouse Abbey, of which Dr
Jessop has written so delightfully in his “ Frivola;”’ and
Islington, a straggling village near the high road from Lynn
to Wisbech, is the Islington of the ballad-famous bailiff’s
daughter. Of the district lying westward of Lynn Dr
Jessop writes:—‘‘ The Ouse was the western boundary
beyond which it was not worth while for the Norfolk men
in the early times to fix their habitations; for all to the
westward of the river stretched an enormous morass, say
fifteen miles from north to south, and eight or ten from east
to west. . . . It is even now a dreary region, a land of
marshes and big drains and swamps. ‘The water is naught,
for all its horrible abundance ; but the land is very rich in
pasture, such as cattle thrive on.’’ Here, you may see the
tide-walls erected centuries ago, some of them by the
Romans, to keep out the sea, and also the “ cuts”’ or drains
made by Cornelius Vermuyden when that Dutch experi-
menter attempted to improve the condition of the marshlands ;
while at West Walton, where the Nene divides Norfolk
from Cambridgeshire, in the church there, you may read a
118

In the Prince's Country

curious inscription, recording how, in 1613, 1614, and
1671, ‘the sea broke in and overflowed all Marshland, to
the great danger of Men’s lives and losse of goods,”’ and
concluding with the quaint lines :—

* Surely our sins were tinctured in graine
May we not say the labour was in vaine
Soe many washings still the Spotts remaine.”

119g

ITINERARY THE NINTH
AN EXCURSION ACROSS-COUNTRY

NORWICH TO EAST DEREHAM, SWAFFHAM
AND HOUGHTON

?

Heigham — Bishop Hall’s Old Palace — Costessy Hall — ‘The
Jerningham Letters”—Honingham—East Dereham—Cow-
per’s LTomb—Borrow’s Birthplace—Borrow and Dereham—
The Tomb of Withburga—The Bell Tower — Sir Robert
Walpole and Dereham—“ All Joys to Great Cesar ”—Sleepy
Swaftham—Castleacre Castle and Priory—Houghton Hall—
Sir Robert Walpole—The Houghton Pictures—Walpole at
Houghton.

In the two foregoing chapters I have indicated how, by
starting from Yarmouth, you may reach Lynn by a long
and interesting tour along the coast. I will now describe
an itinerary by which you may, by a more direct route
through the heart of the county, arrive at the ancient
Fenland town, or, if you ‘chose, deviate from this direct
route and, by way of Fakenham, reach Wells, on the North
Norfolk seaboard. Norwich is again your starting-point,
and you have the choice of setting out for East Dereham
by one or the other of two ways. You may take train
from Norwich (Thorpe Station), or follow the Dereham
turnpike, which runs westward out of the city, through
Heigham. Assuming the latter route is selected, you have
a sixteen miles journey to Dereham, a distance inconsiderable
to the cyclist, and not too far as a day’s walking tour for
an average pedestrian, especially as apart from the pleasant
pastoral scenery, which may occasionally tempt you to
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1
An Excursion Across-Country

loiter, there is not much to delay you between Heigham
~ and Dereham.

At Heigham, however, you should see the old Dolphin
Inn, which is a favourite subject with artists. This pictur-
esque old flint-faced inn was, in the middle of the 17th
century, the palace of the
celebrated Bishop Hall of ex)

Exeter, who retired here
after being subjected to
great persecution by the
Puritans. The figures
above the doorway
seem to indicate the date
of its erection, though
some authorities say it
was built about thirty
years later. ‘There is some
curious carving in the in- : a eae
terior, and one room, a Seay,
parlour to the right of the S Zeshie Jal
entrance, is wainscotted all GO:
round with oak.

Continuing along the turnpike you reach, about four miles
from Norwich, Costessy or Cossey Park, which extends
down to the roadside. The village is some two miles from
the high road, and it is not worth your while to go out of
your way to see it; but the park is peculiar in that it
contains two halls, an old one, for many years the seat of
that noted Norfolk family, the Jerninghams; and a new
one in which Lord Stafford, the present representative of
the family, resides. The old hall was erected in the reign
of Elizabeth, and is surrounded by some of the finest trees
in the county. Of the inner life of the Jerningham family
during the last quarter of the eighteenth and the first half
of the nineteenth centuries many delightful and interesting
glimpses are given in ‘¢The Jerningham Letters,’’ edited
by Mr Egerton Castle, and published in 1896. Had I the

121

Norfolk —

space to spare, I could give many extracts from these
letters, specially referring to Cossey Hall and its former
inhabitants: as it is I cannot resist the temptation to quote
from one or two of them. Lady Jerningham, who is the
writer of a great number of the letters, must have been a
terror to her friends, for this is how she describes one of
- her guests:—-‘* Madame de Tott is at Cossey. She is very
Clever, and particularly Religious, going every week to the
Sacraments, but she puts on white and red, Lames herself
with small Shoes, and wears a Corset that tortures her from
its Length and tightness. What an odd Patchwork! She
tells me, with the most Dissipated Face and appearance,
that she is always thinking of death and preparing for it! ”’
A month later she writes :—‘‘ Madame de Tott continues
wishing to be intime with you. She is a pleasant woman,
but laughs too loud for a Saint, she is however a woman of
strict Principle, and has lived with Demons.”

Attached to Cossey Hall is a large domestic chapel
dedicated to St Augustine of England, the Jerninghams,
it must be understood, having always been one of the
leading Roman Catholic families in the country. Con-
cerning this chapel and his own family, Edward Jerning-
ham, while travelling in the year 1810 in the Bury coach,
heard some interesting details from a traveller who was
unaware of his companion’s identity. At the end of his
journey he wrote to his brother, Sir George Jerningham :—
‘¢[ had some pleasant companions yesterday in the coach,
among others an old clergyman of the name of Reeve, the
rector of Bungay. He had no guess who I was, and I
easily therefore pumped him upon several topics—He is a
very liberal, sensible man—we talked of Catholics and he
approves entirely of the Bishop of Norwich’s sentiments—
He advised me strongly to go and see a magnificent Roman
Chapel at Cossey, saying that he had not seen it himself
but that his son, who lives in the neighbourhood, wrote
him that it was the precise model of King’s College Chapel
—Upon this I expressed some doubts, but He immediately

122

An Excursion Across-C ountry

replied that the size was certainly greatly reduced from the
model, yet that all the parts were exactly copied, and that
he has authentic information that it has cost Sir George
Jerningham twenty-five thousand pounds—‘ Wonderful,’
added he, ‘are the numbers that flock to this chapel every
Sunday.” The whole coach was in amazement, and I
promised faithfully to go and see it the next time I should
travel into these parts.”’

About seven miles from Norwich is the village of
Honingham, where, in an ancient church, are some in-
teresting monuments, one to the memory of Sir Thomas
Richardson, a seventeenth century Lord Chief Justice.
After passing through this hamlet, there is little to delay
you until you reach Dereham.

During the latter years of the eighteenth century,
Cowper lived at Dereham, and, in all probability, it is to
his tomb in St Nicholas Church that you will make your
way as soon as you enter the town. You will find on
the wall of the north transept a white marble tablet, sur-
mounted by a sculptured Bible, copy of ‘The Task,”
and the poet’s bays, and bearing this inscription:

In Memory
of Witt1am Cowrrr, Esq.,
Born in Hertfordshire, 1732.
Buried in this church, 1800.

Ye, who in warmth the public triumph feel
Of talents, dignified by sacred zeal,

Here to devotion’s bard, devoutly just,

Pay your fond tribute due to Cowper’s dust.
England, exulting in his spotless fame,
Ranks with her dearest sons his fav’rite name.
Sense, fancy, wit, suffice not all to raise

So dear a title to affection’s praise.

His highest honours to the heart belong ;

His virtues formed the magic of his song.

Cowper, whom Borrow calls ‘“‘ England’s sweetest and
most pious bard,” lived and died in the house of his
123

Norfolk —

cousin Mr Johnson, which formerly stood in the market-
place. Its site is marked by a Cowper Chapel.

A writer whose memory Norfolk men delight to honour,
because he was a native of the county, is George Henry
Borrow, who was born in a house which, according to
Dr Knapp, his biographer, is still to be seen in the
hamlet of Dumpling Green, about a _ mile-and-a-half
from Dereham. Borrow was always enthusiastic about
his birthplace, and in ‘ Lavengro,”? a book which we
now know to be largely autobiographical, he writes :—
*<T love to think on thee, pretty quiet D , thou
pattern of an English country town, with thy clean but
narrow streets branching out from thy modest market-
place, with thine old-fashioned houses, with here and
there a roof of venerable thatch, with thy one _half-
aristocratic mansion, where resided thy Lady Bountiful,!
—she, the generous and kind, who loved to visit the
sick, leaning on her gold-headed cane, whilst the sleek
old footman walked at a respectful distance behind...
Yes, pretty D , 1 could always love thee, were it
but for the sake of him who sleeps beneath the marble
slab in yonder quiet chancel.”” Borrow, when a boy,
was taken twice every Sunday to Dereham Church,
‘‘where, from a corner of the large spacious pew, lined
with black leather,” he would fix his eyes on “the
dignified High-church rector,’ and admire the way in
which he and “the dignified High-church clerk ”’ rolled
out the portentous words of the Liturgy. The “ dignified
High-church clerk’’ was an old Dereham cordwainer,
whose gravestone you may see as you enter the church
porch.

The bell tower, as it is called, of St Nicholas’, is
detached from the church, and is notable for having been
used as a prison in the days when French prisoners-of-
war were conveyed “across country’’ from Yarmouth to

1 Dame Eleanor Fenn, wife of Sir John Fenn, the editor of the
‘* Paston Letters.”

124

An Excursion Across-Country

the great prison at Norman Cross, in Huntingdonshire.
In 1799, a young Frenchman named Jean de Narde, the
son of a notary-public of St Malo, managed to escape
from this tower, but was pursued and shot by a sentry.
The unfortunate soldier was buried in the churchyard,
and a stone to his memory, erected by the rector of that
time, and renewed by a later one, records how he came
by his end. A more interesting and far more ancient
churchyard relic of the past, however, is an archway in
an enclosed hollow into which a spring of water flows.
Some people assert that this archway is nothing more
than a portion of an ancient baptistery; but the follow-
ing inscription appears above it :—

“ The Ruins of a Tomb which contained the Remains of
WITHBURGA,
youngest daughter of
Annas,

King of the East Angles,

who died a.p. 654.
The Abbot and Monks of Ely
stole this precious relic
and translated it to Ely Cathedral,
where it is interred near her three Royal sisters.”

The ‘precious relic ’’ referred to in this somewhat vague

inscription was, of course, the ashes of the princess, who
here founded and became prioress of a nunnery. A fine
old carved chest in the church is believed to be nearly five
hundred years old. It was discovered in the ruins of
Buckenham Castle, and probably belonged to the Howards,
Dukes of Norfolk. It was presented to the church in
1786. In the long roll of Dereham rectors the most
famous is Bishop Bonner, whom old history books usually
describe as “‘ the infamous.”” He was rector from 1534 to
1540.

Al hong Dereham is now a charming little town, fully
justifying Borrow’s rhapsodies, there was a time when it
was looked upon as the worst laid-out and dirtiest town in

125

Norfolk

Norfolk. When Sir Robert Walpole heard that its in-
habitants proposed to pave it, he was so pleased that he
.znvited them all to Houghton Hall. An old account of
this. event says that “ Such of them as accepted the invitation
were headed by the then chief constable and clerk of the
parish . . . who, after being entertained in the most hospi-
table manner, received Sir Robert’s donation of twenty
guineas towards the good work carrying on. But this
joyous company being exhilarated by liquor, forgot them-
selves so far as to be induced, by the proposals of a few,
to sing in chorus a famous Jacobite song called * All joys
to great Cesar,’ etc. Si Robert, who was well acquainted
with mankind, sent them home happy in themselves, and
by no means displeased with him.’? Considering how far
Houghton is from Dereham, it would probably be interesting
if the historian had recorded how the company got home.

From Dereham there are two railway routes to Lynn:
by way of Swaffham, which will enable you to visit the
ruins of Castle Acre Castle and Priory; or by way of
Fakenham and Little Massingham, the latter of which is
the nearest station to Sir Robert Walpole’s old home,
Houghton Hall.

Swaftham, although an ancient town, and nine by
breezy heaths and leafy bird-haunted lanes, has little besides
its church to tempt you to stay in it. Dwellers in the
sleepiest of Sleepy Hollows would find little here to stir
them. It is one of those somnolent towns where, if you
enter a shop, the shopkeeper, after peering at you through
a small window in the wall, emerges from some little back
parlour, and, stifling a yawn, requests to know your business
with the air of a man who has been awakened from a
dream. Its church is fine and interesting, even if you
refuse to accept the old story about its steeple and nave
having been built by a travelling tinker. It is a cruciform
perpendicular church, with an embattled tower; and in
addition to the north and south transepts, which were
chapels of the Virgin and Holy Trinity, has attached to

126

An Excursion Across-Country

the south aisle a projection which was once a chapel of
Corpus Christi. ‘There is a monument here to Catherine
Steward, who died in 1590, and over the vestry is a priest’s
chamber, in which some old armour and a number of
valuable old books are preserved. There is an altar tomb,

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Castle Acre is little more than four miles from Swaff ham,
in a northerly direction. Both its castle and priory are
believed to have been erected by the Conqueror’s favourite,
William de Warrenne, first Earl of Surrey, though there
is abundant evidence that the former occupies the site of a

127

Norfolk

much earlier fortress, probably a Roman station. Apparently
the castle was originally a circular structure surrounded by
a substantial embattled wall, of which many traces remain.
In its prime, this ancient stronghold must have been an
imposing place, and it is recorded that Edward I. was enter-
tained here by one of its holders. ‘That there was a very
old settlement in the neighbourhood was conclusively
proved in 1891, when, under the direction of Dr Jessop,
extensive excavations were made on a farm where there were
indications of the presence of an ancient burying ground. A
large number of more or less perfect sepulchral urns of rude
workmanship, containing charred human bones and crudely
wrought ornaments, were unearthed, and have been assigned
to a period not later than the seventh century of the Chris-
tian era. ‘The priory, which stands about half a mile from
the castle, is represented by a considerable portion of the
west front, still in good state of preservation; a ruined
tower, and the remains of a chapter-house and chapel. At
the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Cotman
made a couple of good drawings of the priory, it was
considered one of the finest ruins in the county. ‘The
passage of ninety years has done little to rob it of the
distinction. It is fortunate, however, that with the castle,
it, a good many years ago, came into the possession of the
Earls of Leicester, as since then the depredations of the
villagers, who had done much to destroy and deface its
splendid workmanship, have been put a stop to. Even
now you may come across here and there in the older
houses of the locality, indications of raids made upon the
stonework of castle and priory, from the latter of which the
antique font in the parish church is said to have been
removed. In the neighbouring parish of West Acre are the
remains of another priory founded by Ralph de Toni in
the reign of William I., but these are of very scanty
proportions.

If you set out for Lynn by the high road, you will, when
about five miles from Swaffham, pass through the village

128

An Excursion Across-Country

of West Bilney, where Thomas Bilney, who was burnt at
Norwich in 1531, lived while a clerk in holy orders. ‘The
ashes of the martyr were enclosed in an urn and buried in
the churchyard, where the urn was discovered a few years
ago while the sexton was digging a grave. A tract of
land near West Bilney church is known as ‘ Bloodfields,”’
through having been the scene of an engagement during
the Civil Wars.
Neither the cottage
in which Bilney is
supposed to have
lived, nor the battle-
field, are sufficiently
interesting to justify
you in going out of
your way to visit
them; so, having
seen Castle Acre,
you will do well
to journey direct by
road or rail to Lynn.

Harking back to
Dereham, I may
briefly refer to the route to Lynn by way of Fakenham.
The chief place of interest between Dereham and Faken-
ham is Elmham Hall, built in 1727, and at one time
occupied by Earl Sondes, who fought at Waterloo.
Elmham is a very ancient place, and was the episcopal
seat of one of the two dioceses into which the kingdom
of the East Angles was divided about 673 A.p., but it
contains few signs of its early importance. Nor will
you find much to detain you in Fakenham, a small town
on a slight rise to the north of the river Wensum;
but you must leave the train at Massingham Station if you
wish to visit Houghton. The hall, which is some three
miles from the station, was built by Sir Robert Walpole,

I 129

Norfolk

the great prime minister, and an inscription over the entrance
indicates that its erection took nearly thirteen years. If not
the largest country mansion in Norfolk, it is one of the
largest, and stands in the midst of a domain of park and
woodland of some 1400 acres. Its two grand fronts, which
the passage of years has only made more impressive, are
connected with the wings by balustraded colonnades. ‘The
figures over the doors are the work of Rysbrach, and
Girarchon contributed a bronze Laocoon to the interior.
The ceiling of the salon is painted with a design representing
Phoebus and the Horses of the Sun. Subsequent to the com-
pletion of this immense mansion, Sir Robert got together here
a magnificent collection of pictures; but his grandson George,
Earl of Orford, whose fortunes had become somewhat im-
paired, disposed of it to the Empress Catherine of Russia
for £40,555, and it now adorns the walls of one of the
imperial palaces of St Petersburg. England thus lost pos-
session of some of the finest works of Rembrandt, Rubens,
Titian, Guido, Raffaelle, and Murillo. Even now, however, |
the hall contains rare and valuable art treasures, among them
pictures by Vandyck, Titian, Raffaelle, Claude, and Sir
Joshua Reynolds. Splendid avenues of trees lead up to
the hall. Some of the oaks in the park are centuries old,
having stood there when an earlier mansion, in which Sir
Robert was born and spent his childhood, occupied the
site of the present one. ‘The father of the famous minister
was a bluff old country squire, whose ancestors had for
centuries been lords of the manor of Houghton, and one
of whom was the heir of that unfortunate Amy Robsart
whose tragic death at Cumnor Hall suggested to Sir Walter
Scott the writing of Kenilworth.

Robert Walpole was the third son of the Squire of
Houghton, but, at the age of twenty-two, owing to the
death of his two elder brothers, he became the heir to the
estate. He was then at Cambridge, studying with a view
to entering the Church. Resigning his scholarship, he re-
turned to Houghton, where his father set him ‘to superintend

130

An Excursion Across-Country

the sale of the cattle in the neighbouring towns,”’ and taught
him to spend his evenings in the convivial fashion of the
time. He learnt to drink deeply, for the old squire was in
the habit of filling his son’s glass twice for every time he
filled his own, at the same time saying, ‘*Come, Robert,
you shall drink twice while I drink once, for I cannot
permit the son in his sober senses to be witness to the
intoxication of his father.’”’ He had to help to entertain
the neighbouring squires, who looked upon Houghton as
“Liberty Hall,’ and frequently sought the boon com-
panionship of its owner. But when his father died he soon
tired of cattle sales and country pleasures and excesses, and
set his mind on a public career.

When the new hall arose where the old one had stood,
far different gatherings to those of the old days were seen
at Houghton. As the home of the great minister, Houghton
Hall became famous for its entertainments, and Sir Robert
numbered among his guests most of the leading men of the
kingdom and the official representatives of other countries.
<¢ Bull-baiting was one of the amusements carried on, on a
large space of grass south of the house, which still shows
remains of the arrangements requisite for the sport.’’ The
festivities, too, were often worthy of the days of the old
squire. ‘The large punch glasses, ten or twelve inches
high, with diameter in proportion, which are now ranged
innocently on the shelves of the china room, bring visions
of lavish feasts. There is a strange little room at the back
of the servants’ hall, opening out of it by a door close to
the chimney, called the Sots’ Hole, where the drunken
footmen were thrown to recover themselves, and to become
fitted anew to assist their scarcely more sober masters.” !

But of necessity Sir Robert had to spend the greater
part of his time in London; and it was not until he was
driven from office that he was able to take his ease at his
beautiful country home and enjoy himself among his pictures.
Horace Walpole, in one of his letters, says: «« My lord (Sir

1 Some Norfolk Worthies, by the late Mrs Herbert Jones.

131

Norfolk

Robert was then the Earl of Orford) is going to furnish
and hang the picture gallery. Who could ever suspect any
connection between painting and the wilds of Norfolk? .
The Domenichino is delightful. My father is as much
transported with it as I am. It is hung in the gallery,
where are all his most capital pictures, and he himself thinks
it beats all but the Guidos. ‘The gallery was illuminated :
it is incredible what a magnificent appearance it made.
There were sixty-four candles, which showed all the
pictures to great advantage.’? Many old friends came to
cheer his declining days, among them a very old clergyman
from Walsingham, who had been one of his first school-
masters. The ex-Prime Minister asked him why he had
never come to see him when he was in power; and the old
man said: ‘I knew that you were surrounded with so
many petitions asking preferment, and that you had done so
much for Norfolk people, that I did not wish to intrude.
But I always inquired how Robin went on, and was satis-
fied with your proceedings.”’ ‘The Earl of Orford did not
die at Houghton, but in London, and his body was brought
here for burial. It lies in a vault in the village church of
St Martin, where other representatives of the family are
interred ; but strangely enough no inscription indicates the
situation of his tomb.

Cyclists who select this route from Dereham to Lynn
may make it include Sandringham, which is only a few
miles from Houghton; or they may, instead of journeying
from Fakenham to Lynn, strike out northward from the
former town and, riding through Walsingham, arrive at
Wells or Holkham Hall. These are places | have already
dealt with. The journey from Fakenham to Wells may
also be made by train.

132

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NORWICH TO AYLSHAM, BLICKLING, AND CROMER.

ITINERARY THE TENTH

IN ANNE BOLEYN’S COUNTRY

NORWICH TO AYLSHAM, BLICKLING, AND
CROMER

Aylsham—Blickling Hall—The History of the Manor—The Boleyns
—Traditions concerning Anne Boleyn—The Blickling Library
—Blickling Church—Blickling Ghosts—On to Cromer.

Nearty four hundred years have passed since Anne Bullen
or Boleyn, little dreaming of the stormy life and sad fate
in store for her, wandered through the leafy lanes of Ayls-
ham and Blickling; but the country folk of the district
would have us believe that even now she has not wholly
deserted the scenes amid which she spent her childhood.
There is an old avenue of trees in the park at Blickling
down which, once a year, a coach drawn by headless horses
is driven by a headless coachman, and in it is seated, her
head in her lap, a woman who was once a queen.!_ But she
cannot now enter the portals of her old home, for the manor
house built by Sir Nicholas Dagworth at the end of the
14th century, and afterwards occupied by Sir Geoffrey
Boleyn, a mercer and Lord Mayor of London, has wholly
disappeared. In its place has risen a house which is one
of the glories of Norfolk and of England—the beautiful
Jacobean mansion, Blickling Hall. No one who visits
Norfolk should leave the county without seeing this fine
old home of the Marquesses of Lothian. The road from

! Strange how these old ghost stories linger on in the country !

See the story of the haunting of Doleswood by Dame Paulet.
(** Hampshire” in “ Dent’s County Guides.”— Ed.)

PS

Norfolk

Norwich to Blickling is a very pleasant one, and the dis-
tance little more than twelve miles. There are no hills
sufficiently steep to trouble the cyclist, who, when he has
exhausted the delights of the village and hall, may, instead
of returning to Norwich, ride on by way of Gunton and
Roughton Heath to Cromer. If you are not a cyclist you
may take the train to Aylsham. You will then have about
a mile-and-a-half’s walk to the Hall.

Leaving Norwich by the old Magdalen Street, near the
end of which are some traces of the city walls, and making
your way through suburban Catton, you come, about two
miles from the city, to a branching of the road where, by
taking the right-hand road, you find yourself on the high-
way from Norwich to Aylsham and Cromer. The villages
passed through before Aylsham is reached are Horsham St
Faith, Newton St Faith, Hevingham, and Marsham ; but
although the scenery about and between these hamlets is
generally pleasing, and some charming ‘‘bits”’ are often met
with, there is not much to delay you. Marsham is said to
have produced the rebellious Titus Oates, but upon what
grounds the assertion is based, I cannot say. Brampton,
which adjoins Marsham, but lies a little to the right of
the road, was the scene of a big find of sepulchral
urns. The discovery was investigated by Sir Thomas
Browne, and may have suggested the writing of his essay
on “ Urn Burial.”? Since the days of the famous Norwich
worthy, a large number of urns have been unearthed in the
neighbourhood.

In Norfolk there are few more pleasantly situated towns
than Aylsham. It stands on the banks of the Bure,
(which is navigable as far as here to the wherries so
familiar to voyagers on the inland waterways of East
Anglia,) and in the midst of a well wooded district.
At one time the court of the Duchy of Lancaster was
held here; and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster,
built the parish church. It is a fine church—but Norfolk
is so full of fine churches that you take for granted that

2 aa

In Anne Boleyn’s Country

Aylsham possesses a worthy one. Some good brasses
will interest the antiquary ; but most people will be more
attracted by the old stained glass windows, and the
ancient font which is adorned with emblems of the
Passion and the Evangelists and the arms of the families
of Gaunt, Erpingham, Morley, and Bourchier. Outside
the church is a curious epitaph to Humphrey Repton, the

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celebrated landscape gardener to whom Norfolk is indebted
for not a little of its loveliness.

_ The mile-and-a-half walk or ride from Aylsham to
Blickling is along a road overshadowed by oaks and
beeches, and such oaks and beeches as are delightful to
look upon. Blickling Church soon comes in sight to
the right of the road, and directly afterwards you stand
before one of the stateliest of the ‘stately homes of
England.”’ Until its west front comes into full view
little is seen of Blickling Hall, for it is hidden from
you as you approach from Aylsham by the church,

7

Norfolk

the rectory, and the surrounding trees. So the sight of it
comes as a surprise, and the impression made is a lasting one.
The old hall stands upon ground which has often been
trodden by the feet of men and women whose names
are big in history; and as you cross the moat-bridge,
or ascend the famous dark oak staircase, you may attain
to a mood in which it would scarcely cause surprise
if a company of silent spectres appeared in the haunts
that, while in the flesh, they knew so well. Indeed,
it is not difficult to imagine that these famous men and
women are still alive, for they seem to make their pre-
sence felt in Blickling Hall, and the eye that sees what
is not catches glimpses of them in the old halls and
corridors. A Norman bishop, who was chaplain to the
Conqueror, rubs shoulders with a London knight whose
descendant, the beautiful Anne Boleyn, her face bearing
the marks of pride and pain, leans on the arm of a
portly English king. Kings, queens, and ambassadors,
a Lord Chief Justice, soldier knights from Agincourt,
all join in the phantom procession; whilst somewhere in
the background is the shadowy form of a warrior king
who held his court at Blickling nearly a thousand years
ago.

A complete list of the holders of the manor of Blickling
would be dull reading; but some of its lords and ladies
have played such great parts in their day that it may be
of interest to give a short account of its history. Even
now the inhabitants of the district can point out the
spot, in the old Manor meadow, about a mile from the
hall, where the home of King Harold stood. After
the battle of Hastings, the Conqueror bestowed the
manor upon his chaplain, Bishop Herfast, and it became
a favourite retreat of the bishops of Thetford and, after
the removal of the see, of Norwich. In the fourteenth
century a portion of it came into the possession of Sir
Nicholas Dagworth, who built himself a house here. Of
this house there are now no traces; but we know that

136

In Anne Boleyn’s Country

it was in turn occupied by Sir Thomas Erpingham
and Sir John Fastolff, whose names are inseparably
associated with the history of the county. In 1459 Sir
John Fastolff sold the estate to Sir Geoffrey Boleyn,
whose grandson, Viscount Rochfort, was the father of
Anne Boleyn. His successor, Sir James Boleyn, dis-
posed of it to Sir John Clere, whose heir was obliged
to sell it to Sir Henry Hobart, a Lord Chief Justice of
England. It was this Sir Henry Hobart who pulled
down the old manor house of Sir Nicholas Dagworth and
commenced the building of the present hall, which was
completed by his son, who entertained Charles II. here.
In 1746 the fifth baronet was created Earl of Bucking-
hamshire.e The daughter of the second earl married, in
1793, the sixth Marquess of Lothian and inherited the
estate, which has since been the seat of the Marquesses of
Lothian.

Such is the history of the manor of Blickling. As to
the Boleyns, the family seems to have had a French origin
and to have settled in Norfolk several generations before
the birth of the ill-starred Anne. We do not hear much
about them until Thomas Boleyn, of Salle, Norfolk,
married Anna, a daughter of Sir John Bracton, and
bound his eldest son Geoffrey apprentice to a London
mercer. ‘This Geoffrey became a very prosperous London
citizen and was Lord Mayor in 1457. ‘That he was a
man of considerable influence may be assumed from the
fact that he was able to maintain peace between the hostile
partisans of York and Lancaster during the congress held
in his jurisdiction. He married Anna, daughter of the
lord of Hoo and Hastings, and, as I have said, purchased
Blickling from Sir John Fastolff. His grandson, Sir
Thomas Boleyn, afterwards Viscount Rochfort, married
Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the famous Earl of
Surrey who became Duke of Norfolk. This Sir Thomas
was the father of Anne Boleyn. ‘Three places claim to
be her birthplace—Hever Castle in Kent, Rochfort Hall

137

Norfolk

in Essex, and Blickling. Little evidence exists in support
of these claims; but Sir Henry Spelman, a Norfolk man
who lived in the time of Elizabeth ; Blomfield, the Norfolk
historian; and the letters of the Earl of Buckinghamshire
all state that Anne was born at Blickling. Whether it
was so or not is a question which will probably remain for

ever unanswered ; but we know that Anne spent some years
of her childhood at her father’s Norfolk home. There

is a historical tradition, too, that she was married to
the King here, and Blomfield says it is true. The only
evidence bearing upon this is found in the words of
Stephenson, a Norfolk poet who wrote some lines to
commemorate the visit to Blickling of Charles II. and
his queen, Catherine of Braganza. He says that—

‘‘ Blickling two monarchs and two queens has seen ;
One king fetched hence, another brought a queen; ”

but this is by no means conclusive. Indeed, unless we
discredit the statements of Wyatt, there is no reason to
doubt that the marriage took place at Whitehall.
Another tradition which, until a few years ago, had a
138

In Anne Boleyn’s Country

firm hold upon the neighbourhood of Blickling was that
after Anne’s execution her remains were secretly removed
by night from the Tower Church and brought to Salle
Church, the ancient burial-place of the Boleyns. This
church, which is about six miles from Blickling Hall, con-
tains a great number of brasses, among them some to the
Boleyns, who, as we have seen, were lords of the manor.
Miss Agnes Strickland, in her Lives of the Queens of Eng-
land, finds confirmation of the tradition in the words with
which Wyatt closes his account of the queen’s death.
‘*God,”’ he says, “ provided for her corpse sacred burial,
even in a place as it were consecrate to innocence,’ words
that, as Miss Strickland suggests, could scarcely apply to a

burial in the Tower Church without religious rites. Visitors
to Salle used to be shown a plain black marble slab,
without inscription, in the church, and were told that this
was Anne Boleyn’s tomb. Some years ago, however, the
slab was taken up and nothing found beneath it to witness
to the truth of the strange tradition. Curiously enough, a
similar black monument in the church of Horndon-on-the-
Hill, in Essex, was said to mark the burial-place of the
murdered queen.

The famous library at Blickling, containing over 12,000
volumes, was got together by Mattaire for Sir Richard
Ellis, who bequeathed it to an ancestor of its present owner.
It is contained in an elaborately decorated room 127 feet
long. Among its treasures, the rarest of which are kept
under lock and key, are the first printed Latin Bible, dated
1462, “The Blickling MS,” dated 971, three fifteenth
century books of Hours, a French MS. Bible of the
thirteenth century, a Latin MS. Psalter, believed to be a
thousand years old; Aldine publications from 1490 to
1590, and an old Latin MS. Bible containing the auto-
graphs of the Duke of Wellington, inscribed in 1819, and
the Princess of Wales, added in 1888. In an adjoining
room are two portraits by Gainsborough, and some tapestry
representing Peter the Great and the Battle of Pultowa,

LB,

Norfolk

presented by the Empress Catherine to the second Earl of
Buckinghamshire when he was ambassador at St Petersburg.
There are statues of Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth in
the Hall, and, in addition to some fine old family portraits,
there are preserved in a cabinet some draperies, gowns,
nightcaps, and toilet necessaries which belonged to Anne.
A stone chimney-piece in the morning-room was originally
a window arch at Sir John Fastolff’s stronghold, Caister
Castle.

Blickling Park and gardens are almost as famous as the
Hall. A few years ago a violent gale wrought havoc
among the Blickling oaks, hundreds of which were laid
low; but fine oaks are so plentiful here that they are
scarcely missed, and beautiful beeches and birches draw
away the eye from the gaps left by the fallen trees. A
mile-long lake of crescent shape skirts the lawns and wood-
lands, and, with the fallow deer which haunt its shores,
adds much to the beauty of the park. There is a pyramidal
mausoleum about half-a-mile from the Hall, containing the
remains of the late Earl of Buckinghamshire and his two
wives. Of it the Rev. A. H. Malan, to whose description
of the Hall and grounds I am indebted for some of my
information, says it is ‘*Of sombre and depressing aspect,
and shunned by all things living, except, it may be, one or ©
two of those long-eared owls which delight in densest
shade.”’? Some statues which formerly adorned the terraces
_of Oxnead Hall, a neighbouring mansion of noble propor-
tions in which Charles II. was entertained by one of the
Pastons, are now preserved in the park. Of the Blickling
ghosts, which are still believed in by some of the villagers,
many stories are told; but of that of Sir Thomas Boleyn,
who, in a chariot drawn by headless horses, has, as a
penance, to cross in a night forty county bridges, the most
amazing statement I have come across is that he is always
pursued by a horde of terrible fiends who, according to a
recent writer, ‘“‘are allowed a night’s holiday by their
master, 4duld Reekie !”’

140

In Anne Boleyn’ s Country

Blickling Church, although ancient, has been so restored
that it retains few evidences of its antiquity ; but it contains
several brasses, monuments, and memorial windows. A
fine monument is that to the memory of the eighth Marquis
of Lothian, which is the work of Mr G. F. Watts, R.A.
One of the brasses represents Sir Nicholas Dagworth in full
armour; another, Anne A’ Wode with twins in her arms;
and a third is to Anna Boleyn, an infant daughter of
William Boleyn, who died in 1479. ‘There is also an
oak chest about four hundred years old, bearing the inscrip-
tion :

“ Maystyr Adam Ilee mad ys chyst and Robert Filipis payed yer
for, God have mercy on yar soules.”

If you care to make Aylsham your headquarters for a
while before returning to Norwich or journeying on to
Cromer, there are several places of interest in the neighbour-
hood which will call for your attention. Among these
are Wolterton Hall, built by Horace Walpole during the
first half of the eighteenth century ; Oxnead Hall, erected
by Clement Paston in the sixteenth century, and the ruined
churches of Antingham and Wolterton.

The cyclist who extends his tour to Cromer must ride
carefully over the first few miles out of Aylsham, for
there are one or two dangerous turnings. He will pass
through Ingworth and by its water-mill, and when about
four miles from Aylsham will come in sight of Gunton
Park, in which stands the country house of Lord Suffield.
A few miles further on he will enter upon Roughton
Heath, after crossing which he will be in the midst of a
district described at length in the tour, “ By the Wild
North Sea.”’

141

ITINERARY THE ELEVENTH
THE BROADLAND

«¢ A counTRY of green meadows and slow lowland streams,
where a man may lie beside a tuft of willows and dream
marvellously.”” ‘These words of the author of ‘ Scholar-
Gipsies ’’ were written to describe a district not far from
the banks of the Tweed, but they may fitly be applied to
the Norfolk Broadland. For the Broadland is a ‘‘ country
of green meadows”’; its rivers are the laziest of lowland
streams; and one of its chief charms is that it is a place
where a man may “ dream marvellously.”’

To do anything like justice to the beauty of Broadland
is no easy task, even though, as in my own case, one has
been familiar with the district’s rivers, broads, and marshes
from his earliest days. At best, 1 can only hope to
convey vague impressions, for much of the charm and
loveliness of Broadland scenery is indefinable and inde-
scribable. Yet by relating some of my own impressions
of the district I may be able to give some idea of its
character and inhabitants.

As I have said, from my earliest years I have spent the
greater part of my days in Broadland. From the window
of the house in which I was born I could watch the herons
and lapwings on the water-meadows, the marshmen at their
dyke-drawing and eel-fishing, and the glorious sunsets
which the river reflected ere white mists rose and covered
water and meadow with a drifting fleecy pall. As a
schoolboy I spent my holidays in rowing a crazy old boat
onthe Waveney, seeking the nests of the river warblers in
the reed beds, or skating over wide stretches of flooded

142

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THE BROADLAND.

The Broadland

and frozen marsh. Since then I have devoted many
days and nights to exploring the quiet nooks and corners,
reed-girt lagoons, and winding rivers; accompanying the
water-bailiff on his nightly rounds, the eel-catcher to his
setts and babbing, and the marshmen to the haunts of the
redshanks and moor-hens. With field-glass rather than
gun I have sought and followed the birds of the marshes,
the sedge warblers of the riversides, the reed warblers of
the broads, the grasshopper warblers of the lush meadow-
lands. Night has come upon me as I sat in the small
cabin of some fisherman’s house-boat, watching: the bream-
bubbles rise from the bed of a creek, and listening to the
harsh crowing of cock pheasants in the grass, the rustling
of the rats in the hovers, the calling of the curlews, and
the twittering and trillmg of the reed birds. Dawn has
found me among the ooze flats of the tidal waters, where
the waders come to feed at the fall of the tide. In summer
I have gathered wild orchids, bog-beans, and sundews in
marshes where they were rooted in golden bog-mosses, and
half hidden by luxuriant swamp grasses, while all around
me brilliant-hued dragon-flies have been darting, and “ five
spotted burnets’’ hovering in the sunlight. From dawn
till dusk of summer days, birds, butterflies, and flowers have
been my only companions, and from dusk till dawn the
only voices I have heard have been the wild-life voices
of the lowland meadows and streams. And in winter,
when clouds of starlings darken the already lowering, snow-
laden sky, when flocks of plovers settle on the marshes,
and many strange bird-voices are heard among the familiar
ones of river and fen, the fascination of the Broadland
has been so great that not all the biting winds and threatened
storms have been enough to keep me from the shores of
the broads and rivers.

There are people who will not admit that marshland
scenery has either charm or beauty. ‘They cannot under-
stand how Borrow was able to “ draw more poetry from a
widespreading marsh with its straggling rushes than from

143

Norfolk

the most beautiful scenery, and would stand and look at it
with rapture’’; nor can they appreciate the feelings of
Charles Kingsley when he wrote of the fens: ‘ They
have a beauty as of the sea, of boundless expanse and
freedom,’ and who also said: ‘* Overhead the arch of
heaven spread more ample than elsewhere, as over the sea ;
and that vastness gave, and still gives, such cloudlands,
such sunrises, such sunsets, as can be seen nowhere else
within these isles.’? But it is a mistake to look upon the
Broadland as simply a vast level expanse with

‘¢ Low belts of rushes, ragged with the blast,
Lagoons of marish reddening with the west’;

or as a land consisting wholly

“‘ Of water-reeds with plumy heads.
Straight roads with dykes on either hand,
And miles on miles of pasture land.”

There is plenty of this kind of scenery, and close acquaint-
ance with it reveals much that makes it far from monoton-
ous and lonesome; but there are also wood-girt broads in
which trees are mirrored; quaint old-world villages with
thatch-roofed churches and cottages straggling along the
banks of the streams; upper reaches where the rivers wind
around the borders of gorsey heathlands and below bosky
hangers, and flow beneath the bridges and by the gardens
of sleepy red-roofed towns; and meres, the waters of
which remain almost undisturbed while little more than a
ridge of sandhills divides them from the roaring surf-white
sea. On the borders of the marshes, too, and often with
their roots washed by the Broadland streams, are woods
and copses where squirrels gambol, wood doves croon,
sparrow-hawks nest, jays screech, woodpeckers yike, and
the willow warblers come as soon as they arrive on our
shores. Here, in the clearings, the woodmen work in
their brushwood huts, making hurdles for the farmer and
hoops for the cooper, plying their “hooks”? upon the ash
and hazel wands to the music of the woodland birds.

144

The Broadland

All day long, while cruising in Broadland, you glide
through a succession of reposeful scenes, more than delight-
ful to you if you have just left thronged city streets or
abandoned the strenuous pleasure-seeking of some fashion-
able resort; and when night approaches, and your yacht
is anchored on some placid broad or moored by some reedy
creek, you are seldom anxious to retire to your cabin and
leave the rivers to the leaping fish, the marshes to the
night-hawking churn-owl, the riverside to the bream-
catching otter, and the dykesides to the rustling voles and
fluttering moths. You are more likely to cast loose your
dingy and row up some quiet creek, where the reeds
whisper stories which in the daytime were left untold; or
to step ashore and stroll along the ‘‘wall,”’ or across the
marshes, in the moonlight. ‘T‘hen you feel a sense of kin-
ship with the sedge warblers chuckling in the reeds, the
pheasants crowing in the grass, the hares leaping from
their forms in the dry ronds, and the restless water-fowl
of the riverside. The fluctuations of the money market
are forgotten while you interest yourself in the fortunes
of some eel-catcher babbing with a bunch of worsted-
threaded worms; the cries of some bird whose nest has
been raided by a prowling stoat, has more immediate
appeal to you than the death-throes of an expiring
nation; and you feel no inclination to seek your cabin
_ even when the ‘‘dream draperies’’ of mist spread a white

coverlet over land and water. ‘The Broadland nights are
more beautiful than the Broadland days.

I have referred to the bird-life of this bird-haunted
district of the most “ornithologically favoured”? county in
England. It will not be out of place if I draw attention
to the Broadland wild flowers.

Many of the Norfolk marshes, and especially those
known as “rush marshes’’—a name which indicates that
they are not wholly reclaimed from their original swampi-
ness—are veritable wild flower gardens. In them grow
not only marsh, spotted, and green-winged orchises, but

K 145

7

Norfolk

lovely marsh helleborines, the beautiful pink-belled bog-
bean, the delicate bog pimpernel, the downy-leaved marsh
St John’s-wort, and the scarce marsh pea. ‘Tall willow-
herbs, cat valerians, and purple loosestrifes deck the river-
sides and dykesides; moneywort trails around the borders
of the alder carrs; and marsh cinquefoil and red rattle
grow amid the fragrant marsh hay. In the dykes which
intersect the water-meadows many flowers are to be found
which have scarcely any other habitat in England, now
that the fens of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire have
been transformed into dry pastures and fruitful cornfields.
Many kinds of water crowfoot deck the surface of the
dykes with snow-white blossoms, frogbits display their
three-petalled flowers and kidney-shaped leaves, water
violets send up their whorled flower-spikes, and the greater
spearwort blooms amid the reeds and sedges. ‘The curious
water-soldier (Stratiotes alvides) almost chokes up some
of the dykes in summer, when its aloe-like leaf-clusters
rise from the oozy dyke-beds; bladderworts display their
yellow snapdragon-shaped blossoms, borne up on buoyant
insect-catching vesicles; aromatic sweet sedge in places
overpowers the fragrance of the meadow-sweet; and here
and there, in localities not to be indicated, but which the
botanist may discover in his rambles, grows that rare old
fenland plant the marsh sowthistle (Sonchus palustris).
These are only a few of the hundreds of wild flowers
which delight your eye in Broadland—a district richer in
native floral life than any other in England.

During the days and nights I have spent among the
marshes, homesteads, and waterways of the Broadland, I
have made many friends—such friends as no lover or
student of wild-life could fail to appreciate. For they
are men who have spent their lives on the rivers and
marshes, gaining a livelihood by the use of net, eel-spear,
and gun. Everyone of them is a naturalist—a naturalist
who has learnt what he knows from nature instead of
books. Unfortunately, they belong to a vanishing race.

146

The Broadland

Acts for the preservation of fish and protection of wild
birds—necessary acts, as even the men themselves admit—
have compelled them to resort to other means of gaining a
living than were once sufficient for them. Still, they
have not yet wholly disappeared, and here and there you
may meet with one of them. ‘’o realise the kind of life
they led in the ‘‘pre-protection’’ days, you cannot do
better than turn to the pages of a book published in 1848
by the Rev. Richard Lubbock, and entitled ‘‘ Observations
on the Fauna of Norfolk.” Here is found a graphic
description of one of the old-time broadsmen. It is
somewhat lengthy, but worth reproducing. Mr Lubbock
writes :—

«¢ When I first visited the broads I found here and there
an occupant squatted down, as the Americans would call it,
on the verge of a pool, who relied almost entirely on shoot-
ing and fishing for the support of his wife and family, and
lived in a truly primitive manner. I particularly remember
one hero of this description. ‘ Our broad,’ as he always
called the extensive pool by which his cottage stood, was
his microcosm—his world; the islands in it were his
Gardens of the Hesperides—its opposite extremity his
Ultima Thule. Wherever his thoughts wandered, they
could not get beyond the circle of his beloved lake;
indeed, I never knew them aberrant but once, when he
informed me, with a doubting air, that he had sent his wife
and his two eldest children to a fair at a country village
two miles off, that their ideas might expand by travel: as
he sagely observed, they had never been away from ‘our
broad.’ I went into his house at the dinner hour, and
found the whole party going to fall to most thankfully upon
a roasted herring gull, killed, of course, on ‘our broad.’
His life presented no vicissitudes but an alternation of marsh
employment. In winter, after his day’s reed-cutting, he
might be regularly found posted at nightfall, waiting for the
flight of fowl, or paddling after them on the open water.
With the first warm days of February he launched his fleet

147

Norfolk

of trimmers, pike finding a ready sale at his own door to
those who bought them to sell again in the Norwich market.
As soon as the pike had spawned and were out of season,
the eels began to occupy his attention, and lapwings’ eggs
to be diligently sought for. In the end of April, the island
in his watery domain was frequently visited for the sake of
shooting the ruffs which resorted thither on their first arrival.
As the days grew longer and hotter, he might be found
searching, in some smaller pools near his house, for the
shoals of tench as they commenced spawning. Yet a little
longer and he began marsh-mowing, his gun always laid
ready upon his coat, in case flappers should be met with.
By the middle of August teal came to a wet corner near
his cottage, snipes began to arrive, and he was often called
upon to exercise his vocal powers on the curlews that passed
to and fro. By the end of September good snipe shooting
was generally to be met with in his neighbourhood ; and
his accurate knowledge of the marshes, his unassuming good
humour, and zeal in providing sport for those who employed
him, made him very much sought after as a sporting guide
by snipe shots and fishermen; and his knowledge of the
habits of different birds enabled him to give useful informa- —
tion to those who collected them.” .

One of the few men to whom the above description might
very well apply is Fuller, the old broadsman who spends
the greater part of the year in his little house-boat on Rock-
land Broad. He it is of whom Mr Christopher Davies
has written in his Norfolk Broads and Rivers. He still
leads the life of an old-time water-gipsy, and the man is
not living who possesses a sufficiently persuasive tongue to
cause him to abandon it. The men whom you come most
in contact with, however, are the wherrymen, who are far
more numerous than gunners or eel-catchers. They are
no summer-season voyagers, much in evidence when the
sun shines, but lost sight of as soon as stormy weather sets
in. All through the year their large-sailed wherries, painted
in barbaric brilliant hues, cruise up and down the rivers, be-

148

The Broadland

tween the ports and the inland towns. Up streams which
seem scarcely navigable to a four-ton yacht they make their
way, either gliding steadily before the breeze or pushed for-
ward by the men on board with their long quants; and at
times their sails brush the feathery reed tops and their hulls
are dusted with the pollen of the riverside wild flowers. To
the yachtsman who encounters the wherryman on a sunny
summer day, when the ronds are full of coots and moor-hens
and the warblers sing incessantly in the reed beds, it may
seem that his life is an enviable one; but the yachtsman
does not see him in winter, when the warblers are gone, the
reed plumes toss wildly in the wind, and a dun sky lowers
upon the lowlands. ‘Then icy blasts, against which even
the strong-winged herons fight in vain, sweep across the
marshes, numbing the wherryman to the bones and freezing
his breath upon his beard. But so long as the rivers are
‘‘open’’ he keeps on quanting and sailing; and it is only
when keen night-frosts have fettered the inland waters, and
he can no longer break his-way up or down the rivers or
across the broads, that he gets a holiday. ‘Then, leaving
his wherry ice-bound at some staithe or marshside mooring,
he idles for a while, or dons his “ pattens”” and skates upon
the frozen meres.

Of late years the Norfolk wherrymen have been put to
a great deal of inconvenience by the unskilful navigation
of some of the pleasure-seekers, who, relying on a scanty
knowledge of yacht-sailing, cruise in the Broadland un-
assisted by regular boatmen. They have proved themselves
a long-suffering, patient race, who, so long as they are
treated with civility and their progress not unnecessarily
hindered, are usually willing to give good advice and render
valuable assistance to yachtsmen and others in difficulty.
Among them are many entertaining characters, whom it
is a pleasure to encounter at some marshland staithe or
ferry inn, and listen to when they are in a garrulous and
reminiscent mood.

149

ITINERARY THE TWELFTH

DOWN THE YARE FROM NORWICH TO
REEDHAM AND YARMOUTH

The Yare—Postwick Grove—Bramerton Wood’s End—The Broad-
land Windmills—Surlingham Broad and Ferry—Wild-fowl
Decoying — Rockland Broad — Hardley Cross—'The Chet —
Loddon and its Neighbourhood— Reedham—The Murder of
Lothbrock—Reedham Marshes—An Old Estuary—Yarmouth.

THERE are many places in Broadland—such as Norwich,
Wroxham, Yarmouth, Oulton, and Lowestoft — where
yachts and wherries may be hired; and as the parties which
engage them usually make the yacht-letter’s yard the starting-
point of their cruising, it is impossible to describe any route
which all of them can follow. An attempt is therefore
made to indicate a series of cruises, each complete in itself,
which you may undertake in varying succession, and which
will conduct you to all the principal broads and places of
interest in Broadland. It must be understood, however,
that in the space available for this purpose, it is useless to
attempt to describe anything like all the interesting features
of scenery, types of broadsmen, wild-life, etc., appertaining
to each cruise, though as much as possible concerning these
subjects is introduced into the river-itineraries as a whole.
Thus, if in describing a trip up the Bure reference is made
to the eel-catchers and their methods on that river, it must
not be assumed that these men are not to be met with, and
their methods observed on the other Broadland waterways.
There are eel-catchers almost everywhere in Broadland,
and if special attention is drawn to them in a description of
150

Down the Yare to Yarmouth

the Bure, it is simply because they are most numerous on
that river, and to avoid wearisome repetition. .
Several of the road and rail routes by which you may
acquaint yourself with the scenery of Norfolk have their
starting-point at Norwich, and from the same grand old
city you may set out on your Broadland cruising. A
pleasant trip is that from Norwich to Yarmouth by the river
Yare. The Wensum, upon the banks of which the Nor-
folk capital stands, joins its waters with those of the Yare
just below the city, and from that point downwards the
united rivers are known as the Yare. To the minds of
many people the Yare is the most delightful of the Norfolk
waterways; it certainly flows through some of the prettiest
scenery in the county. About three miles from the Carrow
Bridge, which adjoins the enormous works of Messrs
Colman, is Postwick Grove, part of a parish which belongs
almost entirely to the Earl of Rosebery, to whose father a
mural brass and memorial window are erected in the village
church. This is one of the most charming spots on the
river; but if from the commencement to the end of your
cruising you step ashore to explore every pretty spot you
come across your voyaging is likely to be as protracted as
that of the Flying Dutchman. So you will do well to sail
on to Bramerton Wood’s End, another lovely bit of scenery,
upon which the eyes of navigators long familiar with the river
love to look. Not far from here is the first pumping mill
met with in descending the Yare. It is a red “skeleton”
windmill on the right bank. Such windmills are among
the most familiar objects on the marshlands, and you are
soon struck with the number of them dotted along the banks
of the rivers. Most of them are more than a century old ;
many are double that age ; and they are gradually giving place
to less picturesque steam pumping stations, which more speedily
clear the dykes of flood-water. They have done good
work, in their time, these gaunt old windmills; and even
now, on a breezy morning after heavy rains have filled the
dykes, it is a pleasant sight to see their sails whirling above

rot

Norfolk

the river walls. On such a morning you may perhaps
choose to make a close inspection of one of them. ‘The
millman in charge is usually quite willing to aid anyone who
wishes to do this; and, in addition to explaining the work-
ing of the mill, will point out the swallows’ nests in the
upper storeys. He may, too, have a curious or gruesome
tale to tell about his old mill, for the wooden wheels within
are dangerous to approach when the sails are whirling—as
more than one unfortunate millman has discovered—-and
they make weird noises on stormy nights. So it is not
strange that more than one ghost story is associated with
these marshland windmills, and that even now some of the
older and disused ones have an uncanny reputation. The
first mill on the Yare, however, is a slight structure
compared with most of those which you will see around
Reedham.

If you are interested in geology you may, in spite of what
has been said about too frequently going ashore, be inclined,
while in the neighbourhood of Bramerton, to visit the spot
where the Norwich Crag, here examined by the members
of the British Association, is to be seen. This crag, for
years the subject of much discussion as to its claim to be
considered a distinct geological division, is rich in fossils,
and if you examine it at Bramerton you will have little
trouble in finding, at least, a number of shells.

A little more than two miles from Bramerton is Sur-
lingham Ferry, towards which the river winds in a manner
worthy of the upper waters of the Waveney. Tacking
down the winding reaches the yachtsman whose attention is
not taken up with the manceuvring of his craft, has ample
opportunities for admiring the silvery willows and dwarf
white poplars which relieve the monotony of the swampy
lands on either side of the stream ; and the purple spikes of
loosestrife, giant willow-herbs, and snow-white bindweeds
which deck the banks. Beyond these, herds of cattle graze
on meadows covered with buttercups; still further back, on
the uplands behind the marsh farms, pleasant country homes

152

Down the Yare to Yarmouth

are embowered in groves of trees. Surlingham Ferry is
about six miles from Norwich, and the Ferry Inn is a
favourite resort of anglers. So, too, is Coldham Hall,
another inn some two miles further down the river. Indeed,
the waters about here are famous for their bream, roach,
perch, and pike fishing. Even if you have no inclination to
angle, you will do well to make the acquaintance of Catch-
pole, the Yare Hotel boatman, and seek his guidance to that
naturalists’ paradise, Surlingham Broad. ‘Though one of
the smaller of the Norfolk lagoons, and said to be gradually
growing smaller owing to the luxuriance of its aquatic plants,
it is still a fair-sized sheet of water, and a four-ton yacht can,
with care, be sailed almost all over it. As you descend the
river you may enter the broad by Birch Creek, a channel a
little above the Yare Hotel, and emerge from it through
Surlingham Fleet. There is a curious ice-house on its
bank, in which ice from the surface of the broad is
stored. You will be able to judge what a glorious place
this broad is for the flight-shooter, who conceals himself in
its reed-fringed creeks and dykes on winter nights. Ento-
mologists often visit Surlingham on account of the abundant
insect-life in its hovers, swamps, and reed beds. As to
the bird-life of the district there is no better authority than
Catchpole, who has spent his life here, and in the shooting
season is seldom abroad without his dog and gun.
Wild-fowl decoying by means of decoy pipes is little
practised now, mainly because places suitable for the
working of pipes are few and far between. There is a
decoy at Brundall, belonging to a well-known Norwich
citizen who has a country house here; but it is seldom
used, and even if you obtain permission to visit it you will
scarcely be able to appreciate the interesting method of
wild-fowl capture. ‘To see decoying on any considerable
scale you must visit Fritton Lake, or Borough Fen Decoy,
and you must go in winter, for it is then only that the
fowl settle on the pools in sufficient quantities to tempt
the decoyman to use his pipes. As a great many people

153

Norfolk

have never seen a decoy worked a few further remarks
on the subject of decoying may not be unacceptable.

Witp-Fow:t Decoyine.

Antiquaries tell us that wild-fowl decoying was practised
so long ago as the year 3000 B.c., and antiquaries must be
left to prove the truth of their statement. ‘There is better
reason for believing that the first decoy ever built in Eng-
land was planned and
erected at Waxham
in Norfolk by Sir
William Wodehouse in
the reign of James I.
A. better district for
me . i such an experiment
erica 728 : pee could not have been

Bs 5 selected. Sir Thomas
Browne, writing at
Norwich in the middle
of the seventeenth cen-
tury, attributed the

== abundance of teal on
4 iiem Tees the local waterways to
the presence of decoys.
This is explained by the fact that wherever there is a decoy
almost absolute quietude is maintained, and this attracts the
wild-fowl to the rivers and meres. Where decoys had been
in existence twenty years certain privileges were secured to
them by law. At Borough Fen Decoy, which is situated
between Peakirk and Crowland, there is, or was till lately,
an ancient right in force which made it illegal for anyone to
discharge a gun within a mile of the decoy. Essex, Norfolk,
Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Lincolnshire have always been
the chief decoying counties, for they, until a comparatively
recent date, contained fenny districts which had altered little
in aspect since the days of the Fenland saint, St Guthlac.

154

Down the Yare to Yarmouth

Daniel Defoe, in describing a tour he took through these
eastern counties, wrote :—‘‘In these fens are abundance
of those admirable pieces of art called decoys, that is to
say, places so adapted for the harbour and shelter of wild-
fowl, and then furnished with a breed of those they call
decoy ducks, who are taught to allure and entice their
kind to the places they belong to, that it is incredible
what quantities of wild-fowl of all sorts—duck, mallard,
teal, widgeon, etc.—they take in those decoys every week
during the season. It may, indeed, be guessed at by this,
that there is a decoy not far from Ely which pays to the
landlord, Sir Thomas Hare, £500 a year rent, besides a
charge of maintaining a great number of servants for the
management ; and from which decoy alone they assured me at
St Ives (a town on the Ouse, where the fowl they took were
always brought to be sent to London,) that they generally
sent up three thousand couple a week. ‘There are more of
these about Peterborough, which send the fowl up twice a
week in waggon loads at a time, whose waggons, before the
Act of Parliament to regulate carriers, I have seen drawn
by ten and twelve horses apiece, they were laden so heavy.”

The draining of the Fens led to the disuse of many of
the old decoys, and that the loss so sustained was consider-
able may be gathered from the fact that ten decoys in the
East Fen sent to London market in one season 31,200
du¢k, widgeon, and teal. The reclamation of the marshy
haunts of the wild-fowl is not, however, the only cause
for many old decoymen finding their occupation gone.
The roar and rattle of the railways have made it impossible
for decoying to be carried on in many places where it
was once a profitable pursuit; and some of the existing
decoys are worked with difficulty on account of the disturb-
ing sounds which drive away the fowl. Dwellers in the
eastern counties have been struck with the curious coin-
cidence that with the decline of the most deadly method of
wild-fowl capture there commenced a considerable falling-off
in the quantity of fowl visiting the decoying districts; but

USS

Norfolk

when one is aware of the reason for the decline of decoy-
ing one is also able to understand why the ove avoid the
rail-laid districts.

Fritton Lake is one of the few places hoe decoys still
exist and are used when the weather is favourable. It
is a lovely land-locked mere, a little over two miles long
and about quarter-of-a-mile wide, occupying a secluded
position in the midst of a fairly quiet, well-wooded district
on the northern border of Suffolk. Disturbing sounds
cannot wholly be prevented around the Fritton decoys, in
spite of the fact that the woods surrounding the lake are
strictly preserved, and that pleasure-seekers, who in summer
are allowed access to the waters, are not permitted to ap-
proach them in winter. The nearest railway is not so far
away that the shriek of its engines are not heard around
this English Walden; and there are fields not far distant
from its shores where the gunner can amuse himself despite
the indignation of the decoymen. Yet decoying is still
carried on at Fritton, and with good results in comparatively
recent years.1

It is several years since I first visited Fritton Lake and
watched the working of its decoys. I have been there
many times since, and enjoyed the infinite variety of that
lovely lagoon; but the recollections of my first visit are
most firmly impressed on my memory. It was at Christ-
mas-time; there was snow on the ground; and for several
nights hee had been sharp frosts, so that when the north
wind waved the tall reeds which grew around the lake
there was a continuous tinkling of ice-crystals. ‘The frosts
had whitened the shores of the lake and the slim branches of
the woodland trees ; and the decoyman said he had had to get
up long before dawn to break the ice at the entrances of his
decoy pipes. The smooth surface of the lake was dotted with
wild-fowl, among which a handsome pintail was pointed out
to me as I crouched behind the reed screens of a decoy.

1 Fourteen hundred fowl were taken in the Fritton decoys in one
week during the winter of 1399-1900.

156

Down the Yare to Yarmouth

For the information of those who have never seen a
wild-fowl decoy, I give a brief description of the one
which was worked that cold, bright winter day. Imagine
a fairly wide dyke curving inland from the shore of the
lake. This dyke is over-arched by a long tunnel of wire-
netting and ordinary network called the pipe, which is
about 20 feet wide at the mouth and some I00 yards long.
The pipe narrows as it curves inland, and its smaller end
is invisible from the lake. ‘The movements of the decoy-
man are concealed from the fowl by a number of reed
fences or screens, erected on both sides of the pipe.

When the decoyman wishes to attract the attention of
the fowl on the lake, he goes to the entrance of the pipe
and feeds the tame decoy ducks kept there. Seeing the
tame ducks—which are usually birds selected on account
of their being of the wild duck colour—swimming towards
the decoy, the wild birds follow them into the pipe. As
soon as they are far enough in for the decoyman to get
behind them, he shows himself in front of the screens or
sends his trained dog, called the ‘ piper,” into the water at
the mouth of the decoy. Either of these sudden surprises
naturally alarms the wild fowl, and they rise from the water
and fly swiftly up the narrowing network tunnel. Occa-
sionally, a bird or two will make a dash for the entrance ;
but as a rule the lured victims will not face the swimming dog
or the decoyman, and they eventually flutter into the small
end or “point” of the pipe, which is constructed after the
fashion of a fisherman’s hoop net and can be disconnected
from the rest of the pipe when the fowl are safe inside.

I can well remember what a hard business it was to
crouch behind the reed screens and gaze into the decoy
through small holes made by turning slips of wood side-
ways between the reeds. ‘Then, too, there was the dis-
comfort of having to carry in one’s hand a little lump of
- smouldering peat, with the object of preventing the keen-
scented fowl becoming aware of human beings near them.
Still, the novel sight was worth the aches and chills.

157

Norfolk

The “ piper”? had little to do with the capture of the
fowl taken that day; but I had other opportunities for
observing how this clever dog lured the mallard, widgeon,
and teal into the pipe. Between the screens, which are
arrapged obliquely along the sides of the decoy, are a number
of low boards known as ‘‘leaps”’ or “dog-jumps.” At a
signal from its master, the dog jumps over one of these
boards and reveals itself to the fowl. Instead of being
alarmed, as they are when the dog suddenly splashes into
the water behind them, the fowl at once show signs of
the greatest curiosity and commence swimming towards the
decoy. The dog continues its jumping tricks, but slowly
makes its way towards the narrow end of the pipe, and the
fowl are frightened into the hoop net by the decoyman.
Decoying seldom begins before November — though the
fowl sometimes seek the seclusion of the lake a month
or two earlier—and it is all over before the end of
March.

An account of decoying, however, may strike you as
being somewhat out of place here, especially if you read
it while lounging on a yacht’s deck in the full blaze of a
summer sun. So I hasten on to Rockland, where there is
a much larger broad than Surlingham, connected with the
river by Rockland Fleet, a dyke three-quarters of a mile
long, and seven smaller dykes. The main dyke is said to
be navigable to craft not drawing more than three feet
of water; but even if your boat answers to this description,
you will be wise to leave it moored by the riverside and
explore the broad in your dingy. You will then have no
difficulty in getting alongside the quaint little house-boat in
which Fuller, the broadsman mentioned in my opening
remarks on the Broadland, spends so much of his time.
Extensive reed beds surround and form swampy islets about
the broad, making it hard to estimate its full size. These
reed beds are usually full of birds, and in winter are the
haunts of great numbers of wild-fowl. The village of

158

>
;

Down the Yare to Yarmouth

Rockland, where ruins of an older church are to be seen
beside the existing church of St Mary, is not far from the
broad.

About three miles below Buckenham Ferry, another of
the numerous angling resorts of this district, is Langley
Dyke, by rowing up which it is possible to get within a
few minutes walk of the ruins of Langley Abbey, founded
in 1198. ‘Though not extensive, these ruins are not with-
out interest. Five-and-a-half miles from Buckenham,

and about sixteen from Norwich, at the mouth of a

small stream called the Chet, stands Hardley Cross, an
obelisk which marks the extent of Norwich jurisdiction

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over the Yare. Here, representatives of the Norwich
Corporation yearly make a proclamation to the following ©
effect :—

«©Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! If there be any manner of
person that will absume, purfy, implead, or present action,
plaint, or plea for any offence, trespass, or misdemeanour
done or committed upon the Queen’s Majesty’s River of
Wenson, let him repair unto the Right Worshipful Mr
Mayor and the Worshipful the Sheriff of the City of
Norwich, for the redress thereof, and he shall be heard.
God save the Queen.”

The name of Wenson, or Wensum, it must be under-
stood, was formerly applied to this part of the Yare, as
well as to the river at and above Norwich.

The little river Chet, which flows into the Yare at
Hardley Cross, is navigable to wherries as far as Loddon,

159

Norfolk

a small town about five miles from its mouth. Loddon,
although possessing no railway station, has over a thousand
inhabitants and an interesting church built by Sir James
Hobart in the reign of Henry VIII. There are other
much older churches in the neighbourhood, notably those
of Chedgrave and Heckingham, which exhibit many traces
of Norman workmanship. Few people trouble to explore
the Chet, or have
any idea that there
is much in the out-
of-the-way district
through which it
flows to reward
_, them for lingering
= men a while on _ its
- Waters.

From Hardley
Cross to Reedham
there is little cal-
ling for description ;
but Reedham,
where commences
the three-mile canal

: Caves

i WZ caiman separ known as the New
LAL om Cut, which connects

the Yare with the Waveney, is a picturesque village on rising
ground by the riverside. Here, you have the choice of
sailing to Oulton and Lowestoft by way of the New Cut
and the Waveney, or of continuing your voyage down the
Yare and across Breydon Water to Yarmouth. ‘The latter
route I now propose to follow, but the former will be dealt
with later on. Reedham is a favourite mooring-place with
yachtsmen and wherrymen, and the former often visit
the church, which contains some interesting memorials of
the Berney family, and the hall, built on the site of an
ancient castle. Reedham was once a seat of the East
Anglian kings, and tradition says it was the scene of the
160

Down the Yare to Yarmouth

murder of Lothbrock, a Danish chief, who, after being
caught by a storm while hawking off the Danish coast, was
driven across the North Sea and into the estuary of the
Yare. He landed at Reedham, and was entertained by
King Edmund; but was afterwards murdered by Bern, the
king’s chief huntsman, whose jealousy he excited by ex-
celling him in the chase. Bern subsequently accused King
Edmund of the murder, and his story being believed by the
Danes, a large force invaded East Anglia and overthrew
the Saxon dynasty.

From Reedham to Breydon the Yare winds through wide
level marshlands, extending in some directions to an horizon
unbroken except by the outlines of the gaunt black wind-
mills. Windmills are the chief features of these far-
spreading marshes— windmills and the countless cattle
which in summer feed on the lush marsh grass. In the
opinion of many people the four miles of river between
Reedham and Berney Arms, an inn at the head of Breydon,
are the dreariest in the Broadland. Still, it is as well you
should see what the real marshlands of Norfolk are like;
and if you cannot grow as enthusiastic over them as a
native of the district, who knows them at all seasons of the
year, fishes their streams, shoots the wild-fowl which flock
to them, and sees the flaming glory of their winter sunsets,
you may yet feel impressed when you remember that where
these wide level pastures now extend for miles and miles the
sea-birds once wheeled and screamed, and Roman galleys
and viking ships of Norway sailed to ravage the homes of
the early dwellers in East Anglia. While you ponder
over the great change’ since those long-gone days, the
white wings of your yacht carry you out of the Yare on
to the wider waters of Breydon, where, beyond the ooze-
flats on which the gulls and curlews feed, you see the
roofs and spires of Yarmouth standing out clear against
the sky. '

L 161

ITINERARY THE THIRTEENTH

UP THE BURE TO ACLE, WROXHAM, AND
ATISHAM

Through the marshes—Eels and Eel-catching—Filby, Rollesby, and
Ormesby Broads—Acle—Thurne Mouth—St Benet’s Abbey—
South Walsham Broad—Ranworth Church and Rood Screen—
Horning Ferry—Woodbastwick, Hoveton Great, Hoveton
Little, and Salhouse Broads—Wroxham Broad—Aylsham,

Tue Yare is deservedly famous for the delightful scenery ot
its upper waters, but the voyager who confines his cruising
to the Yare cannot claim to be acquainted with the Norfolk
Broads. For there are only two broads—Rockland and
Surlingham—connected with that river, and they are by no
means remarkable for size or beauty. Rockland Broad, it
is true, is fairly extensive, but is so surrounded and over-
grown with reeds that it is often difficult to tell where land
ends and water begins. The Bure is the chief Broadland
river, for connected with it and its tributaries are the prin-
cipal Norfolk broads.

The Bure discharges its waters into Breydon a little way
above Yarmouth Haven Bridge, so, as you have arrived at
Yarmouth by way of the Yare and Breydon, you are in a
position to start at once on your cruise. You—or the men
whom you have engaged to navigate your craft—will un-
doubtedly be glad when the mast-lowering and quanting
manceuvres, rendered necessary by a passage under the two
fixed bridges which span the mouth of the Bure, are over,
and you can with comfort commence your inland voyage.
For several miles your progress will be through a flat

162

Up the Bure to Aylsham

marshland district, possessing few features of interest unde-

scribed in the foregoing pages. Here and there, however,

you will see one or more of the curious little arks or house-

boats which the eel-catchers make their headquarters at

certain seasons of the year, when the eels are “ running,”

and large enough quantities of them may be caught to repay

the men for spreading their setts across-the river. So to

pass away some of the time which must be spent in sailing

through the monotonous marshlands, I will give a brief.
account of the methods of the Broadland eel-catchers.

In the first place it must be understood that during cer-
tain months of the year, more especially in the autumn, the
eels come down the rivers in large shoals. Until recently
this phenomenon, though familiar to every broadsman and
fisherman, was without satisfactory explanation; even now
it is a matter of mystery to most of the dwellers among the
meres and marshes. Naturalists, however, are now aware,
mainly in consequence of the investigations of the indefatig-
able Dr Grassi, that the reproduction of the common eel
(Anguilla vulgaris) takes place in deep salt water.1 This

1 Mr T. Southwell, in some Further Notes on the Reproduction of the
Common Eel, published by the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’
Society, quotes from a paper by Dr Grassi (whose investigations
were carried out in Italy) as follows: ‘‘’To sum up, Anguilla vulgaris,
the Common Eel, matures in the depths of the sea, where it acquires
larger eyes than are ever observed in individuals which have not yet
migrated to deep water. . . . The abysses of the sea are the spawn-
ing places of the Common Eel: its eggs float in the sea water. In
developing from the egg it undergoes a metamorphosis, that is to
say, it passes through a larval form denominated Leptocephalus
brevirostris. What length of time this development requires is very
difficult to establish. So far we have only the following data:
First, Anguilla vulgaris migrates to the sea from the month of
October to the month of January; second, the currents, such as
those of Messina, throw up, from the abysses of the sea, specimens
which, from the commencement of November to the end of July,
are observed to be more advanced in development than at other
times, but not yet arrived at total maturity; third, eggs, which
according to every probability belong to the Common Eel, are
found in the sea from the month of August to that of January

163

Norfolk

explains the annual ‘‘ running,’’ as it is called, of the eels
down the rivers. The eel=catchers, who trouble themselves
not at all about the reason for this periodical migration, take
advantage of it by spreading across the rivers large nets known
as “setts,” attached to which are one or more hoop nets
into which the eels, whose passage down-stream is barred
by the network barrier, find their way, and from which they
cannot escape. ‘These setts are used at night and when the
tide is ebbing, for it is then only that the eels “run” ; and
the men who work them keep watch from the cabins of the
little houseboats in order that they may be ready to lower
the nets should a wherry or any other craft come by.
Several stones of eels are often taken in a night by this
means. Mr Christopher Davies mentions an occasion on
which the catch amounted to a hundred-and-ten stones in one
sett. This, however, was nearly fifty years ago, when,
according to the eel-catchers, eels were more plentiful than
they are now. More recently a fisherman living near Oulton
Broad took seventy-four stones of eels in a net spread
across a sluice connecting a small piece of water called
Leathes Ham with Lake Lothing. Other methods of
eel-catching are spearing (‘ picking”) and ‘ babbing.”
An eel-pick is usually a five-pronged spear fixed on to a
long pole. The prongs or teeth of the spear are barbed
and set close together, so that when it is driven into the
mud any eel with which it comes in contact is caught be-
tween the teeth. Visitors in Broadland sometimes try their
hands at eel-picking, and have been known to get a duck-
ing’? through clinging to a spear stuck fast in the mud and

inclusive; fourth, the Leptocephalus brevirostris abounds from February
to September. As to other months, we are in some uncertainty
because during them our only natural fisherman, the Orthagoriscus
mola (in the intestine of which his chief supply of larve was found),
appears very rarely; fifth, 1 am inclined to believe that the elvers
(young eels) ascending our rivers are already one year old, and I
have observed that in an aquarium, specimens of Leftocephalus
brevirostris can transform themselves into young elvers in one
month’s time.”

164

Up the Bure te Aylsham

letting their boat drift away from them. They also occa-
sionally indulge in a night’s ‘* babbing ”’ or ‘‘ bobbing ”’ for
eels—a method practised by many marshmen and others
with satisfactory results. ‘To ‘“‘bob” for eels all that is
required is a bunch of worsted-threaded worms on the end
of a line fastened to a pole. ‘This bunch is lowered to the
bottom of the river or dyke chosen as the scene of opera-
tions, and ‘‘ bobbed ”’ gently up and down. As soon as an
eel seizes a worm its teeth become entangled with the
worsted, and it can then be drawn up and deposited in a
tub or any other receptacle the fisherman has handy.
Babbers soon learn to detect the slight Fue of an eel caught
in the worsted.

Filby, Rollesby, and Ormesby Broads are connected with
the Bure by a channel called the Muck Fleet, the entrance
to which is a little way above Stokesby Ferry, some ten
miles from Yarmouth. As the channel is not navigable,
yachtsmen who wish to visit the three broads usually moor
at Runham Swim, about five miles from the river mouth,
and walk to Filby, a distance of about three miles. ‘The
three broads are connected with each other and constitute
a noted angling resort. ‘The famous Eel’s-foot Inn, where
boats may be hired and permission to fish easily obtained, 1s
generally patronised by visitors. Some description of the
neighbourhood around the broads is contained in the opening
pages of the chapter ‘‘ By the Wild North Sea.”

When about eight miles of the Bure are traversed a
change becomes evident in the character of the scenery.
Instead of the wearisome sameness of the marshes, you get
glimpses of woods and hamlets, and at Stokesby of the first
ferry on the river. Stokesby village abuts closely upon the
Bure, and is a picturesque little place, though possessing no
attractions, save its Ferry Inn, likely to tempt you ashore.
It is about three miles from Acle Bridge, where most
yachting parties who have started from Yarmouth in the
morning are glad to moor for the night. I have referred
to Acle in the road itinerary from Norwich to Yarmouth.

165

Norfolk

At Acle Bridge further mast-lowering is unavoidable,
after which the course is as open as the narrowness of the
river and the encountering of wherries and other craft will
admit as far as Wroxham. About three miles above Acle
is Thurne Mouth, where the river Thurne, which leads to
Potter Heigham and Hickling Broad, flows into the Bure. -
Later on I shall again refer to this river; at present you

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may continue your cruise up the Bure. You soon arrive at
one of the ‘chief objects of antiquarian interest in the Broad-
land. ‘This is the ruins of St Benet’s Abbey, seen close to
the river on the right bank. To King Canute must be
ascribed the honour of having founded the Abbey of St
Benet’s-at-Holm. This ‘greatest and most powerful
monarch of his time,’’ as the historian Hume calls him,
having shed much human blood, found himself firmly seated
on the English throne. He is then supposed to have realised
the “unsatisfactory nature of human enjoyments”’ (more
especially, I presume, those associated with the slaughtering
of his enemies), and to have turned his attention to prepar-
ing for a future life. Much to Hume’s regret, instead of

166

Up the Bure to Aylsham

compensating those whom he had injured, he devoted him-
self to “those exercises of piety which the monks repre-
sented as the most meritorious. He built churches, he
enriched ecclesiastics, and he bestowed revenues for the
support of chantries.”” While in this humour he endowed
St Benet’s Abbey. It stands on the site of an earlier
monastery destroyed by the Danes in 870. So richly was
it re-endowed and its privileges extended by Edmund the

3’ Benets Aobey

Confessor and other royalties that it was at one time the
wealthiest monastic house in East Anglia. All the land
which could be seen from its towers was presented to it by
its royal patrons, and the abbey itself was one of the stateliest
in England. It was very strongly built, and when besieged
by William the Conqueror offered such stout resistance that
his forces were of a mind to abandon the attack. It fell at
last through the treachery of a monk who, on condition of
his being made abbot, betrayed it into the hands of the
besiegers. William redeemed his promise to the monk, but
hanged him on the eve of his installation.

The abbots of St Benet had a comfortable residence in
the adjoining hamlet of Ludham, where they could enjoy
a change of air after the fogs and monotony of the marshes.
Standing so near the river, fish were always plentiful at

167

Norfolk

the Abbey on fast days, and the marshes provided abundant
wild-fowl. When the abbots had courtly guests they were
entertained with falconry. On the suppression of the monas-
teries, the abbot of St Benet was one of the twenty-eight
monastic dignitaries who had a seat in Parliament, and the —
bishops of Norwich even now sit in the House of Lords
by virtue of the title of Abbots of St Benet’s-at-Holm.
All that is left of the Abbey is a fine gateway, mixed up
with the ruins of a windmill erected nearly two hundred
years ago, one of the chapel walls, and a number of frag-
ments.

A dyke not far from the Abbey, on the other side of
the river, leads to South Walsham Broad. This is a
picturesque little broad, with a staithe where you may land
and visit the two South Walsham churches of St Mary
and St Lawrence, which stand in the same churchyard.
One, however, that of St Lawrence, is in ruins, owing to
a destructive fire which occurred in 1827. There is some
curlous carving over the south porch door of St Mary’s,
representing the T'rinity. Not far from St Benet’s Abbey,
on the north side of the Bure, is the mouth of the river
Ant, a tortuous stream, navigable to fair-sized yachts as far
as Ludham Bridge, but which you must explore in a smaller
craft if you desire to see Barton and Stalham Broads. At
present you may content yourself with sailing on to the
dyke which leads into Ranworth Broad. This broad and
its surroundings form a delightful and characteristic piece
of Broadland scenery. In the background is Ranworth
Church, famous among antiquaries for its splendid rood
screen. In a report issued by the Society of Antiquaries
it 1s stated that ‘The magnificent painted rood screen and
reredoses to the nave altars form a composition which is
unequalled by any now existing in a district famous for its
screens. As a whole, it may be said that there is nothing
_ of the sort remaining to equal it in England. East Anglia
still contains a number of painted screens, some of much
merit, in its churches, but for delicacy and richness of detail

168

Up the Bure to Aylsham

that of Ranworth is unsurpassed. The beautiful diapers on
the robes of the saints and apostles painted on the panels,
and the elaborate flower work which adds to and heightens
the effect of the architectural features, make the whole com-
position suggestive of a great initial page of some splendidly
illuminated manuscript. The screen has suffered little, if at

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all, from the restorer, and this can be said of few remains
of painting in our churches.’’ The screen here referred to
is not the only object of interest in this fine old church.
There are also a fifteenth century lectern, with the plain-
song notation of a Latin chant upon it, some curiously
carved stalls, a fifteenth century font, and a roller on the
chancel wall by which the sanctuary lamp used to be raised
and lowered.

Three and a half miles from the mouth of the Ant is
Horning Ferry, another resort of boating folk and anglers.

169

¥

Norfolk

The village of Horning stands in the midst of a swampy
district, though the church, which contains nothing in any
way remarkable, occupies higher ground. The country
around Horning is therefore subject to floods, and some
parts of it are little better than fens. There are several
broads in the neighbourhood, including Woodbastwick
Broad, Hoveton Great Broad, Salhouse Broad, and
Hoveton Little Broad. The last-named and Hoveton

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Great Broad are breeding-places of large numbers of
black-headed gulls, while the whole district is famous for
its bird-life. The scenery around this little cluster of
bréads is charming. There are innumerable delightful
nooks where you may spend the whole of a summer day
and not tire of watching the birds in the reeds and thickets,
the play of light and shadow on the water, the rising of the
fish, or of listening to the rustling of the reeds and the
songs of the birds.

The finest of the numerous broads in this neighbourhood
is Wroxham Broad, the entrance to which is about five
miles from Horning. It is a splendid sheet of water, about
a mile long and a hundred acres in extent; its shores are

170

Up the Bure to Aylsham

well wooded, its fishing excellent, and it affords a fine course
for rowing and sailing matches. A charge of half-a-crown
is, it is true, made to anglers; but as its waters, in spite of
their being private property, are open to all who care to sail
upon them, this has the effect of protecting and preserving
the fishing. ‘To visit Wroxham on regatta day, when it is
covered with rowing boats, yachts, house-boats, steam and
electric launches, is to enjoy a scene of surpassing interest.
Writing of this broad, Mr Davies says: ‘¢ On its western
margin there are wooded glades quivering with sunlight and
shadow, green park-land and fruitful fields, cattle standing
knee-deep in shallow bays under the shade of ancient trees,
and all the accompaniments of quiet rural English scenery.
On the eastern side there are reed beds, low coppices, rank
and tangled vegetation, and spacious marsh and lake and
river, with always a warm flush of colour. ‘The freshness
of the spring is doubled by the reflection in the still water ;
the glow of summer is mellowed by the quivering haze from
the broad; the glories of autumn gather intensity from their
mixture in the palette of the lake; and the pale yellow of
the dying reeds is in the brief sunshine of winter brightened
into gold. In all its aspects the broad has a charm which
is irresistible, but greatest, we think, when the silence of
the night enfolds it; when the stars shine below and above,
and the noises of the night, of bird and fish, alone break
the stillness. It has not the eerie loneliness of the wilder
broads, but a soft, restful quiet which is a sure medicine for
a restless mind.”’

A short two miles above the broad, and approached by
a delightful part of the river, where Hoveton church stands
on high ground beyond the coot-haunted ronds, and the
banks are decked with hemp agrimony and other riverside
wild flowers, is Wroxham Bridge, the halting-place of most
voyagers up the Bure. But the river is navigable to small
craft for some miles farther, indeed, to Aylsham, though
the stream is very narrow in places, and encounters with
wherries call for careful navigation. Wroxham church,

171

Norfolk

which has a Norman doorway, should be visited before
you commence your return voyage or continue your inland
cruise. The distance from Wroxham Bridge to Aylsham
is about eight miles. ‘The river winds through some most
charming scenery, and brings you in touch with some
very pretty villages and not a few places of antiquarian
and historical interest. The chief of these have been dealt
with in the road trip from Norwich to Aylsham, Blickling,
and Cromer.

172

ITINERARY THE FOURTEENTH

THE ANT AND ITS BROADS

Ludham Bridge—Irstead—Barton Broad—Stalham Broad—Stalham
—Worstead—North Walsham.

Assuminc that, after cruising on the upper waters of the
Bure, you have returned down the river to the mouth
of the Ant, I now refer briefly to the latter stream. As
I have already said, sailing up the Ant is only possible
to small craft. This is due to the lowness of the single
arch of Ludham Bridge—an obstacle encountered about a
mile from the river mouth—and the shallowness of the
water. For the first mile or two the scenery of the Ant
district is not particularly impressive; but it improves
higher up, and by the time the village of Irstead is
passed—a village of which William of Wykeham, after-
wards Bishop of Winchester, was rector in 1347—and
Barton Broad comes in sight, you cannot fail to be glad
you were not disheartened by an unpromising outlook or
defeated by a few difficulties. For Barton Broad is almost
as beautiful as Wroxham Broad, and in the eyes of many
people excels the more famous sheet of water. It is a
large broad, second only to Hickling in size; but two
little islands in it tend to convey an impression of limited
area. It is as well that sailing craft should keep to the
channels marked out by posts, as the water is not so deep
as it appears. On one hand the broad is bordered by
woodlands; on the other by boggy marshlands. Barton
Church, which, like Ranworth, is noted for its splendid
screen, stands not far from the village staithe; and

173

Norfolk

Beeston Hall, a fine old mansion which has been in the
possession of the Preston family for many generations, is
not far away.

Stalham Broad is a very little way from Barton Broad ;
but the river divides before the former is reached by the
stream which comes into the Ant from the right. After
having seen Wroxham and Barton, Stalham will probably
strike you as being a very poor sort of broad; indeed,
it is little better than a swamp intersected by a wide
dyke. The place from which it takes its name is a
pleasantly situated little market town a few minutes’ walk

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from the nearest landing-stage. The church has recently
been restored, and there is nothing worth mentioning about
it save its ancient font; but at Ingham, a village about a
mile eastward of the town, is a large and imposing church,
remarkable for its architecture and altar-tombs. One of
the tombs has a recumbent mail-clad effigy of Sir Oliver
de Ingham, Seneschal of Guyenne, who died in 1344,
and is backed by an almost obliterated mural painting,
representing a forest with wild beasts, and a hunter blow-
ing a horn. Another tomb, at the east end of the south
aisle, has sculptured figures of Sir Roger de Bois and his
wife; while a third tomb has effigies of Sir Miles and
Lady Stapleton. Formerly there was a priory of a
monastic order known as the Mathurines here, and the

174

BARTON BROAD

The Ant and its Breads

ruins of it are still attached to the south wall of the
church.

In order to visit Stalham you will have left the main
stream of the Ant, and to regain it you must return to the
spot where you branched off into the broad. From here, if
you will, you may continue your upstream cruise to North
Walsham, a town about eight miles from the entrance to
Stalham Broad. You will have to lower your mast at

Near Barloy Pod

one or two bridges, and pass through one or two locks.
While at one of the latter, known as Briggate Lock, you
will be within a mile of Worstead, once a considerable
town belonging to the abbots of St Benet’s-at-Holm, and
although now decayed into an ordinary rural hamlet, still
containing a church which is what it has always been—
one of the finest of the many churches for which the
county is renowned. Its lofty pinnacled tower would
attract attention even in the “city of churches;”’ its
windows, porch, screens, and elaborate carvings are ad-
mired by all who see them. Worstead was formerly an
important centre of the woollen manufacture established
in Norfolk by the Flemings; and as the villages of

175

Norfolk

Kersey and Lindsey have given their names to certain
kinds of woollen materials, so Worstead has given its
name to another. John Paston, in 1464, was anxious
that his cousin Margaret should send him two ells of
Norfolk worsted for doublets, for, as he said, he ‘ would
make (his) doublet all worstead, for worship of Norfolk.”
Worstead Hall, the seat of the Rous family, contains
some fine paintings, including works of Vandyke and
Rubens.

A, lock close to North Walsham flour-mill is the spot
where the river flows nearest to the town, and is usually
the point where yachtsmen end their upward cruise. The
town is a straggling place, the “lions”? of which are its
church of St Nicholas and market-cross. The former
once possessed a tower and spire which rose to the height
of 147 feet; but it was struck by lightning in 1724, anc
the tower is now in ruins. Memorials of the Pastons are
plentiful in Norfolk churches, and there is one in the fine
chancel of St Nicholas, representing, in full armour, Sir
William Paston, a judge who died in 1608. In 1381, when
a rebellion broke out in East Anglia, a sanguinary battle
was fought about a mile from North Walsham between the
rebels and a large body of troops. The battle-field is
marked by a tall stone cross. The distance from Ant
mouth to North Walsham is about fourteen miles.

176

ITINERARY THE FIFTEENTH

THE THURNE, HEIGHAM SOUNDS, AND
HICKLING BROAD

Womack Broad—Ludham—Heigham Sounds—The Bearded Tit-
mouse—Night on the Sounds — Hickling Broad — Horsey
Mere—Somerton Broad. .

Tuurne Mouth is about two miles down the Bure from
Ant Mouth. The Thurne or Hundred Stream, as it is
sometimes called, has a fairly wide and deep channel as far
as Potter Heigham,
above which navigation
is not quite so easy ;
but the scenery is
often charming, and
Hickling Broad, which
is about six miles
from Potter Heigham
Bridge, is the largest
sheet of water—ex-
cept Breydon, which hon
is not a broad —in Ledhary

the Broadland. The Ca

bridge is about four miles from the river mouth, and is usually
the first halting-place of voyagers on the Thurne; but before
it is reached Womack Broad is seen to the left of the stream.
This:is one of the many broads now almost ‘“ grown-up ””
with aquatic vegetation ; but a channel is kept open through
it by which it is possible to visit Ludham, a village where
the abbots of St Benet’s had a “grange” to retire to
when tired of the monotony of existence at their marshland

M 177

v

Norfolk

abbey. The grange eventually became an episcopal palace
of the bishops of Norwich, one of whom restored it after a
disastrous fire in 1611. The restored edifice is now a farm-
house known as Ludham Hall; a chapel erected subsequent
to the fire is converted into a granary. Ludham Church is
another of the Broadland churches containing gorgeous
screens. Potter Heigham Bridge connects the parish from
which it takes its name with Repps-cum-Bastwick, whose
church stands close to the railway which also crosses the
river.

Voyagers on the Thurne, however, seldom loiter over
the first few miles of river, being anxious to get on as
speedily as possible to the wild fen-like country around
Hickling Broad. So you may hurry on till you come to
Kendall Dyke, a channel on the left, which leads into
Heigham Sounds, a wilderness of wild-fowl-haunted reeds
and waters, the latter famous for their pike. Reeds grow
in great abundance in this neighbourhood, which has
always been one of the favourite haunts of that handsome
little fen bird, the bearded titmouse ( Panurus biarmicus).
If, in the course of your cruising, you come upon a pair
or flock of these beautiful birds, and have an oppor-
tunity of watching their acrobatic antics in a, reed bed,
you will enjoy one of the most fascinating scenes of bird-
life, and it is to be hoped that however much you may be
tempted to shoot one of the elegant mustached cock-birds,
or persuade a broadsman to obtain one for you, you will
resist the temptation. For the Norfolk Broadland is the
only district in England where bearded tits are now to be
found, and even here their number is lamentably small. In
1898, Mr J. H. Gurney, who has contributed an interest-
ing article on the species to the Transactions of the Norfolk
and Norwich Naturalists’ Society, could hear of only thirty-
three nests in the county ; whereas in 1868 it was estimated
that there were some one hundred and twenty-five nests of
eggs hatched off, and in 1848 about one hundred and
sixty nests. Special protection is now extended to both

178

The Thurne, Heigham Sounds

nests and eggs; but the number of badly-stuffed bearded
tits seen in marshmen’s cottages and elsewhere in Broad-
land excites doubts as to whether this protection is much
good to them. ‘The nests are usually easily found, and it
generally rests with the finder to decide whether the eggs
in them are to bring forth young birds. Would that all
persons who discover bearded tits’ nests were content to
simply admire them, or at most to photograph them !

Mr T. Southwell, F.Z.S., who has edited a new edition
of Lubbock’s ‘ Fauna
of Norfolk,’ is en-
rapturedwith Heigham
Sounds. In his in-
troduction to the book
he writes :—‘ Let the
reader drift quietly
through Heigham
Sounds on a glorious
night in the early
autumn, the dying
breeze just stirring the
sails of his yacht and
raising the slightest pais os
possible ripple a the ss ie Faason
surface of the lake,
only enough to make more brilliant the moonbeam’s burnished
path along the water, and to wake the whispering reeds—
the stillness broken only by the cry of some startled water-
bird, or the splash of a monster fish as it darts into the
reed-beds—and he will: behold a scene which no artist
can depict, and which will haunt his memory for many
a day. Nor will the sights and sounds on a fine night
early in summer be easily forgotten. During the day
not a wing may have been seen, but after sundown the
place is alive with the song of the reed-birds, the air
resounds with the bleat of the snipe, waterhens and coots
are calling in all directions, and many are the strange

179

Norfolk

sounds borne on the soft air of evening which reach his
ear.” ,

Heigham Sounds lead into Whittlesley or Whiteslea, a
reed-girt lakelet from which, by way ofa dyke, access is
obtained to Hickling Broad. Ass I have said, this broad is
the largest in Norfolk. It is rather more than 400 acres
in extent, but is shallow in places and, as in the case of
Barton Broad, it is safest to keep within the post-marked

channels. Your dingy, however, will enable you to make
yourself thoroughly acquainted with the surroundings of a
magnificent lake which, as a writer on the Broadland has
stated, is larger in area than Hyde Park, Nowhere in
Norfolk can you better appreciate the almost primeval
nature of some of the Broadland scenery. To be afloat on
Hickling Broad when the gorgeous hues of a Broadland
sunset are reflected by its waters is to witness a scene of
awe-inspiring grandeur never to be forgotten.

There are one or two smaller broads in the neighbourhood
of Hickling, but they are private property. Fishing is also
preserved at Horsey Mere, a find broad of 130 acres which

180

The Thurne, Heigham Sounds

may be reached from Whiteslea by a 14 miles long channel,
the Old Meadow Dyke. This broad is about half-an-
hour’s walk from the sea, with which it is connected by
Palling Dyke. If you explore the district you will find
yourself amid the scenes of the sea’s incursions described
in the chapter “By the Wild North Sea.” The little
town of Martham, to which reference is also made in that
chapter, is not far from the ferry which crosses the river
a little way above Kendal Dyke; and Somerton Broad,—
not a particularly interesting piece of water—is about a
mile above the ferry. Beyond that point navigation is
impracticable, and you had better not attempt it.

181

ITINERARY THE SIXTEENTH

UP THE WAVENEY FROM BREYDON TO
OULTON BROAD

The Waveney—Burgh Castle—St Olave’s—Fritton Lake—St
Olave’s Priory — Herringfleet Hills — Somerleyton — Oulton
Broad—George Borrow’s Summer-house—Lowestoft.

Tue Yare and Bure are the two rivers to which visitors
whose time for Broadland cruising is limited usually devote
most attention; but there is yet another important and by
no means uninteresting waterway to be dealt with. ‘This
is the Waveney, a river which brings you in touch with
some of the pleasantest places in Broadland, one of the
largest broads, and a lovely lagoon—Fritton Lake—which,
although not in Norfolk, and in no sense a “ broad,”’ should
certainly be visited by every voyager in the district. The
Waveney flows into Breydon close to where the Yare
mingles its waters with those of the famous estuary.
Overlooking the mouth of the river, on the Suffolk side,
is Burgh Castle. ‘This so-called castle, supposed by some
antiquaries to be the old Garianonum, is one of the most
perfect relics of the Roman occupation of Britain. To
the least imaginative there is something impressive about its
massive walls and solid watch-towers. Nearly two thousand
years have passed since they were built, and Roman legions
occupied them and the opposite camp at Caister; but the
lapse of years has had little effect upon them. The pro-
praetor Publius Ostorius Scapula, whose object it was to
keep in check the warlike Iceni, is believed to have been
responsible for their erection. The site of the so-called
182

| Up the Waveney

castle was a good one for old-time military purposes. It
is on the brow of a hill near the confluence of the Yare
and Waveney, and overlooks the wide valley that was once
a great estuary. The walls built of flint, chalk, rubble,
and Roman tiles, form an irregular parallelogram 640 feet in
length and 370 in breadth. They are about 14 feet high
and g feet thick. At the foot of the hill on which they
stand the Roman galleys must have moored and landed
their legions. On the summit of each of the circular

towers is a cavity, variously conjectured to have contained
a watch or signalling turret, a ballister, or some similar
weapon of primitive warfare. In 1652 the ruins were in
the possession of General Fleetwood, who married Bridget
Ireton, a grand-daughter of Cromwell. A _ little over
fifty years ago they passed into the hands of the Boileau
family.

That part of the Waveney between Breydon and Oulton
Broad is fairly wide and deep, rendering sailing—a matter
of difficulty on some of the Broadland waterways—com-
paratively easy work. A wide expanse of marshland
stretches away from the right bank, but the scenery on
the other is varied, wooded slopes topped by rugged firs,

183

Norfolk

heathery hills, birch and alder copses, and picturesque
marsh farmsteads uniting to make the river a delightful
one to sail upon. After leaving Burgh Castle, however,
there is little or nothing to detain you until you arrive at
St Olaves Bridge. Here you should moor a while and
stroll to Fritton Lake. This lake which is about two-
and-a-half miles long, is almost entirely surrounded by
woods, and is undoubtedly the loveliest sheet of water in
Fast Anglia. It is private property, but its waters are

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Fitton Lahke—

open to boating parties and anglers during the summer
months upon payment of a small sum to the landlord of
Fritton Old Hall, an old manor house now transformed
into a place of accommodation for visitors. A garden full
of fragrant old-fashioned flowers is one of the delights of
Fritton Old Hall, and although the greater part of the
woodlands is strictly preserved, a most enjoyable ramble
may be taken through a portion of them connected with
Host Hallam’s charmingly situated home. The wild-fowl
decoys referred to in the description of a cruise down the
Yare are an interesting feature of Fritton Lake; but as
they are worked during sharp winters only, the decoymen’s —
methods remain a mystery to most visitors who come here.
184

Up the Waveney

Fritton is the Walden of the Broadland, and there are
many people who would like to dwell on its shores as did
Thoreau on those of Walden.

Close by St Olaves Bridge and railway station are the
scanty ruins of an Augustinian priory ; but they are very
scanty indeed, and you need not fear you have missed an
antiquarian treat if you continue your cruise without seeing
them. Even if you do visit them, you will speedily forget
all about them when you come in sight of. the heather-clad
Herringfleet Hills, which, alas! have paid the penalty of
their beauty and wide outlook by having to submit to the
erection of a number of glaring red villas. In spite of
these architectural eyesores, the scenery of this part of the
river is charming, and the memory of it helps to beguile the
time spent in sailing through the less interesting country
lying between Somerleyton and Oulton Broad. To reach
the broad you must leave the main channel of the Waveney
on the right and sail up a fairly wide waterway known as
Oulton Dyke, the entrance to which is about three miles
above Somerleyton Bridge.

Oulton Broad, though a large and famous piece of water,
is not lovely. For regatta purposes no broad affords a
better course; but this is its sole attraction. At one
time, before the Broadland was ‘discovered,’ and when
George Borrow’s house was about the only building on one
side of the broad it, no doubt, was a somewhat different
place ; but even then it does not seem to have been very
attractive and Borrow gives a very melancholy account of it
in one of his books. It is a pity that the ancient summer-
house in which he wrote ‘‘ Lavengro”’ and ‘ The Bible in
Spain ”’ is not the only building seen here now; for the
“running up” of modern villas has robbed the broad of
what picturesqueness it once possessed, and its nearness to
Lowestoft has made it a far too popular resort. Oulton,
however, has its advantages. All kinds of craft suitable for
Broadland cruising may be hired here, including some of
the famous pleasure-wherries; and the broad is within a

185

Norfolk

few minutes’ railway journey of the ‘Queen of Eastern
Watering-places,” which you may also reach by way of a
salt-water channel called Lake Lothing. But both Oulton
Broad and Lowestoft are in Suffolk, and can scarcely be
dealt with at length in a Norfolk guide-book. Their
appearance here is only justified by their forming part of
the Broadland.

186

ITINERARY THE SEVENTEENTH

OULTON BROAD TO BECCLES AND BUNGA?

Burgh St Peter—Its curious Church—Aldeby Priory—Beccles—
Bungay—The New Cut.

To reach Beccles and Bungay by way of the Waveney you
must, if at Oulton Broad, return to the mouth of Oulton
Dyke and there turn sharply to the left and continue your
cruise up the main river. Even before leaving the Dyke
you catch sight, across the marshes, of a little marshland
church which, perhaps, will seem familiar on account of the
frequency with which it is represented in Broadland guide
books and among the photographs in the Great Eastern
Railway’s carriages. This is the church of Burgh St
Peter—one of the strangest and ugliest ecclesiastical struc-
tures in the eastern counties. The upper part of the tower
is like a flight of steps—in fact the tower consists of five
storeys, each storey being considerably smaller than the one
immediately beneath it. The village of Burgh St Peter,
notwithstanding its being only about four miles from Lowes-
toft, is one of the most out-of-the-way places in Broadland.
It is approached far more easily by river than by road or
rail, the road route to Lowestoft being one of some fourteen
miles. When a villager wishes to “‘ go shopping ”’ at the
neighbouring port or to pay a visit to Carlton Colville, a
neighbouring village, he must first row across the river and
then find his way along an almost imperceptible footpath
across the marshes. Burgh St Peter is one of the several
villages in East Anglia whose inhabitants are fond of
describing them as the ‘last place God made.”

About five miles from the mouth of Oulton Dyke, but

187

Norfolk

some distance from the riverside, is Aldeby. ‘The name of
a farm here—Priory Farm—may tempt you to go in search
of ruins; but you will find little to reward you for your
trouble. ‘True, there was once a priory here—or rather a
cell—but like that of St Olaves, it has almost entirely dis-
appeared. Even at its best it only accommodated a prior
and three monks; now its remains form part of a farmhouse.
The village church is
not uninteresting, for
its doorway is Norman,
and other parts of it
are very ancient. ‘The
parish church at
Beccles, however, the
lofty bell-tower of
which is to be seen
long before the town is
reached, is a far finer
building. The tower
stands apart from the
Cpurlon ae ane ae

78, has never been com-

pleted, its construction
suggesting that it was to have been surmounted bya spire. If
this had been done, Beccles church-tower would be one of
the best in East Anglia. Even now one cannot fail to
be impressed by its height and massiveness. As the town
is in Suffolk, and only mentioned here because it comes
within the bounds of Broadland, it cannot be dealt with at
length; but. I may say that it is a pleasantly situated place,
though possessing little besides its church to draw you from
the river. A wide view of the Waveney Valley may be
obtained from the churchyard, and, of course, an even
wider one from the summit of the bell-tower.

Beccles is about seven-and-a-half miles from Oulton
Dyke, and the river between these places is wide enough
for the sailing of the largest craft employed in Broadland.

188:

We

5-* : 4
Sw
Z

Oulton Broad to Beccles and Bungay

Its scenery, however, can only be described as tame. Above
Beccles the Waveney pursues a serpentine course; and
although Bungay is only seven miles from Beccles by road
it is ten miles further by water. The river is navigable to
wherries and small yachts as far as Bungay, but no further ;
though a very pleasant trip may be taken in a rowing boat
as far as a densely wooded bank or “hanger,” upon the
summit of which Mr H. Rider Haggard lives in Ditching-
ham House, which is stored with curios and sporting
trophies brought here
by Mr Haggard from
all quarters of the
globe.

The chief sights of
Bungay are its old
castle built by the
Bigods, Earls of Nor-
folk ; its churches of
St Mary and Holy
Trinity, the former of
which has attached
to it the ruins of a
nunnery ; and its market-cross, surmounted by a figure of
Justice, and having a pair of hand-stocks still fastened
to one of its pillars. Bungay is a Suffolk town; the
Waveney being the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk
here and for some miles of its course. As I have said, the
town is not easily accessible by water on account of the
river’s many windings. Yachtsmen are also often delayed
by having to wait for the opening of locks at Geldeston,
Ellingham, and Wainford Mills. Although the Waveney
is one of the chief Broadland waterways, only one broad—
Oulton—is directly connected with it.

Tue New Cor.

In writing of the Yare I have referred to the New Cut,
the entrance to which is at Reedham. This is a canal
189

Norfolk

about two-and-a-half miles long, cut some seventy years
ago to connect the Waveney with the Yare, and thus render
it possible for wherrymen to sail from one river to the other
without going round by Breydon. Now that Broadland
has become a holiday place, yachting parties are not slow to
avail themselves of this more direct route. The canal is cut
across the Reedham, Haddiscoe, and Herringfleet marshes ;
and the greater part of it is parallel with the railroad from
Norwich to Lowestoft. A toll of one shilling must be paid
for each yacht using the New Cut, which is collected by
the bridgemen at Haddiscoe Bridge.

190

Part FF

NORFOLK: ITS NATURAL HISTORY AND
SPORT

BIRD LIFE IN NORFOLK
By Tue Rev. Rosert C. NicHtTInGALe

Tue old fame of Norfolk as a dwelling-place of the rarer
British birds and the home of an unusual number of different
species has somewhat suffered of late years, mainly through
the reclamation of waste land and water and the increase
of game-shooting. The din and bustle of game-driving
especially have frightened many birds from the woods and
coppices to which they formerly resorted. The popularity
of the Broad district has tended to banish some of the
birds peculiar to that district. ‘These numbered a few
species all but unknown in other parts of Great Britain,
and their partial loss is a sorrow to the bird lover that he
is not compensated for even by the well-deserved popularity
of the neighbourhood which his bird friends have deserted.

The following birds more or less commonly residential
in Norfolk at the beginning of the nineteenth century are
no longer found in it except as occasional visitors, and some
of them, such as the great bustard, kite, raven, and Savi’s
warbler, now shun the county altogether.

Avocet. Hoopoe.

Bittern. Kite.

Black tern. Peregrine falcon.
Godwits. Raven.

Great bustard. Savi’s warbler.

Harriers (a pair or two of marsh harriers still haunt
the Broads perhaps).

That the wild birds and beasts of a district rarely return
IgI

Norfolk

to it when once they have been driven from it, is an axiom
of the naturalist. ‘This axiom is strikingly illustrated in
Norfolk just now. Hundreds of square miles of land from
which the wild fauna were driven by the cultivation of the
soil have relapsed into their original condition owing to the
depression of agriculture, but there is no sign of the old
winged inhabitants of these districts returning to them.

Most of our birds, however, are not only as numerous
in Norfolk as they were formerly, but some of them are
more numerous than ever.

The long Norfolk coast-line and the salt broads lying
near it are ever attractive resting-places to birds travelling
to or from the continent. In some spots the supply of food
for wading and swimming birds is greater than it was, and
a little protection is afforded to certain birds through the
operation of the Gun Act and the Birds’ Protection Acts.
The balance for the century between newly observed
and extinct Norfolk species is still slightly in favour of
the former.

Out of the 385 species of birds named in the last edition
of « Montagus’ Dictionary of British Birds,’”’ no fewer than
304 have been recorded as occurring in Norfolk. This
plentiful bird-life has produced an unequalled line of local
ornithologists beginning with Sir Thomas Browne and
going on to the late Mr Henry Stevenson and the
Gurney family. The ‘Birds of Norfolk,’ by the
former is an altogether unequalled book amongst County
Ornithologies. :

The golden-crested wren the smallest, the wild swan,
and, till 1838, the great bustard, the largest of British
birds have found their favourite English home in Norfolk,
and well represent the inclusive nature of the bird life of
the county.

With a slight alteration a celebrated Oxford dictum may
be applied to Norfolk birds, as we may say with almost
strict truth’: “The bird that is not known in Norfolk is
not worth knowing anywhere.”’

192 :

Bird Life in Norfolk

The following birds of Great Britain have been first
obtained in Norfolk; and some of them, as British birds,
are still peculiar to the county :

Bee-eater: Pectoral sandpiper.
Black-bellied dipper. Red-crested pochard.
Broad-billed sandpiper. Red-footed falcon.
Buffle-headed duck. Rollen

Caspian tern. Savi’s warbler.
Capped petrel. Shore-lark.

Dusky petrel. Steller’s duck.
Eastern golden plover (?). | Wall creeper.
Pallas’ sandgrouse. White-winged tern.

The blue thrush (the only English specimen) and the
eared stonechat (the only British specimen) have also been
seen in the county. Amongst British birds either nesting
in Norfolk only, or else more commonly there than in any
other part of the British Islands, are the following :

Bearded titmouse. Marsh harrier,
‘Gadwall duck. Water rail.
Garganey duck.

In the winter time the sea coast and the meres and broads
still abound with water fowl. On the meres and broads,
however, their numbers are fast decreasing; nevertheless a
few species seem to be increasing on these waters. ‘Amongst
these are the great crested grebe, the gadwall, the gar-
ganey, and the shoveller ducks. As in other parts of
England the starling is undoubtedly much more common
than it was, and in game preserving parishes the nuthatch,
and, during the last nine or ten years the woodpeckers have
much increased in numbers.

The glory of the meres and broads of Norfolk as winter
abodes of wild fowl is abated since the disuse of decoys for
capturing wild duck, and the consequent cessation of regu-
larly feeding the wild fowl.

From 10,000 to 15,000 birds would formerly be taken

N 193

Norfolk

in a season in one set of three or four decoys placed around
sheets of water not more than four acres in extent. That
is to say, from four to six tons of wild fowl would be taken
in a week from one mere or broad. (The Harwich duck
water was only an acre in extent, and in one season 16,800
ducks were taken off it!) On the small water at Herring-
fleet, just over the Suffolk border, 600 birds were frequently —
taken in a night,” and 207 ducks were taken off this
water in one night so recently as 1879. In a very short
season 1000 teal alone were taken off a small pool at Hemp-
stead, near Holt. To make up for the decline of wild-
fowling, however, the prolificness of Norfolk in most other
sporting birds increases every year. ‘The following figures
show how great is this prolificness:—At Houghton in
1897, 4,300 partridges were killed in four days by Lord
Grey de Wilton and his party, and at Holkham, 8,426
partridges were killed in the season of 1896; 3,439 being
shot in four days. At Merton no fewer than 7,734 phea-
sants were shot in the season of 1896. No late summer
visitor to Norfolk can fail to be struck by the vast number
of partridges and pheasants he sees in every direction,
although, of course, he will be too early to see the greater
number of our coast and inland wild fowls and migratory
game birds, such as woodcock and snipe.

The visitor to the broads, if he is a careful observer, will
be almost certain to see birds that are new to him unless he
has had unusual opportunities for the study: of bird life.
One of the most beautiful and interesting of these is the
bearded titmouse (Panurus biarmicus). ‘Though rare, this
graceful bird is, I believe, by no means so rare as is generally
supposed. The quiet watcher amongst the reed beds
is nearly sure, in the course of an hour or two to see a pair
or two of ‘reed pheasants,’’—the folk name of this bird—
either hanging on the reeds in their own daringly supple
fashion, or winging their way from one clump of reeds to
another with a dipping flight. The bearded titmouse is
about six inches and a half long, of which length the tail

194

Bird Life in Norfolk

takes up about half. Its back is very light fawn colour,
and its breast and belly light rose and orange red respec-
tively. Beneath each eye is a conical black tuft of velvety
feathers which give the bird its name. ‘The colours of the
hen bird are fainter than those of the cock, and she has no
whiskers.

Another bird characteristic of the Broads is the great
crested grebe. Owing to its being carefully preserved of
late years this fine bird is recovering its former position as to
numbers in some parts of the county. No one can mistake
the bird. Its size—it is about two feet long—its black
double crest and chestnut and black collar give it too attrac-
tive an appearance for it to be overlooked. ‘There is no
difference in the plumage of the cock and hen birds except
that the collar and crests of the latter are not quite as large
as those of the former. Neither sex attains its full plumage
until after the second moult. ‘This grebe 1s noteworthy
as being one of the few birds that are common in each
of the four quarters of the globe. It is, unfortunately,
much persecuted on account of its beautiful plumage
which is used for tippets and dress trimmings. (Within
the last few hours I have seen two ardent lady lecturers
on ‘the cruelty of man towards birds,” wearing tippets
to the making of which at least a half dozen grebes had
contributed ! )

The heron is another bird that always attracts the atten-
tion of a visitor to the Norfolk waters, either when it is
standing motionless, thigh deep in the water a yard or two
from the bank, or when it is flying with stately, measured
beats of its wings to or from the heronry. ‘The heron can
be identified at a great distance when flying by his singularly
arched wings, and slender and apparently neckless body.
Norfolk people still call him a “ harnsey,” as they did in the
days of falconry, when ‘‘not to know the hawk from
the harnsey ”? he was chasing, was the recognised sign of
muddle-headedness. ‘The principal Norfolk heronry is at
Didlington, and there are or were till lately heronries at

nO5

Norfolk

Gunton, Earlham, Costessy, Reedham, Holkham, Kimberley
and other places. Herons have decreased of late years
in Norfolk through being trapped and shot by gamekeepers
and others. ’

A bird the inland tourist is almost sure to hear, although
on account of its extreme wariness he may possibly miss
seeing it, is the stone curlew, otherwise the great or Norfolk
plover (Ocdicnemus crepitans). From the middle of April
to the end of September this bird haunts the heaths of the
county, generally laying its two eggs on the surface of a dry
flint strewed patch of soil. At night it often leaves its
nesting places to seek for food in cultivated fields or to
obtain water out of the brooks and ponds. In the open
parts of the county in the early morning and on bright
moonlight nights its clear mournful cry may generally be
heard, although the birds themselves are flying high up out
of sight. In the daytime stone curlews crouch close to the
ground knowing that their protective colour preserves them
from observation as they lie low amongst the greenish grey
stones and furze to which they run as soon as they catch sight
of an intruder on their solitude. The cock will often utter —
his cry of ‘curluui”’ to warn his mate or comrades before
he runs to cover. Tennyson tells us that when Enid went
forth with Geraint :

“ The great plover’s human whistle amazed
Her heart, and glancing round the waste, she fear’d
In every wavering brake an ambuscade.”

These birds are from sixteen to eighteen inches long and
weigh about a pound each. Their upper plumage is tawny
brown with dusky brown stripes down the middle of the
feathers. Their under plumage yellowish white, the breast
is streaked with dusky brown. ‘They have a pure white
stripe and a mixed brown and white stripe on each wing.
The stone curlews derive their book name from their ex-
ceptionally thick knees. ‘They may be identified by their
very large fawn-like eyes.

196

Bird Life in Norfolk

It is sometimes said that the nightingale is not a common
bird in Norfolk. ‘This does not accord with my experience
in the western half of the county at any rate. There almost
every copse and shrubbery has one or more of these birds
in it during May and June. On one occasion I heard
seven singing night after night in a space of five hundred
yards in extent from end to end. In the same division of
the county goldfinches and bullfinches are still fairly plenti-
ful; no doubt owing to the bird catchers being kept away
from so strictly preserved a district. All over the county
plovers of all kinds abound, and except in the late spring
and early summer months the inshore waters are fre-
quented by myriads of gulls. Young white-tailed eagles
are frequently taken ; ospreys, buzzards, peregrine falcons,
quails and black grouse are stil] visitors or residents in Nor-
folk, but their numbers become fewer and fewer from year
to year. Since 1859 incursions into the county of the
Tartar grouse known as Pallas’s sand grouse, have taken
place at irregular intervals. As is usually the unfortunate
lot of strange birds seeking to establish themselves in
England, they have always been ruthlessly murdered. (In
one month, between the third week in May and the third
week in June, about fifty of these charming birds were
shot in Norfolk.) I have reason to believe that odd and
unnoted birds of this species often travel into our county,
and bird-loving visitors will do well to be on the watch
for them. They may be identified by their two long
finely pointed wing feathers, their feathered legs and feet,
black striped clay yellow back and grey belly. They
measure about twelve inches in length exclusive of the
longer tail feathers.

The unusual numbers and variety of the folk names of
birds in Norfolk is an incidental proof of the richness of its
bird life, and a list of a few of these names will be useful to
the visitor, as the ordinary names of some of the com-
monest birds are quite unknown to a large number of the
inhabitants of the county: |

7

Bullfinch.
Blue tit.
Chaffinch.

Gulls—the smaller.

Gulls—the larger.
Goldfinch.

Green plover.
Hedge sparrow.
Song thrush.
Wild pigeons.

Norfolk

Bloodolf.

Pickcheese..

Spink,

Mows.

Cobs,

Draw-water and King Harry.
Peweep.

Dunnock.

Mavish.

Dows.

BOTANY IN NORFOLK
2 aS a nul

Norroik as a county has unusual advantages, considered
from a botanical point of view—its large area, fourth among
the counties of England—its sea coast more than a hundred
miles in length,—its almost unique ‘* Broad’”’ country on
the east and Fenland on the west, with a ridge of sandy,
chalky, or clay land between them, much of which remains
very little altered by cultivation as sheep-walk, warren or
heath interspersed here and there with primeval bogs, enable
it to retain in one or other locality almost every one of the
flowering plants which have ever been recorded as having
been found in it. Besides, it is practically an island (with
the exception of Marshland and a few fens on its western
border), for the waters which drain east and west from Lop-
ham and flow into the sea by the Waveney at Yarmouth, and
the Ouse at Lynn are parted from each other by only a few
yards of land, so that the observer is rarely at any loss to
decide which county should claim his find. ‘That the corner
of East Anglia in which Norfolk is situated was formerly
surrounded by sea is more than probable, from the occur-
rence of maritime plants and insects in the Brandon and
Thetford districts, and also in Eastern Suffolk, though the
eastern end of the strait separating it from the mainland was
most likely further south than the present boundary between
the two counties.

If we start northward along the coast from the Haven’s
Mouth at Yarmouth we shall at once come upon a very
interesting and somewhat special flora. The South Denes,
-injured though they have been by yse for encampments,

199

Norfolk

etc., still afford, mixed with common littoral plants, two
rare grasses (Poa bulbosa and Weingertneria canescens),
a Trefoil (Trifolium suffocatum), a special form of Rest-
Harrow (Ononis horrida), a Convolvulus (Volvulus soldan-
ella), and more than one Cerastium. When we have
passed the town we may find the very rare Marram Grass
(Ammophila baltica), and the sea-shore form of Mountain
Rue (Zhalictrum dunense), going on northwards still the
sand plants hold their own for miles until the cliffs begin,
and then from Happisburgh on by Bacton, Mundesley,
Trimingham, Overstrand, past Cromer, where the coast
turns westward by Runton, Beeston, Sheringham, to the
Cliff's End there is a great change in the character of
the flora. We shall here find two Catchflies (Silene anghca
and Silene conica), the round rough-headed Poppy ( Papaver
hybridum), a Medick (Medicago sylvestris), found only
here and at Thetford; three Broomrapes (Orobanche elatior,
O. purpurea and O. minor), several Orchises — bee,
pyramidal and purple; and Orchis incarnata,—and in many
places the ground at the top of the cliffs will be yellow
with Bird’s-foot Trefoil, blue with Viper’s Bugloss, or
pink with Sea Thrift. Where the cliffs end salt marshes
alternating with sandy or stony beach begin and continue
all the way to Hunstanton. Along this coast there are to
be found Horned Poppies and Sea Eryngo, Sea Heath
(Frankenia laevis), four Sea-Lavenders (Statice Limonium,
S. pyramidals, S. auriculefolia and S. reticulata), two or
three forms of Centaury (Lrythrea centaurium and £.
pulchella). At Cley there is a thicket of Suaeda fruticosa,
supposed to have been brought here by shipwreck, whence it
has spread to many other places, two rare and beautiful
Grasses Polypogon monspehensis and P. littoralis), and at
Wells an almost unique (so far as Great Britain is con-
cerned) form of Sow-thistle (Sonchus angustifolius); at one
point on this coast there is the rare Yellow Figwort (Scro-
phularia vernalis) ; at Brancaster there is the Great Sea
Rush (Juncus acutus), and all along there is a host too
200

Botany in Norfolk

numerous to mention of Scirpi, carices and brackish water
plants. There is no more cliff except the curious red
chalk cliff at Hunstanton, which yields no fresh plants, and
from thence to Lynn we have beach and marsh again, and
here we may find the quaint little Umbellifer, Bupleurum
tenutssimum.

Just within the coastline north-westerly from Yarmouth,
occupying a space which may be roughly estimated at ten
miles square, lies the Norfolk ‘‘ Broad” district, which,
where undisturbed, still remains a paradise for botanists,
it contains several specialities two of them found nowhere
else in England. Naias marina which looks at first sight
almost like a seaweed, discovered in 1883 and Carex trinervis
discovered in 1884 and three other plants almost as rare.
Senecio palustris, Carex paradoxa, and Lychnothamaus stel-
liger which last does not in some seasons develope the
“‘stars’’? from which it takes its specific name: but the
greatest interest of “Broadland”? to the plant - lover
consists in the enormous wealth of flowers which flourish
in some parts of it—wide stretches of many colours—yellow
and purple—Loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris and Lyth-
rum Salicaria) white and cream colour (Pyrola rotundifoha
and Spirea ulmaria). Lilac shading off to red and purple
(orchises of several kinds), mixed up with a dense crowd
of common marsh weeds such as Ranunculi, Ragged Robin,
and Marsh Marigold; it is not the number of species but
the enormous number of the individuals of each species that
strikes one most in these morasses. The water itself is also
crowded with water-weeds and flowers. Pond-weeds by
the thousand which make but little show. Water-lilies,
white and yellow, Bladder-Worts ( U¢ricu/aria) Batrachian
Ranunculi, Polygonum amphibium, Water Plantains, and
here and there dense clumps and ditches choked with the
Water-Soldier (Stratiotes alvides), with its sword-shaped
aloe-like leaves and pure white flowers which seem in our
day never to bear fruit with us, though its extraordinary
shaped seed-pods have been found fossil in the county.

201

Norfolk

Reeds, grasses, and sedges hide both land and water. In
some of these marshes milk parsley ( Peucedanum palustre)
grows freely, and this plant is the food of the larva of
the swallow-tail butterfly (Papilio machaon).

The Fens of the western side of the county have recently
been identified as one of the latest known localities for
Senecio paludosus one of very scarcest of British plants.

Of the great middle portion of the county between the
‘¢ Broads’? on the east and the “ Fens’ on the west it
is impossible within our limits to give more than a very
slight sketch of the rarities which may reward a careful
search. Starting from the south at Thetford we have
Medicago sylvestris, Veronica verna and V. triphyllos,
Artemisia campestris, Scleranthus perennis, and two grasses,
Apera interrupta and Festuca ambigua, and as a well-
established alien, Lrigeron canadense ; passing eastward we
come to Harling, the home at one time, at all events, of
Andromeda polifoia ; eastward still to MHarleston, the
vicinity of which affords the true “Oxlip”’ (Primula
elatior, Jacq.) The botany of this district (and of the ad-
joining portion of Suffolk) has been admirably described
by the Rev. F. W. Galpin in his “ Account of the
Flowering Plants, Ferns and Allies, of Harleston”’; then
to Ditchingham where we have Blackstonia perfolata and
Panicum glabrum. ‘The northernmost portion of this line
up to Attleborough is a very prolific ground for orchids,
bee orchis, fly orchis, frog orchis (Habenaria viridis), and
great abundance of the commoner kinds; Orchis pyrami-
dalis has been seen here almost more plentiful than the
hay crop among which it grew and the very rare Liparis
Joeselit still survives in one locality. ‘There is also that very
rare fern Lastrea cristata. .

Almost due north of Thetford is Swaffham, whose
neighbourhood has afforded Phleum phalaroides ; thence
eastward we pass Dereham, where the heavy lands give
(if they have not all been stolen) great quantities of the
commoner ferns, Polystichum of slightly varying forms

202

Botany in Norfolk

in almost endless variety and plenty of Scolopendrium.
Still eastward the country round Norwich has many good
plants, Arabis perfoliata, Medicago falcata, the Norfolk
mullein (Verbascum pulverulentum) and in one locality
there is still plenty of Gentiana pneumonanthe. From
hence eastward to the ‘ Broads’’ and northward to the
sea, wherever you can find a scrap of original heathy,
swampy bog, you will be well rewarded. Drosera, some-
times all three species, within a few yards; Parnassia,
Hypericum elodes, even Limosella aquatica, spaces of
some few yards square pink with Anagallis tenella, Butter-
fly orchis in both forms (Habenaria bifoha and H. chlo-
rantha) by the hundred, may all be found and Goodyera
repens a northern orchid not truly wild south of Cumber-
land and Berwick has been found more than once.

There now remains to be considered only the north-
western portion of the county, containing a good deal of
chalky and heathy upland, and furnishing many interesting
plants. Veronica spicata has been recorded, but not con-
firmed. Microcala filiformis has certainly been found,
and an Lfipactis, thought by Mr Kirby ‘Trimmer to be
E. atrorubens ; there is also an old record of Draba murals. —
There is a decidedly different facies of the flora of this dis-
trict to that of the flora of mid'and south Norfolk, the
change travelling north-westerly from Norwich seems to
occur somewhere about Walsingham.

Some of our most interesting local plants are curiously
sporadic and a visitor must not conclude that they are lost
from their recorded localities simply because he cannot find
them there; for instance Scutel/laria minor has been known in ~
one locality for at least seventy years. A few years since,
when the writer visited it, the ground was purple with the
flowers of hundreds of plants; three years afterwards not a
plant could be found though the locality was in no way
altered by drainage or otherwise, but this is no evidence of
loss. Again Arabis perfoliata will be in abundance one year
seeding freely, but for the next two or three years not a plant

203

Norfolk

will reward search, but it reappears there or thereabouts
after a time. The foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) wild,
though there are plenty of escapes, is decidedly a scarce
plant in the county, but in the year 1867 some ditches were
‘‘ fyed out”’ at Horsey and from the mud thrown out from
them arose a crop of foxgloves. Poa nemoralis is a rare
grass about Norwich, but in two cases where loam dug from
a depth of several feet has been spread about, a plentiful
crop of it has arisen which has held its own for years but
gradually diminishing. On the other hand some local
plants show great pertinacity, the same banks in the neigh-
bourhood of Norwich have afforded Medicago falcata and
Verbascum pulverulentum whenever visited for more than
half a century. Hardly any plants seem to be “lost ”’ un-
less their localities are permanently altered or destroyed; of
course, if a bog is drained or a hill-side ploughed up and
sown with gorse for game-cover the plants must disappear,
at all events for a time, and as the old walls of Norwich
are pulled down, and they are fast disappearing, Holosteum
umbellatum must go with them—but take it for all in all the
flora of Norfolk still affords as many species as it has ever
done since it was first studied, for about as many species
have been added to it of late years as are at all likely to
have really disappeared.

Many aliens, some intentionally introduced and others
accidentally sown with foreign seeds, occur. Among the
former such plants as Spirea tomentosa an American and
Sambucus racemosa the red-berried elder of Continental
Europe, among the latter Alyssum calycinum, Melilotus
arvensis, Saponaria vaccaria, Asperula arvensis, Orobanche
flavescens, these sometimes make good their hold for a year
or two. Veronica tourneforti is a good example of an
alien successfully establishing itself, for it is now in many
places quite a weed. |

It is much to be desired that visitors either finding for
themselves or being shown a locality for a rare plant, will
exercise forbearance in over collection for themselves or

204

Botany in Norfolk

indiscriminate communication of the exact place to less
careful people. ‘The conduct of a stranger who having
been told of an exact locality for Senecio palustris (one of
our scarcest plants) purposely destroyed the whole of it
may be almost described as an outrage, nor is the conduct
of those inconsiderate persons who tear up ferns by their
roots and leave them to wither by the roadside much
better. It has happened to the writer twice over by in-
cautious betrayal of localities for one of our rarest ferns,
to cause the disappearance of every root within a few years.
The latest census of rarity among the flowering plants
of Great Britain is the Ninth Edition of the * London
Catalogue ”’ published in 1895; in it England, Wales and
Scotland are divided into one hundred and twelve counties
and vice-counties. Any plant that does not occur in more
than twelve of these divisions may fairly be considered
“rare,” although there may be plenty of it where it does
grow. The following is a list of plants, most of them
presumably native, which are or have been reported to be
found in Norfolk which do not occur in more than twelve
divisions :—
Adonis autumnalis.
Aconitum napellus.

Artemisia campestris.
Senecio paludosus.

Roemeria hybrida. 5 palustris.
Draba muralis. Hypochoeris maculata.
Sisymbrium irio. Lactuca scariola.
Brassica oleracea. 3, saligna.
Frankenia loevis. Sonchus palustris.
Dianthus prolifer. » augustifolius.
Silene conica. Statice reticulata.

99 Olztes. Primula elatior, Jacq.
Holosteum umbellatum. Microcala filiformis.
Medicago sylvestris. Limnanthemum peltatum.

» falcata. Pulmonaria officinalis.

Trifolium ochroleucon.
Tillea muscosa.
Sedum rupestre.
Lythrum hyssopifolia.
Galium anglicum.

Gnaphalum luteo-album.

Verbascum pulverulentum.
»» lychnitis.
Veronica triphyllos.
o verna.
Melampyrum cristatum.
Meélampyrum arvense.

205

Orobanche purpurea.
Mentha alopecuroides.

33 pubescens.
Calamintha parviflora.
Teucrium scordium.
Flerniaria glabra.
Scleranthus perennis. .
Atriplex pedunculata.
Salicornia radicans.
Suada fruticosa.
Daphne mezereum.
Hippophae rhamnoides.
Liparis loeseliz.
Epipactis atro-rubens.
Miuscart racemosum,
Ornithogalum pyrenaicum.
Potamogeton acuminatus.

3 trichoides.
Naias marina.

Norfolk

Scirpus triqueter.
Carex paradoxa.

35 ericetorum.

5) trinervis.
Panicum glabrum.
Spartina stricta.
Phleum phalaroides.
Polypogon monspeliensis.

5 littoralis.
Apera interrupta.
Ammophila baltica.
Weingerneria canescens.
Poa bulbosa.

Festuca ambigua.
Lastrea cristata.

“4 uliginosa.

Lychnothamaus stelliger.

Nitella tenutssima.

Those who wish for a full list of Norfolk plants may
consult the Rev. Kirby Trimmer’s “ Flora of Norfolk and
Supplement,” numerous Papers in the Proceedings of the
Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society, the Rev. F. W.
Galpin’s “Flora of Harleston,’’ Paget’s ‘* Natural History
of Yarmouth,” and the Rev. E. F. Linton’s “ Norfolk.
Notes,”’ Journal of Botany, June and July 1g00.

206

ENTOMOLOGY IN NORFOLK
By Craupe Mortey, F.E.S., &c.

Every entomologist knows that particular species of insects
are attached not only to particular climates and environ-
ments but also, and to an even greater degree, to certain
kinds of plants; and these again are found only upon their
own favourite kinds of supersoils. Peat underlaid at the
depth of a few feet by white clay or marl is a formation
found in England, I believe, only in East Anglia, and to it
we owe the peculiar physical feature for which Norfolk is so
widely celebrated—her Broads. ‘Those to the north-east
of Norwich are the most celebrated among naturalists,
probably because they have been most worked ; but there is
little doubt that the low-lying land on the south eastern and
western borders of the county would yield good things if
sufficiently drawn upon. For insects of higher taste is a
more or less complete chain of low chalk hills running down
the western centre of the county from Hunstanton towards
Brandon, sometimes known as the East Anglian Heights ;
the vicinity of Norwich, however, is, perhaps, more noted
for its chalk-loving insects. The long range of sea coast is
lavish of its own species, especially in the chalk-cliff
districts; most of it is low lying and constantly changing.
In some places the sea appears to be retiring, and here the
sand-dunes and old coast lines are very prolific—especially
about Yarmouth, Cley, Hunstanton and Cromer. Norfolk has
a total area of 1,308,440 acres, 12,000 of which are still so-
called *‘ waste ”’ land. It is obvious, therefore, we shall not
lack hunting-grounds and those, of their kind, the best in
Britain; it is well, however, to bear in mind trespassing is
207

Norfolk

here an heinous crime. A great deal of this is heath-land
upon a sandy or loamy bottom, which would scarcely repay
cultivation. ‘T’o the east of Norwich in several places the
red and mammaliferous crags very nearly approach the
surface, rendering the country yet more sterile. About
Brandon and Thetford is what is usually known as the
Breck District: this consists of plateaux of valley gravel
underlaid by chalk and is famous for its unique production,
some fifty miles inland, of many species of strictly maritime
insects. Nevertheless, it is, of course, for the exclusively
marsh species, to be found only in the Broad District, that
the entomologist will visit Norfolk, consequently the best of
these have been, as far as space allowed, noted below.
Probably the majority of summer migrants, and of the
resident entomologists also, devote themselves more or less
exclusively to the butterflies and moths (or Lepmpoprera),
of which Norfolk boasts about the longest county list in
Britain—roughly 1450 species. I will, therefore, say a
word or two which may guide them to the approximate
headquarters of the rarer or more local kinds. Above all
the Swallow-Tail is one of the beginner’s greatest enthu-
siasms. From the drained fens of Cambridgeshire it is
fast disappearing and, for its sake, we may congratulate
ourselves that the broads of Norfolk are of such a nature as
to preclude a similar state of things obtaining with us. It
is to be found in some numbers in all the fens of the Yare
and Bure and I have five examples in my collection taken
at Horning, one even in the churchyard, in 1897. The
Marsh Fennel (Peucedanum palustre) is its principal food
plant. An eye may with advantage be kept wide for the
very rare Queen-of-Spain, which has been taken at Booton,
Caister, Plumstead, Halvergate and Beachamwell. The
Camberwell Beauty is probably commoner here than in most
counties, which is, however, saying but little, though this was
especially the case in 1872, when Antiopa occurred in all
parts of the county and was seen by no means rarely in the
north-east. The Large Copper is said to have occurred here,
208

Entomology in Norfolk

and, considering the extent and nature of the fens, if it
survives anywhere in Britain, which is more than doubtful,
it is surely with us. ‘The Mazarine Blue is said to have
been found in the chalky districts in the old days. Most of
the Hawks are recorded, including Deilephila gali from
Yarmouth and Gillingham, and the doubtfully-British
Chaerocampa nerii at Yarmouth, though south of the river.
Lithosia muscerda is said to be confined to the Norfolk
Broads, where it is not uncommon among the alders. It
was at Horning that Curtis took great quantities of the
Gypsey Moth, which is not now-a-days found in the wild.
state in Britain, though it lingered about Cawston at all events
till 1861. The Essex Emerald is also said to have
occurred, though sparingly, in the former locality. As I
have already said, the post-glacial sands about Brandon
yield a peculiar fauna and here are to be found, almost
exclusively in Britain, Dianthaecia irregularis, Agrophila
sulphuralis, Acidalia rubricata, Lithostege griseata, Spilodes
sticticalis, Tinea imella, etc. Beachamwell was at one time
a grand collecting ground, but it does not appear to have
been worked for many years now ; it was here that Banksia
argentula, now confined to one or two localities in Ireland,
was first found. Lubola bipunctaria and Eriopsela fractifas-
ciana are somewhat scarce on the chalk about Norwich but
they are not found elsewhere in East Anglia. Diphtheria
orion, too, occurs sparingly at Aldeby. Caister is almost
the only place in Britain for Tapinostola elymi, where it was
first found by Crotch in 1861. Nonagria brevilinea has
never been discovered in the world outside Ranworth and
Horning Broads, where it is found uncommonly every
year and is one of Norfolk’s great prizes. ydrilla
palustris, from Norwich, wants taking again badly, as does
Cloantha perspicillaris, which occurred at Yarmouth in 1841.

Like the larger moths, the Micros are very interesting
and peculiar on account of their attachment to our peculiar
plants. I will mention, however, only a very few of the
more typical, Of the Pyralids, Lemiodes pulverals and

) 209

\Norpoll

Spilodes sticticalis are both good things; the former has
occurred at Ranworth though it is elsewhere confined to
the extreme south of England and the latter is only to be
had in numbers in the Breck district about Brandon, whence
came my own series. Norfolk has a monoply of Crambus
fascelinellus from Yarmouth, and C. fpaludellus in the
Broads. -Anerastia farrella is found on only the Norfolk
coast where it has been attracted to artificial light. A
visit should certainly be paid to Lynn for Argyresthia
atmoriella, named after the indefatigable lepidopterist who
first there discovered it in 18933 it is now found to be
locally not uncommon. Wyctegretes achatinella is occasion-
ally not rare on the Yarmouth sandhills, but occurs else-
where only at Folkestone. ‘These sandhills have a very
rich fauna of their own including such things as Eupaecilia
pallidana, Agrotis ripae and praecox, Leucania littoralis, etc.
Of the rest Peronea perplexana, Sericoris doubledayana,
Phoxopteryx paludana, Stigmonota erectana, Eupaecilia degrey-
ana (named after Lord Walsingham), Nothris verbascella,
Glyphipteryx schaenicolella, Elachista paludum, and the pretty
little plume, Oxypitilus distans, are quite or very nearly
confined to the Broads and Breck of Norfolk. i
To turn to the Corgoprera or Beetles, there is a great
number which are found only in boggy and marshy places,
because the plants upon which they feed, or because the
plants upon which those insects subsist upon which they
prey, are attached to such situations. ‘T’he Fens constitute
the last abiding place of many kinds of beetles, and even
here, if we may rely upon the records of a hundred years
ago, they are much less abundant than formerly. A great
number of marsh species will at once suggest themselves to
the coleopterist and I need mention only a very few of the
eighteen hundred different kinds recorded from Norfolk, as
especial prizes, the rencontre with which is worthy of publi-
cation in the most scientific of journals. First and foremost,
Carabus clathratus used at one time to be found in the
Halvergate marshes and is recorded from the Suffolk
210

Entomology in Norfolk

boundary as recently as 1858, though its capture was
probably effected some years previously; it is now almost
exclusively confined to the highlands of Ireland and
Scotland in the British Isles. A very pretty and ex-
clusively fen species is Odacantha melanura, with which I
have often met in the refuse on the banks of the Broads.
Ctophorus imperialis, which is somewhat similar in con-
formation, appears to be confined to marshy places in the
eastern counties. Prerostichus aterrimus was first taken in
Britain at Horning and has been found in but few other
localities; it has not, however, turned up at all of recent
years. Bradycellus placidus may be generally unearthed
among rubbish in broadland by careful searching. Pogonus
luridipennis was first known as British at Salhouse where
it was originally somewhat common, but its particolored
sheen has not been there seen since 1840 ; and it appears to
have gone south to Sheppey. As might be expected the
HA ydradephaga or waterbeetles turn up in quantities and their
phytophagous congeners, the Palpicornia, are well. repre-
sented; of the former, J//ybius subaeneus seems to be
confined to this county and its sister, Suffolk. The short-
winged genus, Stenus, is also in fuller force here than
probably elsewhere, and thousands may easily be turned
up in the fens. In Norwich was published in 18265,
Denny’s ‘‘ Monographia”’ of the brachypterous C/avicornia,
so Norfolk presents for them classic ground. Onthophilus
sulcatus, a very rare British species, originated in this
county and is to be taken sparingly in odd situations on
the higher ground; Limnius troglodytes too, is hardly found
elsewhere in Britain. The great Kirby of Barham first
detected at Holme the beautiful Apion limon and returned
home exclaiming ‘Finis coronat opus.’? Many years ago
Tropideres albirostris was found near Norwich and has not,
I think, been rediscovered as British. The metallic genus
Donacia is to be found in almost all its lovely species on
the multitudinous water-plants. And last, though by no
means least, Ceuthorhynchus querceti occurs at Horning
211

Norfolk

alone in our isles, where it has been found by Messrs
Brewer, Edwards and Elliman, as recently as 1895.

Five hundred and thirty-six species of Hemiptera,
which Order of insects includes those usually known as
plant-lice, field-bugs, and froghoppers, are known to occur
in Norfolk out of a total of about seven hundred and fifty
in the whole of Britain. The majority of the species are
strictly confined to their particular food-plants, so if, upon
seeing a plant of willow-herb (£pi/obium) you should say
‘“‘Here I shall find Dicyphus epilobii,”’ there is little pro-
bability of being disappointed. Several of these Hemip-
terous species have been taken in Norfolk alone: Mr
Thouless discovered Poeciloscytus vulneratus upon Gahum
verum on the Yarmouth Denes in September, and /diocerus
cupreus (probably the second specimen in the world), upon
a sallow at Brandon. Nabis boops is scarcely found any-
where but at Lowestoft and Mousehold Heath, near
Norwich, which latter was a great locality among the
older entomologists of the first half of the century. Lygus
atomarius, Liburnia reyi (from Weybourne), several —
members of the genera Jdiocerus and Cicadula, as well as
Deltocephalus costalis (a fen species from Ranworth), D.
coroniceps (on Coxford Heath), and the widely distributed
Dicraneura similis, which was first detected here by Mr
Edwards, are all kinds which have been taken in hardly
any other localities in Britain, and should therefore certainly
be assiduously searched for. Unlike other insects, however,
coast Hemiptera do not appear to have lingered with the
sea-sands in the Breck district and are scarce there.
Lord Walsingham has, nevertheless, found at the adjacent
Merton the very rare bat-bug (Cimex pipistrelli).

Norfolk will soon become classic ground for the Hymen-
opTeRist for here, during the past seventies and eighties,
the great Bridgman, a collector of quite the first water
was wont to roam. He first turned his attention to the
Aculeate section—which comprises the ants, wasps, and
bees—and discovered there more kinds than have been

212

Entomology in Norfolk

found in any other county (excepting only the sister
Suffolk). More than half the little family Chrysididae
have been recorded, including the local and rare Cleptes
nitidula, Hedychrum nobile, and Chrysis pustulosa from the
neighbourhood of Norwich. ‘The ants are to be met with
in no unusual numbers but several of the interesting sand-
wasps, which store up spiders, aphides, and grasshoppers
for their young to feed upon, after digging little holes for
their security, such as Crabro signatus, and C. anxius, from
the marshes near Norwich, and C. panzeri, from Cromer,
are found in only a few other counties. ‘The bees are
plentiful, and such rare things as Sphecodes ferruginatus,
Andrena proxima, Nomada obtusifrons at Brundall, and
N. sexfasciata have occurred more or less sparingly.
Brundall was formerly the headquarters of MJacropis labiata
and often visited by hymenopterists from afar; this bee
has, however, since been discovered in other parts of the
country and is now abundant in Wicken Fen, Cambs. In
all some 230 species have been recorded from the county.
The sawflies (or Tenthredinidae), which lay their eggs
beneath the cuticle of the leaves, often causing consequent
swellings or galls, and whose larve feed openly like the
caterpillars of moths, are to be here met with in profusion
by those few students who are interested iu their wondrous
powers of parthenogenesis. Phyllotoma fumipennis and
Nematus Bridgmanit, which were originally discovered in
the Brundall marshes about 1880, are the most noteworthy.
During the early part of the century the county suffered
much from the attacks of the Black Jack, which is the
larva of a sawfly, Athaha spinarum, and appeared in such
numbers as to destroy many thousands of acres of turnips
upon whose tops they principally subsist. Mr Bridgman
found a hundred and sixty kinds of this family in Norfolk,
and, probably, no county has had its Jchneumonidae—
four-winged flies, parasitic upon other kinds of insects—
so thoroughly worked; but, since this is a subject generally
carefully avoided by the entomologist (for his peace of
213

Norfolk
mind’s sake! ), it will be unnecessary to further refer to
it. There are a large number of Braconidae in the
Bridgman collection in the Norwich Castle Museum, but
little has been published upon the subject and nothing
whatever, I believe, about the remainder of the Norfolk
Hymenoptera.

Nor am I aware that there is any recent literature relating
to the remaining groups of insects. In the Nevroprera—
the Dragonflies and Waterflies—this is the more regretable,
since in their earlier stages they are entirely aquatic, and
Norfolk, with her fens and broads, should, as Mr M‘Lachlan
anticipates, be able to give a good account of herself. Winter
collected these beautiful insects about Aldeby and Beccles
in 1860, and put a few upon record [v. Ent. Wk. Int. ix.
188 ], and at the latter locality I have taken the uncommon
Libellula fulva and Aeschna mixta, though south of the river.
The Orrxorrera—Grasshoppers and Crickets—of the
eastern counties do not appear to excel in number nor
variety. Xzphidium dorsale will, doubtless, be found abund-
antly in all the marshes, as it is at Oulton, &c., south of the
Waveney. The Land of the Broads must also yield a
grand harvest and much food for study to that Dirrerist,
who is bold enough to attack a county list in which the
tiny Nematocera would so largely figure, though he should
have little difficulty in thence augmenting the British List.

214

GEOLOGY OF NORFOLK

By F, W. Harmer, F.G.S.
Membre Associé Etranger de la Societé Belge de Géologie.

Ir a bicyclist were to cross England from Holyhead to
Yarmouth he might, in the course of a few days, pass
successively and almost in the chronological order of their
deposition over strata comprising a representative series of
the principal formations known to geological science, from
the Archean schists of Anglesea, to the modern estuarine
deposits of the valley of the Yare. As he approached the
confines of Norfolk, however, he would find he had left
behind him the Palzozoic, and all but the later portion of
the Secondary or Mesozoic rocks. The prehistoric history
of East Anglia deals only with the more recent chapters
of the geological record.

Docking Reepham :

Hunstanton : Fakenham

Norwich Acle Yar mouth

Sea level

NNW. ~~ Sate» S.S.E.

SECTION FROM HUNSTANTON TO YARMOUTH, SHOWING THE GEOLOGICAL
STRUCTURE OF THE DISTRICT.

The more important divisions of the strata exposed at
the surface, or known from borings, in Norfolk are as
follows :—

215

Norfolk

Blown sand, peat, estuarine, fluviatile,

oe and lacustrine deposits.
Estuarine, and fluvia-
Post-Glacial. tile deposits.
Valley gravels.
, Plateau gravels.
Up be sae Chalky boulder Clay.
Middle Glacial. | Sand and gravel.
Pleistocene. Ao
Tertiary Norwich brickearth.

Contorted drift.
‘ f Cromer Till.
Kainozoic. Lower Glacial, | Pebble-beds
Sesh inaim cae (Westleton shingle),
Leda myalis sands, and
arctic freshwater bed,
of the Cromer coast.

or

Forest-bed series.

; Weybourn Crag.

Pliocene. Chillesford beds.
Norwich Crag.

London Clay.

Eocene. Woolwich and Reading beds.
s d Chalk.
econdary | Cretaceous, | Gault.
or Lower Greensand.
Mesozoic

Jurassic. Upper Oolite. Kimeridge Clay.

The Mesozoic deposits of England east of the Pennine
chain dip towards the east, resting against and upon each
other as a row of books on a table might do, if they were
made to lean over in one direction. Hence it is that, as
we pass eastward from the midland counties to Norfolk, we
cross successively over the upturned edges of the different

216

!
i
a

7
1S

Geology of Norfolk

secondary strata, from the Trias to the Chalk. The section
will show the way in which this movement of upheaval
towards the west and subsidence towards the east has affected
the Oolitic and Cretaceous rocks of the county. The former,
represented by the Aimeridge Clay, appear only in the west
of Norfolk, occupying a strip of low country bordering the
fens, from whence they dip eastwards, disappearing beneath
the Lower Greensand. The Kimeridge Clay is not well
exposed in Norfolk, but may be studied in a large pit near
the Great Eastern Railway, a mile or so east of Ely Station,
where it is shown to consist of bluish-grey fossiliferous
clay and shale, with septaria, large nodular concretions of
argillaceous limestone. In deposits of this period, in other
parts of England, there have been found remains of the
great and extinct marine reptiles /cthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus,
Phosaurus, and Teleosaurus, and of the Pterodactyls,
enormous flying lizards.

The Lower Greensand is believed to be represented in
the Hunstanton cliff section, and at Snettisham, where it
is quarried for building, by a fine ferruginous conglomerate,
known as Carstone, and at the latter place by clay and white
“silver sand,”’ used for glass-making.

A bed of blue clay, probably the Gault, which is absent
from the Hunstanton section, was met with at the bottom
of well borings at Carrow Works, Norwich, and Holkham,
and it comes to the surface near Downham Market. ‘The
Gault is largely used near Cambridge for brick - making.
At Folkestone, in the south of England, it has been divided
into a number of zones, each characterised by a different
species of Ammonite.

The Chalg is by far the most important formation present
in Norfolk; it underlies the greater part of the county, and
attains a thickness at Norwith of about 1200 feet. Closely
resembling in appearance and composition the globigerina
ooze of the bed of the Atlantic, it must have originated
under similar conditions, and in a sea of considerable depth
which then extended in an easterly direction across north-

217

Norfolk

western Europe from Normandy to Denmark. Except in
the west of the county, it is covered by newer beds,
and is exposed only along the sides of river valleys, as in
that of the Wensum. For the reason before given, the
lowest beds of the Chalk do not come to the surface except
in the west of Norfolk, the upper portion of the formation
having there been planed off and removed by denudation.
It is probable that the Chalk was originally as thick toward
Hunstanton as it is at Norwich, and that it extended west-
ward over England far beyond its present limits.

The oldest part of the Chalk, the well-known Red rock
of Hunstanton, is a bed of limestone about 4 feet in thick-
ness, stained by peroxide of iron. It has been regarded by
some geologists as equivalent to the Gault, by others to
the Upper Greensand; it represents an early stage of the
subsidence by which the deep sea conditions of the Chalk
period were introduced over the East of England. Higher
in the Cretaceous series occurs the Hard Chalk without
jiunt. From it have been obtained, near Stoke Ferry, the
bones of Jcthyosaurus, and some large Ammonites 2 feet
in diameter. The Middle and Upper Chalk contain flint,
derived from the decomposition of the siliceous organisms
of the Chalk sea; flint occurs in the former in mid Norfolk,
as at Wells, in the form of tabular sheets; and in the latter,
further to the East, as nodules, in horizontal layers, and
more rarely as paramoudras, large pear-shaped masses, 2 feet
or more in length, arranged vertically one upon another.
Among the characteristic fossils of the Upper Chalk, which
at Norwich is 500 feet in thickness, may be mentioned
Belemnitella mucronata, Terebratula carnea, Rhynchonella
plicatilis, and Ananchytes ovatus. The entire skeleton of a
large marine reptile, MZosasaurus, was found forty years ago
at that place in a quarry near Bishops bridge.

No beds of Eocene age have been observed at the surface
in Norfolk, but 51 feet of the Woolwich and Reading Beds,
and 305 feet of the London Clay, were met with in a well-
boring at Messrs. Lacon’s brewery at Yarmouth (see

218

Geology of Norfolk

section); the latter is a marine deposit of fine muddy
sediment, brought down by a river which probably flowed
from the west.

In Eocene times Great Britain enjoyed a warmer climate
than it does at present, evidenced by the fact that fossil
remains of palms, crocodiles, and turtles, have been found
in the London Clay in the Isle of Sheppey. Up to and
during the Eocene epoch, the physiography of the Euro-
Asiatic continent differed widely from that of our own day,
an ocean then extending from the Atlantic into Northern
India, while such lofty mountain ranges as the Alps and
the Himalayas, had not as yet come into existence.

Before the deposition of the Pliocene deposits of East
Anglia, however, separated /ongo intervallo from those of the
Eocene period, the distribution of land and water in Europe
had to a great extent assumed its present form. The North
Sea received then, as now, the drainage of the Rhine and
its affluents, but it extended both to the east and the west
somewhat beyond its present limits. The Crag beds of
East Anglia (famed for the beauty and variety of their
fossil mollusca), which in the form of an almost uninter-
rupted sheet of sand, always crowded with shells, reach
from Essex to Norfolk, are the littoral deposits of the
Pliocene sea, having been accumulated against the shore as
beaches, or near te it, as banks or shoals in shallow water.
Two great changes were taking place during this epoch—
one climatic, the other tectonic. A considerable percentage
of the species of mollusca found in the oldest Crag beds,
some of them survivors from Miocene times, are not known
living ; as to the rest, the general character of the fauna 1s
similar to that of the Mediterranean at the present day,
the presumption being that the climate of the Eastern
counties of England was somewhat warmer at that period
than it now is. As the glacial period approached, colder
conditions prevailed, the southern and the older shells
gradually died out, while the North Sea was invaded by
Scandinavianand arctic forms—at first in small, but afterwards

219

Norfolk

in increasing numbers. Contemporaneously, an earth move-
ment was in progress, by which the southern part of the
Crag area was elevated, and the northern part depressed,
the result being that, during the deposition of the Crag, the
German Ocean gradually retreated towards the north. As
these deposits were the marginal deposits of this sea, accumu-
lating as it retired northwards, it follows that the oldest Crag
beds, those containing a molluscan fauna of a southern char-
acter, are to be found in the southern part of the Crag area,
and the newest, in which northern shells predominate, towards
the north. The shelly sands of Norfolk belong, therefore,
to the newest portion of the series, to the period when boreal
conditions were establishing themselves in these latitudes.

The best known exposures of the Crag sands in Norfolk
are at Bramerton, and at Thorpe, near Norwich. Among
the more characteristic species of mollusca to be found at
those places may be mentioned :-—

Purpura lapillus. * Astarte compressa.
Cerithium tricinctum. * Tellina lata.
Littorina littorea. », obliqua.
Nucula Cobboldiz. 55 pretenuis.
Cardium edule. Mactra ovalis.

* Astarte borealis. », subtruncata.

Those marked * are now confined to northern seas, as are
Scalaria groenlandica, Natica clausa, N. helicoides, Leda
oblongoides, and Cardium groenlandicum, which occur, but
less abundantly, in the Norwich Crag.

At Surlingham, 4 miles to the east of Norwich, and at
Wroxham and elsewhere in the valley of the Bure, are
some éstuarine deposits, known as the Chillesford Clay.
They always contain, generally abundantly, minute flakes
of mica, which it is suggested were derived from micaceous
rocks either in the Ardennes, or in the highlands further
to the south. ‘These estuarine beds represent a still further
stage of the retreat of the German Ocean northwards, when
the part of Norfolk previously covered by the sea had

220

Geology of Norfolk

emerged, and was traversed by an estuary, which, if this
view is correct, must have been one of the channels through
which the Rhine or the Meuse reached the sea.

Of later date than the Chillesford Clay are some beds of
Crag, occurring at Weybourn near Cromer, and at Belaugh,
Wroxham, and elsewhere, a few miles north of Norwich,
which contain very abundantly Te/lina balthica, a shell still
living on the Norfolk coast, but unknown from any older
horizon of the Pliocene epoch. ‘The sudden appearance of
this mollusc in such extraordinary profusion at this stage
points to an opening up of communication, by a continuance
of the earth-movements before alluded to, between the
North Sea and some other marine basin, possibly the Baltic,
where it had previously established itself.

Resting on these beds, and exposed on the coast only, are
some fresh water and estuarine deposits, generally known
by the somewhat misleading name of the Forest-bed.
It is from them that the larger part of the magnificent col-
lection of mammalian remains in the Norwich Museum
have been obtained. ‘These fossils do not occur as complete
skeletons, preserved on the site of an ancient forest, as was
formerly supposed, but are the drifted and fragmentary
remains of animals which were surprised and carried away
in time of flood by a river, probably the Rhine, flowing
from the south, being afterwards, on their way to the sea,
stranded and buried in its flood gravel, or in the muddy
sediment of its estuary. I'he most characteristic forms of the
so-called Forest-bed are the extinct and gigantic pachyderms,
Elephas meridionalis and E. antiquus, but the remains of
many species of deer occur in it, with those of Machairodus
(the sabre-toothed tiger), hyena, cave bear, glutton, musk
ox, elk, hippopotamus, and two species of rhinoceros.

These deposits are overlaid by strata originating during
the Great Ice Age, when Scandinavia and a considerable
part of Great Britain and of Northern Europe was covered’
by ice, as Greenland is now. ‘The accumulations of the
Glacial period are better represented in East Anglia than in

221

Norfolk

any other part of England. ‘They have been studied by
many observers, and have given rise to a voluminous litera-
ture and to much controversy. The arrangement given on
page 216, and the views here expressed are, however, in the _
main, those proposed by the late Searles V. Wood, Jr.,
and the present writer.!

The initiatory stage of the Glacial period is represented
on the Cromer coast by sands containing Leda myalis, and
other northern shells, and by a freshwater bed in which the
leaves of Betula nana (the Arctic birch) and Salix polaris
(the Arctic willow) are common, and in other parts of
Norfolk by beds of pebbly gravel, (possibly equivalent to
the Westleton Shingle of Prestwich) overlying which occur
near Norwich, especially to the north and east of that city,
deposits of sandy clay, largely used for brickmaking, and
these pass further north into the 77// and Contorted Drift of
the Cromer coast. Enormous ice-borne masses of marly
chalk may be seen there in the Contorted Drift, as it was
well called by Lyell, associated with beds of clay, sand,
and gravel, folded and disturbed by the action of ice.
Towards the north-west, as the chalk country is approached
from which these masses of altered chalk may probably
have been derived, the Lower Glacial deposits assume a more
marly character, as between Holt and Wells. In places,
large boulders of igneous rock, sometimes scratched and
striated by the action of ice, occur in the lower Glacial,
some of them being, it is believed, of Scandinavian origin.
It is thought that at this period an enormous glacier from
the Baltic invaded the North Sea, and it may even have
approached the coast of Norfolk.

To the south-west of an irregular line drawn from Burnham
Market near Wells, to Lowestoft, the lower Glacial beds
disappear more or less completely, their place being taken

1 British Association Reports (1868), Palzontographical Soc.
(1872), etc. Reference is suggested to the geological map accom-
panying the latter memoir, a copy of which is in the Norwich Free
Library.

222

Geology of Norfolk

by the Great Chalky Boulder Clay, a stiff tenacious deposit,
which forms the heavy wheat-growing clay land of the
Eastern Counties. It stretches in almost unbroken mass
over central Norfolk and Suffolk, from Fakenham to the
south of Essex, and can be traced into Lincolnshire in one
direction, and into Buckinghamshire in another, representing,
it is believed, the moraine profonde of a large ice-stream
coming from the N.N.W. ‘The chalky boulder clay is
composed of material derived from the destruction of
Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks, but it invariably contains, in
great abundance, flint and small fragments of chalk, which
give it a character of its own, by which it can be always
and easily recognised.

The Lower Glacial beds are overlaid in many places by
sands ( Middle Glacial), which to the north of Norwich form
heaths, as at Horsford and Cawston. ‘These sands pass
under the chalky boulder clay (Upper Glacial), and near
Yarmouth contain fossil mollusca, some of them being
southern species. It seems that during the Middle Glacial
period communication, was re-opened between the German
Ocean and seas to the south, and it is possible that
the currents by which the southern shells were rein-
troduced into the former, may have melted back to
some extent and, for a time, the northern ice. Over-
lying the chalky boulder clay, and generally occupying
high ground, as at Strumpshaw Hill, six miles to the west
of Norwich, and at Wymondham and elsewhere in central
Norfolk, are some sporadic masses of coarse flood Plateau
gravel, composed principally of flint, accumulated by currents
during the melting of the East Anglican ice-sheet, when the
excessive cold of the Glacial period was beginning to abate.
These gravels often occur, as at Mousehold Heath near
Norwich, at the very edge of the high ground overlooking
the valleys, and could not have originated in their present
position under existing circumstances. From the fact, how-
ever, that patches of chalky boulder clay may be occasion-
ally observed at the bottom of the valley, as near Thorpe

228

Norfolk

Asylum, it is clear that the latter must at that time have
assumed, more or less, its present form. The probable
explanation seems to be that the ice melted first on the
higher ground, eventually shrinking into the valleys, and
that the valley of the river Wensum at Norwich, for
example, was filled to the brim with ice when the flood
gravels of Mousehold Heath were deposited.

At a later period, when the Norfolk valleys were be-
coming free from ice, but while it continued to exist else-
where, floods still prevailed, but they were confined to the
lower ground. Gravels of a finer character than those of
the plateaux accumulated then within the valleys, but in
positions which show that the floods to which they were
due reached a much higher level than do those of the
present day. Near the Thorpe railway station at Norwich,
for instance, are some gravels which wrap the sides of the
valley to a height of perhaps thirty feet above the river,
although they pass also under its bed.

Whether man inhabited Norfolk before the Glacial
period is still a questio vexata, but uncivilized races, using
unpolished flint weapons, certainly occupied the county
during the deposition of the valley gravels, a palzolithic
implement having been found in them by the writer at
Cringleford. The famous deposit at Hoxne near Diss,
where more than 100 years ago these relics of primeval
man were first discovered, lies just beyond the confines of
the county.

In the valley of the Nar, in West Norfolk, are some
brickearths, the sediment of an estuary formerly opening
westward into the Wash, from which bones and teeth of
the Mammoth, Elephas primigenius, and of the woolly
Rhinoceros, R. tichorhinus, with specimens of an arctic
shell, Zellina lata, have been obtained. ‘These deposits,
though probably more recent than some of the valley
gravels, belong also to the post-glacial series, to a period
when the climate of Great Britain was colder than it is
at present.

224

Geology of Norfolk

During the post-glacial epoch, the comparative level of
Jand and water in Norfolk varied from time to time. At
one period the country stood higher than it now does, and
England was joined to the continent. Hence the close
resemblance between the fauna and flora of the two areas.
At another time it probably stood somewhat lower.

Eventually, however, the valleys of Norfolk became
choked by the accumulation of fluviatile and estuarine mud,
and by the growth of peat. The low marshy ground
bordering rivers like the Yare or the Wensum, now em-
banked and drained, were at no very distant period im-
passable and waterlogged swamps, along the margin of
which browsed herds of extinct forms of the wild oxen,
Bos primigenius, and Bos longifrons, whose fossil remains
are occasionally found there, and may be seen in the
Museum at Norwich. Peaty beds of similar character to
these are still accumulating in the Broad district of East
Norfolk, by the annual growth and decay of marsh plants.

It is not possible, within the limit of a rapid sketch, to da
justice to such a subject as that of the geological history
of Norfolk. It is to be feared that there are in the county
at present few serious workers in this important and fascin-
ating field of enquiry, but much remains to be accomplished,
and results of great scientific value and interest still await
the diligent student.

P 225

SHOOTING AND FISHING IN NORFOLK

By A. J. Rupp

(1) SHooTinG

Norrok has, for many years, been celebrated as one of the
most prolific counties in game and wild fowl. On its
highly cultivated fields great quantities of partridges and
hares are to be found; while in the woods and coverts on
the larger estates pheasants are reared by tens of thousands.
The broads and marshes in the Eastern portion of the
county afford shelter for wild-duck and snipe, while its very
situation as a sea-board attracts woodcock and a host of
migratory birds of every kind.

Any one who takes a walk or travels by rail through
Norfolk cannot help noticing the quantity of pheasants that
are to be seen on every side, particularly in the heath
districts, and in and around the woods and spinneys all over
the county, but he must stand outside a covert on a big day
to have any idea of the amount of birds Norfolk coverts
will hold. It is no uncommon thing for two thousand
pheasants to be picked up outside one wood after a really
good drive.

Pheasants are shot in a variety of ways in Norfolk. Driv-
ing them out from their coverts to an adjacent wood, and then
putting them back over the guns is the plan usually adopted
on the best organised ‘‘shoots,”” and there is no doubt but
that it is the most satisfactory way of showing game from a
shooter’s point of view, for, not only are the birds more
easily directed over the guns when they are driven back to
their favourite resorts, but the shots they afford when thus

226 7

Shooting and Fishing in Norfolk

driven are of a thoroughly sporting character. Another
method—and this is the one adopted on the smaller shoots—
is to walk through the coverts with guns and beaters in line,
care being taken to ensure the birds being driven to a
‘¢ flushing-point ’’ at the end of the wood at each drive, and
then all shot in one grand battue at the end. The foregoing
remarks only apply to “big days.” On other days the
outlying spinneys and hedgerows have to be beaten out to
keep the birds within the limits of the estate; and again on
other occasions the cocks only will receive attention from
the guns, to ensure a due proportion of them being left on
the “ shoot.”’

Partridges abound all through the county on arable land and
pasture, upland and marsh. Any land seems to suit these
birds which have a happy knack of adapting themselves to
their surroundings, provided the food supply is sufficient for
their needs, and whether on the rich fertile soil of a Norfolk
farm, or among the rank vegetation of the fens, this is always
plentiful. The dryness of the climate, particularly at the
period of the hatching of the young birds, also materially
assists in the keeping up of a good head of partridges.

The shooting of partridges is conducted in Norfolk in
much the same way as in other parts of England. On
many ‘‘shoots”’ the birds are walked up in the early part
of the season, and later on are driven over the guns. Ona
few estates they are very little shot over till October, and
are then killed at the same time as the pheasants. On other
estates these two species of game birds are shot separately,
especially on such as have not a heavy stock of pheasants.
This applies to many of the smaller holdings, in which the
partridge supplies the principal sport, the pheasants only
receiving attention just before Christmas. There are, of
course, in Norfolk, as elsewhere, some old-fashioned sports-
men who like to kill their birds in the old-fashioned way,
to whom the walk across the fields of roots, and the pleasure
of seeing their dogs at work, is more than the bag at end of
the day; while on the other hand the more modern gunner

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Norfolk

prefers the birds to come over him as fast as their wings can
carry them. Much has been said for and against both
methods, but there is no doubt that driving the birds over
the guns, by killing off the older and less prolific birds, has
materially benefited the stock of partridges in the districts
in which it has been judiciously carried out. In proof of
this, one may say that nearly five thousand more birds have
been killed m a season on an estate in this county than
ever were killed in a season before the days of driving.

Hares abound in Norfolk ; in fact they are too numerous
in some parts to please many shooters, some of whom are of
opinion that a large quantity of these animals on an estate
militates against a large head of partridges. Whether this be
true or not I should not like to assert, but I must say that in
some cases where there are many hares there are but few birds.
The chief objection to the hare is that it will sometimes spoil
the sport in a field by running through the roots, and so put-
ting up the birds. On some estates hares are spared by the
guns for coursing, but on others they are shot with the birds.
Rarely now is a special day devoted to them in Norfolk, as
was the case some years ago when they were even more
numerous than to-day.

Immense quantities of rabbits are to be found on many
farms, more especially on the light lands. At Brandon and
Thetford there are warrens of considerable extent where
they literally swarm. Here, in the autumn and winter
months, thousands are shot and netted, and sent to London
and other cities. Among the sandhills on the north coast |
of Norfolk they are also to be found in good numbers.
At Waxham and Sea-Palling, their ranks were thinned to a
great extent by the influx of the salt water during the gales
and high tides in March 1898. During these gales the
water poured over the hills and drowned the rabbits in
hundreds. Nature, however, knows no loss, and the
deluging of the warrens with salt water gives back to the
land, and subsequently to the vegetation, just those ingredi-
ents which the rabbits take from it; and consequently the

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Shooting and Fishing in Norfolk

surviving rabbits thrive the better and are of a much higher
quality, commanding a readier sale and fetching an increased
price in the market.

The Broads of Norfolk are preserved more for the sake
of the wild fowl! than the fishing, and being kept undisturbed
in the spring, there still remain with us to breed a fair
number of ducks which are augmented in the autumn and
winter months by the arrival of great flocks of fowl. from
abroad. In years gone by the number of these latter was
enormous; the surface of the water on some of the broads
being positively black with them. When the broads and
rivers became frozen up, the fowl would betake themselves
to the estuaries at Wells, Cley, and Yarmouth, Breydon
Water, a salt lake at the latter place being a favourite
rendezvous. ‘T‘hen the gunners of Yarmouth would prepare
for action, and punts and guns, from the modest single-
barrelled muzzle loader to the ponderous punt gun carrying
a pound or more of shot, be called into requisition. At the
beginning of the flood tide the punts were put off, and,
anxiously scanning the droves of fowl the gunners would
await the covering of the “ flats ’’ to enable them to approach
their quarry. As the tide rose, the fowl on the flats would
get closer and closer together till they formed a dense mass.
Then the punt gun would be fired, and the gunners would
return, their punts often laden to the water’s edge with the
weight of the fowl. Since the marshes have been drained
the number of migratory fowl has much decreased. The
land, which a few years ago was marsh and swamp, has now
been drained and forms valuable pasturage. Salt marshes,
too, have been reclaimed, and there is less feeding ground
for wild fowl than formerly ;- consequently, when the birds
do come, they find very little to satisfy their needs, and do
not stay with us any length of time. Even now, on some
of the more highly preserved broads, it is no uncommon
thing to see a thousand duck rise in one dense cloud at the
approach of the guns. Up they go and are soon out of
sight, but in a short time they will come back, first in ones

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Norfolk

and twos, and then in larger numbers, affording some pretty
shooting to the guns, who have taken care to secrete them-
selves during their absence. Shooting the duck as they fly
to their feeding grounds at dusk, is a favourite method of
getting on terms with these wary birds. It is constantly
carried on in the winter months all over the county, both
inland, in the neighbourhood of the broads, and on the sea
coast. On any evening in the season, near Cley, Blakeney,
or Wells, the gunners of the district may be seen making
for the spots which duck are known to cross in their flight.
On a favourable night, with a strong wind to keep the duck
well down, there is no better sport to be had. The duck are
often accompanied by other fowl, such as curlew and knot,
and the bag at the end of the flight, is frequently of a most
varied description.

As a rule the free shootings of Norfolk are not very
productive of sport. At Cley there is a stretch of about
seven miles of mud flat left exposed at low tide, and between
this flat and the sea there is sand covered with coarse her-
bage, and intersected in all directions by dykes and creeks.
This sand-bank is locally known as the ‘ marrams,’’ and
gives cover to many of the smaller birds and to an occasional
duck or teal. Here some extremely rare birds have been
shot, such as the aquatic warbler and other scarce migrants,
and consequently these ‘‘ marrams”’ are always being scoured
by collectors from all parts of the country. ‘To the general
sportsman, the muds afford the best prospects of sport at the
right time. But I should add that unless the shooter happen
to be on the spot just when the birds are coming in, he will
have very poor sport and probably will leave the place in
disgust. The best way to ensure sport at any of the places
at which chiefly migratory birds are to be obtained is to
arrange with one of the local gunners to send a telegram
when the birds begin to arrive and to be prepared to go
instantly on receipt of it. Leave everything to your man,
who, for his own credit’s sake, will instruct you as to what
it is best to do. Sometimes, if the tide is beginning to ebb

230

Shooting and Fishing in Norfolk

when a start is made, it may be advisable to charter a boat
and go down the channel with the falling tide. Sometimes
it is preferable to walk the muds, and at other times the
shooter had better remain in hiding, while his man either
drives the birds over him or attracts them to their doom by
simulating their calls, an art at which some of those fowlers
are adepts. The birds one may expect to shoot on a favour-
able day are knot, stint or dunlin, red and green shanks and
other waders, with an occasional curlew, plover, or duck.
Wear a good stout pair of shooting boots and leggings when
walking on the muds. Knee boots, if worn, should be
strapped on to prevent their being pulled off by the mud,
which is very tenacious, and into which one often sinks over
one’s ankles. At Cley there is no danger of going in any-
where much deeper than the knees, but it is as well to cross
the little creeks, which intersect the mud in all directions, as
near to the channel as possible, because the soil is much
harder where it is well washed by the current than higher
up them. At Wells it is eve more necessary to engage the
services of one who knows the lay of the land, which is
divided by deep channels that can only be crossed at certain
places ; and if ignorant of the way one runs the risk of being
caught by the incoming tide. Here the marshes are covered
with coarse grass, which gives cover to all sorts of birds.
Wild geese, duck, and other fowl of all kinds are shot here
every winter; as a rule the coarser the weather the better
the sport.

The tidal portions of the rivers, and such broads as
Oulton, which are affected by the tide, are free to the
shooter. On these, coots and water-hens are found in
some quantities, especially when the dykes are frozen over,
while an odd duck or two may be sometimes picked up,
but generally the shooting on the rivers is not worth going
after, except during a spell of sharp weather.

In the autumn and winter months, especially during the
prevalence of strong easterly winds, snipe visit this county
in great numbers, and on some of the marshes, yield rare

231

Norfolk

sport. arly in December 1899, two guns got ninety
snipe in a short day’s shooting on a marsh adjoining the
river Yare. Woodcock are, at times, plentiful. Norfolk,
jutting out from the mainland as it does, catches a lot of
these and other birds in their migrations southwards.

In years gone by, several species of birds used to visit
our shores, which are now no longer to be seen. Of these
by far the most important was the great bustard. This
noble bird was formerly plentiful, and its capture brought a
goodly sum to the fowlers in those days. The bittern
again is a rare bird, only two or three at most being shot
where a few years ago they abounded.! Like the ruff,
which was once quite a common bird on the marshes of
Norfolk, it has been gradually ousted from its former resorts
and is now rarely seen. It is a sad fact that as man en-
larges his sphere of influence, taking in land that has for
ages been in a wild and uncultivated condition, he drives
before him many interesting and in some cases valuable
creatures, by destroying or spoiling their resorts: but so
it is, and so it will be, till, in a few years, many of our
winged visitors will either be exterminated, or will find
other lands in which to pass the dreary days of winter,
when they are frozen out of their Arctic homes.

(2) Fisuine

Norfolk has been compared to a “piece of Holland,
tacked on to England.’”? ‘This is to a great extent true
of that part of the county which lies to the east of Norwich,
and which has become known of late years as the “ Land
of the Broads.”? Here, for miles, the land is as flat as a
billiard table, the monotony of the view being broken only
by the drainage mills and the sails of passing yachts and
wherries. ‘Through this broad expanse of meadow and
marsh three rivers wend their way to the sea—the Bure,

1A great many bitterns were seen, and I am sorry to say shot, in
various parts of England during the winter of 1899-1900. (Ed. )

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Shooting and Fishing in Norfolk

Yare, and Waveney. All these rivers flow through the
pleasantly undulating meadows of west Norfolk, before they
enter the marsh, and in their upper reaches are charming
little streams, containing myriads of roach and dace, and,
in the case of the Bure, a fair number of indigenous trout.
It is not of these upper waters however that this article will
treat, but of the navigable parts of the rivers, where the
angler will find some of the best coarse fishing in England,
the fish being pike, perch, bream, roach, tench, rudd, ruffe,
and eels.

For fishing the Yare the angler had best make his head-
quarters at the Yare Hotel at Brundall, “«Coldham Hall”
at Surlingham, the Ferry Inn at Buckenham or the Red
House at Cantley. At any one of these houses he will
find the accommodation excellent, the charges moderate and
the proprietors thoroughly attentive to his needs. Boats in
any quantity may be obtained at the inns, but it is necessary
to provide oneself beforehand with bait, as also with tackle.
On the Bure, the best houses are the King’s Head and the
Horseshoes at Wroxham, the Ferry Hotel, Swan and
New Inns at Horning (three and a half miles by road from
Wroxham station), and the Bridge Inn at Acle. For the
broads at Barton and Hickling it is usual for anglers to stay
at Stalham; but for those who prefer a thoroughly quiet
place to put up at for their holidays I would recommend
the White Horse at Neatishead for Barton Broad. For
Heigham Sounds and the river Thurne, the most con-
venient place to stay at is the Bridge Hotel at - Potter
Heigham. To enable the angler to choose his district I
may say that the fish to be caught at these places will be:
(1) on the Yare, bream and roach; (2) on the Bure, the
same fish, with an occasional perch; (3) on Barton Broad
and Heigham Sounds, a good proportion of rudd; these
last are very sporting fish, rising well to a fly during the
months of July, August, and September. ‘To be really
successful at Barton, it is essential that the angler should
be able to cast a long line, as the water is very shallow

235

Norfolk

and any attempt at approaching nearer than twenty yards
to the water fished, would at once scare away the fish,
perhaps for the rest of the day.

Norfolk has long been celebrated for its pike, and
Norfolk anglers boast of the largest fish ever taken in
England being killed in their county. The pike in ques-
tion was a magnificent specimen, measuring exactly four
feet in length, and weighing on the day after its capture
36 lbs. Other recorded and well authenticated specimens
are fish of 334, 31, 30, 29, 274, 26, 254, and 25 lbs.,
while fish of 15 to 20 lbs. are taken every winter. Nor-
folk had, for several years produced the heaviest fish of
the season till the winter of 1898-9 when singularly enough
the largest fish was caught in the Thames, but even then
the eastern county was only beaten by $ Ib.

Pike-fishing in Norfolk is quite a winter sport. In the
summer and autumn numbers of pike are caught on spoon
and other artificial baits trailed behind yachts and rowing
boats. It is rare however for any of the monster fish to
be thus taken. ‘The angler, who would become possessed
of one of these giants, must obtain the requisite permission
to fish one of the preserved broads in December, January
or February. ‘Then the fish are generally sufficiently on
the feed to enable the angler to get some sport, and on
a really good day on a first class water, bags of a dozen
or more big fish may often be obtained. ‘The best day
that the writer has ever participated in produced fourteen
fish, ranging from 7 Ibs. to 24 lbs., to two rods.

Perch are found in all the rivers of Norfolk, but not in a
sufficiently large quantity to be worth specially fishing for.
This is a great pity, for the perch is the very best fish to be
found in the district, both for its determined fight for life
and liberty when hooked, and also for its excellence on the
table. And for its personal beauty is the perch admired.
The perch’s lovely coat of mail, barred with five stripes of
black, and adorned with fins of the brightest vermilion
make it one of the handsomest of fishes. ‘The only time

234

Shooting and Fishing in Norfolk

when any great bags of perch are made is when the roach
are depositing their spawn at the sides of the rivers and
dykes, and the perch follow them up and eat this spawn as
fast as their appetites urge them to. At the beginning of
June, when this is taking place, fair numbers are caught
near the lower entrance of Wroxham Broad, the baits used
being a lobworm or minnow fished as close to the bank as
possible. When the angler is using a lob or brandling as a
bait for bream, he sometimes comes across a shoal of perch
and they are also frequently taken on both live and dead
baits when one is fishing for pike in winter.

Bream are to be found in all the middle and lower
reaches of the main rivers of the county, the muddy
bottoms of the broads and slow flowing rivers being emi-
nently suited to their sluggish nature. When well on
the feed, they may be caught in great quantities, as many
as twenty stones weight having been taken in a single day’s
fishing by two rods. The bream is rather a pretty fish
when young, being bright and silvery, but when it attains a
respectable size, it is a great brown creature, slow and
heavy in movement, giving only moderate sport on the
hook and being useless when caught although there are
some people who eat the bream and profess to like it.
Bream spawn in the last week of May or the beginning
of June and are then rarely taken, however much the
angler may try to tempt them. When engaged in this
duty they are worth seeing. Immense numbers of great
fish, rolling about on the top of the water in all directions,
some with their. back fins above the surface, all so busily
occupied that they have no time for eating or anything
but the business in hand. Bream attain to an immense
size in some of the waters of Norfolk, the largest being
those found in the Wensum above the mills at Costessy.
These fish are not natives of the stream, but were put in
some years. ago by a resident of Drayton, and have grown
to an enormous extent, specimens of seven pounds to eight
and a half pounds being occasionally taken. I am happy to

235

Norfolk

say that I have the largest yet caught, a fine fish of nine and
a quarter pounds. On the Yare and Bure fish up to five
pounds are taken every year.

Roach are found everywhere in Norfolk, as in other
parts of England. Like the bream they thrive amazingly
on our rivers and broads, and grand specimens are caught
frequently. ‘I‘he largest roach in England are to be found
in this county, the finest specimen on record being in the
possession of the Norwich Angling Club. This fish
weighed three pounds two ounces, and was caught in the
Bure at South Walsham. On November 2nd 1899, a
roach of two pounds fifteen ounces was taken at Horning.
Roach are out of condition at the same time as bream, and
therefore should not be fished for during May and June.

Tench inhabit the broads in considerable numbers, but
owing to their shy disposition are not very often taken by
the angler, except during hot thundery weather in July and
August, and then only a few are caught in comparison with
the immense number which must exist in these waters.
The summer of 1899 was particularly favourable to the
angler as far as these fish were concerned, several up to
four and a half pounds being taken.

Rudd abounds in such waters as Barton Broad, Heigham
Sounds and in fact in most of the broads connected with
the Bure, and give capital sport to both bottom and fly
fisher. A strong fish with powerful fins, the rudd takes
a lot of handling, and unless its determined rush to get
under a favourite boulder be checked at the outset the
angler will stand little chance of bringing it to the net. |
The rudd (or Roud, as it is frequently called in Norfolk)
is somewhat like the roach in appearance, but its fins are
redder and its general colour rather more golden. The
distinguishing feature is the position of the dorsal fin, which
is at some distance behind the ventral fin instead of being
directly over it, as in the case of the roach.

Ruffe are so numerous as at times to become a nuisance
to the angler. On some days one catches nothing but

236

Shooting and Fishing in Norfolk

ruffes, and great then is the angler’s chagrin. Poor little
ruffe! If only it grew bigger, it would be considered one
of our most sporting fish.

Eels, like ruffes, are often a great source of annoyance to
the bream fisherman. They inhabit all our waters in count-
less millions, and seem to be always hungry and ready to
take the angler’s baits. Immense quantities are caught
during the year by men who get their living by their < eel-
sets’’; these “‘eel-sets’’ are large nets set across the rivers
at intervals and into which the eels swim at night in their
migration to the sea. ‘The eels taken are sent to London
and other large cities, where they command a ready sale
and fetch a good price, Norfolk eels being second only to
those of the Lincolnshire fens.

I have said nothing about the carp which, although
plentiful enough in the Yare, are very rarely taken by
the rod fisherman. Every year they may be seen spawning
in the vicinity of Surlingham, but it is some years since
one was caught on rod and line.

The roach and bream fisherman will find July and
August the best months for sport. Let him try the Yare
from Brundall to Cantley, the Bure from Wroxham to
Acle, or the Waveney between Beccles and Somerleyton
and he will find—granted favourable conditions of course—
that he will soon fill his basket with the various species of
fish with which these rivers abound.

The tackle necessary for fishing these waters are, first,
the rod, which should be from twelve to fourteen feet
in length, light and stiff, and fitted with upright rings of fair
size to enable the angler to cast far enough to command a
reasonable swim in front of him. A free running reel, of
about three inches in diameter, is the most useful, and it
should hold at least thirty yards of fine silk line. For
floats, one or two large pelican quills and some smaller
ones of goose or porcupine quill, or perhaps even better,
a few of the reed floats one generally finds in a Norfolk
angler’s basket, will be ample for both roach and bream.

237

Norfolk

Let the angler be careful to fish with gut, finest both in
quality and thickness that he can get, for on this will depend
in a great measure his success or the reverse. ‘The hooks,
it need scarcely be said, should be of the best, and tied on
gut rather finer than the cast. A landing net, disgorger, and
a capacious bag or basket in which to carry tackle and fish,
will complete the outfit, and the angler may then proceed to
his fishing. Most fishing in Norfolk is done from boats,
which are moored parallel with the stream, a little way from
the bank, and in as sheltered a position as possible, with
mooring poles well driven down into the bed of the river.
Having fixed the boat, the next thing is to plumb the
depth, and set the float at such a distance from the hook
that the latter shall swim along just clear of the bottom.
Now throw in the ground bait, which may be of boiled
wheat, barley meal, or that sold ready for use by the tackle-
makers, and put on the hook bait. This should be a lob or
brandling worm for bream, and for roach a piece of bread
paste or three or four gentles. The line is cast into the
stream in the direction from which the tide or current is
coming, and allowed to travel down past the boat without
check, unless the bait be taken by a fish, in which case the
float will be drawn down, or at any rate slightly agitated.
On seeing this the angler should at once strike. Let this
be done smartly, but atthe same time gently, so as not to
endanger the tackle or the hold on the fish, and let the fish
be played carefully yet firmly, keeping it at the top of the
water till exhausted, when it may be drawn to the side of
the boat and lifted out with the landing net. Now a fish is
landed ; now a fish is lost, perhaps to scare away the rest for
atime. Should the latter happen, the angler must throw in
some ground bait to entice the fish back again round the boat.
The great thing to be observed in fishing these waters, par-
ticularly the parts nearest the sea, is the constantly varying
depth, which necessitates the occasional alteration of the
height of the float on the line to ensure the hook always
keeping on or near the bottom of the river. Should the

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Shooting and Fishing in Norfolk

water fished be much affected by the tide, the angler will
find it much to his advantage to substitute a ledger for the
float tackle. In using this tackle, which consists of a length
of gut to which are attached two hooks, the line is cast out
in a contrary direction to that recommended for the float
tackle. When this is done the tide carries the line away
from the angler, and, pressing on it, has a tendency to keep
the bait in its proper position on the bottom, whereas, if it
were-cast upstream it would be constantly drifting in toward
the angler, and he would with difficulty tell when a fish had
taken his bait. In fishing with the ledger it is absolutely
necessary for the angler to keep perfectly still, as any move-
ment of the boat prevents the feeling of a bite, and it is only
by the feel that one can know when a fish is at the bait. ~
One of the best baits that can be used on a ledger
is a large piece of bread paste, as big as the end of
one’s finger. Let the hook be buried completely in
this, and a handful of ground bait be squeezed round
the paste. The ground bait will soon be washed off,
and the hook bait exposed _to the fishes’ view in the
most attractive manner. Sometimes fish go off the feed in
a most unaccountable manner. In this case, if any pike
tackle be handy, it is often worth laying it out to try to get
the marauder out of the swim, if it is his presence there
that is keeping away the roach and bream. If no pike
can be caught the angler should try the effect of more
ground bait, but be careful not to feed the fish too much.

Fly-fishing on the broads is a delightful pastime. An
ordinary trout rod and line and any of the thick-bodied flies
will do well enough, the best, perhaps, being the red and
black palmers, the black gnat, governor, and coachman.
Sometimes a bunch of six or eight gentles on a fair-sized
hook, cast like a fly, will be found very killing. Whichever
is used, it is as well to have one or two slices of bread
moored near the reeds to attract the fish and keep them
together, and also to form some sort of mark at which to aim
the bait in casting.

739

SEA FISHING OFF NORFOLK
By E. A. Croxon

On the Norfolk coast sea-fishing is not appreciated or prac-
tised to the extent it ought to be. Although a few natives
amuse themselves by fishing from beach, pier, or boat, when
circumstances are favourable, and occasionally a few visitors
join them, it is not generally known what enjoyable sport is
easily obtainable. In the early part of the season (September
and October), when the weather is fairly warm, you may
with comfort fish from pier or boat; but the fishing I
myself prefer is what is known as “ casting’’ from the
beach. For this I find a frosty morning best, and I use
three or four lines to keep myself warm by attending to
them. For casting you require a fairly thin but strong line
from eighty to a hundred yards in length, and about a dozen
hooks, with a lead weighing about three-quarters of a pound.
The hooks used vary considerably in shape and size; but I
prefer black Limericks of medium size, which keep their
point longer than white ones when they come in contact
with the shingle. The hooks should be placed on the line
about three feet apart, and attached to a snood* about a
foot in length. ‘The lines complete with lead, hooks, and
reel, can be bought at most of the seaside towns; the price
should be two-and-ninepence or three shillings, according
to the quality of the line. A pole six feet in length, with
a groove cut in top, is required for casting the line, and
can be bought for about a shilling. The baits are sandworms,

1'The snood is the piece of line (which may either be manilla,
cotton, or gut), by which the hook is attached to the line proper.
TNS CF

240

Sea Fishing off Norfolk

mussels, clams, whelks, herrings, and mackerel. ‘The mussel
is a very taking bait for whiting, but it must always be bound
on the hooks for casting, although it can be used in the
ordinary way for pier or boat-fishing with rod or small
hand-line, and two or three hooks. Sandworms I find the
best bait for codling, which will take this when other baits
have failed. Sandworms, or “ lug bait,”’ as they are called,
can be bought for a shilling per hundred, and in some places
a pint may be purchased at the same price. Of course
beach-fishing can only be indulged in where the water is
fairly deep. Where the beach is flat it is best to hire a
boat and row into deep water. For boat-fishing a moder-
ately stout rod is required. An ordinary pike rod is as
good as anything, with a medium-sized wooden winch,
which must work very freely. The tackle I have been most
successful with is a sliding lead weighing about four ounces,
on gimp, with two hooks below and one above the lead.
If the tide is running rather strong a larger lead can be used.
For whiting and dabs a calm day with a westerly wind is
best, but for codling-fishing from the beach an easterly
breeze, with a slightly choppy sea, is most favourable to
sport. In casting, a beginner should be careful not to lay
any hooks behind him before throwing out, as there may be
a possibility of his ear being carried out to sea with the line.
When laying the line on the beach lay it from left to right,
commencing with the lead, toggle, and the hooks a yard or two
from the water’s edge. The line should be neatly laid further
up the beach, with care not to get any part of the line, or even
the reel, to the left of the lead. When the hooks have been
properly baited, fix the button at the end of toggle into the
groove at the end of the pole, give two or three gentle
swings, and cast the line into the sea. It is best for a
beginner to throw gently at first, or the button may slip from
the pole before intended, and the pole go seawards instead of
the line. When baiting with sandworms thread them on
the hooks. If the worms are of medium size, say two or
three inches, a whole one can be used ; but occasionally you

Q 241

Norfolk

get a large one of six or seven inches, which, when partly
threaded on one hook, can be nipped off and used for baiting
the next. If the worms are alive and in good condition
they will remain on the hooks fairly well (provided the line is
not jerked too much in casting). When dead and soft they —
require binding on, for which a piece of manilla cord, cut
into lengths of about a foot and untwisted, is useful. When
hauling in the line lay it on the beach as before. If small
or medium-sized fish are hooked, pull in at a moderate pace ;
but a large cod, of say ten or twelve pounds, requires a
little humouring. If the fish swims in quickly, pull in the
slack line as sharply as possible. If, on the other hand, it
stops and seems a dead weight, do not attempt to strain the
line too much, but with a few gentle pulls get the fish to
swim shorewards. In all cases it is advisable to keep the
line as taut as possible.

242

CYCLING IN NORFOLK
By H. Morriss

Tue main highways of Norfolk present few difficulties to
the majority of cyclists, and compared with neighbouring
counties the surface of the roads is generally in good con-
dition. ‘This improvement has been very noticeable since
the establishment of County Councils, and cyclists who
remember well hair-breadth escapes when mounted on the
old high bicycle, find on revisiting their former resorts
that many terrors have vanished. Even now room for
improvement exists, although much care is certainly ex-
pended on the difficult bits. Upon the whole, however,
the roads must be considered good, and in some districts
even fast. The climatic conditions which but slightly
affect the roads in some counties, are more difficult to deal
with effectually in Norfolk. The crown of the road
rapidly cuts up when exposed to long periods of drought,
consequently the months of July, August and September,
when the greatest number of holiday-seekers come to the
Land of the Broads, are, unfortunately, the particular
months when the roads are at their worst. Under the
healing influence of Spring showers and Autumn mists,
Norfolk affords the cyclist some fine bits of riding, and
whether pace or comfort be the aim of the traveller,
it is attainable at will.

Suppose you are coming down from town for a fort-
night’s easy touring in Norfolk, with as much as possible
of the sea-coast included. From Ipswich the road deviates
towards Norfolk’s border, and if you choose, you may

243

Norfolk

remain in Suffolk even as far as the borders of Great
Yarmouth itself, and enter Norfolk by the famous sea-
port.

But a pleasanter way by far is the main Norwich road
which leads by some twenty-two miles of village life to
the ancient White Hart at Scole, known as Scole Inn.
Turning to the right here, and forsaking Norwich for a
time, a pleasant undulating surface brings you to Harleston,
whence a fast run leads through pretty scenery made up
of river, marsh, and fenland to a protruding hill in Suffolk
which juts across this route to Yarmouth, turns the river
Waveney out of its course and marks the site of Roger
Bigod’s ancient Castle of Bungay. Once through the
little town the road turns sharply eastward again by a huge
malting at Ditchingham (a mile from Rider Haggard’s
famous Farm and the Hall and Lake) runs a straight course
to Kirby Cane, then by Geldeston Hall to Gillingham again
through marshy country, turns slightly here to left and right
by an old ivy-covered steeple and gives scope on approaching
Tooft-Monks for the user of the free-wheel. A run down
hill brings you to a bleak wind-swept tract of country
somewhat like Holland, and should the wind be favourable
a rapid pace will result over the two miles of Dam leading
to St Olaves “ Bell’’ when railway and river have been
crossed. Haddiscoe Station Bridge has long been a terror.
It is positively dangerous for any but experienced lady-
riders to attempt, and more than one man has regretted
his valour in crossing the bridge. ‘The famous Fritton Decoy
is the next object of interest, and may be seen on the night
hand just after a sharp rise through the Suffolk village.
When Yarmouth is full of trippers, the roads are a maze
of rough dusty ruts, and if these trippers are out for the
usual country drives on every description of brake and
char-a-banc, the entry into the town is not an agreeable
one for the cyclist; but in early Summer or Autumn the
road is not so cut Ups and good riding’ can be obtained until
Southtown Road is reached. All sorts and conditions of

2.4.4

Cycling in Norfolk

cycles exist in Yarmouth, and a day spent there will
reveal to you a truly wonderful variety of hired machines.
A large and well managed Cycling Club exists here with
head-quarters at ‘*the Cromwell’? on the quay, and is
called the Great Yarmouth Wheelers. Both ladies and
gentlemen take part in certain of the runs and picnics,
notices of which are posted up regularly. If you choose
Yarmouth as your headquarters for a while, many pleasant
rides out and home may be made and various places of
interest visited—the travelling generally being on fairly level
roads. Perhaps, however, you may prefer to cycle through
the famous Broad district and make for Cromer, taking at
once the most favoured run inthe whole county. Passing St
Nicholas Church on the right, and journeying straight on to
Caister (the remains of the old Castle and Manor are off
the main road to the left) you soon reach the lovely villages
of Ormesby, the road winding through shady avenues of
trees past well-kept gardens and orchards and cutting in two
the famous Broad near which is the Eel’s Foot Inn. Thickly
wooded Rollesby next claims attention, and then the
cycle bears you on to Potter-Heigham on the river
Thurne, where there are many trim yachts and pleasant,
cooling breezes. Five miles of narrow winding road brings
you to tiny Stalham, famous in election times for its
enthusiasm, aud a further stretch of winding road, through
quiet but pretty villages to North Walsham, a town with
some claims to attention. Before the loss of its spire, 147
feet in height, the grand church must have been a conspicu-
ous land-mark, and what remains is still worth seeing.
Worstead, a parish which in remote times was of sufficient
importance to give its name to its manufactures, lies only
three miles to the south-east. Beautifully shaded roads
lead from North Walsham on by Gunton House and
Park to the junction with the Aylsham Road to Cromer ;
when, due attention being paid to the N.C.U. caution
board after passing the railway station, Cromer will be
reached.

245

Nor folie

A run out from Cromer by Overstrand and Sidestrand
to Mundesley, will reveal many of Norfolk’s best features.
After exploring the district round Cromer, other rides will
lead you through the woodland scenery of the Sheringhams
and on to Holt, where, before proceeding again seawards to
Wells, detours should be made in order to visit the mansion
of Lord Hastings at Melton Constable, with its park stocked
with red and fallow deer; and also, notwithstanding the
cross-country routes, to Walsingham in order to take a peep
at the ruins of the Priory which contained the shrine of
Our Lady of Walsingham. You will thus follow on cycle
in the footsteps of many a bare-footed pilgrim of old.
Walsingham Abbey grounds, if open, are also worth a visit.
There is not very much to attract you in Wells itself; but
do not miss Holkham Park, whose evergreen oaks and other
noble trees overshadow perfect cycling roads. The Hall,
to which admission can be obtained only by special permis-
sion, contains a valuable collection of art treasures. Leaving
the Park at the west lodge it will be easy for the cyclist if
he desires, to ride on to Nelson’s birthplace, Burnham
Thorpe; and thence by Burnham Market and Docking
over fairly good roads to Heacham.

Turning northward again, you may reach the beautiful
red and white cliffs of Hunstanton, beloved of geologists.
Then come Sandringham, Castle Rising, and Kings Lynn,
and this is a route which takes you through delightful pine
woods and a charming undulating country. At Lynn you
come in touch with the former days of cycle road records.
Many an old rider, such as G. P. Mills and Holbein, has
dashed under the old South Gate, only to obtain the neces-
sary check, a signature of some London club official, and then
away, faster than ever, to regain the Great North Road by
Wisbech and Peterborough. From Lynn, good roads lead
to East Winch; but from there the read narrows in the
curves before Narborough, widening again over the chalk
hills by the railway cutting to Swaffham, which town will
be readily known by its welcome appearance after a tedious

246

Cycling in Norfolk

bit of straight road. If time is no object, a visit to Castle
Acre priory, leaving the main road at Narborough for
this purpose, will well repay you. By Necton and Fran-
sham the scenery is more attractive, but still somewhat
commonplace. As the road winds round into East Dereham,
however, the country improves, and the sixteen miles to
Norwich are over undulating surface, for the greater part
well-wooded, especially after leaving Tuddenham. ‘The
entrance into Norwich is by a capital wide road, and if you
have had a day’s hard riding you will better appreciate its
downward slope.

Of Norwich, from a cycling point of view, perhaps the
least said the better. The streets are mostly narrow and the
paving has been so much interfered with for sewage schemes
and tram-line laying that it must be some time before all
the unpleasantness of riding in the city is removed. Ona
fine Tuesday in summer no more delightful route than the
following can be chosen: Aylsham Road, St Faith’s
Stratton Strawless (a lovely avenue of woods) Hevingham,
Aylsham, and Blickling Gardens, which on this day in
summer are free to the public. Here you may pass a very
pleasant hour, lying upon the greensward and admiring the
wealth of colour afforded by the old garden; or indulging
in a stroll in the maze of gravel walks. ‘The rest over,
ride by way of North Walsham from Aylsham, and then
turn towards Norwich again; noting on the journey the
beauties of Westwick and the glimpse of river at Coltis-

hall which should tempt you to visit also Wroxham
_ Broad.

Another plan is to start out on the Yarmouth road
through Thorpe and Whitlingham, pass Blofield, and pull
up at prettily situated Acle. For the purpose of puzzling
out a road that delights some minds turn here for Free-
thorpe and Reedham, which some folk say was a seaport in
the times of the Vikings. Crossing the Yare at Reedham
Ferry is a novel experience. After that is over make for
tiny Loddon. From Loddon a fine road leads by Langley

249

Norfolb|

Park and Thurton, thane Framingham and Bixley to.
Trowse Bridge, where Colman’s Works and Carrow House
adjoin Bracondale Hill.

Still another interesting ride from Norwich is by New-
market Road to Hethersett and Wymondham (a favourite
resort for Norwich cyclists) over the fast level road to
Attleborough, and so to Thetford. The return journey
will be by the narrow roads between the numerous fern-
covered rabbit warrens to Watton, near which is Merton
Hall. This road leads through wooded country to Hing-
ham, skirting Kimberley Park, mounting the heights of
Colney and so back to the City once more. When at
Thetford the return may be made, if preferred, through
more rabbit country to East Harling, which is not far from
Quidenham Park, the seat of the Earl of Albemarle who
as Viscount Bury was President of the N.C.U. ‘The road
winds and descends rapidly to Lopham and then becomes
more level and leads through a pretty district to Roydon
and Diss. The main street turns at the base of a steep hill
and leads on to Scole Inn, and if desirous of reaching Lon-
don you can leave Norfolk straightaway.

Another peep at Norfolk can be obtained by following
through Dickleburgh the up and down road to Long
Stratton and Newton Flotman, which leads by Harford
Bridge to Norwich. From here another route for London
is by way of Poringland and Brooke (a very pretty spot),
by Woodton and Ditchingham Hall to Bungay, where
the Suffolk route to Ipswich is by way of Halesworth.

In conclusion, a word about the Eastern Counties Centre
of the N.C.U., which was founded in Norwich and thanks
to admirable management, has developed into a most useful
organisation. In 1897 the Earlham Road Track was the
scene of some of the N.C.U. Championships, and few who
were present will ever forget the sternly contested events.
Cromer and Great Yarmouth also possess tracks worthy of
the name, but most local sports are held on grass courses.

A list of places where the cyclist may find suitable ac-

248

Cycling in N orfolb

commodation and refreshment, and, if necessary, seek out
the repair shops, follows :—

Acle, Queen’s Head Hotel. .
Attleborough, Angel Hotel.
Aylsham, Dog Hotel.

Blofield, Globe Hotel.

Brooke, King’s Head Inn.

Burnham Market, Thomas Temp. Hotel.
Cley, near the Sea, George Hotel.

Coltishall, White Horse Inn.
Cromer, _ Imperial Hotel.
Dereham, King’s Arms Hotel.
Dersingham, Coach and Horses Inn.
Diss, King’s Head Hotel.
Ditchingham, The Falcon Inn.
Docking, The Hare Hotel.
Downham, Castle Hotel.
Drayton, The Cock Hotel.
Fakenham, Lion Hotel.
Harleston, Magpie Hotel.
Hingham, The White Hart Hotel.
Holt, ~The Feathers Hotel.
Hunstanton, Robert’s Temp. Hotel.
Loddon, Swan Hotel.
Lynn, Duke’s Head Hotel.
Mundesley, Royal Hotel.
Norwich, Maid’s Head Hotel.
Do. Gt. Eastern Hotel.
North Walsham, Angel Hotel.
Reepham, King’s Arms Inn.
Scole, White Hart Inn.
Sheringham, Sheringham Hotel.
Stalham, Railway Hotel.
Stratton, Swan Inn.
Swaffham, Walker’s Temp. Hotel.
Tacolnestone, Pelican Inn.

249

Thetford,

Toft Monks,
Walsingham,
Watton,

Wells,
Wymondham,
Great Yarmouth,

250

Norfolk

Anchor Hotel.

Cyclists’ Rest.

Black Lion Hotel.

The Railway Hotel.

The Crown Hotel.

King’s Head Hotel.

The Cromwell Temp. Hotel.

Part FID

THE CHIEF PLACES OF INTEREST
IN NORFOLK.

In NORWICH :—

The Cathedral (pp. 20-22).

The Castle and its Museum (pp. 26-30).
St Andrew's Hall (p. 23).

The Shirehall (p. 33).

St Peter Mancroft Church (p. 24).
Mousehold Heath (pp. 31-33).

In YARMOUTH :—

St Nicholas Church (pp. 60-61).
The Old Tolhouse.
The Fishermen’s Hospital.
Nelson’s Monument.
_ The South Quay.
The Star Hotel and its Nelson Room.

In KING'S LYNN :—

Greyfriars Tower (p. 114).

Red Mount Chapel (p. 113).

South Gate (p. 113).

The Custom House (p. 116).

The Parish and St Nicholas Churches (p. 114).
The Docks.

The chief Ruined Castles are :— x
Caister (pp. 78-80), nearest station Caister.
Castle Acre (p. 128), nearest station Swaftham.

251

¥

Norfolk

The chief Ruined Castles—continued.
Castle Rising (pp. 109-10), nearest station North Wootton.
Burgh (a Roman Stronghold) (pp. 182-3), nearest station Belton.
Bungay (in Suffolk, but in Broadland), nearest station Bungay.

Ruined Abbeys and Priories :—

Walsingham (pp. 94-5), nearest station Walsingham.

Bromholm (p. 83), nearest station North Walsham.

Binham (pp. 95-6), nearest station Walsingham.

Beeston (p. 89), nearest station Cromer.

Castle Acre (p. 128), nearest station Swaffham.

Thetford (p. 50), nearest station Thetford.

St Benet’s (pp. 166-8), nearest station Wroxham or Potter
Heigham.

The best-preserved Roman Camps are—

Caistor (p. 39), nearest station Swainsthorpe.

Burgh (pp. 182-3), nearest station Belton.

Tasburgh, nearest station Flordon.

‘‘Bunn’s Bank ” at Old Buckenham, nearest station Eccles Road
or Attleborough.

Holkham, nearest station Holkham.

Castle Acre (p. 128), nearest station Swaffham.

The most interesting Prehistoric Remains are :—

‘©The Devil's Dyke.”

(This is a remarkable earthwork, probably of Icenic con-
struction, extending from Narborough to Caldecott, a distance
of nine miles. It can be seen best at Beechamwell, a parish
5 m. S. from Narborough station. ).

‘‘Shrieking Pits ” of Aylmerton (p. 89), nearest station Cromer.
‘‘Grimes’ Graves ” (p. 55), nearest station Brandon.

‘‘Castle Hill” at Thetford (p. 50), nearest station Thetford.
Earthworks at Castle Acre (p. 128), nearest station Swaffham.

The chief Country Seats, Tudor Houses, etc., are :—

Sandringham Hall (pp. 103-8), nearest station Dersingham.
Holkham Hall (pp. 98-99), nearest station Holkham.

Z52-

Chief Places of Interest

The chief Country Seats, Tudor Houses, etc.—continued.

Houghton Hall (pp. 129-32), nearest station Massingham.

Blickling Hall (pp. 133-40), nearest station Aylsham.

Raynham Hall (see Gazetteer), nearest station Raynham Park.

Kimberley Hall (p. 46), nearest station Kimberley.

Hunstanton Hall (pp. 100-1), nearest station Hunstanton.

Melton Constable Hall (see Gazetteer), nearest station Melton
Constable.

Cossey Old Hall (pp. 121-2), nearest station Drayton.

Barningham Winter Hall (see Gazetteer), nearest station Holt.

East Barsham Hall (p. 95), nearest station Fakenham.

Oxborough Hall (see Gazetteer), most convenient station, Swaff-
ham,

The finest ecclesiastical Norman work will be found in Norwich
Cathedral and the churches of

St Nicholas, Yarmouth (pp. 60-61), nearest station Yarmouth.
Wymondham (p. 42), nearest station Wymondham.
Attleborough (p. 47), nearest station Attleborough.

Castle Rising (pp. 110-11), nearest station North Wootton.
St Margaret’s, Lynn (p. 114), nearest station Lynn.
Walsoken, nearest station Wisbech.

Binham (pp. 95-6), nearest station Walsingham.

Haddiscoe, nearest station Haddiscoe.

Babingley, nearest station Wolferton.

Other Churches well worthy of a visit are those at

Worstead (p. 175}, nearest station Worstead.
Aylsham (pp. 134-5), nearest station Aylsham.
Knapton, nearest station Knapton.

Paston (pp. 83-84), nearest station Knapton.

Cley (pp. 92-93), nearest station Holt.

Cawston, nearest station Cawston.

Salle, nearest station Reepham.

East Dereham (p. 123), nearest station East Dereham.
St Nicholas, Lynn (p. 115), nearest station Lynn.
Dersingham (p. 108), nearest station Dersingham.
Terrington St Clement’s, nearest station Terrington.
Ingham (p. 174), nearest station Stalham.

253

N orfolk

The best Screens are at

Ranworth (p. 168), nearest station Salhouse.
Worstead (p. 175), nearest station Worstead.
Cawston, nearest station Cawston.

Salle, nearest station Reepham.

Attleborough (p. 47), nearest station Attleborough.

254

GAZETTEER.

ACLE.—A small town on the Bure with a station 84 m. W. from
Yarmouth. Its fourteenth century church contains a fine oak
screen and an ancient font. A few remains of Weybridge Priory,
founded by Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, in the reign of Edward
I. for canons of the Augustinian Order, are to be seen in the
parish. This is a well-known Broadland angling resort, and a
convenient place for obtaining yachting necessaries. Rowing
boats may be hired here. The inns where yachtsmen and other
visitors find accommodation are the King’s Head, Queen’s Head,
and Bridge Angel.

ACRE, SouTH.—A parish in the valley of the Nar, 4 m. N. from
Swaffham station. The church, an ancient building i in the Early
English style, contains some sixteenth century brasses, and,
among others, a monument to Sir Edward Barkham, Lord
Mayor of London in 1621, and another to Sir Eudo Harsicke,
dating from about 1248.

ACRE, WEST (p. 128).—A village in the valley of the Nar, 3 m. N.E.
from Narborough station. Near the church are the ruins of a
priory founded by Ralph de Toni in the reign of William I.

ALBOROUGH.—A village 5 m. N. from Aylsham. In its church are
some fifteenth century brasses.
ALBURGH.—A village 1 m. N. from Homersfield station. The church

is mainly in the Perpendicular style, but contains some Early
English portions.

ALByY.—A scattered village 5 m. N.E, from Aylsham.

ALDEBY (p. 188).—A village in the Waveney Valley, with a station
on the Beccles and Yarmouth line. The church is in the Early
English style and has a fine Norman doorway. Some remains
of a small priory, founded in the reign of Henry I., form part of
the Priory Farm buildings.

ALDERFORD.—A village 14 m. E. from Lenwade station. The church
is a small structure in the Early English style.

ALETHORPE.—A parish of one farm 14 m. N.E. from O2LEL

ALPINGTON.—A village 6 m. S.E. from Norwich,

255

Norfolk

ANMER.—A village 44 m. E. from Dersingham station. The church,
a flint and stone building in the Perpendicular style, stands in the
park of Anmer Hall.

ANTINGHAM.—A village 23 m. N.W. from North Walsham. The
river Ant has its source here at a spot known as Antingham
Ponds. ‘There are two churches in the churchyard, but one, that
of St Margaret, is in ruins, only the tower and part of the nave
remaining. St Mary’s is in the Decorated style.

APPLETON.—A decayed parish adjoining Flitcham.

ARMINGHALL.—A village 2 m. S. by E. from Norwich. The church
is chiefly Early English. The old Hall, now converted into
cottages, has a finely sculptured porch. ‘An old house near the
church bears the inscription— ‘‘ Pray for the soul of Master
William Ely, who caused this to be made into a hospital in the
year 1487.”

AsHpy ST Mary.—A village 3 m. S.W.' from Buckenham station.
The church, a flint structure in the Early English style, has a
fine Norman south porch.

_ASHBY-CUM-OBY. — A united parish 2 m. S.S.W. from Potter
Heigham station. The church has all but disappeared.

ASHILL.—A village 3 m. N.W. from Watton station. The church
is a Gothic structure with a clerestoried nave. Its nave and
chancel are divided by a carved oak screen.

ASHMANHAUGH.—A parish 2 m. N. from Wroxham station.

ASHWELLTHORPE.—A village with a station on the Wymondham and
Forncett line. Its Early English church contains the tomb
of Sir Edmund de Thorpe, who was envoy from Henry V. to
the Duke of Burgundy, and slain at the siege of Lover’s Castle
in Normandy, his body being brought here for burial. ‘The re-
cumbent effigies of the knight and his wife are fine work, engraved
by Stothard. The north chapel has five stained windows, with
the arms of the Thorpe, Bourchier, Knyvet, Wilson and Berners
families, also a brass dated 1561. ‘The font was given to the
church in 1660 by Lady Knyvet. The Hall, a modernised
Elizabethan mansion, has been the seat of the Thorpe, Bour-
chier, Knyvet and Berners families. A ballad quoted by Blom-
field in his ‘‘ History of Norfolk” relates how, at the beginning
of the seventeenth century, a stranger appeared at Christmas
time at this hall and caused an acorn to turn suddenly into a
great oak, the branches of which filled the hall. The tree was
felled, but could not be removed until two goslings came and drew
it away.

ASHWICKEN. — A parish 1 m. N. from East Winch station.

AsSLACTON.—A village 2 m. N.W. from Tivetshall station. The

church is mainly Norman, with a round tower supposed to be
Saxon.

256

Gazetteer

ATTLEBOROUGH (p. 47).—A small market town 15 m. S.W. from
Norwich, with a station on the Norwich and Thetford line. The
church is a fine structure chiefly Early English, but partly
Norman, It has a clerestoried nave and two chapels; and con-
tains some fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth century monuments
and tablets. Its ancient western screen is of very elaborate
workmanship. The choir which was originally the chapel of a
college founded by Sir Robert Mortimer in 1387 has disappeared ;
the existing one was built some time later. In the central
aisle is buried Captain John Gibbs, who, in the days of Charles
II., for a wager, drove a light chaise and four horses up and down
a deep hollow called the Devil’s Ditch, on Newmarket Heath.
The chief inns are the Royal and the Griffin.

ATTLEBRIDGE.—A village on the Wensum, with a station on the
Norwich and Melton Constable line. The church is a small
Perpendicular flint building.

AYLMERTON (p. 89).—A coast parish 3 m. W.S.W. from Cromer.
Its Perpendicular church has a thirteenth century round tower
and contains an old oak screen and a chancel rail adorned with
curious poppy-heads. There are some ruins of a chantry chapel
on the north side. On the hills between Aylmerton and Runton
are traces of an entrenchment called a Roman camp. Near by
are the famous ‘‘Shrieking Pits,’’ of which there are said to be
at least 2000. They are believed to be portions of the dwellings
of some pre-historic inhabitants of East Anglia. Similar pits are
to be seen on Beeston Heath and at Weybourne, places in this
neighbourhood ; and at Marsham near Aylsham; also in other
counties, more particularly in Oxfordshire and on Dartmoor.

AYLSHAM (pp. 134-5).—An ancient market town on the Bure, with
stations on the Great Eastern and Great Northern and Midland
Joint railways. It occupies a very pleasant position in the midst
of a well-wooded district called the ‘‘ Garden of Norfolk.” The
church is believed to have been founded by John of Gaunt.
Aylsham stations are the nearest to Blickling Hall, one of the
finest country houses in Norfolk, described in Itinerary X. The
River Bure is navigable to wherries as far up its course as
Aylsham. ‘The chief inns are the Black Boys and the Dog.

BABINGLEY (p. 108).—A parish included in the Prince of Wales’s
Sandringham Estate, 2 m. E. from Wolferton station. The
church, which stands in a meadow near the railway, is a building
in the Decorated! style, supposed to occupy the site on which St
Felix built the first Christian church in East Anglia. It contains
the remains of a Norman sedilia in the chancel. Near the few
cottages in this parish is a portion of an old wayside cross.

BACONSTHORPE. — A parish 3 m. E.S.E. from Holt station. Its
church, ‘chiefly Perpendicular, contains some interesting monu-
ments of the Heydon family, dating from the fifteenth century.
Opening into the vestry is an Easter sepulchre. Baconsthorpe

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Norfolk

Hall, the old home of the Heydons, has been allowed to fall into
decay ; but is still a picturesque relic of the Tudor period.

BACTON (p. 83).—A coast parish 5 m. N.E. from North Walsham
station. This parish comprises the hamlets of Bacton Green and
Bromholm, and is famous for its ruins of Bromholm Priory. The
‘Rood of Bromholm,” as the relic was called for which this
priory was renowned, purported to bea piece of the true cross. It
was said to have been carried away from the Imperial chapel at
Constantinople by an English chaplain of the Emperor, Baldwin
of Flanders. On reaching England the chaplain offered to sell
the relic to the Benedictines of St Albans, who, however, doubted
its authenticity and refused to purchase. It was eventually
accepted by the prior of Bromholm ; and in 1223 such miracles
were ascribed to it that its fame spread all over the country and
even to the Continent. Henry III. visited the priory in 1233.
About two centuries later, Sir John Paston, a member of a well-
known Norfolk family, who had distinguished himself in London,
was buried in the church. On the latter occasion, according to
Harrod, ‘‘ A barber was occupied five days in smartening up the
monks for the ceremony.” Something further about this famous
priory will be found in the chapter ‘‘ By the Wild North Sea.”

BAGTHORPE.—A village 4 m. S.E. from Docking station.
BALE.—A parish 2 m. N.E. from Thursford station.

BANHAM.—A village 34 m. E. by S. from Eccles Road station. It
has a fine Perpendicular church in which is a wooden effigy of its
founder, Sir Hugh Bardolph. ‘The village is an important centre
of cider-making, which has been carried on here for nearly 200
years.

BANNINGHAM.—A scattered village 23 m. N.E. from Aylsham.

BARFORD.—A village 5 m. N. by W. from Wymondham. The
church is a small building with two altars at the east end of the
nave.

BARMER.—A parish 4 m. S.E. from Docking station.
BARNEY.—A village ? m. from Thursford station.

BARNHAM BrooM.—A village 25 m. N. from Kimberley station.
BARNINGHAM, LITTLE.—A village 3m. from Corpusty station.
BARNINGHAM Norwoop.—A parish 5m. E. by S. from Holt.

BARNINGHAM WINTER.—A parish 45 m. E.S.E. from Holt. The
church, partly in ruins, stands in the park of Barningham Hall,
a mansion in the Tudor style, with a fine west front with double
dormers. The house was built by Sir Edward Paston in 1612,
but at the beginning of the nineteenth century was enlarged and
its south front altered according to the designs of en
Repton, the landscape gardener. Fe tite

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BARSHAM, EAst.—A parish 34 m. N. from Fakenham. A portion
of the tower of an earlier church forms the porch of the present
one. The fine Tudor Hall erected in the reign of Henry VIL.,
and formerly the seat of the Calthorpe family, is how a farmhouse
partly in ruins. Even now it is considered ‘one of the richest
examples of ornamental brickwork’ extant, and some of its hand-
some chimneys and turrets are in good preservation,

BARSHAM, NorTH.—A small parish 14 m. from Walsingham station.
The church contains a stone coffin dug up in an adjacent field.

BARSHAM, WEsT.—A parish 2% m. S. from Walsingham station.
The church is chiefly in the Gothic style, but some parts of it are
Saxon and Norman. Its tower has disappeared.

BARTON BENDISH.—A village 4 m. N. from Stoke Ferry station.
There were formerly three churches here, but one of them, that of
All Saints, was pulled down a little more than a century ago.
St Andrew’s Church is a decorated structure with a fine late Nor-
man doorway, and two Norman windows in the north side of the
nave. The rood-loft staircase is intact. Some of the benches
are nearly 300 years old. St Mary’s Church has in its western
gable a Norman arch once a doorway to All Saints. It contains
some remains of a medizeval painting. Barton Bendish Hall, for
a long time the seat of the Berney family, contains portions of an
earlier mansion purchased by the Hare family in the reign of
Charles II. It is now a farmhouse.

BARTON TurRF.—A village 4 m. N.E. from Wroxham station. Its
church is a fine Perpendicular building noted for its painted rood
screen, on the panels of which are depicted St Appolonia, St Zita,
St Barbara, and the Heavenly Hierarchy. A screen in the south
side bears paintings of Henry VI., St Edward, St Edmund, and
St Olave. Here are also some good fifteenth century brasses, and
a mural tablet to Anthony Norris, an antiquary whose M.S. col-
lections are now in the possession of the Frere family. Barton
Broad, a fine sheet of water connected with the river Ant, is in
this parish. Boats for rowing on the broad may be hired here,
and good fishing enjoyed.

BARWICK.—A parish 2m. E. from Docking station.

BAWBURGH.—A village on the Yare, 4 m. W. from Hethersett station.
The church (of St Mary and St Walstan), is chiefly in the Perpen-
dicular style, but with a Norman tower. In it are several old
brasses and a good carved screen. St Walstan was a local saint
said to have worked as a field labourer in this neighbourhood.
He was buried here in the eleventh century, and his tomb was the
resort of many pilgrims. St Walstan’s Well, on the Rectory
Farm, was at one time reputed to possess great healing powers.

BAWDESWELL.—A village 3 m. S.E. from Foulsham station.

BAWSEy.—A parish, with a station called Gayton Road, 2} m, E. by
S. from Lynn. The church is in ruins,
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Norfolk

BAYFIELD, —A parish on the Glaven, 24 m. N.W. from. Holt station.
The church is an ivy-clad ruin.

BECKHAM, EAST.—A parish 25 m. S. from Sheringham station.
BECKHAM, WEST.—A parish 2 m., S, from Sheringham station.

BEDINGHAM.—A parish 4 m. N.W. from Earsham station. The
church is a large Perpendicular building, with two chapels
formerly used by the inhabitants of two adjoining hamlets. The
heart of a member of the Bruce family who died abroad is said
to be buried under a stone in the church.

BEECHAMWELL.—A village 5 m. S.W. from Swaffham. Its Early
English church has an ancient round tower, and contains two
fifteenth century brasses. A curious earthwork about 9 miles
long, known as the ‘‘ Devil’s Dyke,” is to be seen on the western
side of this parish. It extends from Narborough to Caldecott.

BEESTON.—A large village 2 m. N.E. from Fransham station. The
church has a carved screen. The rectory house was formerly
surrounded bya moat. It was burnt down in the reign of James I.
and rebuilt on the same site.

BEESTON REGIS (p. 89).—A coast parish 3m. W.N.W. from Cromer.
The church has a fine roof, and contains some remains of a
painted screen. Within the bounds of the parish are the ruins
of an Augustinian priory founded by Lady Elizabeth Cressy in
the reign of King John.

BEESTON St ANDREW.—A village 24 m. W. from Salhouse station.
The church has disappeared.

BEESTON ST LAWRENCE.—A parish 3 m. W. from Wroxham
station.. Its ancient flint and stone church contains some fine
monuments of the Preston family, whose seat was until recently
at Beeston Hall, and who distinguished themselves as supporters
of the Royalist cause during the civil wars. Jacob Preston of
Beeston waited upon Charles I. during his imprisonment, and
received from his royal master an emerald ring.

BEETLEY.—A parish 3 m. N. by W. from Dereham. In the church
chancel are the remains of a finely carved piscina.

BEIGHTON.—A village 2 m. S.W. from Acle station. Its church, a
fine building in the Decorated style, contains a Norman font and
ancient oak chest.

BELAUGH.—A village on the Bure, 1 m. W. from Wroxham station.
The handsome screen in the church gave offence to a Puritan
trooper, who ‘‘rubbed out” the faces of the twelve Apostles.
Belaugh Broad (12 acres) is in this parish.

BESSINGHAM.—A parish 6 m. E.S.E. from Cromer. A mound here
called ‘‘ The Castle” was probably a Roman camp.
BESTHORPE. —A_ scattered village 1 m. N.E. from Attleborough.

Its church is a cruciform Decorated building containing a fine

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monument to members of the Drury family, whose seat was
Besthorpe Hall. This hall was built in 1590. The crests of Sir
William Drury and Viscount Kilmorey are over its east front.
The walls of an old tilting ground may be seen near the hall.

BEXWELL.—A parish 14 m. from Downham Market. The church is
in the Norman and Early English styles, with a round tower sur-
mounted by an octagonal belfry. ‘The pulpit is of Caen stone,
and is adorned with an alabaster figure of Christ bearing the
Cross.

BILLINGFORD. — A village 14 m. E. from North Elmham station.
The church is a flint building in the Early English style, with a
clerestoried nave of four bays. ‘There are piscinz in the chancel
and north aisle, and near the south doorway is a mutilated stoup.
Beck Hall, in this parish, was an hospital for poor travellers,
founded by William de Bec in the reign of Henry III.

BILLINGFORD or PYRLESTON.—A straggling village 3 m. E. from
Diss.

BILLOCKBy.—A parish 24 m. from Acle station. The church is
partly in ruins.

BILNEY, EAst.—A village 3 m. W. from North Elmham station.
Part of the church tower was thrown down during Kett’s
Rebellion. The cottage in which lived Thomas Bilney, who
was burnt as a heretic at Norwich in 1531, stands in the vil-
lage, and contains a curiously carved ceiling of black wood.

BILNEY, WeEstT.—A village 14 m. E. from East Winch station.

BINHAM.—A large village 5 m. S.E. by E. from Wells. Its priory
church and ruins are described on pp. 95-96.

BINTREE.—A parish 2 m. E. from County School station.

BIRCHAM, GREAT.—A village 3 m. S. from Docking station.
BIRCHAM, NEwron.—A small village 2 m. S. from Docking station.
BIRCHAM ToFrtTs.—A village 3 m. S. from Docking station.

BITTERING, LITTLE.—A village 3 m. N. from Wendling station. Its
Early English church contains a Norman font and Jacobean read-
ing desk and manorial pew. The site of an old manor house
here is surrounded by a moat.

BIxLEy.—A village 3 m. S.E. from Norwich. The church (of St
Wandregesilius) is a modern building, with an ancient embattled
tower.

BLAKENEY.—A small coast town 54 m. N.N.W. from Holt station.
Its church, which stands on an eminence south of the town, is a fine
building in the Early and Later English styles, with a clerestoried
nave and lofty tower. The chancel roof is vaulted and beauti-
fully groined in stone. At its N.E. angle is a turret, said to
have been used for showing a beacon light to mariners at sea.
On the east side is an arch and two aumbries; on the north side

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Norfolk

the remains of an Easter sepulchre. The oak roof of the nave is
very fine; the rood screen remains in its place; and the north
and south tower buttresses bear the arms of the sees of Norwich
and Thetford. There are some remains of a Carmelite mon-
astery here. It was founded by John Stormer in 1290, and in
the fourteenth century had for its friar John de Baconthorpe, a
learned metaphysician who was made Provincial of the English
Carmelites.

Blickling (pp. 133-41).—A village 2 m. N.W. from Aylsham station.
- It is believed to have been the birthplace of Anne Boleyn. Blick-
ling Hall, one of the finest mansions in England, and Blickling
Church, are fully described in Itinerary X.

BLOFIELD.—A parish and head of a union 1} m. from Brundall
station. Its fifteenth century church has four statues as pinnacles
to the tower, and contains some interesting monuments, one to a
member of the Paston family.

BLO'NORTON.—A village on the Ouse, 6 m. S.E. from Harling Road
station. ;

BoDHAM.—A parish 3 m. E. from Holt station.

BoDNEyY.—A parish 7m. S. from Swaffham. It hasan ancient church
in the Early English style, with traces of Saxon workmanship.
The Hall was occupied by a community of French nuns during the
Revolution.

Booton.—A village 1 m. S.E. from Reepham station,
BouGHTON.—A village 1 m. N. from Stoke Ferry station.

BowTHORPE.—A parish on the Yare, 34 m. W. from Norwich. The
church is in ruins.

BrRAcON AsH.—A village 2 m. N.W. from Flordon station. The
Hall, which occupies the site of an earlier building in which Queen ~
Elizabeth is said to have stayed, stands in a very ancient park
which pays the rector £5 a year, the computed value of a buck or
doe, in lieu of all tithes. The Berney family, who still hold the
hall, are of Norman descent and settled in Norfolk before the
Conquest, giving their name to a manor and parish in West
Norfolk.

BRADENHAM, East.—A village 34 m. S. from Wendling station.

BRADENHAM, WEST.—A village 3 m. S. from Wendling station. The
church, an ancient flint building in the Early English and Per-
pendicular styles, has, in the chancel, an inscribed stone to
Thomas Cayley, a rector to whose ancestors the manor was
granted by the Earl of Warrenne at the Conquest. ‘There is also
a memorial window to members of the Haggard family. Braden-
ham Hall, built in 1772, occupies an elevated position, and was
the birthplace of Mr H. Rider Haggard, the novelist.

BRADFIELD.—A parish 14 m. S. by E. from Gunton station.
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BRAMERTON.—A picturesque parish on the Yare, 44 m. S.E. from
Norwich. The church, rebuilt in 1462, contains memorial windows
to the Blake family. The Wood's End Inn is largely patronised
by boating parties. The Hall, from about 1400 to about 1760 the
seat of the Corys, has been partly rebuilt. The Grange is an old
Elizabethan building with a fine oak staircase.

BRAMPTON.—A village on the Bure, 24 m.S.E. from Aylsham. The
old Hall is now a farm-house.

BRANCASTER.—A coastline village 5 m. W.N.W. from Burn-
ham Market station. The church is a flint building in the Per-
pendicular style, with a clerestoried nave and fine embattled tower.
This place is the site of the Roman station of Branodonum, which
was garrisoned by Dalmatian cavalry commanded by an officer
called the ‘‘ Count of the Saxon Shore.” Scarcely a trace of this
encampment, which was connected by a Roman road with a
station at Caister near Yarmouth, is now to be seen. The links
of the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club are on a common near the-
beach.

BRANDISTON.—A village 2 m. S. from Cawston station. The Hall,
an enlarged Jacobean mansion, erected in 1647, contains some
good carving.

BRANDON (pp. 54-56).—A small market town with a station 6 m:
W. from Thetford. Part of this place is in Suffolk. Its church
contains some Norman work. The manufacture of gun-flints is
still carried on here, considerable quantities being made for ex-
port to the Arab tribes of Africa. The neighbourhood is noted
for its prolific production of flint implements, both prehistoric and
spurious. An extended reference to Brandon, its curious industry,
and prehistoric remains is made in Itinerary IV.

BRANDON PARVA.—A parish on the Yare, 23m. N. from Hardingham
station.

BRECKLES.—A village 13 m. S. from Stow Bedon station. Its church
contains a Norman font, fine’carved oak screen, Norman arch,
an hour glass, a carved oak pulpit, and some good oak benches
with carved poppy heads. Ursula, wife of Sir William Hewyt,
was buried here in 1658 in an upright position. A black marble
tablet marks her grave and bears the words ‘‘Stat ut Vixit
Erecta.” ‘The Hall, a sixteenth century mansion, is now a farm-
house.

BRESSINGHAM.—A straggling village on the Suffolk border, 3 m.
N.W. from Diss station. , The church, rebuilt in 1527, has a
clerestoried nave and lofty embattled tower, and contains good
oak carving in its roof, pulpit, reading-desk, and pews.

BRETTENHAM.—A village on the Thet, 4 m. E. from Thetford. The
church is a modern one ; the original structure was destroyed by
fire in the seventeenth century.

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Norfolk

BRIDGHAM.—A village in the vale of the Thet, 2 m. S.W. from
Harling Road station. The church is a large building in the
Early English style, with a Norman south porch,

BRININGHAM.—A village 1 m. N. from Melton Constable station.

BRINTON.—A village 2 m. from Melton Constable station. The
church contains Saxon and Norman work, but has been con-
siderably restored and enlarged in later styles.

BRISLEY.—A parish 3 m. W. from North Elmham station. The
church contains some sixteenth century brasses and an ancient
rood screen.

BRISTON.—A large village 1 m. E. from Melton Constable station.

BROCKDISH.—A village on the Waveney, 4 m. S.W. from Harleston.
The church benches are ornamented with some handsome poppy
heads, and there are also some remains of a painted rood screen.
A house here called ‘‘ The Grove,” built in 1672, has a fine oak
staircase.

BROOKE.—A village 6 m. S. by E. from Trowse station. The Lodge
is an Elizabethan mansion.

BROOME.—A village 1 m. N.W. from Ellingham station. A fine
carved oak reredos was presented to the church in 1891.

BRUMSTEAD.—A parish 1 m. N. from Stalham station.

BRUNDALL (p. 153).—A village on the Yare, with a station, 63 m

E. from Norwich. This is a noted Broadland resort. It affords
excellent fishing, boats being obtainable at Coldham Hall and
the Yare Hotel, where is also accommodation for visitors. In
the church is a curious font covered with lead, supposed to date
from the twelfth century. In Bradeston Church, now included
in Brundall parish, is Saxon workmanship, and a brass to
Osbert, a son of John Berney of Reedham, who was WO SNES at
the siege of Caister Castle in. 1469.

BUCKENHAM FERRY (p. 159).—A village on the Yare, 8 m. E. from
Norwich... Its station is the nearest to Rockland Broad. The
arms of the family of Gonsalve, lords of the manor until the end
of the sixteenth century, may be seen in the carved wainscot of
the old Hall, now a farmhouse.

BUCKENHAM, NEw.—A small town 5 m. S.E. from Attleborough.
The church is a fine building in the late Perpendicular style, and
has a clerestoried nave of five bays and embattled tower. Inn:
George.

BUCKENHAM, OLD.—A village 3 m: S. by E. from Attleborough.
An ancient earthwork known as ‘‘Bunn’s Bank” divides Old
Buckenham from Attleborough. It can be traced for nearly
three miles. Here are also a few traces of an Augustinian priory,
founded by William D’Albini, a follower of the Conqueror, on
the site of a castle which stood within similar earthworks to those

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at Castle Acre and Castle Rising. Some remains of a dungeon
are all that is left of this Norman stronghold, but the earthworks,
overgrown with trees, are practically undisturbed.

‘BUCKENHAM TOFTS.—A small parish 6 m, N.E. from Brandon
station.

BUNWELL.—A scattered village 4 m. W. from Forncett station.

BurGH.—A village on the Bure, 2 m. S.E. from Aylsham. The
upper stage of its church’s chancel has a range of fine lancets,
arcaded on the inside; the lower stage has continuous arcading.
An Early English archway in the north wall opens into a chapel.
This striking work dates from about the year 1200.

“BURGH-APTON.—A scattered village 34 m. from Loddon and 5 m.
S. by W. from Buckenham station.

BuRGH, FLEGG.—A parish 2 m. S.W. from Martham station. It
formerly consisted of two parishes (Burgh St Margaret and St
Mary). Only a small portion of the tower of St Mary’s Church
remains. St Margaret’s is a flint building in the Decorated and
Perpendicular styles, with a Late Norman doorway.

BURGH ST PETER (p. 187).—A village on the Waveney, 25 m. from
Carlton Colville station by ferry and marsh footpath. The
church has a curious tower, consisting of five storeys, each smaller
than the one immediately below it. The interior of the church
somewhat resembles a cloister, being about 110 feet long and
little more than 14 feet wide. ‘There is a riverside landing-stage
here, where boating parties on the Waveney land to obtain a
closer view of the church.

- BURLINGHAM, NorRTH.—A scattered village 14 m. N. from Lingwood
station. The church, a flint building in the Gothic style, contains
‘some remains of a good carved oak screen.

BURLINGHAM ST PETER.—A parish 14 m. N.E. from Lingwood
station.

BURLINGHAM, SouTH.—A parish adjoining Lingwood station. The
church, a "small thatched building, contains a fifteenth century
pulpit, on hour-glass stand, and a fifteenth century rood screen,
There are also some interesting frescoes, one of the fourteenth cen-
tury portraying the murder of Thomas a Becket.

BURNHAM DEEPDALE.—A small village near the coast, 24 m. N.W.
from Burnham Market station. The church, an ancient building
in the Norman style, with a round tower, contains a Norman font
adorned with carved figures representing the twelve months of the
year.

BURNHAM MARKET.—A small town, with a station, between Lynn
and Wells. The church is a flint building in the Early English
and Decorated styles, with a clerestoried nave and embattled tower.
The tower battlements are ornamented with figures representing

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Norfolk

events of the New Testament narrative, from the ‘‘ Salutation”
to the ‘‘Crucifixion.’”” Among the places of interest in the
neighbourhood are Holkham Park, Creake Abbey, Norton
Priory, and Burnham Thorpe, the birthplace of Lord Nelson.
The chief hotel is the Hoste Arms.

BURNHAM NoRTON.—A parish comprising a village called Norton
Street, 1} m. N. by E. from Burnham Market. The church,
which stands on a hill fronting the sea, is a fine flint building in
the Perpendicular style, with a lofty round tower of ancient date.
The pulpit is adorned with paintings of the four Doctors of the
Church and portraits of John Goldale and his wife, who gave it.
There is also an ancient screen. In this parish are scanty re-
mains of a Carmelite friary, founded in 1241 by Sir Richard de
Hemenhale. ‘The gateway has been restored.

BURNHAM OvERY.—A small seaport including the village of Burn-
ham Overy Staithe, 1 mile E. by N. from Burnham Market. The
church is in the Norman style. Overy Staithe is a pleasant vil-
lage with a harbour to accommodate small coasting craft.
There is a wide sandy beach.

BURNHAM SUTTON AND ULPH.—A small village adjoining Burnham
Market. The church of St Albert is an ivy-clad ruin.

BURNHAM THORPE.—A village 1 m. E. by S. from Burnham Market
station. ‘The birthplace of Lord Nelson, whose father, the Rev.
Edmund Nelson, M.A., was rector of the parish from 1755 to
1802. The old rectory in which the hero of the Nile and Tra-
falgar spent his childhood has been pulled down. Nelson always
had a great affection for it and his native village, and when raised
to the peerage assumed the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile and
of Burnham Thorpe. ‘The church contains an oak lectern, con-
structed from a portion of H.M.S. Victory, presented by the
Lords of the Admiralty. A Nelson Memorial Hall, which serves
as a village reading and lecture hall, has been erected here, and
contains an oil-painting copied from Abbot's picture in the Green-
wich Gallery, and a curious tablet representing Nelson’s death.
Her Majesty the Queen and the Prince of Wales are patrons of a
fund for the restoration of the church. ‘The first meeting of the
committee was held at Marlborough House in 1890, when it was
decided that this restoration should be carried out as a memorial
to Lord Nelson, Sir Arthur Blomfield, A.R.A., stating that the
church was ‘‘a good specimen of the churches of a county un-
usually rich in medizeval ecclesiastical architecture,” and adding
that if carefully repaired it might be made a noble memorial.
The sum (£7000) necessary to complete the work has not yet
been raised, although members of the Royal family and others
have contributed liberally.

BuRSTON.—A village 3 m. N. by E. from Diss, with a station on the
Norwich and Ipswich line.

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.

BuxToNn.—A village on the Bure, with a station called Buxton Lam-
mas on the East Norfolk line.

-BYLAUGH.—A parish on the north bank of the Wensum, 33 m. S.E.
from North Elmham station. The Hall is a fine mansion, de-
signed by the late Sir Charles Barry for the late Sir John Lombe
Bart., a representative of the families of Foliot and Hastings.
Its interior is decorated by the work of German artists, and it
stands in a park of about 1000 acres.

CAISTER (pp. 78-80).—A coast village with a station 2 m. N. from
Yarmouth. Formerly there were two churches here, but of one
of these only a portion of the tower remains. Caister Castle,
built by Sir John Fastolff in the middle of the fifteenth century,
is one of the most interesting ruins in the county. A charge of
twopence is made for admission to the grounds in which the
castle stands. Visitors staying in Yarmouth can journey by train
to Caister from the Beach station, or by wagonettes which run
from near St Nicholas Church. The wagonettes stop at the
village, from which the castle is distant about 14 miles.

CAISTOR ST EDMUND (pp. 38-40).—A scattered village 3 m. S.
from Norwich and 2 m. N. from Swainsthorpe station. This
place, the Venta Icenorum of the Romans, is remarkable for its
well-preserved Roman camp, of which some account will be
found on p. 39. The church, within the ramparts of the camp,
contains a fine Perpendicular font.

CALDECOTE.—A parish 5 m. S. from Narborough station.
CALTHORPE.—A village 4 m. from Aylsham.

CANTLEY.—A parish 10 m. E. from Norwich, with a ferry on the
Yare and a station on the Norwich and Yarmouth line. This is
a Broadland angling resort. Boats may be hired at the Red
House Inn, near the station.

CARBROOKE.—A village 2 m. N.E. from Watton station. The
church, a fine Perpendicular building, contains a good carved oak
screen and some old armour. In the chancel are the tombs of
Roger de Clare, the founder of the church, and his mother.

CARLETON RODE.—A scattered village 4 m. N.W. from Tivetshall
station. The church is a flint Perpendicular building, with a
clerestoried nave and embattled tower. There is a piscina in
each aisle, and a double piscina and eight consecration crosses in
the chancel.

CARLETON ST PETER.—A village 25 m. S. from Buckenham station,
near which is a ferry across the Yare.

CARLTON, EAsT.—A scattered village 2 m. W. from Swainsthorpe
- Station.

CARLTON FoREHOE.—A village 2 m. E, from Kimberley station.

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Castle Acre.—A village 44m. N. from Swaffham. The river Nar
flows through the parish and provides trout fishing. There are
ruins here of a Norman castle and Cluniac priory. These are
described on p. 128.

Castle Rising.—A parish on a stream called the Babingley River, 2
m. E. from North Wootton station. This place was once a con-
siderable town. It is now chiefly visited for its ruined castle,
built by William D’Albini in 1171 (pp. 109-10). The church, a
fine example of late Norman work, probably dates from the early
part of the twelfth century. The Bede House is referred to on
p. III.

’

CastTon.—A village 15 m. N.E. from Stow Bedon station. The
church, a fine building in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles,
contains a Jacobean pulpit, some benches adorned with poppy
heads, the base of a rood screen, and a brass candelabrum from
Waltham Abbey. A tomb casing in the north wall of the nave is
possibly that of Sir John de Caston, the founder of the church.
The church farmhouse was formerly a refectory for pilgrims to
Walsingham.

CATFIELD.—A village near the Ant, with a station, 14 m. N.E. from
Norwich. The parish includes parts of Hickling and Barton
Broads. A carved oak screen divides the church chancel and
nave.

CATTON.—A picturesque Norwich suburb. The church contains
some interesting monuments, including one in the Gothic style,
exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

CawsToNn.—A large village, with a station, 4 m. S.W. from Ayls-
ham. Its fine Perpendicular church is one which no one who
visits the neighbourhood, and is interested in ecclesiastical
architecture, should fail to see. Its nave has a splendid open
roof with double hammer beams, the lower arches of which are
carried on wooden shafts, rising between the clerestory windows.
Its rood screen is an unusually fine one. There is a sacristy, used
as a morning chapel, on the south side of the chancel. Near the
Woodrow Inn a small stone pillar marks the spot where Sir
Henry Hobart, Bart., and M.P., fell ina duel fought with Mr
Oliver Le Neve on August 21st, 1698. Sir Henry Hobart, who
lived at Blickling Hall, where his armorial bearings may still be
seen over the door, was the father of the first Earl of Buckingham-
shire.

CHEDGRAVE.—A village on the north bank of the Chet, adjoining
Loddom, and 5 m.S.E. from Buckenham station. Its church,
an ancient building in the Norman style, has good Norman door-
ways, and its windows contain some stained glass brought by
Lady Procter Beauchamp from Rouen Cathedral after the French
Revolution.

CHOSELEY.—A small parish 3 m. N. by W. from Docking station.

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CLAXTON.—A village 2 m, S. from Buckenham station. The church
contains an interesting tomb, dated 1620, to the Gawdy family.
Near Claxton manor-house, now a farmhouse, are the ruins of a
castellated mansion.

CLENCHWARTON.—A village with a station, 2m. W. from Lynn by
ferry. Salt marshes extend from here to the Wash, and much of
the land is reclaimed fen.

CLEY.—A small coast town 12 m. W. from Cromer and 4 m.
N.N.W. from Holt station. Its very interesting church is
described on p. 92, The chief hotels are the ‘‘ George” and
‘« Temperance,”

CLIPPESBY.— A parish 3 m. S.W. from Martham station. Its little
church is Norman and Early English, and has two Norman
doorways. In it are brasses dated 1508 and 1594.

CocKLEY CLEY.—A parish 4 m. S.W. from Swaffham, Its church
is Early English. An ancient chapel of St Mary is now a cottage.

COCKTHORPE.—A village 5 m. E.S.E. from Wells. Its church,
; chiefly Early English, contains monuments to Sir John Calthorpe,
who died in 1615, and his wife. This village was the birthplace
of Sir Cloudesley Shovel. There are to be seen here some re-
mains of a large mansion formerly the seat of the Calthorpe
family.

CoLpy.—A village 34 m. N.E. from Aylsham.
COLKIRK.—A village 2 m. S. from Fakenham.
COoLNEY.—A parish near the Yare, 3 m. W. from Norwich.

COLTISHALL.—A large village on the Bure, 7m. N. from Nor-
wich, with a station on the Wroxham and Aylsham line. The
church is in the Early English style. Its west doorway and
tower battlements are adorned with some curious figures. This
place is a Broadland angling resort. Boats may be hired at the
Anchor Inn, and there is accommodation for visitors at the
King’s Head, White Horse, New Inn, and elsewhere in the
village,

CoLTon.—A village on the Yare, 4 m. N.E. from Kimberley station.
Its small Early English church contains a good screen, the seats
have some carved poppy heads, and there is a holy water stoup
inside the south door.

COLVESTON.—A parish 6 m. N. from Brandon station. The church
has almost disappeared.

CoNGHAM.—A village 1 m. E. by N. from Grimstone Road station.
The birthplace of Sir Henry Spelman, the famous Elizabethan
antiquary.

Corpusty.—A village with a station, 6m. N.W. from Aylsham.

CosTESsSEY (called ‘‘ Cossey’’).—A village on the Wensum, 1 m. S.W.

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Norfolk

from Drayton station. The church is a large building chiefly in
the Gothic style, but with a Norman south doorway. It con-
tains a Gothic screen, a Jacobean pulpit, and monuments of the
Waldegrave and Jerningham families. The Costessey estate
was granted by Queen Mary to Sir Henry Jerningham, her Vice-
Chamberlain and Master of the Horse. The Old Hall and New
Hall (the seat of Lord Stafford) are described on pp. 121-2. The
latter contains a portrait of Queen Mary by Ho/éezn, another of
Richard III., and a drawing by Vandyck of the Earl of Arundel
and his family. One of the rooms is fitted up with carved wood-
work of the fifteenth century from the abbey of St Amand, at
Rouen.

CosTton.—A parish on the Yare, 1 m. N.E. from Hardingham
station. ‘The church is an ancient building.

CRANWICH.—A parish on the Wissey, 6 m. N. from Brandon station.
The church is an ancient building with a round tower.

CRANWORTH.—A village 4 m. W. from Hardingham station. Its
thirteenth-century church contains some interesting memorials
to the Gurdon family, including one to Brampton Gurdon, M.P. —
for Sudbury, who commanded the Suffolk Horse at the battle of
Naseby ; also some carved oak choir stalls and an old oak
screen. The village ‘‘ stocks” are still standing on the church
‘green.

CREAKE, NorTH.—A village 3 m. S.E. from Burnham Market '
station. The church, a fine building in the Decorated and Per-
pendicular styles, contains an Easter sepulchre and a good
brass with effigy of Sir William Calthorpe. At the north end
of the parish are the ruins of an abbey founded about 1226 by
Sir Robert de Nereford for Augustinian canons.

CREAKE, SouTH.—A village 4 m. 8. from Burnham Market station.
The church contains an oak rood screen, and has some good
windows with old stained glass ; also a massive cedar-lined oak
chest with five locks. About half a mile from the church is a
remarkable fortification, supposed to be Saxon. ‘The road which
leads to it is called ‘‘ Bloodgate,” and there is a tradition that it
was the scene of a battle between the Saxons and Danes.

CRESSINGHAM, GREAT.—A village on the Wissey, 44 m. S.W. from
Holme Hale station. The church is a fine Gothic building with
a carved oak roof. The font has an oaken canopy, and there are
some old brasses. The manor-house, a fifteenth-century mansion,
now a farmhouse, is very interesting.

CRESSINGHAM, LITTLE.—A village 34 m..W. from Watton station.
The church, partly in ruins, has some carved poppy heads in the
chancel, and contains a monument to the first and only Earl of
Clermont.

CRIMPLESHAM.—A village 23 m. E. from Downham station.
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CRINGLEFORD.—A village on the Yare, 3 m. S.W. from Norwich
(Victoria) station.

Cromer (pp. 85-89).—This well-known town, the most delightful
seaside resort on the Norfolk coast, is about twenty-two miles
N. from Norwich, and 130 from London. It stands on cliffs
which rise to a considerable height, and is sheltered by well-
wooded hills. Of late years its popularity has so increased that
its inhabitants have had difficulty in accommodating the great
numbers of visitors; but the erection of new hotels, streets, and
boarding houses has made ample provision for all comers. The
undermining influence of the waves formerly did much damage
to Cromer ; indeed Old Cromer or Shipden has entirely disap-
peared into the sea; but the erection of a stone-walled esplanade
has served to protect the existing town, and it is only east and
west of the town that the cliffs are now subject to occasional Jand-
slips, such as have necessitated the reconstruction of the light-
house. ‘There is excellent bathing, and the beach is one of the
finest on the coast. ‘* The best of the sea’s lutes,” said Mr
Theodore Watts to George Borrow, ‘‘is made by the sands of
Cromer.”’ The cliffs all along this part of the coast are of great
interest to geologists, for the Morwich Crag is to be seen at
Weybourne, and for miles the remarkable pre-glacial Forest
Bed is visible. Lyell says it consists of ‘‘stumps of numerous
trees, standing erect, with their roots attached to them,
and penetrating in all directions into the loam or ancient
vegetable soil on which they grew. ‘They mark the site of a
forest which existed there for a long time, since besides the
erect trunks of trees, some of them two and three feet in
diameter, there is a vast accumulation of vegetable matter
in the immediately overlying clays.’’ Above it, in the cliffs,
are sands and clays with lignite. Traces of many kinds of
plants and seeds are found in the forest bed, among them
firs, yews, oaks, and alders, and white and yellow water
lilies; also insects and fresh water shells. Far more _inter-
esting, however, are the mammalian remains, which include
those of ‘‘three distinct elephants, a rhinoceros and hippopo-
tamus, a large extinct beaver, and several large estuarian and
marine mammalia, such as the walrus, the narwhal, and the
whale.”

Cromer Church is a fine Perpendicular building of flint and
freestone, with a clerestoried nave of five bays, and an embattled
tower 159 feet high. Originally it was greatly ornamented with
sculptured work, and its Galilee porch is adorned with some
good figures of saints and angels. Some part of the old rood
turret remains. ‘There is fine tracery in the windows, and the
inlaid work along the plinth, and the panelling and niches in the
buttresses are particularly interesting. ‘The font is a copy ofa
very fine one in Yaxham Church. . The chancel, for a long time
in ruins, was restored in 1887-9 at a cost of nearly £7000, under
the direction of Sir Arthur W. Blomfield. : ig

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Norfolk

The Royal Cromer Golf Club’s links are on the Lighthouse
Hills about half a mile eastward of the town. Here a challenge
cup presented by the Prince of Wales, who is patron of the club,
isannually competed for. The present lighthouse, which replaces
one that, after standing a long time dismantled, fell over the cliff
in 1867, is only 52 feet high, but is about 252 feet above the level
of the sea.

The district for miles around the town provides delightful
rambles for field botanists, and is remarkable for its fine old
mansions, grand churches, prehistoric remains, and other objects
and places of antiquarian interest, most of which are dealt with
in the chapter ‘‘ By the Wild North Sea.’’ There are two railway
stations, one a G.E.R. terminus at which passengers from London
arrive by way of Norwich; the other, known asthe Beach Station,
is that of the Midland and Great Northern Companies.

The chief places of interest around Cromer are :—

Beeston Priory (p. 89), distant about 3 miles.

Gunton Park, nearest station Gunton.

Aylmerton ‘‘ Shrieking Pits” (p. 89), distant about 3 miles.

Overstrand (p. 86), distant about 2 miles.

Sidestrand, distant about 3 miles.

Mundesley, nearest station Mundesley.

Trimingham, distant 5 miles.

Blickling Hall (pp. 133-40), distant 2 miles from Aylsham
station.

Felbrigg, distant about 3 miles.

Heydon Hall, nearest station Bluestone.

- Gresham House ruins (p. 89), distant about 5 miles.

Wroxham Broad (p. 170), nearest station Wroxham.

Sheringham, distant a few minutes’ railway journey from the
Beach station. During the summer months omnibuses run each
week day between Cromer (G.E.R.) station and East and West
Runton and Sheringham in connection at Cromer with the
principal express trains from and to London.

The principal hotels are the Albion, Church Street; Bath,
Esplanade; Grand, West Cliff; Hotel de Paris, Jetty Street ;
Imperial, Norwich Road; King’s Head, High Street; Marl-
borough (private), Prince of Wales Road; Metropole, Tucker's
Street ; Royal Links, East Cliff; Red Lion, Brooks Street ; Ship,
Church Square, Suffield Park; ‘Tucker’s, Tucker's Street;
Tucker’s Esplanade, Esplanade; Wellington, Gordon Street ;
West Cliff (private); and White Horse, West Street.

Boarding-Houses: Beach House, East Cliff; Belmont, Prince
of Wales Road; Cannon House, West Cliff; Cliftonville, Cliff;
Granville, Church Street ; Lindhurst, Alfred Road ; Sandringham,
Church Square; Surrey House, East Cliff; Victoria, East Cliff;
and Westward Ho!, Prince of Wales Road.

CROSTWICK.—A village 34 m. S.W. from Salhouse station. — Its

church contains an old fresco of St Christopher, and remains of
the rood loft staircase.

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Gazetteer

CROSTWIGHT.—A parish 2m. N. from Honing station. Its church
contains a carved oak screen, a fine Norman font, and a brass
dated 1447.

CROWNTHORPE.—A village 1 m. E. from Kimberley station. The
church pulpit has some good carved oak panels.

CROXTON.—A village 2m. N. from Thetford.

DENTON.—A scattered village 14 m. N.E. from Homersfield station.
The church has a stone groined roof and contains some brasses.

DENVER.—A village, with a station, on the Ouse, 1 m. S. from
Downham Market. In the church is a black marble slab to the
memory of Dr Robert Brady, a native of this parish, who was
physician to Charles II. and James II., and for forty years
master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.

DEOPHAM.—A parish 3 m. S. from Kimberley station. The church
is a Decorated building with a fine Perpendicular tower.

DEREHAM, EAST (pp. 123-6).—A market town 16 m. W. by N.
from Norwich. This town was the birthplace of George Henry
Borrow, the author of ‘‘ Lavengro,” ‘‘ The Romany Rye,” ‘‘ The
Bible in Spain,” and other works whose popularity seems to
increase year by year. Borrow was very fond of his native town,
and refers to it with pride in the pages of his partly autobiographical
‘‘Lavengro.”’ The church of St Nicholas, an ancient building in
mixed styles, is famous for containing the tomb of the poet
Cowper, who died in Dereham in 1800. It isalso remarkable for
its fine Perpendicular font, dating from 1468, and contains an
ancient muniment chest taken from the ruins of Buckenham
Castle ; also two small fifteenth century brasses. The detached
bell-tower was formerly used as a prison for French prisoners-of-
war.

The house in which Cowper and his old friend Mrs Unwin died
stood in the market-place, where its site is marked by a Con-
gregational Chapel, called the ‘‘ Cowper Memorial Church.” <A
monument in front of the chapel bears the following inscription,
written by Dean Stanley :—

WILLIAM COWPER
SPENT THE LAST YEARS OF HIS LIFE
UNDER THE CARE OF FAITHFUL FRIENDS.
HE LIES BURIED IN THE PARISH CHURCH
HAVING GIVEN UP HIS SOUL TO GOD
April 25th, 1800.
‘IT was a stricken deer that left the herd _
Long since. With many an arrow deep infix’d
My panting side was charged when I withdrew
To seek a tranquil death in distant shades.
There was I found by One who had himself

Been hurt by the archers. In his side he bore,
And in his hands and feet, the cruel scars.”

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Norfolk

Formerly there was a large church and nunnery here, founded in
the seventh century by Withburga, daughter of Anna, King of
the East Angles. When Withburga died her body was buried
in the churchyard, but afterwards removed into the church,
where it remained until the reign of King Edgar, when it was
conveyed to the monastery at Ely. When it was taken up from
the churchyard, a spring of pure water is said to have bubbled up
from the ground. This spring may still be seen in the church-
yard, surrounded by railings and sheltered by an arch which
bears an inscription (p. 125). In earlier times it is supposed to
have been used for baptismal purposes. The chief hotels are
the King’s Arms and King’s Head.

DEREHAM, WEST.—A village, with a station called ‘‘ Abbey,” 4 m.
S.E. from Downham Market. The church has a massive round
tower and contains some ancient stained glass believed to have
been removed from a Premonstratensian abbey founded here in
1188 by Hubert Walter, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury.
Here are monuments to the Dereham family, one of elaborate
workmanship in coloured marbles, erected at the beginning of
the eighteenth century ; also a life-size marble statue of Colonel
Soame, who died in 1706. Francis Dereham, the lover of
Katherine Howard, and who was executed in 1542, was a
member of an old family which took its name from this place.
In the middle of the sixteenth century, the Abbey Farm was
held by Thomas Tusser, author of the ‘‘ Five Hundred Points
of Good Husbandry.”

DERSINGHAM (p. 108).—A village, with a station, adjoining Sand-
ringham. The church is a large and ancient building in the
Perpendicular style, with an embattled western tower which has
four carved angels for pinnacles. The chancel, which has
windows of the Decorated period, is divided from the nave by a
carved oak screen. In the south aisles is an altar-tomb with
a brass dated 1607; and there is a curious ‘‘leper window”’ on
the south side of the chancel, and an old font with a carved oak
cover. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales is one of the landowners of
this parish.

DICKLEBURGH with LONGMERE.—A large village 2 m. E. from
Burston station. In the church is an elaborate tablet to Dame
Frances Playters, who died in 1658; also the remains of a fine
screen.

DIDLINGTON.—A parish 5 m. E. from Stoke Ferry station. The
Hall, the seat of the Amherst family, stands in a park of about
1500 acres, and contains several good pictures and a valuable
library including many rare books and manuscripts. In the park
is a lake of about 50 acres.

DiLHAM.—A large village on the Ant, 2? m. E. from Worstead
station.

Diss.—A market town, with a station, 19 m. S.W. from Norwich.

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Gazetteer

The church, a large building in the Perpendicular style, has a
modern reredos of Caen stone, inlaid with coloured marbles and
adorned with bosses of spar and gold, and the emblems of the
Evangelists. South of the town is Diss Mere, a pond of about
5 acres connected with the Waveney. Westbrook Green, Walcot
Green, and Diss Heywood are adjoining hamlets. The principal
hotels are the Crown and King’s Head.

DITCHINGHAM.—A:scattered village, with a station, adjoining Bungay
(Suffolk). Ditchingham House, pleasantly situated on a wooded
bank sloping down to the Waveney, is the residence of Mr H.
Rider Haggard, the novelist.

DockING.—A parish and union town, with a station, 6 m. S.W.
from Burnham Market. The principal hotels are the Hare and
Plough. Summerfield is a parish connected with Docking.

DOWNHAM or DOWNHAM MARKET,.—A market town, with a station,
11 m. S. from Lynn, and on the east side of the Ouse. Its
church, originally Norman, was re-built in the Early English
style, and has recently been restored. The principal hotels are
the Crown and Castle.

DRAYTON.—A village, with a station, in the vale of the Wensum, 44
m. N.W. from Norwich. A field here is called Blood’s Dale
from a tradition that it was the scene of an Anglo-Saxon battle.
An ancient wayside cross in the village bears a French inscription
asking travellers to pray for the souls of William de Bellemont
and Joan his wife. Drayton Lodge is a portion of an ancient
castellated building formerly held by Sir John Fastolff of Caister
Castle, and by the Pastons (p. 84). An attack was made upon
it in 1465 by the Duke of Suffolk, who gained possession and
held it for some time.

DUNHAM, GREAT.—An old village 1 m. N.E. from Dunham station.
Some portions of the church are said to be of Saxon date, and
some bricks, apparently Roman, were used in its construction.
A Roman altar and some remains of a vanished church were dis-
covered in the rectory garden.

DUNHAM, LITTLE.—A village, with a station, 4 m. N.E. from
Swaffham,

Dunston.—A parish on the Tas, 13 m. N.E. from Swainsthorpe
station. The church contains a brass with effigies, dated 1649.

DUNTON-CUM-DOUGHTON.—A small village on the Wensum, 3 m. W.
from Fakenham.

EARLHAM.—A parish forming part of Norwich.

-EARSHAM.—A scattered village on the Waveney, with a station, 1 m.
W. from Bungay (Suffolk). The church, which contains a good
Perpendicular font, stands on an ancient encampment.

Easton.—A village 4 m. S.W. from Drayton station.
EATON.—A parish forming part of Norwich.

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Norfolk

Eccurs.—A parish on the Thet, $m. S. from Eccles Road station.

ECCLES-BY-THE-SEA.—A decayed coast parish 3 m. N.E. from Stal-
ham station. ‘The church was destroyed by the sea at the begin-
ning of the seventeenth century. Some remains of its tower are
still to be seen on the beach.

EDGEFIELD.—A parish 3 m. N.E. from Melton Constable station.

EDINGTHORPE.—A coast parish 34 N.E. from North Walsham
station. ‘The church contains a good Decorated screen.

EGMERE.—A small parish 3 m. W. from Walsingham station. The
church, now an ivy-clad ruin, was used as a barn by Sir Nicholas
Bacon of Stiffkey, Lord Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth.

ELLINGHAM.—A village, with a station, on the Waveney, 24 m.
N.E. from Bungay (Suffolk). The church, which dates from
the twelfth century, contains a painting representing ‘‘ The angel
liberating Peter,” and on the north wall of the nave a figure of
the head of a bishop.

ELLINGHAM, GREAT.—A village 3 m. N.W. from Attleborough
station.

ELLINGHAM, LITTLE.—A village 5 m. N.W. from Attleborough
station.

ELMHAM (or NORTH ELMHAM).—A village, with a station, 5 m. N.
from East Dereham. ‘This is a very ancient place, and was the
see of a bishopric from 673 to 870, when East Anglia was sub-
jected to a great Danish invasion. It was occupied again from
956 to about 1075, when Herfast, the first Norman bishop, who
came over with the Conqueror, removed it to Thetford. The
mound on which the bishop’s palace stood, and the fosse which
surrounded it, are still to be seen, together with a few fragments
of old walls. The church is a fine Perpendicular building, with
side chapels which are separated from the chancel by carved oak
screens. Elmham Hall was built in 1727. Its park contains a
herd of fallow deer.

ELsInGc.—A straggling village on the south side of the Wensum,
54 m. E.N.E. from Dereham. The church was built by Sir
Hugh Hastings, who died in 1347, and whose brass, somewhat
mutilated, is still preserved. ‘The font is a very good one, and
its canopy, which must originally have been a very fine one, is
said to be the oldest in England. Elsing Hall, now a farmhouse,
is an old moated mansion of the sixteenth century. Its entrance
hall, porch, and chapel, are the most ancient portions.

EMNETH.—A straggling village 1 m. S. from Emneth Road station.
Its:church, one of the finest in Marsbland, contains a good carved
oak rood screen, some interesting monuments, and an altar tomb
with two recumbent figures.

ERPINGHAM.—A village 24 m. N. from Aylsham Town station.
The church, a fine Early English building, contains the brass of

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Gazetteer

John of Erpingham, and is supposed to have been partly built by
Sir Thomas Erpingham, who fought at Agincourt, and is buried
in Norwich Cathedral (pp. 22-23).

FAKENHAM.—A small market town, with two stations, 34 m. N.W.
from Norwich. ‘The church is a flint building, chiefly in the
Decorated style, with a tower dating from the time of Henry
VI. It contains the brass of Henry Keys, who was rector in
the early part of the fifteenth century; also a richly carved
screen. Formerly a light was kept burning in the church in
honour of Henry VI. The chief inns are the Crown and Lion.
Raynham Hall (see East Raynham), is about 4 m. from Faken-
ham, and 14 m. S. from Raynham Park station.

FELBRIGG.—A parish 3 m. S.W. from Cromer. The church, in the
park of Felbrigg Hall, contains a fine bust by /Vollekens of the
- Rt. Hon. William Windham, the distinguished statesman who
lived at the Hall; also some exceptionally fine brasses of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The finest is that of Sir
Simon Felbrigg, who died in 1443, and who was standard-
bearer to Richard II. The Hall, an Early Tudor mansion,
contains some good pictures, including a Rembrandt and
some sea-fights by Vandervelde.

FELMINGHAM.—A parish, with a station, 24 m. from North
Walsham.

FELTHORPE.—A scattered village 5 m. S.E. from Cawston station.

FELTWELL.—A large village 3 m. N. from Lakenheath station.
There are two churches here, St Mary’s, which contains some
sixteenth-century brasses and a carved oak screen; and St
Nicholas’, used only as a mortuary chapel.

FERSFIELD.—A village 5 m. N.W. from Diss. The birthplace, in
1705, of Francis Blomefield, the historian of Norfolk, who was
rector here, and is buried in the church. The rectory in which
he lived is still standing; also the house in which he was
born.

FIELD DALLING.—A scattered village 4 m. N.N.E. from Thursford
station.

FiILBy.—A parish 2 m. S.W. from Ormesby station. The church
contains a fine oak screen, part of which, however, is modern.
Part of Filby Broad is in this parish.

FINCHAM.—A village 5 m. N.E.. from Downham Market. The
church, a large Perpendicular building, contains a Norman
font ornamented with interesting sculptures. Fincham Hall,
the ancient seat of the Finchams, was built in the reign of
Edward IV., but has been modernised.

FISHLEY.—A parish on the Bure, 14 m. from Acle station. The
church tower is probably partly Saxon.

FLITCHAM-WITH-APPLETON.—A village 1 m. N. from Hillington

bal)

Norfolk

station. There are some remains here of an Augustinian
priory founded by Sir Robert Aguillon in the reign of Henry
III. The hundred court was formerly held on a barrow
called ‘‘ Flitcham Bury,”

FLORDON.—A scattered village, with a station, 7 m. S. by W. from
Norwich.

FORDHAM.—A small village on the Wissey, with a station, 3 m. S.
from Downham.

FORNCETT St MaAry.—A village on the Tas, near Forncett station.

FORNCETT ST PETER.—A large village, with a station, 7 m. S.E.
from Wymondham. The church contains a fifteenth century
alabaster tomb, supposed to be that of the founder; also some
interesting brasses, and good fifteenth century poppy heads.

FOULDEN.—A scattered village on the Wissey, 54 m. E. from Stoke
Ferry station.

FOULSHAM.—A parish, with two stations, 12 m. W. from Aylsham.
The church, chiefly Perpendicular, contains a monument to
Sir Thomas Hunt, who died in 1616; also a brass dated 1424.
The old Hall, once occupied by Major-General Skippon, a
Parliamentary commander during the Commonwealth, is now a
farmhouse.

_ FoxLey.—A village 2 m. W. from Foulsham station.

FRAMINGHAM EARL.—A village 5 m. S.E. from Norwich. The
church, an ancient building in the Norman and Early English
styles, contains a fine Norman chancel arch.

FRAMINGHAM PiGoT.—A village 4 m, S.E. from Norwich.

FRANSHAM, GREAT. —A village, with a station, 64 m. W. from East
Dereham. In the church are two old brasses, one a fine one,
dated 1414, to Geoffry Fransham.

FRANSHAM, LITTLE.—A parish 1} m. S.E. from Fransham station.
The church has an ancient and curious font.

FREETHORPE. —A village 2 m. from Reedham station. In the
church is a fine marble tablet and bust to Edward Walpole.

FRENZE. —A parish 13 m. N.E. from Diss station. In the church
are several brasses to the Blennerhassets, the earliest dated 1475.

FRETTENHAM.—A village 3 m. W. from Coltishall station.

FRING.—A village 24 m. S.W. from Docking station. In the church
are some curious but dilapidated mural paintings.

FRITTON.—A village 44 in. E. from Forncett station. The church
contains a fine screen, some good frescoes, and a Norman door-
way. This place must not be confused with Fritton in Broadland,
which is in Suffolk.

FULMODESTON and CROXxTON.—United parishes and vila 2m.
S.E. from Thursford station.

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FUNDENHALL.—A scattered village 1 m. S. from Ashwellthorpe
station. The church, an ancient flint building with a massive
central tower, has a Norman doorway.

GARBOLDISHAM.—A village 5 m. S. from Harling Road station,
The church of St John the Baptist is a fine Perpendicular build-
ing, with some Latin inscriptions over the south porch. Of
another church (All Saints) only the tower remains.

GARVESTONE.—A village near Thuxton station, 5 m. S. from
Dereham.

GASTHORPE.—A village 5 m. S. from Harling Road station. The
church is in ruins.

GATELEY.—A parish 2 m. S. from Ryburgh station. The Hall,
built in 1726, has its interior elaborately ornamented with
plasterwork.

GAYTON.—A large village 24 m. N.E. from East Winch station.
The church tower has four statues of the Evangelists in place of
pinnacles.

GAYTON THORPE.—A village 25 m. N.E. from East Winch station.

Gaywoop.—A village partly within the borough of Lynn. The
church, a cruciform building in the Early English style, has a
good Norman doorway, and contains two old Dutch paintings,
one of Queen Elizabeth at Tilbury Fort, the other of Gunpowder
Plot. The Hospital of St Mary Magdalene was first founded
here in 1174 by Peter the Chaplain. It was re-founded in the
reign of James I., burnt down at the siege of Lynn, and rebuilt
in 1649. An old gabled house in the village street has some
ancient ornamental ironwork in front.

GELDESTON.—A village on the Waveney, with a station, 24 m.
N.W. from Beccles.

GILLINGHAM.—A village 1 m. N.E. from Beccles. The church of
St Mary is curiously constructed, and contains some Early Nor-
man work and a Perpendicular screen. All Saints’ Church is in
ruins. The Hall was built in the reign of James I.

GIMINGHAM.—A village 3 m. N.E. from Gunton station.

GIssING.—A village 2 m. N. from Burston station. Its church,
chiefly in the Decorated style, has a fine Norman doorway, a
carved oak roof, and contains some curious monuments to the
Kemp family, one dated 1612.

GLANDFORD.—A village 34 m. N.W. from Holt station. The
church is partly in ruins.

GOODERSTONE.—A village 4 m. N.E. from Stoke Ferry station.
The church, a large building in the Early English style, contains
some ancient stained glass and a carved and painted rood screen.

GRESHAM (p. 89).—A parish 5 m. S.W. from Cromer. This place
is believed to have given its name to the family of Sir Thomas

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Gresham, the founder of the Royal Exchange and Gresham Col-
lege. The church, an ancient building with a good south porch,
contains a curiously sculptured font. Ason of the poet Chaucer
formerly held the manor. There are some remains here of the
large castellated house which Sir Edmund Bacon held in 1318,
and which Margaret Paston and her household defended against
the attacks of Lord Molynes and a thousand men-at-arms. The
remains, however, are scanty. ‘‘ At the further end (of a meadow)
the trees form a circle, and coming closer one finds that the little
mount on which they grow is surrounded by water dark with
reeds, and that the moss and ivy are thick upon the tree trunks.
As yet, though, there is no castle in sight, and it is not until one
pushes a way through the tangled ferns and reeds, and the masses
of ivy and meadow-sweet, that the first indications of what must
once have been a fine stronghold are discovered. ‘The trees shut
it in completely, the mosses and hart’s-tongues and grasses, the
spiky loosestrife and the ivy cover the fragments that remain of
the four huge towers originally standing in the great square of
the castle.” —Sunrise-land.

GRESSENHALL,—A village 3m. N.W. from Dereham. The church,
a large cruciform flint building, contains a painted screen.

GRIMSTONE.—A large parish 12 m. E. from Grimstone Road station.
The church is chiefly Early English. An anvil marks the grave
of a blacksmith buried in the churchyard. ‘The rectory occupies

‘the site of a moated manor house. In the reign of Edward II.
the manor was held by Benedict de Breecles, who possessed a
right called ‘‘ lovebene,” to the effect that ‘‘all residents in Grim-
ston, having horses with a cart, shall work for the lord redeem-
ing the common of Grimston, one day’s journey of barley seed
time ; and all keeping cows on the common shall do a day’s work
in harvest time, and at three o’clock they shall have flesh to eat
and ale to drink, and three loaves in the evening.”

GRISTON.—A village 2 m. S.E. from Watton station. The church
bears an inscription to the effect that ‘‘An. Do. 1568 was thys

steple tope newe set up to the greate coste of landed men.” The
pulpit has a fine canopy.

GUESTWICK.—A scattered village, with a station, 4 m. N.W. from
Reepham. The church is Early English and stands on the site
of an earlier one of which the tower and two Norman arches
remain. It contains some old brasses.

GuisT.—A parish 2 m. N. from Foulsham station.

GUNTHORPE.—A village 14 m. from Thursford station. The church,
a fine building in the Early English style, contains a memorial
window to Henry Astley Sparke, killed in the Balaclava Charge.

GuUNTON.—A parish 25 m. from Gunton station and 4h m. S. from
Cromer. Gunton Hall, the seat of Lord Suffield, stands in a
park of tooo acres. The road, at the N.E, corner of the park,

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passes under the arch of a tower 120 feet high, commanding a
wide view. Park and gardens are thrown open to the public on
certain days of the week.

HACKForRD.—A village 1 m. S. from Kimberley station. The church
contains remains of a rood loft and some traces of mural
paintings.

HApDDpIScoE. —A village, with a station 14 m. from the houses, 5% m.
N. from Beccles (Suffolk). The church has one of the finest
round towers in the county and contains other Norman portions,
a fine font, and the remains of some frescoes. The long ‘‘ dam”
across the marshes from the station to the village was constructed
by Dame Margaret Hobart in the reign of Henry VII.

HA.LEs.—A village 4 m. S.W. from Reedham station. The church
contains Norman work.

HALVERGATE.—A village 3 m. N. from Reedham station. ‘The
church tower has figures of the four Evangelists in place of
pinnacles.

HANWORTH.—-A village 34 m. W. from Gunton station.

HAPPISBURGH (HASEBORO’).—A coast village 5 m. N. from Stalham
station. The church, which stands in a high position, has a
lofty embattled tower, and contains a fine font and carved oak
screen. There is a lighthouse here, too feet high, for the
guidance of mariners in the neighbourhood of the dreaded
Happisburgh or Haseboro’ Sands. The cliffs here give way
to sandhills which extend to Yarmouth. ‘There is accommoda-
tion for visitors at the Hill House, the Swan, and elsewhere in
the village.

Hapton.—A village 14 m. W. from Flordon Station.

HARDINGHAM.—A scattered parish, with a station, 54 m. W. from
Wymondham. The Hall, erected toward the end of the seven-
teenth century, has been much altered.

HARDLEY (p. 159).—A parish 2 m. S.E. from Cantley station. In
this parish the river Chet enters the Yare.

HARDWICK.—A village 44 m. N.W. from Harleston station. The
church contains two fine altar tombs, one to Sir Peter Gleane,
who armed two companies of foot.on behalf of Charles I. during
‘the Civil War.

HARGHAM.—A parish 1 m. N. from Eccles Road station.

HARLESTON.—A market town on the Waveney, 19 m. S. from
Norwich. It contains the parish of Redenhall, where there is a
fine Perpendicular church, re-built by Thomas Plantagenet, eldest
son of Edward I. In the church are some stained glass armorial
bearings from the old chapel of Gawdy Hall; also some good
monuments. Gawdy Hall, an Elizabethan moated mansion, is
within easy walking distance of the town. ‘The principal hotels
are the Swan and the Magpie.

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Norfolk

HARLING, EAST.—A small market ‘‘town,” with a station called
‘‘Harling Road,” 9 m. N.E. from Thetford. The church, a
Perpendicular building with two chancel chapels, contains, in
the Harling Chapel, an altar-tomb with effigies to Sir Robert
Harling, who was slain in the defence of Paris in 1435; also
a very fine altar-tomb, with recumbent effigies, to Sir Thomas
Lovell, who died in 1600; and the tomb of Sir William Chamber-
lain, K.G., who built the church, and died in 1462. There are
some remains of carved screens, and in the vestry is a very old
wooden chest. ‘The principal inn is the Swan.

HARLING, WEsT.—A parish 24 m. S. from Harling Road station.
The church contains some fifteenth century brasses, and a tomb,
with effigy, to William Berdwell, whose old hall was pulled
down at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

HARPLEY,—A village 4 m. from Massingham station. The church
has a curiously carved oak door and a rood screen.

HASSINGHAM.—A parish 1 m. E, from Buckenham station.

HAUTBOIS, GREAT.—A village on the Bure, adjoining Coltishall,
where there is a station. The old church is in ruins.

HAUTBOIS, LITTLE.—See LAMMAS.

HAVERLAND.—A village 24 m. N. by E. from Attlebridge station.
All the church windows are of stained glass.

HAYNFORD.—A scattered village 54 m. W. from Wroxham station.

HEACHAM.—A coast village, with a station, 3 m. from Hunstanton.
This is a very delightful village with a firm sandy beach. The
church, a fine building with a good decorated east window,
contains some monuments to the Rolfe family, of which the
Indian princess Pocahontas became a member through marrying
John Rolfe, a companion of Sir Walter Raleigh. This John
Rolfe, who went out to Virginia three hundred years ago,
arrived there a year or two before Pocahontas, the daughter of
Powhatan, a powerful Indian chief, was brought by force to
Jamestown. After his marriage to Her he returned to England,
where his wife was presented to James I. and his Queen. He
intended to revisit Virginia, but before the vessel in which he
and his wife were to sail had left the Thames, Pocahontas, whose
health had been undermined by the English climate, died. She
was buried in Gravesend church. She left a son from whom
several prominent American families claim descent. Among the
monuments in the church is one to Eustace Rolfe, who died in
1593, and who was the grandfather of John Rolfe. Accommo-
dation for visitors is provided at the West Norfolk Hotel and
Wheatsheaf Inn.

HECKINGHAM.—A scattered village on the Chet, 4 m. S.W. from
Geldston station.

HEDENHAM.—A village 25 m. from Ditchingham station. The
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Gazetteer

church, a fine early English building, contains many memorials
to the Bedingfield family.

HEIGHAM.—A parish forming part of Norwich.
HELHOUGHTON.—A parish ? m. S.W. from Raynham Park station.

HELLESDON—A village, with a station, 2 m. N.W. from Norwich.
The church contains some brasses.

HELLINGTON.—A village 4 m. S. from Buckenham station.
HEMBLINGTON.—A village 3 m. N.E. from Brundall station.

HEMPNALL.—A large.village on the Tas, 34 m. N.E. from Flordon
station.

HEMPSTEAD.—A coast parish 4 m. N.E. from Stalham station.
HEMPSTEAD-BY-HOLT.—A parish 2 m. S.E. from Holt station.

HEMPTON.—A parish on the Wensum, adjoining Fakenham. The
church has a good modern reredos.

HEMSBY.—A coast parish, with a station, 6 m. N. from Yarmouth.

HETHEL.—A scattered village 2 m. N. from Ashwellthorpe station.
The church contains a fine monument, with recumbent effigies,
to Myles Branthwaite, who died in 1612, and a brass to his
daughter, who died in 1621. The rectory is a moated house.
A thorn tree, known as the ‘‘ Hethel Thorn,” is said to date
from the reign of King John. Hethel Wood Farm, formerly
called Potash Farm, was the residence of Blomfield Rush, who
murdered Mr Jermyn, Recorder of Norwich, and his son, at
Stanfield Hall (p. 43).

HETHERSETT.—A large village, with a station, 4 m. N.E. from
Wymondham. ‘Thechurch contains a fourteenth century altar-
tomb, with effigies to Sir R. Berney and his wife. The stump of
the Oak of Reformation, under which, in 1549, Robert Kett and
his followers swore to do away with the abuses of church and
state, stands in this parish, on the Wymondham turnpike.

HEVINGHAM.—A scattered village 3 m. W. from Buxton Lammas
station.

HEYDON.—A village 3 m. N.W. from Cawston station and 2 m.
W. by N. from Bluestone station. The church contains some
brasses. Heydon Hall, an Elizabethan mansion, built in 1581,
was formerly occupied by the first Lord Lytton. On the stone
balustrade which adorns the roof are some curious figures, and
above the doors are several shields of arms.

HICKLING (p. 180).—A Broadland parish 3 m. N.E. from Cat-
field station. There are scanty remains here of a priory founded
in 1685. Hickling Broad, a shallow sheet of water three miles in
circumference, is the largest of the Norfolk broads. Boats may
be hired at the Pleasure Boat Inn.

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Norfolk

HILBOROUGH.—A village 6 m. S. from Swaffham. There are some
ruins here of a pilgrims’ chapel.

HiLGay.—A large village 1 m. S. from Ryston station and 3% m.
FE, from Hilgay Fen station. Phineas Fletcher, author of the
‘‘ Purple Island,” was rector here from 1621 until the civil war.
The old Hall was formerly a seat of the abbots of Ramsey. There
are 6000 acres of fen in this parish.

HILLINGTON.—A village, with a station, 7 m. N.E. from Lynn.
The church contains some fine old tombs of the Hovel and
Ffoulkes families. "The Hall, built in 1627, has been much en-
larged. At the entrance gate are remains of four ancient crosses.

HINDOLVESTON (called HILDERSTON).—A village, with a station, 8
m. E. from Fakenham. In the churchis a fine brass, dated 1568.

HINDRINGHAM.—A straggling village 4 m. E. from Walsingham
station. The old moated Hall is now a farmhouse.

HINGHAM.—A small market town 3 m. S. W. from Kimberley station.
The church is a fine building in the Late Decorated and Perpen-
dicular styles. Its east window is filled with stained glass obtained
abroad in 1813 by Lord Wodehouse of Kimberley. In the chan-
cel is a fine but defaced altar-tomb to Thomas, Lord Morley,
Marshall of Ireland, who died in 1435. A covenant remains by
which Henry V. agrees that this Lord Morley should have all the
prisoners he could take except kings, princes, and king’s sons.
On the north side of the chancel are remains of what is supposed
to have been a sacristy. There are also some interesting mural
paintings.

HOCKERING.—A village 6 m. E. from Dereham.

HocKHAM, GREAT.—A village 2 m. N.E. from Wretham station.
The church, the tower of which has fallen, stands in the park of
Hockham Hall.

HOCKWOLD-CUM-WILTON.—A village 1 m. N. from Lakenheath
station. The church of St James (Wilton) contains an ancient
carved oak screen.

Hor.—A village 24 m. N. from Dereham.

HOLKHAM.—A coast village, with a station, 12 m. W. from Wells.
The church stands on an artificial mound, supposed to be of
Saxon construction, and close to a tumulus. It contains a
splendid monument, with a recumbent figure, by Sir J. E. Boehm,
to the late Countess of Leicester, and other monuments of the
Coke family. On the Holkham marshes is a large Roman camp.
Holkham Hall, the seat of the Earls of Leicester, is famous for its
priceless collection of art treasures, which includes the follow-
ing :—Pictures: The original cartoon of ‘‘ La Belle Jardiniére,”’
Raphael; ‘‘ Joseph recognised by his Brethren,” Raphael; “‘ A
Storm,” Poussin ; ‘‘ Return from the flight into Egypt,” Aaudens ;
‘‘Duke of Aremberg,” Vandyck; ‘‘An Evening Landscape,”

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Claude Lorraine; ‘‘A Thunder Storm,” Poussin; ‘‘Duke of
Richmond,” Vandyck ; ‘‘ Landscape with the Sacrifice of Isaac,”
Domenichino; landscape, Salvator Rosa; ‘‘ Judith giving the
head of Holofernes to the Maid,” Carlo Maratti-; ‘‘ Rubens’
Daughter,” Rubens ; ‘‘Mary Magdalene,” Paul Veronese; ‘‘ Head
of Christ,” Leonardt da Vincz ; ‘* Mary and the Child,” Raphael ;
and other works by Claude, Poussin, Vandyck, Sir Joshua Rey-
nolds, Canaletti, Rosalba, Gainsborough, Lely, Claude Lorraine,
and Opie. Statuary: ‘‘ Neptune,” a statue bought at Rome of
Carlo Monaldi ; ‘‘ Faun,” found in the Campagna ; ‘‘ Meleager”’ ;
‘* Apollo”; ‘‘ Venus,” of which Dr Waagen says :—‘‘Of all
similar statues which have come down to us, not excepting
even that in the Louvre, formerly at Versailles, this perhaps
deserves the preference”; ‘‘ Diana,’’ purchased in Rome for
41500 and clandestingly exported to Florence; ‘‘ Ceres,” and
others. The Library contains some very valuable and beautiful
missals and illuminated manuscripts. There is an obelisk 80
feet high in the park, erected in 1728; also the ‘‘ Leicester
Monument,” erected in 1845-8 as a memorial to ‘‘ Coke of
Norfolk,” the great agriculturist. The gardens are thrown
open to the public once a week (usually on Tuesdays); but
admission to the hall can only be obtained by special order.
(p. 98-99). Accommodation for visitors at the Victoria Hotel.

HOLME HALE.—A village near the Wissey, with a station, 5 m. E.
by S. from Swaffham. The church, in the Norman style, contains
a fine carved oak rood screen.

HOLME - NEXT - RUNCTON.—A village 14 m. S.E. from Magdalen
Road station.

HOLME-NEXT-THE-SEA.—A coast village 3 m. N.E. from Hunstan-
ton station. The church contains an interesting alabaster monu-
ment with kneeling figures to Richard Stone, dated 1607; alsoa
curious brass, with figures, to Henry Netyngdon, one of Henry
IV.’s judges, bearing this inscription :

‘* Henry Netyngdon and his wyffe lye here
Yt madden thys church stepull and queere
Two vestments and bells they made alsoe
Christ Jesu sav therefor ym fro woe
And to bryng ther soules to bliss of hevyn
Syth Pater and Ave with mylde Steven.”
‘« Peddar’s Way,” supposed to have been a Roman road from
Thetford to the coast, terminated here. It may still be traced in
places. There is accommodation for visitors at the White Horse

Inn and elsewhere in the village.

Hott.—A small market town, with a station, 10 m. W. by S. from
Cromer. The church communion plate includes a flagon pre-
sented by George II., and a paten given by Sir Robert Walpole.
This town was the birthplace, in 1507, of Sir Thomas Gresham,
founder of the Royal Exchange. His brother founded the
Grammar School, since re-built, outside which Thomas Cooper,

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its master, was hanged for adherence to the cause of Charles I.
The principal inns are the Feathers, White Lion, and Railway
Hotel.

HOLVERSTON.—A village 5 m. S.E. by E. from Norwich.

.
é

Honinc.—A Broadland village on the Ant, with a station. The —

‘‘Long Lane” leading to the church is a very charming road
overshadowed by trees.

HONINGHAM.—A village 5 m. S. from Attlebridge station. The ©

church contains a black and white marble monument, with
medallion portrait in armour, to Sir Thomas Richardson, Master
of Cramond, who died in 1642. The Hall, a fine Elizabethan

mansion built by Chief Justice Richardson, contains, among —

other art treasures, the ‘‘Infant Family of Charles I” (a dupli-

cate of that at Windsor), and the ‘‘ Princes Rupert and Maurice” —

by Vandyck.

HORNING.—A Broadland village on the Bure, 34 m. E. from
Wroxham. The ruins of St Benet’s Abbey, founded by King
Canute, are in the parish. This is an angling resort, and

boats may be hired at the New and Ferry Inns, where there

is accommodation for visitors.

HoRNINGTOFT.—A scattered village 3 m. N.W. from North Elmham
station.

HorsEy.—A coast village 4 m. N. from Martham station. The
church, an ancient Gothic building, contains a_ thirteenth

century rood screen. ‘This place has been the scene of several

disastrous inroads of the sea.
HorsForRD.—A scattered village 2 m. E. from Drayton station.

HorsHAM St Faitu’s.—A parish 35 m. E. from Drayton station.
The church contains a medizeval pulpit with painted panels;
also an ancient font and screen.

HORSTEAD - CUM - STANNINGHALL. — United parishes. Horstead

village is on the Bure, 4 m. from Coltishall station. Its church
has a good open timber roof. Stanninghall church has been in
ruins since the reign of Elizabeth. Haggate Hall, an interesting
Elizabethan house, is about a mile from Horstead.

HOUGHTON-IN-THE-DALE,—A village 1 m. S. from Walsingham
station. The church, re-built in 1879, has an old illuminated
rood screen. On the Walsingham Road is an old wayside
chapel (recently restored) called the ‘‘Shoe House,” at which
pilgrims to Walsingham cast off their shoes.

HOUGHTON-ON-THE-HILL.—A parish of one farm 2 m. S.W. from
Holme Hale station. Some of the church windows are believed
to date from about to020.

HOUGHTON, NEW, or HOUGHTON-IN-THE-BRAKE.—A vil-
lage 3 m. N. from Massingham station. The church tower was

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built by Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, who was buried
in the church. He also built Houghton Hall, which is, perhaps,
the finest mansion in Norfolk. This historic hall is referred to at
length in Itinerary IX. The magnificent collection of paintings
it contained at the death of Sir Robert was sold by George, third
Earl of Orford, to Catherine of Russia for £40,550. Writing of
this sale, Horace Walpole said: ‘‘ When he sold the collection
of pictures at Houghton, he declared at St James’s that he was
forced to it, to pay the fortunes of his uncle, which amounted to
but £10,000; and he sold the pictures for £40,000, grievously to
our discontent, and without any application from us for our
money, which he now retains, trusting that we will not press him,
lest he should disinherit us, were we to outlive him. But we are
not so silly as to have any such expectations at our ages; nor,
as he has sold the pictures, which we wished to have preserved in
the family, do we care what he does with the estate. Would you
believe — yes, for he is a madman—that he is refurnishing
Houghton ; ay, and with pictures too, and by Cipriani. That
flimsy scene painter is to replace Guido, Claude Lorraine,
Rubens, Vandyck, &c.” At the winter exhibition at the Royal
Academy, 1899-1900, patrons had an opportunity of seeing one
of the finest pictures from the famous Houghton collection.
This was Vandyck’s ‘‘ Lord Philip Warton,” described as a work
of ‘‘ supreme artistic beauty enhancing physical attractiveness.”
It was lent by the Tsar of Russia. At the present time the Hall
contains a whole-length portrait of George I. by Aveller, a fine
bronze cast of the Laocoon by Gzrarchon, some sculpture by
Rysbrach, several portraits of the Walpole family, and some good
tapestry.

HOVETON ST JOHN.—A Broadland village in which is Wroxham
station and Hoveton Little Broad (60 acres).

HOVETON ST PETER.—A scattered village 14 m. N. from Wroxham
station.

Howe.—A village 5 m. E. from Swainsthorpe station.

Hunstanton. (p. 100).—A popular and rising seaside resort on the
N.W. point of the county, 154 m. from Lynn, and 112 from
London. It occupies an elevated position on Hunstanton Cliff,
which rises to a height of about 60 feet above the beach, and is
also known as St Edmund’s Point, there being a tradition that
Edmund the Martyr landed here when he crossed over from
Germany. A splendid beach affords safe bathing, and a delight-
ful promenade for miles along the coast. ‘The pier is close to the
esplanade, adjoining which is a recreation ground with good
tennis courts. A modern church has accommodation for about
500 persons, and there are also Nonconformist chapels. On the
cliff, near the lighthouse, is a fragment of St Edmund's Chapel,
an old religious house, the history of which is unknown. The
local golf club has links on the Old Hunstanton sandhills; there
is also a cricket club,

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Norfolk

Hunstanton Cliff has six strata clearly defined. Commencing
from the top, they are met with in the following order :—Lower
Chalk, Chalk Marl, White Chalk, Red Chalk, Greensand or
Glauconite, Dark Brown Pudding Stone or Sandy Breccia.
Below the cliff strata may be seen the Azmmeridge Clay. The
Red Chalk occurs nowhere else in Norfolk. The neighbourhood
provides a good field for botanists, entomologists, and con-
chologists ; and ornithologists will be much interested in observ-
ing the numerous sea birds which frequent the shore.

The chief hotels are the Sandringham (G.E.R.), Wales’s Com-
mercial, the Golden Lion, and the Temperance. ‘There are also
private hotels and abundant boarding-house accommodation and
apartments.

HUNSTANTON, OLD.—A coast village about a mile from Hunstanton.
The hall, built in the fifteenth century, stands in a manor of
which the L’Estranges have been lords ever since the Conquest.
Both hall and church are described on p. 101. There is accom-
modation for visitors at the L’Estrange Arms.

HUNWORTH.—A parish 2 m. S.S.W. from Holt station.

ICKBOROUGH.—A parish 6 m. N.E. from Brandon station. The
church contains a finely carved pulpit.

ILLINGTON.—A village 14 m. E. from Wretham station.
INGHAM (p. 174).—A village 13 m. E. by N. from Stalham station.

INGOLDISTHORPE (p. 108).—A village 1 m. E. from Snettisham
station. The church contains a Perpendicular oak screen, the
font is Norman, and the corbels of the nave roof represent the
patriarchs and prophets.

INGWORTH.—A village 2 m. N. from Aylsham.

INTWoOD.—A village 3 m. E. from Hethersett station.

IRMINGLAND.—A parish on the Bure, 1 m. E. from Corpusty station.

IRSTEAD.—A straggling village on the banks of Barton Broad, 3
m. N.W. from Wroxham station. In the church chancel is a
memorial .window to William of Wykeham, founder of New
College, Oxford, and bishop of Winchester, who was rector here
in 1347.

ISLINGTON.—A village 2 m. S. from Clenchwarton station. This is
the place referred to in the old ballad, ‘‘ The Bailiff’s Daughter of
Islington.” E

ITTERINGHAM.—A village 4 m. N.W. from Aylsham.
KELLING.—A parish 3 m. N. from Holt station.
KEMPSTON.—A parish 2 m. N. from Fransham station.

KENNINGHALL.—A large village 3 m. S.E. from Eccles Road
station, and connected by a mile-long avenue of trees with Quiden-
ham. It is believed to have been a seat of the East Anglian

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kings, and some ancient mounds are pointed out as marking
the site of their royal residence. Here, too, are remains of the
fosse of a castle formerly occupied by the Mowbrays and
Howards. Kenninghall Palace, built in the reign of Henry
VIII., sheltered Queen Mary at the beginning of her reign.
It remained the chief seat of the Howards, Dukes of Norfolk,
until about the beginning of the seventeenth century, when it
was pulled down.

KESWICK.—A parish 3 m. S.S.W. from Norwich. All that remains
of the church is a portion of a round tower.

KETTERINGHAM.—A village 1 m. S.W. from Hethersett station.
The church contains several interesting monuments and brasses,
and a richly carved font. The Hall, the seat of the Boileau
family, who are direct descendants from Etienne Boileau, first
Grand Provost and Governor of Paris in 1250, is a modernised
castellated mansion of the Tudor period. In it is a fine collec-
tion of arms and armour (including the sword of Bayard),
pictures, and oak furniture.

KETTLESTONE.—A parish 34 m. E.N.E. from Fakenham.

KILVERSTONE.—A parish on the Thet, 2 m. E. from Thetford.
The church is an ancient building in the Norman style, with
a round embattled tower.

KIMBERLEY (p. 46).—A village, with a station, 34 m. N.W. from
Wymondham. The Hall, the seat of the Earl of Kimberley,
K.G., P.C., contains a portrait of Vandyck, by himself; a rosary
given by Catherine, Queen of Henry V., to the wife of Sir John
Wodehouse, who fought at Agincourt; and a portion of a gold
brocade dress worn by Queen Elizabeth when she stayed at
Kimberley during a visit to Norfolk in 1578. She was enter-
tained in the old Wodehouse Tower, some remains of which
may be seen near the church. The park is remarkable for its
fine oak wood. ‘There is a fifteenth century brass in the church,
and several monuments to the Wodehouses.

KirBy BEDON.—A village 2} m. S.E. from Trowse station.

KirBy CANE.—A village 14 m. N. from Ellingham station. The
church has a Norman doorway.

KIRSTEAD.—A village 6 m. S.E. from Trowse station. The Hall, a
Jacobean mansion, dated 1612, is now a farmhouse.

KNAPTON.—A parish, with a station, 2? m. N.E. from North
Walsham. The church roof is ornamented with some fine
carved work, and the font bears a curious Greek inscription
which can be read backwards or forwards. There is a fine
chancel screen.

LAKENHAM. A parish forming part of Norwich.

LAMMAS, with LITTLE HAuTBois.—A village on the Bure, 1 m. E.
from Buxton Lammas station.

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Norfolk

LANGFORD.—A parish 8 m. N.E. from Brandon station.

LANGHAM.—A parish 5 m. W.N.W. from Holt station. The
church contains a Norman font, also a marble tablet to
Captain Frederick Marryat, R.N., the famous novelist, who
resided here, and is buried in the churchyard. He lived in
the Manor Cottage, where he wrote most of his works.

LANGLEY.—A scattered village 3 m. S.W. from Buckenham
station. Some of the stained glass in the church windows
was brought from Rouen Cathedral at the time of the French
Revolution. Not far from the river (Yare) are some remains
of a Premonstratensian abbey, founded in 1198 by Robert
FitzRoger, Sheriff of Norfolk. A stone cross, bearing four
statues, which stood near the abbey, is now in Langley
Park. Langley Hall, built in 1740, has some fine windows of
German stained glass, and contains a bronze statue of Louis
XV. by De da Colonge, and a large number of valuable pictures,
including'a ‘‘Madonna” by Murillo, ‘‘ Holy Family” by Fra
Bartolommeo. ‘‘ Battle of Sale Bay ” by Vandervelde, and
‘©The Youthful Moralist” by Szx J. Reynolds.

LARLING.—A scattered village 1 m. N. from Harling Road station.

The church contains an ancient altar-stone and has a Norman
doorway.

LESSINGHAM.—A village near the coast, with a station, 35 m. N.E.
from Stalham. ‘The church is disused in consequence of its
dilapidated condition.

LETHERINGSETT.—A village 1 m. N. from Holt station. The church
has a round Norman tower and a Norman font.

LETTON.—A parish 4 m. W. from Thuxton station, The Hall is the
seat of Lord Cranworth.

LEXHAM, East.—A village 3 m. N. from Dunham station.

LEXHAM, WEST.—A parish 4 m. N. from Dunham station. The
church tower is probably of Saxon date.

LEZIATE.—A parish 2 m. N. from East Winch station. Only the
foundations of the church remain.

LIMPENHOE.—A village near the Yare, 1} m. N.E. from Cantley
station. ‘The church has a fine Norman south doorway.

LiINGwoop.—A village, with a station, 8 m. E. from Norwich.

LITCHAM.—A parish 3m. N.E. by E. from Dunham station. The
church, a large Perpendicular building, contains an elaborate oak
screen dating from the early part of the fifteenth century. A
house here called the ‘‘ Priory ” was formerly a pilgrim’s rest.

LODDON (p. 159).—A small market town 5 m. S. from Buckenham
station. ‘The church contains an ancient font, an old painted
rood screen, a brass, dated 1615, to Sir James Hobart, and an
altar-tomb, with recumbent figure, to Lady Williamson, who died

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in 1684. ‘There is also a curious painting, dating from 1496, in
the south aisle. It represents Sir James Hobart and his wife
kneeling, also Loddon Church and St Olave’s Bridge. An in-
scription below states that Sir James built the church and his
wife the bridge. ‘The Swan is the principal inn.

LONGHAM.—A village 2 m. N. from Wendling station.

LopHAm.—A straggling place of two villages and parishes 44 m. S.E.
from Harling Road station. The church of North Lopham is a
large Early English building with a Norman south porch. On
its exterior and buttresses are several Latin inscriptions. South
Lopham church has a Norman Tower and some fine Norman
arches.

LupDHAM.—A Broadland village on the Bure, 2 m. S.W. from Potter
Heigham station. The church chancel is‘separated from the nave
by a good carved screen, restored in 1861. Ludham Hall was
formerly a seat of the abbots of St Benet’s Abbey (pp. 166-8).

LYNFORD.—A parish 5 m. N.E. from Brandon station. The church
has disappeared. A Catholic chapel, erected by Mrs Lyne-
Stephens in 1879, and dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation and
St Stephen, contains a fine reredos and oak screen. Above the
marble stoup at the entrance is a statue group of the Madonna
and Child. The Hall, a mansion in the Elizabethan style, is
surrounded by 2000 acres of common land.

Lyna.—A village on the Wensum, 3 m. W. from Lenwade station.
The church possesses an elaborately embroidered altar-cloth
fashioned out of three fifteenth century vestments, viz., three
copes of blue, red, and orange velvet respectively.

Lynn, King’s Lynn, or Lynn Regis (pp. 111-16).—A Parlia-
mentary borough and seaport on the east bank of the Great Ouse,
2m. from the Wash, 48 from Norwich, and 99 from London.
The chief places of interest in this ancient town are St Margaret's
and St Nicholas’ churches, the Red Mount Chapel, Greyfriars
Tower, South Gate, Guildhall, Museum, Custom House (built in
1683),and Docks. ‘These places are referred to in Itinerary VIIL.
A few further particulars concerning them may be added here.

St Margaret's Church, founded by Herbert de Lozinga,
Bishop of Norwich togi-1119, should be visited for the purpose
of seeing two of the largest and finest monumental brasses in
existence, measuring to feet by 5. They are undoubtedly Flemish
work. One is that of a former mayor of Lynn, Robert Braunche,
and his two wives; the other that of Adam de Walsoken, a
merchant. On the Braunche brass are represented the mayor
and his two wives, and eight weepers in male and female costumes.
At the feet of each lady is a little dog. Underneath is engraved
a feasting party, supposed to represent an entertainment given by
Braunche to Edward III. The monarch and his nobles are
seated at table, minstrels are performing, and on both sides
female servants are entering, bearing peacocks for the feast.

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Norfolk

- One knight is represented straddling across the table in his eager-
ness to reach a dish. ‘The other brass bears the portraits of
Walsoken and his wife, representations of the Apostles and
Prophets, and below is a rustic scene representing either the
gathering of apples or a vintage harvest. ‘These brasses, which
date from the early half of the fourteenth century, are in the
south-west tower, A screen bearing the dates 1584 and 1622 has
been divided and set up in the chancel aisles, its place being filled.
by a low carved screen. Fanny Burney, the authoress of
‘‘ Evelina,” was born at Lynn during the time her father, Dr
Burney, was organist of this church, ;

St Nicholas Church, a chapel dependent on St Margaret’s, was
built in the fourteenth century, on the site of an earlier building.
In the vestry is a door bearing a Latin inscription and two figures.
The west door and south porch are worthy of special attention.

The Guildhall, an Elizabethan building, fronted with black
flints and white stone, contains portraits of William III. and
Mary, and Sir Robert Walpole, who was elected M.P. for Lynn
in 1761. In the possession of the mayor for the time being will
be found a silver-gilt cup and sword, said to have been given to
the town by King John before he crossed the Wash and lost all
his baggage. Both cup and sword, however, are probably of
later date than the reign of King John. ‘The ‘‘ Red Register ”
of Lynn, kept at the Guildhall, dates from 1309.

The object of greatest interest to antiquaries is the Red Mount
Chapel, situated in the public ‘‘ Walks” near the station, During
the rebellion of 1638 it was used as a powder magazine and later
as a pest-house. There is a legend that Edward IV. lodged in
it when, after his defeat by Warwick, he fled to Lynn on his way
to the continent (p. 113).

Greyfriars Tower is all that is left of the church of a Franciscan
convent (p. 114).

Visitors who make Lynn their temporary headquarters may
make pleasant excursions to

Sandringham (pp. 103-8). Distant 2 m. from Wolferton
station.

Castle Rising (pp. 109-10). Distant 4 m. from Lynn.

Dersingham (p. 108). A village adjoining Sandringham.

Hunstanton (pp. roo-1). Distant 154 m. from Lynn.

Terrington St Clement’s Church. Station 5 m. from Lynn.

(This church and those of Tilney and Walpole may be visited
during a day’s journey).

An interesting ramble may be enjoyed in the neighbourhood of
the docks, and by strolling along the riverside towards the Wash
the visitor may gain a good idea of Marshland.

The river Ouse is crossed by a ferry and an iron bridge. The
chief hotels are the Globe and Cozen’s Temperance.

Lynn, NortH.—A decayed parish 1 m. N.W. from Lynn, The
church has disappeared.
Lynn, SouTH.—A parish forming part of Lynn.
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Lynn, WEsT.—A village opposite Lynn on the west side of the Great
Ouse. Access to it is obtained by a ferry and bridge. The
church, dating from the latter part of the thirteenth century,
contains a fine brass dated 1503, to Sir Adam Outlawe, and an
ancient octagonal font.

MANNINGTON.—A parish 2 m. N.E. from Corpusty station. The
church is in ruins.

MARHAM.—A village 4 m. S.W. from Narborough station. The
church contains a tomb with chalk effigies, dated 1603. Some
remains of a Cistercian nunnery, founded in 1249 by Maud, wife
of John Fitzalan, fifth Earl of Arundel, may be seen at a farm-
house near the church.

MARKSHALL.—A parish on the Tas, 24 m. S. from Norwich. The
church isin ruins. *

MARLINGFORD.—A scattered village 5 m. N. from Hethersett station.
The church contains a Norman font and has a Norman door-
way.

MARSHAM.—A large village 2 m. S. from Aylsham. The church
contains a font on which are carved the seven Sacraments ; also
an ancient painted screen. On Marsham Heath are several pits
similar to those at Aylmerton (p. 89).

MARTHAM (pp. 80-81).—A large village with a station 10 m.
N.N.W. from Yarmouth. The church is a fine Perpendicular
building, very completely restored in 1855 in memory of one of
its rectors, whose altar tomb is within. The font has the seven
Sacraments carved upon it, and there is some good carving on
the south doors. There is a small broad in this parish. Inn:
Swan.

MASSINGHAM, GREAT.—A village 14 m. S. from Little Massingham
station.

MASSINGHAM, LITTLE.—A village, with a station (Massingham), 10
m. N. from Swaffham. The church is Early English, and con-
tains a monument to Sir Charles Mordaunt, dated 1648. This
station is the nearest to Houghton Hall, built by Sir Robert
Walpole (pp. 129-32).

MATLASKE.—A parish 44 m. N.N.E. from Corpusty station.
MATTISHALL.—A large village 3 m. E. from Yaxham junction.

MATTISHALL BURGH.—A parish 34 m. E. by N. from Yaxham
junction.

MautTsy (p. 74). —A parish on the Bure, 3 m. W. from Caister
station. The church contains a tomb, with a cross-legged effigy
in armour, to a member of the Mautby family. There are
frequent references to this place in the ‘‘ Paston Letters,”
Margaret Paston having inherited the manor from her father,
John Mautby.

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Norfolk

MELTON CONSTABLE.—A village, with a junction station, 8 m.
E.N.E. from Fakenham. ‘The church has a Norman central
tower, and contains a family pew, erected in 1681, for the Astleys,
Barons Hastings, whose country seat, ‘‘ Melton Constable,’’ is,
one of the finest in Norfolk. It was built about 1680, is
surrounded by terraces, and stands in a large park stocked with
deer. In it are some good pictures, one of the finest collections
of old china in England, a valuable collection of medizeval
treasures, and another of arms and armour; also a military
uniform worn by Sir Jacob Astley, who was Sergeant-Major of
the army of Charles I., and some relics of Queen Elizabeth.

MELTON, GREAT.—A parish about 3 m. N.W. from Hethersett
station. The Hall is a mansion in the Elizabethan style, built
in I61I.

MELTON, LITTLE.—A scattered parish 2 m. N. from Hethersett
station. The church contains a Norman font, a carved chancel
screen, a brass dated 1604, and others more recent.

MENDHAM.—A village 2 m. S.E. from Harleston station. The
greater part of the village is in Suffolk.

MERTON.—A parish 2 m. S. from Watton station. The church con-
tains a good Decorated chancel screen, and a fine carved oak
font cover reaching nearly to the roof; also two brass shields
bearing the de Grey quarterings. ‘The Hall, the seat of Lord
Walsingham, was built in 1613, but has been thoroughly restored.
It is in the Elizabethan style.

METHWOLD.—-A large village 4 m. S.W. from Stoke Ferry station.
The church has a fifteenth century roof with some good and in-
teresting carving, and contains the remains of a fine brass to Sir
Adam de Clifton, dated 1367. A tithe barn still standing here is
that of the Augustinian priory of Bramwell (later Broomhill).

MELTON.—A parish 34 m. S. from Cromer. There is a fifteenth
century brass in the church.

MIDDLETON.—A village, with a station, 4m. S.S.E. from Lynn. A
lofty gate-tower here is all that remains of a hunting castle be-
longing to the Lords Scales. It was restored and enlarged in
1860. About a mile south of the village are the ruins of Black-
borough Priory, founded by Roger Scales in the reign of
Henry I.

MILEHAM.—A parish 44 m. N.E. from Fransham station. The
birthplace of Sir Edward Coke, the famous Lord Chief Justice,
who was buried, in 1634, in Tittleshall Church, about 2 m. N.W.
from Mileham. ‘The house in which he was born, in 1552,
has been pulled down. Here are some remains of a castle,
believed to have been built by Alan, son of Flaad, to whom the
manor was given by the Conqueror.

MINTLYN.—A decayed parish 24 m. E. by S. from Lynn. The
church is in ruins.

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‘Gazetteer

ape St BotoLpH.—A village 3 m. W. by S. from Wymond-
am.

MORLEY ST PETER. — A small parish 2 m. N.W. from Spooner
Row station. The Old Hall, an Elizabethan moated manor-
house, is now a farmhouse.

MORNINGTHORPE.—A village about 4 m. E. from Forncett station.
The church contains a fine altar tomb and, in front of the
western gallery, an oak carving of the royal arms. Boyland Hall,
in this parish, is an Elizabethan house, built in 1571. It hasa
a bust of Queen Elizabeth, removed from Tilbury House, above
one of the entrances.

Morston.—A parish 6 m. E. from Wells and 1 m. from the coast.
The church contains an ancient screen and font, and a brass
dated 1596.

MORTON-ON-THE-HILL.—A village on the Wensum, 1 m. S. from
Attlebridge station.

Mou.ttTon.—A scattered parish 2m. N. from Cantley station. The
church is an ancient building in the early Norman style.

MouLTon St MICHAEL.—A village 2 m. N. from Tivetshall station.
There is a fourteenth-century tomb in the churchyard; also a
stone to a member of the Wykeham family.

MULBARTON-WITH-KENNINGHAM.—A village surrounding a large
green, 2m. W. from Swainsthorpe station.

MUNDESLEY.—A rising seaside health and pleasure resort, with a
station, 8 m. S.E. from Cromer. ‘Though still only a village,
Mundesley is fast gaining favour on account of its excellent beach
and bathing, bold cliffs, and picturesque surroundings. Every
year sees an increase in its accommodation for visitors, and it has
already become an enterprising rival to Cromer. The church
was originally a fine building, but its tower and chancel are now
in ruins, service being held in a small portion of the nave. The
G.E.R. issue week-end, fortnightly, and tourist tickets from
London and most of the principal stations to Mundesley.
Visitors will find accommodation at the Royal, Clarence, and
Old Ship Hotels, the Lifeboat Inn, the Tower Boarding-House,
and elsewhere in the village.

There are many places of interest in the neighbourhood, includ-
ing Bromholm Priory (p. 83), Knapton, Paston, and Trunch
Churches, Overstrand, Sidestrand, Trimingham, and Cromer.
Others are mentioned under CROMER.

MUNDFORD.—A parish 44 m. N.E. from Brandon station.

MunpuHaAm.—A village 24 m. W. from Loddon and 6 m. N. from
Ditchingham station. The church is an ancient building in the
Norman style, with a good Norman south doorway. .

NARBOROUGH.—A village, with a station, 55 N.W. from Swaffham.
The church contains several brasses to the Spelman family ; also

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a window containing some old glass and a shield of the Spelman
arms. Narborough Hall was built by John Spelman, Justice of
the Common Pleas, in the reign of Henry VIII. A curious earth-
work extends from Narborough to Caldecott, a distance of about
g miles.

NARFORD.—A parish 14 m. N.E. from Narborough station. Narford
Hall, the seat of the Fountaines, was built by Sir Andrew
Fountaine, who was knighted by William III. This Sir Andrew
was vice-chamberlain to the Prince of Wales in 1726, and a friend
of Pope and Swift.

NEATISHEAD.—A village between the Bure and the Ant, 34 m. N.E.
from Wroxham station, ‘The church was originally a much
larger building.

Necton.—A village 14 m. N.{from Holme Hale station. The church
has a curiously wrought roof adorned with ten large figures of
angels, carved in oak, below which, on brackets, are the twelve
Apostles. Adjoining the chancel is a chapel of St Catherine.
The pulpit of carved oak dates from 1636. There are brasses
here to Isnaena de Wynston (1372), Philippa de Beauchamp
(1384), and two others of the sixteenth century.

NEEDHAM.—A scattered village 14 m. S.W. from Harleston station.

NEWTON-BY-CASTLE-ACRE.—A village 3 m. N.W. from Dunham
station. The church is said to date from the reign of Edward
the Confessor.

NEWTON FLOTMAN.—A village 14 m. N.E. from Flordon station.
Tn the church is a brass of the Blondeville family, with dates from
1400 to 1638.

NEWTON, WEsT.—A village 2 m. E. from Wolferton station and
adjoining Sandringham. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales is the
chief landowner, and has erected a number of cottages, also a ©
clubhouse, for the villagers. The church, an ancient Caen stone
building in the Perpendicular style, was until recently in a very
dilapidated state; but has now been restored at the expense of
the Prince of Wales and other members of the royal family. The
chancel stalls were given by the Duke of Edinburgh, and the
reredos by the late Duke of Albany. The west window was filled
with painted glass at the cost of Prince and Princess Christian,
the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Princess Louise, and the
Marquis of Lorne. Her Majesty the Queen gave the organ ; the
Emperor Frederick III. and the Empress of Germany the altar
cross, candlesticks, and flower vases; the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge the altar cloth; Lord Colville of Culross an alms
dish; and the prayer desks and pulpit were presented by mem-
bers of the Sandringham household.

NORDELPH.—A hamlet forming part of Upwell, 4 m. W. from
Downham.
NorTHREpPPS.—A village 2 m. S.E. from Cromer. Sir Thomas

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Gazetteer

Fowell Buxton, Bart., the slave emancipator, formerly occupied
the Hall. He died here, and is buried in the ruined church at
Overstrand. The Hall is an Elizabethan house, considerably
modernised.

NORTHWOLD.—A village 3 m. S.E. from Stoke Ferry station. The
church has a finely painted and ornamented nave roof, and con-
tains a remarkable Easter sepulchre on the north side of the
chancel. It is 12 feet high and 9g feet long, and in front are four
sleeping soldiers. ‘There is an ancient stone cross in the village.

NORTON SUBCOURSE.—A scattered village 34 m. S.W. from Reed-
ham station.

Norwich.—A city and county in itself, the chief town of Norfolk,
situated on the Wensum just above its junction with the Yare,
distant about 20 m. W. from Yarmouth and 113 from London.

(The chapter entitled ‘‘The City of Churches,” is entirely —
devoted to Norwich, and should be referred to by readers who
wish to learn something more of the history and attractions of the
city than can be gathered from the following remarks).

The Cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, was founded by
Bishop Herbert de Lozinga in 1096, and is chiefly in the Norman
style, with Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular inser-
tions and additions. Its entire length is 407 feet; width, in-
cluding the aisles, 97 feet; breadth across the transepts, 178
feet; height of vaulting, 73 feet; and height of tower with
spire, 315 feet. The choir with its aisles and chapels, the
transepts and the central tower, were built by the founder,
whose work extended so far as the altar of Holy Cross in the
nave; but his successor, Bishop Eborard, extended nave and
aisles westward, his work being completed by John of Oxford,
who was bishop from 1175. During the thirteenth century
conflicts between the monks and the citizens resulted in con-
siderable damage to the building; but it was restored and re-
consecrated in the presence of Edward I. and his queen. A
wooden spire was erected in 1295 by Bishop Walpole, who
also commenced the cloisters; but it was blown down in 1362,
and replaced in 1364-9 by a stone spire. The cloisters were
completed in 1430. Bishop Goldwell (1472-99) expended a
considerable sum in repairing the spire, which had been struck
by lightning ; erecting a chanting chapel, and constructing the
choir, to support which he added a series of flying buttresses.
The west front is the work of Bishop Alnwick, whose successor
designed the stone vaulting of the nave. The north and south
transepts were vaulted by Bishop Nyx early in the sixteenth
century.

The Rev. G. B. Doughty, B.A., in an interesting monograph,
writes :—‘‘ The splendid spire of the Cathedral . . . does not
impress one from this point (the west aspect) with a sense of its
height or particular beauty. Yet it is the second tallest spire in

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Norfolk

England, Salisbury being the first. But stand close under the
west window and look eastward up the nave; you cannot
fail to be struck by the pureness of its Norman style. This
nave comprises no less than fourteen bays, and again stands
second amongst English Cathedrals, this time in point of length,
St Alban’s having the advantage. The length of the Norwich
nave is not so apparent at first sight owing to the fact that three
of its bays are included by the choir screen. The fact that the
organ on the screen is somewhat insignificant in size is perhaps
an advantage, as the eye can take in the whole sweep of the
richly vaulted and embossed roof. It is only possible to convey
a faint idea of the richness of this roof with its numerous inter-
sections and remarkable bosses, each of which will repay inspection
through a pair of good glasses. There are over three hundred of
these bosses, representing Bible history from the time of Solomon
to Christ. . . . Norwich Cathedral possesses the only stone
Episcopal Throne we know to exist in England... . In the
procession path north of the presbytery a pretty glimpse is
obtained of the entrance to the Jesus Chapel, together with a low
arch upholding a loft, once reached by a winding staircase,
supposed by some to have been a reliquary chamber, but which
was more probably a kind of ambulatory connected with the
sleeping place of the Cathedral custodians. Notice on the other
side again, south of the presbytery, the Beauchamp Chapel, now
used as a Consistory Court. It was... built about 1320.
The groined roof was added a century later. Close beside it is
the old south-east Apsidal Chapel of St Luke, which is now the
parish church for the parishioners of St Mary-in-the-Marsh.”
The Cathedral contains a few interesting tombs. ‘That of the
founder, Herbert de Lozinga, is at the foot of the high altar.
Originally it was raised above the ground, and on its sides were
the arms of the members of the chapter in whose time it was
erected. Its top slab is now let into the floor, and bears a Latin
inscription by Dean Prideaux. [The tomb of Sir Thomas
Erpingham (p. 22), the builder of the Erpingham Gate, has dis-
appeared ; its site is marked by a raised seat along the wall of the
north choir aisle.] Sir William Boleyn, of Blickling, grandfather
of Queen Elizabeth, was buried here in 1505. His tomb is in the
first arch south (counting from east) of the presbytery. The next
recess contains a monument to Bishop Overall (1618-19); and the
third the tomb of Bishop Goldwell (1472-79) the builder of the
vaulted stone roof. The effigy gives a very good idea of the
ecclesiastical vestments of the period. Other tombs and monu-
ments are those of Prior W. Walsham (1218), Sir Thomas
Windham, vice-admiral (1421), Bishop Wakering (1426), Sir John
Hobart, attorney-general to Henry VII., Bishop Nyx (1536),
Bishop Parkhurst (1575), and Chancellor Miles Spenser (sixteenth
century). The tomb of Bishop Bathurst, who died in 1837, is in
the south transept. It is the work of Sir Francis Chantrey.
Bishop Stanley, father of the famous Dean of Westminster, is
buried in the centre of the nave. The flags hanging from either

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side of the junction of choir and transept are the colours of the
54th or West Norfolk Regiment of Foot.

Of the Cloisters, Dean Goulburn writes: ‘‘ The cloisters form
one of the largest and most beautiful quadrangles of the kind in
England. They comprise a square of about 174 feet, and are
twelve feet wide. At first sight they appear uniform in con-
struction, but upon examination there will be found a considerable
difference in form and detail. They were commenced by Bishop
Walpole about 1297; and although proceeded with by succeeding
prelates, were not completed until 1430. The style of architecture
is Decorated, mixed with traces of the Perpendicular. The
eastern part will be found to be the most ancient; and a pro-
gressive change may be observed in the tracery of the windows,
commencing at the north-east corner, and continuing through the
south, the west, and terminating with the north sides. The roof
is much admired for its exquisitely beautiful groining, and its
sculptured bosses at the intersections of the groining.” Some
remains of a priory founded by Bishop Lozinga may be seen near
the cloisters, the most conspicuous being three clustered columns,
with curiously carved capitals.

The Erpingham Gate, which faces the west front of the
Cathedral, was built by Sir Thomas Erpingham, who fought at
Agincourt, and to whom Shakespeare makes King Henry V. say
on the morning of the battle.

** Good morrow, old Sir Thomas Erpingham,
A good soft pillow for that good white head
Were better than the churlish turf of France.”

the old knight replying :-—

**Not so, my liege ; this lodging likes me better,
Since I may say, ‘ Now lie I like a king.’”

A figure in a niche of the pediment is supposed to be that of
the builder. Sz. Ethelbert’s Gate, at the other end of the open
space known as Tombland, was erected as an act of penance by
Norwich citizens who had quarrelled with the Prior of Norwich,
and burnt and sacked his priory. It dates from about 1272.
The Palace or St. Martin’s Gate, on the north side of the
Cathedral, in St. Martin’s Plain, was built by Bishop Alnwick
about 1430.

The Bishop's Palace stands on the north side. Little of the
original building founded by Bishop Lozinga remains. Some
ruins in the garden are supposed to be those of the entrance into
the great hall. The chapel, restored in 1662, contains monu-
ments to Bishops Reynolds and Sparrow.

The Free Grammar School, which stands a little distance from
the west door of the Cathedral, was originally a chapel dedicated
to St John. It dates from about 1325. The portico was built
by Bishop Lyhart in 1463. Lord Nelson and Sir James Brooke,
the Rajah of Sarawak, were scholars here. The statue of Lord

.Nelson, opposite the school, is by AZzdne. ;
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Norfolk

A double arch by the waterside, at the extremity of the close,
is the old water-gate to the precincts. It is popularly known as
Pull’s Ferry. ;

Norwich Castle, which now contains the Museum, stands on
an artificial earthwork of unknown origin, and overlooks the
great cattle mart known as the Castle Hill. Although the entire
building is called the Castle, only the great square Norman keep
has a right to the name, for the other portions were built for a
prison in 1824. A tradition generally accepted is that the kings
of East Anglia had some kind of seat on the castle mound ; but
history has no definite record of any building existing before the
Conquest. The first stone fortess was begun by William Fitz-
Osbern, one of the Conqueror’s followers, whose duty it was to
keep in subjection the vanquished English of the district. In
1074 the constable was Ralph Guader, upon whom the king
bestowed the Earldom of Norfolk and Suffolk. Two years later
Guader married Emma, a daughter of Fitz-Osbern, who, when
her husband rebelled against the king, and was absent from
home, held the castle for three months against the king’s troops.
Of this castle, the Rev. W. Hudson writes, it is doubtful if there
are any relics ‘‘except perhaps a few slight remains in the walls
of the basement.” The existing keep is probably the work of
Earl Roger Bigod (lord of the castle in the reign of William
Rufus), and of his son Hugh, who played a prominent part in
the barons’ wars against King Henry III. In 1217 it was taken
by Louis of France, but soon recovered. From this time until
1345 it was used as a royal prison. It was then handed over to
the Sheriff of Norfolk for a county gaol. In 1806 it was trans-
ferred to the county magistrates, who held it till 1884, when it
was purchased by the Norwich Corporation and eventually
converted into a museum.

The keep was formerly accessible by an external staircase.
This has been destroyed, but it originally terminated in the
fore-building known as Bigod’s Tower. The interior was lighted —
by very narrow windows only. ‘‘ Between these narrow openings
on the south side are some curious pipe-like passages in the wall,
by which the archers could communicate with each other. ‘The
level of the floor of the basement was several feet lower than the
present floor. It may be reached by a staircase at the south-
west corner, and there the general arrangement of the building
may be seen. It was divided into two halves by a great wall
running from east to west. The foundations of this wall are still
there; it is marked above by the line of modern columns, and it
rose to the height from which the double-pitched roof now
springs. The passage through the wall below is the original
passage. In the northern half of the basement are the bases
of an arcade of Norman columns, which supported a floor on the
level of the present gallery. In the southern half will be seen
another great wall, which sub-divided that half of the building
into two parts. In the angle between these two walls is the old
well, a most important feature of such places of refuge... .

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Beyond the sub-dividing wall are remains of dungeons with some
interesting scratches made, probably in very early times, by some
prisoners. . . . The visitor should go up to the gallery. At the
north-east corner is the great entrance, with its richly orna-
mented Norman doorway, still existing outside. It gave access
to the great hall, which extended across the keep on the level of
the gallery.” Hudson. The view from the battlements of the
keep is a grand one. The visitor who wishes to identify its
various features will do well to obtain a detailed description of
them sold in the castle.

Some reference to the contents of the A/useum is made in
Itinerary II.; but to fully appreciate its splendid collections the
visitor should get Mr T. Southwell’s ‘‘ Official Guide to the
Norwich €astle Museum” (1s.).

Omitting those recently built, the following are the Norwich
churches.

St Peter Mancroft in the Upper Market Place (p. 24).

St Andrew’s, in Broad Street, rebuilt in 1506; contains some
interesting monuments of the Suckling Family, especially one to
Sir John Suckling, the secretary, comptroller, and privy coun-
cillor to James I.; and another to Abraham Lincoln, said to have
been an ancestor of the American President.

_ All Saints, in Westlegate Street, contains a handsome font.

St Augustine’s, in St Augustine Street.

St Benedict's, in St Benedict’s Street.

St Clement's, in Colegate Street.

St Edmund’s, in Fishgate Street.

St Etheldred’s, in King Street, has a fine Norman doorway
and round tower with octangular belfry storey.

St George Colegate contains some fine oak carving; also the
tomb of ‘‘ Old Crome,” the famous Norwich artist (p. 24).

St George’s, Tombland.

St Giles’s, in St Giles’s Street. A fine Perpendicular church
with a tower 120 feet high. It contains some good brasses.

St Gregory’s, in Pottergate Street, has the altar raised above
the level of the floor, and a passage beneath it. It contains a
brass lectern, dated 1496, an interesting ringer’s gallery,
remnants of an old painted screen, and a Sanctuary Knocker on
the vestry door.

St Helen’s, in Bishopgate Street, now the church of St Giles’s
Hospital (p. 25).

St James’, Pockthorpe, contains an ancient font ornamented
with carved figures.

St John’s, Maddermarket, contains some fine brasses, and a
tablet to the second wife of the fourth Duke of Norfolk.

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Norfolk

St John de Sepulchre, in Ber Street.
St John the Baptist, Timberhill.

St Julian’s, in King Street, has a Norman doorway and con-
tains other Norman work. Its round tower is believed to date
from before the Conquest.

St Lawrence’s, in St Benedict's Street (p. 25).

St Margaret's, between Lower Westwick and St Benedict’s
Streets.

St Martin’s-at-Oak, in Oak Street.
St Martin’s-at-Palace, in Palace Plain.

St Mary's, in Coslany Street, has a round tower believed to be
Saxon.

St Michael's, or St Miles’, in Coslany Street, is a good ex-
ample of Norfolk Perpendicular work, and contains the
‘“Thorp Chapel,” famous for its flint and stone panelled work.
(p. 24). Here is also a chantry chapel built by William Ramsey,
mayor in 1502-8, and containing his altar tomb.

St Michael-at-Plea, in Queen Street, has a reredos composed
of restored fourteenth century panel paintings.

St Michael-at-Thorn, in Ber Street, has a Norman porch.
St Paul’s, in St Paul’s Square, has an ancient round tower.
St Peter Hungate, on Elm Hill.

St Peter Permountergate, in King Street, contains a tomb
(1623) with recumbent effigies; also a carved oak reredos with a
panel picture of ‘‘ The Last Supper.”

St Saviour’s, in Magdalen Street, contains the curiously carved
stem of an ancient font.

St Simon’s, in Wensum Street, contains some ancient monu-
ments.

St Stephen’s, in Rampant Horse Street, contains some fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries brasses, and a large number of mural
-monuments.

St Swithin’s, in St Benedict’s Street, a dilapidated building,
containing Norman work and a carved roof, is now disused.

At the corner of Blackfriars Street is the famous S¢ Andrew's
Hall, a magnificent Perpendicular building, open daily to the
public. Originally it was the nave of a Blackfriars priory. It
was built about the middle of the fifteenth century, when a son of
Sir Thomas Erpingham was a friar of the priory. The arms of |
his family are on the outside wall of the clerestory. The Hall
was granted to the city at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Since then it has been used for many civic purposes, and in it
Charles II. was entertained when he visited Norwich and knighted

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Sir Thomas Browne (pp. 34-5). The Triennial Musical Festivals
have been held in it since 1824. Among the many portraits it con-
tains are those of Queen Anne, George, Prince of Denmark, Robert,
Earl of Orford, Horatio Walpole, Lord Nelson, Sir Harbord
Harbord, by Gazusborough, and the late Lord Stafford. The
Nelson portrait is by Leachey, and is the last for which the
gallant admiral sat. Two historical pictures at the west end are
by Thomas Martin, a native of Norwich, and pupil of Cipriani.
They represent Edward and Queen Eleanor, and the death of
Lady Jane Grey. Edward VI. Middle School, northward of the
Hall, contains part of the cloisters and domestic buildings of the
Blackfriars priory.

The Guz/dhall, in the market-place, is a black flint building
dating from the fifteenth century. It contains several portraits
of early mayors and benefactors; also the sword of the Spanish
admiral Don Xavier Winthuysen, taken at the battle of St
Vincent, and presented to the city by Lord Nelson. The city
regalia, kept here, includes a mace presented by Queen Elizabeth
in 1578. In a chamber under the Hall Thomas Bilney the
martyr was imprisoned until burnt at the stake in the Lollard’s
Pit, near Mousehold Heath.

The Shirehall, on the east side of the Castle, was built in 1823.
In it was conducted the trial of Blomfield Rush, who murdered
Mr Jermy, Recorder of Norwich, and his son, at Stanfield Hall
(pp. 43-45). The Agricultural Hail, at the city end of Prince of
Wales Road, was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1882.

Visitors entering Norwich by Prince of Wales Road cross a
bridge over the Wensum. A little way above is the Bishop’s
Bridge, built in 1295 by the Prior of Norwich. Some traces of
the city’s old fortifications are seen about here in the Cow Tower
(so-called from a story that a cow once climbed its stairs), and
the Devil’s Tower, near Carrow Bridge. From the Bishop's
Bridge it is not far to Mousehold Heath, on a hill of which are
the barracks and county prison. The Heath was the scene of
the final battle between Kett’s rebels and the Earl of War-
wick’s troops (p. 18). It is now converted into a People’s Park;
but the greater part of it remains in a wild state.

Other places of interest in the city are the Old Bridewell in St
Andrews; the gateway and staircase of the Strangers’ Hall in
Maddermarket ; Curat’s House in the market-place ; the Maid’s
Head Hotel (said to date from 1287) in Tombland ; the Boar's
Head in St Stephen’s; the old Music House (formerly occupied
by the Pastons and Sir Edward Coke, the Lord Chief-Justice) in
King Street ; and George Borrow’s House in Willow Lane.

The following parishes are included in the city :—Harlham.—
The parish church contains a fine carved oak screen and a splendid
marble monument to the Bacon family. The Hall was the birth-
place of Joseph John Gurney, the author and philanthropist,
whose sister, Elizabeth Fry, spent her youth here. Aaton.—A
parish extending 2m. S.W. from the city. It has two churches,
a modern building and an ancient one in the Early English style.

Jo3

Norfolk

In the latter the parents of Henry Kirk White, the poet, are in-
terred. Heigham.—Here is the Dolphin Inn, formerly the resi-
dence of Bishop Hall of Exeter, who died here in 1656 (p. 121).
Lakenham.—A parish on the Yare, extending 14 m. S. from
the city. Mew Lakenham.—An ecclesiastical parish formed of
Trowse and Lakenham. Thorpe Hamlet.—An eastern suburb,
with a modern church and the ruins of an old one.

DISTANCES FROM NORWICH.
The distance from Norwich to Attleborough is about 15 miles.

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Hotels: Maid’s Head, Royal, Castle, Bell, Boar’s Head, and Living-
stone (temperance).

Clubs: The Conservative Club is in the Royal Arcade, the Gladstone
Club in St Giles’ Street, and the Liberal Club on the Walk.
Libraries: The Norfolk and Norwich Library is on Guildhall Hill,

and the Norwich Free Library in St Andrew’s Street.

Golf Links: The links of the Royal Norwich Golf Club are at Rabbit’s
Hill, Hellesdon, which overlooks the Wensum Valley and com-
mands a wide view. The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour pronounced
them the finest inland course he had ever played on. ‘There isa
shortened course for lady golfers.

ORMESBY ST MARGARET (or Great Ormesby) (p. 80).—A village, with

_astation, 5m. N. by W. from Yarmouth. The church contains
some brasses, including one to Lady Alice Clere, aunt to Anne
Boleyn.

OrMEsBY ST MICHAEL (or Little Ormesby).—A parish 1 m. W. from
Ormesby station. The church contains a fine modern carved
oak reredos.

OuLTon.—A village 1 m. N. from Bluestone station.

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Gazetteer

OusE, LITTLE.—An ecclesiastical parish, a portion of which is in
Cambridgeshire, 44 m. N.N.E. from Littleport station. It con-
tains the parishes of Feltwell Anchor and Redmore.

OUTWELL.—A village partly in Cambridgeshire but principally in
Norfolk, 6 m. W. from Downham station. The church is a
fine building in which the three periods of Gothic architecture
may be easily traced. The roof of the north chapel is beautifully
painted. Here is a curious rectory house with a detached tower.

OVERSTRAND (p. 86).—A coast parish 2m.S.E. from Cromer. There
are two churches here; but one, containing the tomb of Sir
Thomas Fowell Buxton, the slave emancipator, is in ruins. Of
late this village has attracted many visitors, for whom there is
accommodation in a considerable number of new lodging houses.
The neighbourhood is exceedingly picturesque, and its proximity
to Cromer gives it many advantages. The cliffs here rise to a
height of about go feet above the beach. Cromer Lighthouse and
the Royal Cromer Golf Club’s Links are in this parish.

OVINGTON.—A village 14 m. N.E. from Watton station. The church
has a Norman doorway, and there are traces of old dedication
crosses on the outer walls.

OXBOROUGH.—A parish 33 m. E. from Stoke Ferry station and 74 m.
W. from Swaffham. The church is a large building in the Early
English and Perpendicular styles, with a chapel south of the
chancel, founded by the Bedingfields in 1513. In the church is
an altar-tomb, under a marble Corinthian canopy, to Sir Henry
Bedingfield, who was constable of the Tower in the reign of
Queen Mary, and died in 1583. Oxborough Hall, a castellated
mansion built by Sir Edmund Bedingfield in 1482-3, is surrounded
by a wide moat, but the bridge which leads to the entrance tower
is modern, The entrance tower itself is eighty feet high and has
an octangular turret on each side of the archway. The house
was formerly quadrangular, but the banqueting hall which
occupied the south side was pulled down in 1778, when two
wings were added. The most interesting part of the building is
the King’s Room, over the gateway. It contains some tapestry
of the time of Henry VII., and is traditionally reported to have
been occupied by that king when he was the guest of Sir Edmund
Bedingfield. A bed in this room has a coverlet and curtains of
green velvet, worked with curiously named representations of
birds and beasts by Queen Mary of Scotland and the Countess of
Shrewsbury. Queen Elizabeth stayed at Oxborough when she
visited Norfolk and slept in the room immediately above the
King’s Room. In a turret of the east tower is a “‘ priest’s hiding-
hole.” Oxborough Hall is one of the finest moated and castellated
buildings in England, aud many visitors to Norfolk will regret
that it is closed to strangers. The Bedingfield family were
originally lords of the manor of Bedingfield in Suffolk, and an
ancestor of Sir Henry George Paston- Bedingfield, Bart., the
present occupant of the Hall, first settled at Oxborough in the

u 395

Norfolk

early part of the fourteenth century. The estate passed out of
the possession of the family during the Commonwealth, when it
was taken from Sir Henry Bedingfield by the Parliament, but it
was repurchased at the Restoration.

OXNEAD.—A parish on the Bure, 1 m. N. from Buxton station and
3m.S.E. from Aylsham. ‘The church, almost hidden by trees,
contains a marble tomb, with alabaster effigy, to Clement Paston,
a naval commander who died in 1599. He lived for some time
at Caister Castle (p. 39), where he held prisoner the French
admiral Baron de Blanchard, whose ransom was fixed at 7000
crowns. He was the builder of Oxnead Hall, a magnificent
mansion of which only a portion now remains, forming part of
some farm buildings. It contained a fine banqueting hall, in
which Charles II. was entertained. A fountain basin and some
statues which stood in the grounds are now at Blickling Hall

(pp. 133-40). There are frequent references to Oxnead in the
‘«Paston Letters.”

OXWICK AND PATTESLEY form a parish 34 m. from Fakenham.

PALLING.—A small coast village 4 m. N.E. from Stalham station.
There is some accommodation here for visitors.

PANXWORTH.—A village 3 m. N. from Lingwood station. <A ruined
tower is all that is left of the old church.

PASTON (pp. 83-84).—A coast parish 4m. N.E. from North Walsham
station. The church contains a fine monument by Nathaniel
Stone to Catherine, wife of Sir Edmund Paston, who died in
1628, and other memorials of the Paston family.

PENSTHORPE.—A parish on the Wensum, 2 m.S.E. from Fakenham.
What is left of the church forms part of some farm buildings.
PENTNEY.—A scattered village in which is Narborough station, 6 m.
N.W. by N. from Swaffham. The fine gateway of an Augustinian
priory, founded by Ralph de Vaux, is still standing about 2 m.

W. from the church.

PICKENHAM, NorTH.—A village 15 m. W. from Holme Hale station.
The church contains a reredos of Italian workmanship, and a
carved oak pulpit.

PICKENHAM, SOUTH.—A parish 3 m. S.W. from Holme Hale
station.

PLUMSTEAD (by Holt).—A parish 4 m. S.E. from Holt station.

PLUMSTEAD, GREAT.—A village 24 m. E. from Whittlingham
junction.

PLUMSTEAD, LITTLE.—A village 24 m. S. from Salhouse station.
PORINGLAND, GREAT AND LITTLE.— United parishes 44 m.S.E. from
Norwich. The church, which has a round tower with an octa-

gonal belfry, has some fine old (restored) oak benches with poppy
heads.

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Postwick.—A village on: the Yare, 2 m. E. from Whitlingham
junction. The church, an ancient building, contains a mural brass
and memorial window to Archibald, fourth Earl of Rosebery, who
died in 1868. The present Earl of Rosebery is lord of the manor.

POTTER HEIGHAM.—A Broadland village, with a station, 11 m.
N.W. from Yarmouth and 15 m. N.E. from Norwich. This is a
well-known angling resort, the river Thurne, Hickling Broad, and
Heigham Sounds being easily accessible from the village. Hick-
ling Broad is open for sailing and rowing, but a charge of a
shilling a day is made to anglers. Boats may be hired at the
Pleasure Boat Inn at Hickling and at Potter Heigham. There is
some accommodation for visitors in the village.

PubDpDING Norton.—A small parish 14 m. S. from Fakenham. The
church is in ruins.

PULHAM St MARY MAGDALEN (called Pulham Market).—A large
village, witha station, 4m. N. by W. from Harleston. The Hall
was formerly the residence of a younger branch of the Percies,
Earls of Northumberland.

PULHAM ST MARY THE VIRGIN.—A village, with a station, 3 m.
N.W. from Harleston. The exterior of the church is ornamented
with some curious carved figures. Some of the windows contain
old glass, one dating from 1380 and another, called the Apostles’
window, from 1420. The ancient chancel screen has been
restored.

QUARLES.—A parish adjoining Holkham, 4 m. S.W. from Wells.

QUIDENHAM.—A village 14 m. S. from Eccles Road station. The
church has a Norman south porch, and in the vestry wall are
three pillars which probably formed part of a Saxonfont. There
are several memorials here to the Keppels, Earls of Albermarle,
whose seat is Quidenham Hall, a fine modern house standing in
a well-wooded park. In the midst of a grove of firs in the park
is a barrow. There is also a mere about 7 acres in extent
which affords good fishing.

RACKHEATH.—A village 2 m. W. from Salhouse station.

RANWORTH.—A Broadland parish 5 m. E. from Salhouse station. The
church contains one of the first rood screens in the county (p. 168).
Ranworth Broad, about go acres in extent, is connected with the
Bure.

RAVENINGHAM.—A scattered village 4 m. N.E. from Beccles. The
church, which stands in Raveningham Park, contains eight
canopied memorials to the Bacon family.

RAYNHAM, EAst.—A village 14 m. S. from Raynham Park station
and4m.S.W.byS. from Fakenham. The church, re-built by the
Marquis Townshend, has, in the tower, a stained glass window,
presented by the late Sir Arthur Phayre. In the north aisle is a
small brass, with effigy in academical robes, to Robert Godfrey,

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Norfolk

LL.B., who died in 1522, and another to George, son of Roger
Townshend. ‘The Hall, the seat of the Marquesses of Towns-
hend, was built about 1630 for Sir Roger Townshend from designs
by Inigo Jones, and occupies the site of an earlier moated hall.
It was altered and enlarged by Viscount Townshend, who was
Secretary of State under George I., and who married Dorothy
Walpole, sister of Sir Robert Walpole. The ghost of this lady,
‘“ The Brown Lady of Raynham,” was believed to haunt the grand
staircase of the hall, and also that of her earlier home, Houghton
Hall, where George IV., when Prince Regent, was said to have
been so frightened by her supernatural appearance that he
shortened his stayin the house. The hall contains some very fine
pictures, including the famous ‘“‘ Belisarius” of Salvator Rosa,
presented to Charles, the second Viscount Townshend, by
Frederick the Great of Prussia, and valued at £10,000. Here
are also portraits by Vandyck, Kneller, Sir J. Reynolds, Lely,
and Wilkie. The park is some 1200 acres in extent, and contains
a Sheet of water nearly two miles long.

RAYNHAM, SOUTH.—A scattered village 2m. S. from Raynham Park
station.

RAYNHAM, WEST.—A parish 2 m. S. from Raynham Park station.
The church is in ruins.

REDENHALL.—See Harleston.

REEDHAM.—A Broadland village, on the Yare, with a station 8 m.
S.W. by W. from Yarmouth. The church contains a tomb, with
kneeling effigies, to Henry Berney, who died n 1584. Reedham
Hall occupies the site of an earlier building, some portions of
which are incorporated init. This place is said to have been a seat
of the East Anglian kings, anda local tradition asserts that it was
here Ragnar Lodbrock was murdered. Lodbrock was a Danish
chief, who one day ‘‘ while hawking for birds among the islands
on the coast of Denmark, was surprised by a sudden storm,
driven across the North Sea, and found himself at the mouth of
the Yare, which he entered, and landed at Reedham, where the
court of Edmund, King of the East Angles, was at that time
held. He was received into royal favour, and in hunting was
frequently attended by the king’s huntsman Bern, whom he soon
excelled in his own profession. Bern became jealous, and at
length murdered Lodbrock in the woods; but the murder came
to light through the affection of Lodbrock’s dog, who searched
the woods till he found his dead master buried under a heap
of brushwood and leaves. ‘The baying of the hound attracted
attention, and the scared look and craven manner of the
king’s huntsman betrayed his guilt. Bern was tried, and con-
demned to be cast away in a boat. Strangely enough, he
drifted to the coast of Denmark, where, being tortured on the
rack, to learn what he knew of Lodbrock’s death, he concealed
his own guilt, and attributed the assassination to King Edmund.
The consequence was that 20,000 Danes, under the leadership of

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Hinguar and Hubba, Lodbrock’s two sons, invaded East Anglia,
burned and slaughtered indiscriminately as they went, overcame
Edmund, took him prisoner, and, after a mock trial, beheaded
him.”— The Land of the Broad.
Wherry yachts, yachts, and boats may be hired here, and there
i accommodation for visitors at the Eagle Tavern and Railway
otel.
REEPHAM.—A large village with a station, 12 m. N. W. from Norwich.
The church contains some good brasses, and an altar tomb, with
a fine cross-legged effigy to Sir Roger de Herdeston, who died in
1337. Inn: King’s Arms.
REPPS-CUM-BASTWICK.—A small village near Hickling Broad, and 14
m. S.W. from Potter Heigham station.
REYMERSTON.—A village 1} m. S.W. from Thuxton station. The
east window of the church contains some fine Flemish glass, and
the communion rails are also Flemish work.

RIDDLESWORTH.—A parish on the Little Ouse, 5 m. S. from
Harling Road station.

RIDLINGTON.—A parish 34 m. N. by E. from Honing station.
Figures of the four evangelists serve as pinnacles to the church
tower.

RINGLAND.—A parish on the Wensum, 24 m. S. from Attlebridge
station. ‘The church, a fine Gothic building, has an elaborately
groined nave roof, springing from sixteen shafts supported by
carved heads.

RINGSTEAD, BARRET.—A decayed parish 2 m. S. from Hun-
stanton.

RINGSTEAD, GREAT.— A village, foemieely consisting of two parishes,
2m. from Hunstanton. The Church of St Andrew is an ancient
building in the Decorated style. Of the Church of St Peter all
that remains is a circular Norman tower.

ROCKLAND ALL SAINTS and ROCKLAND ST ANDREW.—These are
united parishes 44 m. W. from Attleborough. All Saints Church
nave is a fine example of Saxon, herringbone and ashlar work.
The church contains a cable-stitch tombstone, believed to be the
oldest in the country. St Andrew’s Church is in ruins.

ROCKLAND ST MAry.—A scattered village 6 m. S.E. from Norwich.
The church is an ancient flint building in the Gothic style. A few
feet east of it are the ruins of the church of Rockland St Margaret,
or Little Rockland. Rockland Broad (about too acres) adjoins
this parish and the Yare.

ROCKLAND ST PETER.—A village 44 m. W. by N. from Attle-
borough. ‘The church is an ancient flint building with a round
tower.

ROLLESBY.—A village 14 m. S.W. from Martham station. The
church, an ancient building in the Early English style, has a

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tower partly Norman, and contains a fine altar-tomb, with
recumbent effigy, to Rose Claxton, who died in 1601; also a
mural monument, with fourteen kneeling figures, to Leonard
Mapes, who died in 1619. Rollesby Broad is connected with
Filby and Ormesby Broads, the three extending over 600
acres. These broads are well-known to anglers. Boats may
be hired at the Eel’s Foot and King’s Head inns, Ormesby.
There is accommodation for visitors at the Horse and Groom
Inn, Rollesby.

ROUDHAM.—A parish 12 m. E. from Roudham junction. The
church was destroyed by fire, but some parts of its ruins remain.

RouGHAM.—A village 4 m. S.E. from Massingham station. The
church contains several monuments and brasses to the Yelverton
family. Over the west doorway is a carving of the Crucifixion.

ROUGHTON.—A village 3 m. N.W. from Gunton station. The
church, a flint building in the Norman style, has a round tower,
and on the north side of the chancel are traces of either a vestry
or chantry chapel.

ROXHAM.—A parish 2 m. S.E. from Downham.

ROYDON (near Diss).—A village 14 m. W. from Diss station. The
church contains some monuments to the Frere family, and its
south porch was built in memory of Temple Frere, who was
drowned at Cambridge while attempting to save the life of a
fellow student. The Hall is the seat of the Freres, a very ancient ©
Norfolk family whose most distinguished representative was Sir
Bartle Frere, Bart.

ROYDON (near Lynn).—A village 6 m, E.N.E. from Lynn. The
church has two Norman doorways.

RUDHAM, EAST.—A village with a station, 7m, W. from Fakenham.
There are some remains here of Coxford or Cokesford Abbey,
founded in the twelfth century.

RUDHAM, WEST.—A village 23 m. S.W. from East Rudham station.

RUNCTON, NortTuH.—A village 2 m. S.W. from Middleton station.
The parish contains the hamlet of Hardwick.

RUNCTON, SouTH.—A village 4 m. N. by W. from Downham. The
church contains a fine Teena arch.

RUNHALL.—A scattered parish 1 m. N. from Hardingham station.
The church is partly in ruins.

RUNHAM.—A parish on the Bure, 3 m. S.W. from Ormesby station.
The church is an ancient building i in the Early English style. A
ferry which here crosses the Bure is called Runham Swim.

RUNTON, EAST AND WEsT form a village on the coast with a
station at West Runton, 2m. W. from Cromer. In this village,
which lies between Cromer and Sheringham, accommodation for
visitors is fast increasing. A ‘‘gap” in the cliffs here is a

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favourite subject with artists. The church, recently restored, is
a fine old building in the Decorated style containing some old
poppy-headed seats.

RUSHALL.—A small village 2 m. S. from Pulham St Mary station.
The church has the stairs leading to the rood loft intact, and
contains two interesting lancet windows. The Hall, now a farm-
house, is surrounded by a moat.

RUSHFORD.—A parish on the Little Ouse, 4 m. S.E. from Thetford.
The church was formerly attached to the college of St John the
Evangelist, dissolved in 1541, of which there are some ese
ruins. At Shadwell, a hamlet 13 m. S.E. from Rushford,
Shadwell Court, a modern house in the Domestic Gothic Se
The hamlet takes its name from ‘‘St Chadd’s Well,” a spring
formerly much frequented by pilgrims.

RusTON, EAst.—A scattered village 3 m. N. from Stalham station.
On the panels of the church chancel screens are paintings of St
Gregory, St Ambrose, St Augustine, and St Jerome. Richard
Porson, who became Professor of Greek at Cambridge University,
was born here in 1759, his father then being parish clerk,

RUSTON, SOUTH.—A parish 14 m. N. from Coltishall station.

RYBURGH, GREAT.—A village on the Wensum, with a station, 4 m.,
S.E. from Fakenham. ‘The church contains some good Norman
arcading. Its tower is believed to be Saxon.

RYBURGH, LITTLE.—A parish near Ryburgh station. The church is
1n ruins.

RysTon.—A parish with a station # m. N., in the parish of Fordham.
The church, a small Early English building, has a roof 500 years
old, discovered in 1868 when the plaster ceiling of the chancel
was removed. ‘Two ‘‘leper’s” windows, an aumbrey, and a very
fine piscina were discovered at the same time. ‘There are several
monuments here to the Pratt family, including one with a white
marble effigy to Anne, wife of Sir Roger Pratt, who died in 1707.
Near Ryston Hall is Kett’s Oak, or the ‘‘Oak of Reformation,”
under which Robert Kett, the Norfolk rebel leader, held his court
in 1549.

SAHAM TONEY.—A village 2 m. N.W. from Watton station. The
church is a fine Perpendicular building, with a parvise over the
south porch and a fine oak screen. The font has a carved oak
cover, dated 1632, and surmounted by a pelican in her piety.
Some of the benches date from the sixteenth century and are
poppy-headed. Here is a mere of about 13 acres, in which, it
is said, eels of a peculiar kind are caught.

SALHOUSE.—A village on the Bure, with a station I m. to the west-
ward. The church is chiefly Early English and has a detached
embattled tower. It contains an old hour-glass stand, a sanctus
bell, a crusader’s tomb, and two ancient stone coffins. The Hall,

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a fine castellated Elizabethan house, contains some good pictures
and other works of art.

SALLE.—A village 14 m. N. from Reepham station. The church
stands on high ground, and is one of the finest Perpendicular
buildings in the county. At one time it possessed five altars,
raised on a stone platform still to be seen. Part of the screen
remains, but its figures are nearly obliterated. ‘The font cover is
suspended by a beam projecting from the gallery. The church
contains some interesting brasses, including a small one (date
1440), to Galfridus Boleyne and his wife, who were ancestors of
Anne Boleyn. Other brasses are dated 1415, 1441, 1453, 1482,
1483, 1486, 1500, 1504, 1505, and 1532. ‘There isa tradition that
Anne Boleyn’'s body was removed from the Tower and buried in
this church, and a black marble slab was formerly pointed out as
marking her grave (p. 139). A good view of the surrounding
county may be obtained from the top of the church tower, and
also from that of the neighbouring church of Cawston, another
grand Perpendicular building of great interest to antiquaries.

SALTHOUSE (p. 90). —A coast parish 4m. N. from Holt station. The
church, a large Perpendicular building, contains several poppy-
headed benches. A curious earthwork is to be seen on a heath
adjoining the parish of Kelling.

Sandringham (pp. 103-8).—A village 13m. E. from Wolferton station,
and 74 m. N. by E. from Lynn. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales
is lord of the manor and occupies the Hall. A description of
the church, park, and neighbourhood is given in Itinerary VIII.
Sandringham Park is now thrown open to the public on Wednes-
days, between 10 A:M. and 4 P.M., when the Royal Family are
not in residence. Applications for admission should be made by
post to Mr Back, Estate Office, Sandringham, or personally
before noon on the day of the visit. Cheap tickets to Sandring-
ham are issued by the G.E.R. Company on certain days during
the summer months.

SANTON.—A parish on the Little Ouse, 3 m. E. from Brandon station.
The church, a small flint building re-built in 1628, contains a
timber roof, screens, and floor tiles, removed here from West
Tofts church in 1858.

SAXLINGHAM.—A parish 3 m. W. from Holt station. A niche in the
church contains an effigy of the wife of Sir Christopher Heydon,
who died in 1593.

SAXLINGHAM-NETHERGATE.—A village 2} m. E. from Flordon
station.
SAXLINGHAM-THORPE.—A parish on the Tas, adjoining Saxlingham-
Nethergate. ‘The church is in ruins.
SAXTHORPE.—A small village on the Bure, with a station in the
adjoining parish of Corpusty.
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SCARNING.—A village 2 m. E. from Wendling station. The church, a
large building in mixed styles, contains a chantry chapel, a good
rood screen, and a small sanctus bell in its original oak frame.
Dr Jessop, the author of ‘‘ Arcady,” ‘‘ The Coming of the Friars,”’
and several archzeological works, is rector of the parish.

SCOLE.—A village on the Waveney, 2 m. E. from Diss station. The
church is an ancient flint building inthe Early English style. In
the old coaching days an inn here, the ‘‘ White Hart,’ was a
famous hostelry. It was erected in 1655, and still contains some
old carving ; but its great sign, on which many figures, including
those of Diana and Actzeon, Charon and Cerebus, were carved in
wood at a cost of £1057 has disappeared. Thorpe Parva, a
small hamlet 3 m. E. from Diss, is included in this parish. Only
a portion of its church tower remains.

ScoTTow.—A scattered village 2 m. W. from Worstead station.

SCOULTON.—A village 4 m. E. from Watton station. There is a
mere here 13 m. in circumference. It is the breeding-place of
large numbers of black-headed gulls, who build their nests on a
swampy island. ‘‘ The sight of the birds of Scoulton,” says the
late Mr G. D. Rowley, ‘‘as they rise in a dense mass, filling the
air like snow, is certainly very beautiful ; and the sound of the
multitude of voices is music to the ornithological ear. The gulls
chiefly congregate at each end of ‘the heath,’ as the great island
is called, on which Scotch firs and birches grow. If an unfor-
tunate heron appears they mob him, and keep even the swans at
a respectful distance, with blows on the head.” Permission must
be obtained before visitors can examine this interesting ‘‘ gullery.”

SCULTHORPE.—A scattered village 2 m. N.W. from Fakenham.
The church contains a brass, with kneeling effigy, to Henry
Unton, receiver of fines of the Court of Common Pleas, who
died in 1470; and two other brasses, dating respectively from
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It has a fine Norman
font, bearing sculptured representations of the Adoration of the
Three Kings.

SEDGEFORD.—A village with a station # m. N., 10 m. S.W. from
Burnham Market. The church contains a Norman font and
some old woodwork.

SEETHING.—A village 5 m. N. from Bungay station.
SETCH.—A parish 4 m. S. from Lynn.

SHARRINGTON.—A village 34 m. W.S.W. from Holt station. The
church contains some fifteenth and sixteenth century brasses.

SHELFHANGER.—A village 34 m. N.W. from Diss station.

SHELTON.—A village 5 m. S.E. from Forncett junction. The church
contains an undated altar-tomb with kneeling effigies to Sir Robert
Houghton, his two wives and son; also three altar-tombs to
members of the Shelton family. The font is old and curiously

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carved. The Hall, a moated house formerly the seat of the
Shelton family, is now a farmhouse.

SHEREFORD.—A parish on the Wensum, 2 m. W. from Fakenham.
The church is in the Norman and Early English styles, and hasa
round tower.

SHERINGHAM (p. go0).—A rising seaside resort, with a station, 4
m. from Cromer. ‘This place is fast gaining popularity among
visitors to the Norfolk coast, for whom it provides plenty of
accommodation, and has many natural attractions. The neigh-
bourhood is charmingly picturesque, its scenery more resem-
bling that of the Isle of Wight than any other part of the country.
The cliffs rise to a considerable height, and command wide views
of the coast ; the beach equals that of Cromer. A great number
of places of interest are within easy distance of the villages of
Upper and Lower Sheringham, which together form a parish: a
list of them will be found under the heading of ‘‘ Cromer,” and a
description of most of them in the chapter, ‘‘ By the Wild North
Sea.’”’ The church, a Perpendicular building, contains some in-
teresting monuments and brasses, including a monument to
Thomas Heath, who was robbed and murdered near here in
1635. The links of the Sheringham Golf Club, laid out by Mr
Tom Dunn in 18g1, are on the summit of cliffs rising 200 feet
above the beach. There is a well-appointed clubhouse.
Visitors are at all times permitted to walk or drive through
the grounds of Sheringham Hall. The principal hotels are
the Sheringham, Crown, and Railway.

During the summer months omnibuses run each week-day
between Cromer (G.E.R.) station and Sheringham, in connec-
tion with the principal express trains from and to London.

SHERNBORNE.— A village 3 m. E. from Snettisham station. The
church, which contains a fine ancient font, is said to be the
second founded by St Felix in East Anglia.

SHIMPLING.—A scattered village 4 m. E. from Burston station.

SHINGHAM.—A small parish 44 m. S.W. from Swaffham. The
church, which has no tower, and has not been used for many
years, has a fine Early Norman south doorway.

SHIPDHAM.—A large village 4 m. S.W. from Yaxham station. The
church, a large building in the Early English style, contains a
very fine wooden lectern. Over the porch is a parvise containing
a collection of rare old books, including ‘‘’The Floure of the
Commandments,” printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1509, and an
illuminated Psalter of the fifteenth century.

SHOTESHAM ALL Satnts.—A village 3 m. S.E. from Swainsthorpe
station.

SHOTESHAM St Mary.—A parish 2 m. S.E. from Swainsthorpe
station. This parish consists of three ancient parishes, the
churches of two of which have been in ruins for several centuries.

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SHOULDHAM.—A village 5 m.S.E. from Magdalen Road junction.

SHOULDHAM THORPE.—A straggling village 4 m. S.E. from Mag-
dalen Road junction.

SHROPHAM.—A parish 3 m. N. from Harling Road station.

SIDESTRAND.—A coast parish 3m. S.E. from Cromer. The tower
of the old church stands on the edge of the cliffs, which rise to a
height of about 150 feet above the beach. Most of the farmers
and cottagers in the parish and neighbourhood let rooms to
visitors.

SIZELAND.—A village 5 m. S. from Buckenham station. Some ruins
of an ancient chapel are attached to the church.

SKEYTON.—A scattered parish 34 m. E. from Buxton-Lammas,
station.

SLOLEY.—A village 1 m. S. from Worstead station... The church, an
ancient building in the Early English style, contains a font
bearing carved representations of the seven Sacraments of the
Catholic Church.

SMALLBURGH.—A village 24 m. S.W. from Stalham station and 3 m.
from Worstead station.

SNAREHILL, GREAT and LITTLE.—Form a parish adjoining Thet-
ford. Several large tumuli in this neighbourhood are supposed to
indicate the battlefield upon which Edmund, King of the East
Angles, was defeated and captured by the Danes under Inguar,
who caused him to be fastened to a tree and shot to death with
arrows.

SNETTERTON.—A scattered village 2 m. N. from Eccles Road station.
The church contains a painted and gilt carved screen.

SNETTISHAM.—A village on the coast road from Lynn to Hunstan-
ton, with a station on the Lynn and Hunstanton line. The
church, a large flint and stone building, stands on high ground,
and its spire is a useful landmark to seamen. At one time the
tower was a central one; but part of the church has disappeared
except for some scanty ruins. The west front is in imitation of
that of Peterborough Cathedral, and contains a fine Decorated
window. The clerestory windows are alternatively round-headed
and circular. The monuments include one, with effigy, to Sir
Wymond Carye, who died in 1612. There is a brass, with
effigies, to John Cremer, died 1610, Anne, his wife, and seven
children ; and another dating from about 1500.

SNORING, GREAT.—A village 2 m. S. from Walsingham station. The
rectory house, an ornamental brickwork building, erected by Sir
Ralph Shelton in the reign of Henry VIII., was restored in 1853
and somewhat enlarged.

SNORING, LITTLE.—A parish 3 m. N.E. from Fakenham. The
church, in the Transition-Norman and later styles, contains two

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Norfolk

Norman windows and doorways. ‘The south door of the nave is
a curious mixture of styles. The font is Late Norman.

SOMERTON, East.—A parish near the coast, 2m. N. from Hemsby
station. ‘The church is in ruins.

SOMERTON, WEST.—A parish 14 m. N.E. from Martham station.
In the church are mural paintings of ‘‘ The Day and Judgment,”
‘‘The Flagellation,” ‘‘ The Resurrection,” and ‘‘ The Entry into
Jerusalem.” They were discovered about thirty years ago, and
are believed to date from 1327 to 1377. An interesting Early
English painting of ‘‘ The Virgin and Child,” which seems to
have formed part of a rood screen, was discovered under the floor
of the pulpit about ten years after the mural paintings were
brought to light. Hales, the Norfolk giant, who was 7 feet 6 ins.

’ in height, was born here and is buried in the churchyard. Some
portions of West Somerton Hall are very ancient.

SOUTHBERGH.—A village 35 m. S.W. from Thuxton station. The
church chancel dates from about 1290 and the nave from 1320.
There isa monument here to Brampton Gurdon, M., P. for Sudbury,
who commanded the Suffolk Horse at the Battle of Naseby.

SOUTHERY. —A village on the Ouse, 4 m. S.E. from Hilgay station.
The greater part of the parish consists of fen. Originally the
place was one of the old fen ‘‘ islands.”

SOUTHREPPS.—A village 1 m. N. from Gunton station.

SOUTHWOOD.—A parish 1 m. N. from Cantley station. The church
is in ruins.

SPARHAM.—A village on the Wensum, 2m. N.W. from Lenwade
station. The church contains an interesting screen, some very
old benches, and a pre-Reformation pulpit.

SPIXWORTH.—A village 4m. N. from Norwich. The church contains
a fine marble monument with recumbent effigies erected in 1635
to William and Alicia Peck.

SPORLE-WITH-PALGRAVE.—A village 2 m. N.E. from Swaffham
station. The church, a fine building in the Early English style,
contains a fifteenth century fresco representing the legend of St
Katherine of Alexandria.

SPROWSTON.—A straggling village 2m. N. from Norwich. The
church monuments include one to Sir Thomas Adams, who was
Lord Mayor of London in 1645 and died in 1667.

STALHAM (p. 174).—A small market town, with a station, 8 m, S.E.
from North Walsham and 15 m. N.E. from Norwich. The
church, a fine flint and stone building in the Perpendicular style,
contains two good brasses, one dating from the fifteenth century ;
also a very old font upon which are stone carvings of the Apostles
and the Baptism of Christ. Stalham Broad, famous for its fine
reeds and water-lilies, is connected with the town by a navigable
channel, as also is Sutton Broad. Anglers may hire rowing and

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sailing boats here, and there is accommodation for visitors at the
Maid’s Head, Railway, Swan, and Temperance hotels.

STANFIELD.—A parish 35 m. W. from North Elmham station.
STANFORD.—A village 6 m. N.E. from Brandon station.

STANHOE.—A village, with a station, 4 m. S.S.W. from Burnham
Market. ‘There are remains here of an ancient cross ; also traces
of a religious house.

STARSTON.—A small village 14 m. N. by W. from Harleston. The
church, which is partly Norman, has a good roof, and contains a
monument, with kneeling effigy, to Bartholomew Cotton, clerk of
briefs to the Star Chamber, who died in 1613. It also possesses
a silver chalice dated 1567. The Hall, now a farmhouse, is an
old building in the Elizabethan style, partly surrounded by a
moat.

STIBBARD.—A parish 2 m. E. from Ryburgh station.

STIFFKEY (pp. 96-97).—A village near the coast, 34 m. E. from Wells.
The church contains a brass dated 1479. The Hall, erected by
Sir Nicholas Bacon, keeper of the Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth,
was once a fine but unfinished castellated mansion. Traces of
some ancient entrenchments may be seen on Warborough Hill
and Camping Hill.

STOCKTON.—A village 3 m. N.W. from Beccles.

Stopy.—A village 2m. N.E. from Melton Constable station. The
church, a cruciform Perpendicular building with a round tower,
contains an interesting font.

STOKE FERRY.—A large village, with a station which is the terminus
of the Downham and Stoke Ferry line. The church is Early
English. Inn: Crown.

STOKE Hoty Cross.—A village 2 m. E. from Swainsthorpe station.

STOKESBY-WITH-HERRINGBY.—A village on the Bure 25 m. W. from
Acle station. The church, a Decorated building, contains some
brasses, one a small but good one dated 1488 representing
Edward Clere and his wife. Some of the bench ends are well
carved. ‘The tower commands a wide view of the Bure valley.

Stow BARDOLPH.—A village 12 m. S.E. from Stow Bridge station.
Attached to the church is a mortuary chapel built in the sixteenth
century, containing several fine monuments to the Hare family,
who have been lords of the manor since 1553. Most of the
monuments are of marble; but one has a wax effigy of Sarah,
youngest daughter of Sir Thomas Hare, Bart. Stow Hall isa
red-brick mansion in the Jacobean style, rebuilt by Nicholas
Hare, Esq., on the site of an earlier house erected by Sir Nicholas
Hare in 1589.

Stow BEDoN.—A small parish with a station 14m. N.W. from the
church, 4m. S. from Watton. The church contains two lancet

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windows filled with stained glass from Hildersham Church,
Cambridgeshire; also a pine carved oak screen.

STRADSETT.—A village 4 m. N.E. from Downham. The stained
east window of the church was made at Amsterdam in 1543.
The Hall isa large and ancient house. Adjoining it is a lake
of about 20 acres.

STRATTON, LONG.—This place, which was formerly a market town,
is 2 m. E. from Forncett junction. It comprises two parishes,
Stratton St Mary and Stratton St Michael. St Mary’s Church, a
large flint building with a round tower, contains a handsome
marble monument, dated 1647, to Sir Edmund Reve, Justice of
the Common Pleas; also an altar-tomb to a fifteenth century
rector. In the vestry is a curious contrivance called a ‘‘Sexton’s
Wheel,” by which a penance day known as ‘‘the Lady’s Fast”
was determined.

STRATTON STRAWLESS.—A village 13 m. 5. W. from Buxton-Lammas
station. The church contains a black marble altar-tomb, with an
effigy in a shroud, above which are the figures of two angels, to
Thomas Marsham, who died in 1638; also a cross-legged figure
in mail, supposed to be that of Sir Ralph Marsham, who died in
1250. The Marsham family had the manor from the time of
Edward I., and one of them, a naturalist and F.R.S., who died in
1797, planted most of the fine trees which surround the Hall.

STRUMPSHAW.—A village 12 m. N. from Buckenham station. The
church contains a painted rood screen and some brasses.

STURSTON.—A village 6 m. S.W. from Watton station. The church
is in ruins.
SUFFIELD.—A parish 14 m. N. from Felmingham station.

SURLINGHAM (pp. 152-3).—A village on the Yare, 14 m. S. from
Brundall station. The church of St Saviour is in ruins. St
Mary’s Church is a small Gothic building. This place is a
favourite Broadland angling resort, and contains Surlingham
Broad, a sheet of water about 7o acres in extent. The broad is
connected with the Yare by channels navigable to small sailing
craft. Boats can be hired at the Yare Hotel (Brundall) and Cold-
ham Hall Inn. The latter is reached by a ferry which crosses the
river a few minutes’ walk from Brundall station.

SUSTEAD.—A parish 14m. S. by W. from Cromer. ‘The old Hall
was built in 1663.

SUTTON.—A village about 1 m. from Catfield and Stalham stations.

SWAFFHAM (pp. 126-7).—A market town, witha station, 28 m. W. from
Norwich and 144 m. 8.E. from Lynn. The church isa large Per-
pendicular building erected about 1474. Its north aisle is said to
have been built by John Chapman, whose device, carved in certain
parts of the church, probably gave rise to the tradition that
Swaffham Church was built by a pedlar. Among the monuments

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is one to John Botwright, D.D., seventh master of Corpus Christi
College, Cambridge, and chaplain to Henry VI.; another to
Catherine Steward, who died in 1590. The roof of the chancel
is finely carved and supported by angels with outspread wings.
A priest’s chamber over the vestry contains some armour and
books.

A monument and drinking fountain in the market-place was
erected in memory of Sir William Bagge, Bart., M.P. The
market cross was rebuilt in 1783 by Horatio, Earl of Orford, and
is surmounted by a figure of Ceres. Inn: George.

Among the places of interest in the neighbourhood of Swaffham
are:

Castle Acre Castle and Priory (p. 128), distant 44 miles.

Oxborough Hall, distant 7} miles.

Cressingham Manor House, distant 5 miles.

SWAFIELD.—A village 2m, N. from North Walsham.

SWAINSTHORPE.—A village, with a station, 5 m. S. by W. from
Norwich. The church has a fine restored Perpendicular roof and
Norman font.

SWANINGTON.—A scattered village 1 m. N. from Attlebridge station
and 34 m. S. from Cawston station. Robert Kett, the Wymond-
ham tanner who raised an insurrection in Norfolk in 1549, was
captured in this parish after the defeat of his followers by the
Earl of Warwick’s troops (p. 18). Swanington Lawn contains
some fine old oak carving brought from the house of William
Rogers, mayor of Norwich in 1543 and 1548.

SWANTON ABBOT.—A parish 24 m. W. from Worstead station. The
church contains a good brass, dated 1477, to Stephen de Multon.

SWANTON Mor LeEy.—A village on the Wensum, 24 m. from North
Elmham station. The church, built by William, third Baron
Morley, about 1379, is a flint building in the Perpendicular style.
Portions of the foundations and cellars of the ancient castle of
the Lords Morley may be seen on the bank of the Wensum,
opposite Bylaugh Park.

_ SWANTON Novers.—A village 2 m. S.W. from Melton Constable

station.

- SWARDESTON.—A village 2 m. N. from Swainsthorpe station. Its

Early English church contains a fine screen.

SYDERSTONE.—A small village 44 m. S.E. from Stanhoe station.
This place disputes with Stanfield Hall, Wymondham, having
been the birthplace of the unfortunate Amy Robsart, who married
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and whose death occurred under
mysterious circumstances at Cumnor Hall, near Oxford, in 1560.

TACOLNSTONE.-—A village 1} m. S. from Ashwellthorpe station.
The church contains a Jacobean pulpit, an ancient font, and part
of a finely carved and painted screen. The Hall, built in the reign
of Queen Anne, but recently enlarged, is surrounded. by a moat.

8

Norfolk

TASBURGH.—A village on the Tas, 14 m. S.E. from Flordon station.
The church, which has a Norman round tower and contains an
ancient font and several sixteenth century brasses, stands within
a quadrangular Roman camp about 24 acres in extent, supposed
to be the Roman ‘‘ Ad Tavum,” a fortress on the chief Roman
road from Londinium to Venta. ‘Tasburgh Hall is a house in
the late Jacobean style containing some good oak panelling,
chimney-pieces, and antique furniture.

TATTERFORD.—A parish ? m. N.W. from Raynham Park station.

TATTERSET (or Gatesend).—A small village 2 m. N.W. from Rayn-
ham Park station.

TAVERHAM.—A village on the Wensum, 14 m. W. from Drayton
station. ‘The church has a round Saxon tower and contains a
handsome font.

TERRINGTON ST CLEMENT.—A large village, with a station, 5m. W.
from Lynn by ferry and 63 by road. The church is one of the finest
Perpendicular structures in the county. It is a large cruciform
building with a clerestorial nave and detached tower, the latter,
which is very massive, probably having been built as a refuge
from floods. The font has a very curious cover, upon the panels
of which are painted representations of the Baptism and Tempta-
tion of Our Lord. In the latter the devil wears a red robe and
golden crown. Another panel represents a forest scene, and above
are the Evangelists with their emblems and a curious inscription.
Some wooden framed panels in the transepts contain the Lord’s
Prayer and the Belief, and are dated 1635. During the French
invasion of Holland, the Prince of Orange sought refuge here,
and was the guest of Baron Feagle, a Dutch refugee, who lived
at a house now called Orange Farm.

TERRINGTON ST JOHN.—A village 3 m.S. from Terrington station.
The church tower stands some fifteen feet from the church, but
is connected with it by a structure known as the ‘‘ priest’s house.”

TESTERTON.—A parish 2 m. W. from Ryburgh station. The church
has disappeared, except a small portion of the tower.

THARSTON.—A scattered village 1 m. N.E. from Forncett junction.
The church contains a monument, with figures of two soldiers
standing with reversed arms, to the late General Sir Robert John
Hervey, K.C.B., whose mausoleum is in the churchyard. ‘The
Hall is an old house in the Elizabethan style.

THELVETON.—A village 2} m. N.E. from Diss station. The church
contains a finely carved sixteenth century font. The Hall is a
picturesque Elizabethan house.

‘THEMELTHORPE.—A village 1 m. from Guestwick station.

Thetford (pp. 48-53).—An ancient borough, with junction stations,
on the border of Suffolk, 31 m. S.W. from Norwich, 20 m. S.E.
fromWymondham, and 78 m. from London. The town was in-

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Gazetteer

corperated by Queen Elizabeth in 1573. During the Anglo-Saxon
period, Uffa, the first king of the East Angles, made it a royal
seat under the name of Theodford. Strenuously.contested battles
with the Danes were fought in the neighbourhood, at Rushford
Heath, where there are remains of a camp, and at Snarehill,
where the fighting lasted several days. In 870, the Danes under
Inguar defeated King Edmund here, and shortly afterwards slew

_, him. In 1004, Sweyn, King of Denmark, to avenge the massacre
ordered by Ethelred II., burnt the town, as he did again in roro.
After the Norman Conquest the bishopric was removed from
Elmham to Thetford, where it remained until Herbert de Lozinga
removed it to Norwich. A residence called the ‘‘ King’s House,”
still standing in King Street, was used as a country seat by several
kings. It was rebuilt in the reign of Elizabeth, and given by
James I. to Sir Philip Wodehouse of Kimberley, whose arms are
on a stone in the conservatory. Another house called the Manor
House, primarily the residence of the Earls Warren, became a
royal seat when the manor passed into the possession of the
Crown as part of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The Castle Hill, on the east side of the town, is:an artificial
mound like that upon which Norwich Castle stands. Nothing is
known as to its origin.

_ The Red Castle, which formed the western extremity of the
town’s southern fortifications, is to the left of the Brandon Road.

The ruins of a Cluniac priory, founded in 1104 by Roger
Bigod, and removed in the twelfth century from the Suffolk to the
Norfolk side of the river, are of considerable extent, the Addey
Gate being the most imposing portion. Here were buried succes-
sive generations of the families of Bigod, Mowbray, and Howard,
who in turn bore the title of Duke of Norfolk. '

The remains of a Saxon monastery known as the Vunmnery,
founded to commemorate the battle at Snarehill, form part of the
‘* Place” farm, the conventual church being used asabarn.. Ad-
joining the Boys’ Grammar School are some ruins of Great St
Mary’s Church, the cathedral of the See of Thetford. Between
the Brandon road and the river are some traces of the monastery
of the Holy Sepulchre, erected in 1109 by William, Earl Warren.

_At one time there were twenty parish churches here, but most

' of these have disappeared, and the remains existing are only frag-
mentary. ‘The most interesting relic of these vanished shrines is
the south transept arch of the old: church of Holy Trinity, which
isin the Boys’ Grammar School. Of the three churches now used
for worship, the finest is that of St Mary the Less, a large build-
ing in the Norman and Perpendicular styles, on the Suffolk side
of the river. Its square tower contains six bells made in the town
in 1615. The font is Norman. Sir Richard Fulmerstone, the
founder of the Grammar School, was buried here in 1566. During
the civil war between Charles I. and the Parliament, the church
was used as a stable by the Parliamentary forces. St Peter’s
Church, at the corner of King Street and White Hart Street, is a
black flint building in the Decorated style. St Cuthbert’s, near

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Norfolk

the market-place, was almost entirely rebuilt in the middle of the
nineteenth century. It contains a fine oak screen.

The Guildhall was first the hall of a guild founded by Gilbert de
Pykenham in the thirteenth century. —The Boys’ Grammar School,
in which Thomas Paine, the politician and theologian, who was
born in Thetford in 1737, was educated, was founded in 1566, on
the site of the cathedral church. It was restored in 1880. The
Bell Hotel is an Elizabethan hostelry, of considerable repute in
the old coaching days. West of the town lies the great Warren,
bounded on the north by the Ouse. It abounds with rabbits, and
on its highest ground stands an ancient building of unknown origin
called the Warren Lodge. Some interesting excursions may be
made in the neighbourhood of Thetford, notably in the direction
of Brandon, famous for its ancient flint-knapping industry (pp.

54-50, and Gazetteer). The principal inns are the Bell, Unicorn,

Anchor, and Temperance hotels.

THompson.—A parish 1 m. W. from Stow Bedon station. The
church, built about 1300, contains a variety of poppy-headed
benches, and a carved oak screen. ‘The south chapel was built
about 1450 as a chantry and place of interment for the founder,
Sir Thomas de Shardelow and his family.

THORNAGE.—A village 25 m. S.W. from Holt. In the church is an
old oak table; also a monument, with effigies and shields of
arms, to Sir William Butts, who died in 1583, and whose father
was chief physician to Henry VIII.

THORNHAM.—A coast village 5 m. E.N.E, from Hunstanton. The

church has a fine timber roof and several old carved doors, and
contains a portion of a fifteenth century painted rood screen;
also a pulpit dated 1631. ,

THORPE (next Haddiscoe).—A village 24 m. S.W. from aa
station.

THORPE (next Norwich).—A village on the Yare, 2 m. E. from
Norwich, with a station called Whitlingham junction. The old
church is a picturesque ruin. Attached to the Old Hall or
Manor House, which stands near the river, and which was
formerly a country seat of the bishops of Norwich, are the
remains of a chapel.

THORPE ABBOTTS.—A village on the Waveney, 44 m. E. from
Diss station.

‘THORPE MARKET.—A village 15 m. E. by N. from Gunton station.
THORPE. PARVA.—(See SCOLE).

THREXTON. —A parish 24 m. W. from Watton station. The church
roof and the splays of the arches are interesting ; also the carved
oak screen, poppy-headed benches, and Jacobean desk and

pulpit.

THRIGBY.—A parish 4 m. S.W. ftom Ormesby station. The Hall

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' grounds contain some fine old trees and a very ancient yew
fence.

THURGARTON.—A parish 5 m. W. from Gunton station. The Hall,
which has been in the possession of the Spurrell family about
350 years, was rebuilt in the Tudor style in 1733.

THURLTON.—A village 4 m. W. from Haddiscoe station. The
church contains a fine carved oak screen and some ancient
monuments.

THURNE.—A small village on the rivers Bure and Thurne, 4 m. W.
from Martham station. One of the church bells is said to date
from the fourteenth century.

THURNING.—A scattered village 2 m. N. from Guestwick station.

THURSFORD.—A village, with a station, 5 m. N.E. from Fakenham.
The Hall, an Elizabethan house, is surrounded by a small but
well-wooded park in which the church stands.

THURTON.—A village 4 m. S.W. from Buckenham station.

THUXTON.—A scattered parish, with a station, 54 m. S. by E. from
Dereham. The church contains three sixteenth century brasses.

THWAITE ALL SAINTS.—A village 5 m. N. from Aylsham.

THWAITE ST MAry.—A village 4 m. N. from Bungay station. The
church has a Norman doorway.

TIBENHAM.—A village 2 m. W. from Tivetshall junction. The
church has an embattled tower, with emblems of the Evangelists _
as pinnacles. It contains a Jacobean pulpit and a pew, erected
by faculty granted by Archbishop Laud for the use of the Buxton
family, to whom there are several brasses in an eastern chapel
dedicated to St Nicholas.

TILNEY ALL SAINTS.—A village 1 m. from Clenchwarton station,
and 14m. S.W. from Terrington station. The church is a fine
Transition Norman building, with a Perpendicular clerestory and
double hammer-beam roof adorned with figures. It contains
Perpendicular and Jacobean screens, and a late Perpendicular
font; also a grave slab said to be a memorial to the giant
Hickathrift, a somewhat mythical personage who, according to
tradition, armed himself with a cart axle-tree, and with a wheel
for a buckler put to flight a body of invaders who attempted to
gain possession of Tilney Smeeth, a tract of common land upon
which the inhabitants of the district kept their sheep.

TILNEY ST LAWRENCE.—A village 3 m. S. from Terrington station.

TITCHWELL.—A village on the coast road from Lynn to Wells, 54 m
W. by N. from Burnham Market station. At the east end of the
village is the shaft of a wayside cross.

TITTLESHALL-CUM-GoDWICK. — A village 5 m. N. from Dunham
station. The church contains seme fine monuments to the Coke

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Norfolk

family, including one with a life-size effigy to Sir Edward Coke,
Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, who died in 1634;
another to his wife with effigies of herself and eight children ; and
a handsome monument to Sir Thomas Coke of Holkham, first
Earl of Leicester of the Coke family, who died in 1759. The
Hall, now a farmhouse, was built by Sir Edward Coke, who pre-
sided over the trial of Sir Walter Rayleigh, and who was any great
authority of his day on English law.

TIVETSHALL ST MARGARET’S.-—A village, with junction station, 5%
m. N.N.E. from Diss. The church nave has a carved oak roof,
and is separated from the chancel by an Elizabethan screen.

TIVETSHALL ST Mary.—A village 14 m. from Tivetshall station.

‘ToFT Monks.—A village 14 m. from Aldeby station. The church
plate includes a silver chalice dated 1567.

Tort, WestT.—A village 5 m. N.E. from Brandon station. The
church contains two finely carved screens.

TOFTREES. —A parish 2 m. S.W. from Fakenham. The church con-
tains an interesting Norman font.

TOPCROFT.—A scattered village 6 m. N.W. from Bungay station.

TOTTENHILL.—A village 2 m. E. from Magdalen Road junction.
Westbriggs is a hamlet included in this parish, because its old
church is now Tottenhill parish church.

TOTTINGTON.—A village 35 m. E. from Stow Bedon station. The
church nave is seated throughout with old oak benches, and the
windows are remarkable for their tracery. An old stone bearing
the Mortimer arms has been placed on the wall of the south aisle.
Here, too, is an ancient carved screen, and a good brass date

1598.

T RIMINGHAM.—A small coast village, 3m. N.E. from Gunton ate .

5m. S.E. from Cromer, and adjoining Mundesley, which is con-
nected with the Norwich and Cromer line by a branch line from
North Walsham. It stands on the highest ground in Norfolk,

the cliffs rising to the height of 300 feet, and commanding a
magnificent view of the coast, and inland of a score or more
churches. The beach, which extends to Cromer on one side
and Mundesley on the other, affords delightful rambles and good
and safe bathing. The church, a flint building in the Perpen-
dicular style, contains a carved oak screen, and anciently pos-
sessed a celebrated relic, venerated as the head of St John the
Baptist. Some carving on the screen, which also bears figures of
St Petronilla, the reputed daughter of St Peter; St Clare; isp
Cecilia, St Dorothy, St Edmund, and St Edward, is supposed to
represent something associated with the precious relic for which
the church was formerly famous. Already Trimingham claims
its share of the summer visitors to the Norfolk coast, and as
accommodation is increasing here it promises soon to become a

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popular seaside resort. A list of the places of interest in the
neighbourhood will be found under ‘‘ Cromer.”

TROWSE NEwTON.—A village on the Yare, with a station 1? m. S.E.
by S. from Norwich. :

TRUNCH.—A village 25 m. E. from Gunton station. The church
-contains some fine woodwork and a richly carved open Perpen-
dicular roof. The font is within a wooden baptistery. The
chancel screen, which dates from 1502, has figures of the Apostles
on its lower panels.

TUDDENHAM, East.—A village 5 m. N.E. from Thuxton station.

' The church tower and porch are Norman, and the chancel con-
\tains a mutilated effigy. One of the windows, representing scenes
in the Life of Christ, was painted by the widow of the Very
Rev. Edward Mellish, Dean of Hereford, a former rector.

TUDDENHAM, NORTH.—A scattered village extending from 23 to 5 m.
EK. from Dereham, The church contains the lower part of an old
carved oak screen painted with figures of saints.

TUNSTALL.—A parish on the Bure, 2 m. S.E. from Acle station.
The church is partly in ruins.

TUNSTEAD.—A village 25 m. N.E. from Wroxham station. The
church contains a fine screen, and a loft on which, it is supposed,
miracle plays were formerly performed. Some interesting iron-
work remains on the south door.

TUTTINGTON.—A village on the Ant, 2m. E. from Aylsham.
TWYFORD.—A parish 1 m. from Foulsham station.

Upton.—A village 2m. N. from Acle station. ‘The church contains

a rood screen painted with figures of St Augustine, St Jerome,
St Gregory the Great, St Ambrose, St Etheldreda, St Helena,
St Joanna of Valois, and St Agatha ; also a fine font.

UPWELL.—A large village, formerly a market town, partly in Cam-
bridgeshire, 4 m. S. from Emneth station, and the terminus of a
Wisbech tramway. On the chancel wall of the church of St Peter
is a fine brass dated 1621, with kneeling figures of eight males
and five females. Nordelph, a hamlet with a modern church,
adjoins Upwell.

WEYBOURNE.—A coast village 4 m. N.E. from Holt station. Here
' are ruins of a Saxon church, adjoining which a priory was built
in the Norman period. On the heath are a great number of
prehistoric pits such as are referred to under ‘‘ Aylmerton.”
Writing of them in ‘‘ Norfolk Archeology,” Mr Harrod says :—

‘* A ridge of stones having been firmly placed on the outer side of

a circular excavation, the soil from the interior was thrown out,

the circle of stones preventing it from falling again into the pit.

At the bottom of each pit is a large quantity of stones, which

. may partly have served to line it. The diameter varies from

- 8 to 20 ft., and the depth of each pit from 2 to 6 ft. The

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Norfolk

main body of the pits is placed directly over a spring which,

bursting forth at the foot of the rising ground, runs through the :

present village of Weybourne.”

WactTon,—A village 1 m. S.E. from Forncett junction. The church
contains a brass, dated 1623, to John Knyvett de Ashwouldthorpe.

WALcoTT.—A coast village 4 m. N.E. from Honing station. The
church contains a carved oak screen.

WALLINGTON-WITH-THORPLAND.—A, parish 3 m. N. from Down-
ham. Wallington church is in ruins; Thorpland church has dis-
appeared. The Hall-is an old building standing in a park of
about 150 acres.

WALPOLE ST ANDREW.—A village, with a station 14 m. away, 9 m.
W. by S. from Lynn. The church, in the Early Perpendicular
style, contains, in one of the tower buttresses, a curious cell,
supposed to have been the abode of a hermit; alsoa large Italian
picture, brought from Italy by one of the Lords Coleraine. Not
far from this parish King John lost his treasure and army
baggage in attempting to cross the Wash.

WALPOLE ST PETER.—A large village 3 m. S. from Walpole station.
‘Its church of St Peter, a very fine Perpendicular building, con-
tains an ancient screen and some carved oak benches. The
front of the book-boards in the chancel retains original painting ;
the panels of the screen are also painted. ‘The south doorway is
richly carved. Into the outer wall is built the figure of a satyr,
popularly known as Hickathrift (see TILNEY ALL SAINTS). The
‘‘Roman Bank,” a sea-wall built by the Romans, crosses the
parish. The Walpole family, who in the thirteenth century
settled at Houghton in Norfolk, where Sir Robert Walpole, the
prime minister, was born, took their name from this parish,

WaLsHAM, NorTH (p. 176).—A small market town standing on
elevated ground between the rivers Ant and Bure, and having
stations on the G.E.R. and M. and G.N. railways. It is 145 m.
from Norwich. The church, a Perpendicular building, replaces
one destroyed in 1381 during a local rebellion. Its tower, now in
ruins, formerly had a spire which rose to the height of 147 feet.
The church contains the lower part of an ancient rood screen, a
good carved pulpit, a font with a tabernacle-work cover, and the
tomb of Sir William Paston, the founder of the Grammar School.
The Market Cross was built by Bishop Thirlby in the reign of
Edward VI.; it has been restored. A cross on a heath outside
the town marks the site of a battle fought in 1381, when Bishop
Spencer defeated the men whom John, a Norwich dyer, inspired
by the acts of Wat Tyler, had persuaded to rebel against the
authorities. Inns: King’s Arms and Angel.

WALSHAM, SOUTH.—This place, which is 35 m. N. from Lingwood
station, consists of two parishes, viz. Walsham St Mary and
‘Walsham St Lawrence. ‘The churches of these parishes stand in

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- the same churchyard. That of St Lawrence is partly in ruins in
consequence of a fire which occurred in 1827. South Walsham
Broad (p. 168) is in these parishes; and not far away, on the
opposite bank of the Bure, are the ruins of St Benet’s Abbey
(p. 166-8).

‘WALSINGHAM (pp. 94-95).—A union town, with a station, 5 m.

_ §.E. by E. from Wells. The church, a fine cruciform building,
contains a splendid alabaster monument, dated 1612, to Sir
Henry Sidney and his wife. The font, now much mutilated, is
described as one of the finest examples of Perpendicular fonts in
England. Here are the ruins of the famous priory to which pil-
grims came from all parts of Europe. The grounds of Walsing-
ham Abbey, in which are the ruins, are thrown open to the public
every Wednesday. Inn: Black Lion.

WALSINGHAM, OLD.—A village 1 m. N.E. from Walsingham
station, The church contains a pulpit dating from 1613; also
some interesting carved seats and desks. The site of another
church is traceable in a field not far from the existing church. . °

WALSOKEN.—A parish and large village (of which a part is called
New Walsoken) adjoining Wisbech, from which it is separated
byacanal. The church, a large building in the Norman style
with later portions, is one of the most interesting in the county.
Both porch and chancel arch have rich Norman mouldings and
the interior generally is remarkable for its varied mouldings.
The font is ornamented by carved représentations of the Sacra-
ments of the Roman Church. Here, too, are some fine fifteenth
century screens.

WALTON, East.—A village 24 m. N. from Narborough station.

WALTON, WEsST.—A village 1 m. from Ferry station. ‘The church
is Early English with Perpendicular portions. Its bell-tower
stands some 7o feet from the church and forms an entrance to the
churchyard. The south porch is Transition Norman; the west
and north doorways are ornamented with carved work. The
nave piers and the capitals and niches in the choir are particularly
good. ‘The font is interesting, and the church contains an effigy
of a prior of Ely. :

WARHAM ALL SAINTS.—A parish near the sea and 2 m. S. by E.
from Wells. The church was formerly a much larger building,
of which portions of a massive tower remain. It contains two
brasses, one a curious one, dated 1474.

WARHAM ST MaAry.—A village near the sea, adjoining Warham All
Saints. There are remains here of a fortified camp with a triple
fosse, covering about nine acres; also of a large hall, once the

-seat of the Turners, a family whose vault is in a small chapel
north of the church chancel.

“WATERDEN.—A parish 4 m. W. by S. from Walsingham station.

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Ne orfolk

The existing church is a portion of a much mei building, of
which there are other traces.

WATLINGTON.—A village on the Great Ouse, with a junction station | :
_ called Magdalen Road. |

WATTON.—A large village with a station 10 m. S. from Dereham,
The church is a flint building in the Norman and Gothic styles. -
Its chancel contains a leper’s window, the font has an old oak
cover ; and a curious old poor box is preserved bearing the date
1552. Wayland Wood, on the south side of the village, is the
reputed scene of the murder of ‘‘ The Babes in the Wood”; but
the tradition probably originated from a carved mantel-shelf in
an old house in the wood, on which the story was illustrated.
The principal inns are the George, and Crown.

WAXHAM.—A coast village 5 m. E. from Stalham station. The
church is partly in ruins. Sea encroachments have considerably
_ reduced the size of this place, which was formerly a large parish.

WEASENHAM. ALL SAINTs.—A village 3 m. S.E. from East Rud-
ham station. The churchyard contains a fine monument to a
parishioner who died in 1768.

WEASENHAM St PETER.—A parish 24 m. S.E. from East Rudham |
station.

WEETING- WITH-BROMEHILL.—A parish (in which is Brandon station)
on the Little Ouse. ‘There were formerly two churches here, but |
that of All Saints was demolished in the eighteenth century by
the falling of the tower. Its ruins are in Weeting Park. The
existing church is a small flint building in the Decorated style.
‘The earthwork known as the ‘‘ Devil’s Dyke” borders this parish
for about 3 miles, and an ancient vallum extends from the Ouse
to Didlington. Here, too, are ‘‘Grimes’ Graves.” These are

_ a large number of circular pits, pronounced to be prehistoric flint
quarries (p. 55). Weeting Hall, the seat of the Angersteins, one
of whom made the collection which formed the nucleus of the
National Gallery, contains some valuable pictures, including Sir
Joshua Reynold’s ‘‘ Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy.”

WELBORNE.—A village 34 m. N.N.E. from Hardingham station.
WELLINGHAM.—A parish 6 m. 8.S.W. from Fakenham.

WELLS (p. 94).—A small coast town with a station 10 m. N. fron
Fakenham and 32 m. N.W. from Norwich. Its church was
almost entirely destroyed by a fire caused by lightning in 1879;
but has been rebuilt. It has a fine open roof, and retains some
traces of early mural paintings. A doorway leading to the vestry
is richly carved, and above it is a brass to a rector who died in
1499. An old oak chest, dated 1635, is kept in the vestry. A
promenade about a mile in length extends from the quay to the
beach, where is a place of refreshment called the Beach House.
A firm sandy beach offers good bathing facilities, and golf links

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Gazetteer

within # m. of the town are among the attractions of this quiet
little seaport. It is a convenient centre from which tourists and
visitors may make excursions to Holkham Hall (pp. 98-99),
Walsingham Priory (pp. 94-95), Stiffkey (pp. 96-97), and
Binham Priory (pp. 95-96). The chief inns are the Crown,
Globe, and Railway, and there is lodging-house accommodation.

WELNEY.—A parish partly in Cambridgeshire.

WENDLING.—A village, with a station, 4 m. W. from Dereham. The
ruins of an abbey founded here by Sir William de Wendling in
the thirteenth century were used to repair the roads.

WEREHAM.—A village 15 m. N.W. from Stoke Ferry station.

WESTFIELD.—A parish 1 m. W. from Yaxham station and 2 m. S.
from Dereham.

‘WESTON LONGVILLE.—A parish 12 m. S.E. from Lenwade station.
The church contains some old stained glass, an ancient altar-
stone, three stone sedilia, and an interesting rood screen dating
from the fifteenth century.

WESTWICK.—A scattered village 1 m. W. from Worstead station.
The church contains a good screen. Westwick House, which
stands in a pleasant park, was built in the reign of Queen Anne.
Not far from the house is a look-out about 90 ft. high.

WHEATACRE ALL SAINTS.—A small village 14 m. S.E. from Aldeby
_ station. The church contains a carved screen and ancient font.

WHINBURGH.—A village 13 m. S. from Yaxham station.

WHISSONSETT.—A parish 5 m. S. from Fakenham. Thechurch con-
tains an ancient font and some interesting memorials.

WHITLINGHAM.—A parish on the Yare, 2 m. W. from Trowse
station (Norwich). The tower of the ruined church is orna-
mented with four statues. :

WHITTINGTON.—A village near Stoke Ferry station.

WICKHAMPTON.—A parish 24 m. N. from Reedham junction. The
church contains an altar-tomb with effigies to Sir William
Gerbygge and his wife, who are supposed to have founded the
church in the thirteenth century. Some fifteenth century paintings
on the north wall of the nave represent an allegorical hunting scene,
and over the north door is a figure of St Christopher carrying the
infant Christ over a river; also representations of the seven acts
of mercy. ‘The pulpit is Elizabethan. On the gable of the porch
is a stone rood supported by figures of St Mary and St John.

WICKLEWOOD.—A village 1 m. S. from Kimberley station. The
lower stage of the church tower formsa porch. On the first floor
is a fireplace and small oven; on the second floor another fire-
place. The church contains an ancient but undated brass, and
some well-carved bench heads.

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Norfolk

WICKMERE.—A village 5 m. N. from Aylsham.

WIGGENHALL ST GERMANS.—A village on the Ouse, 3 m. N.W.
from Magdalen Road station, and 4 m. S. from Lynn.

WIGGENHALL ST MAry MAGDALEN.—A village on the west side of
the Great Ouse, # m. W. from Magdalen Road station. The
church, a Decorated building with Perpendicular additions, has
a fine interior, and there is some good screen work at the east

end of the aisles, the lower panels being painted with the symbols
of the Evangelists. Crabb or Crabhouse Abbey was founded
here in 1181. This is the abbey of which Dr Jessopp has written
in his ‘‘ Frivola.”

WIGGENHALL ST MARY THE VIRGIN.—A parish 4 m. N.W. from
Magdalen Road station. The-church is of the Transition period
from Decorated to Perpendicular, except the north and south
doorways which are Early English. The rood screen was added
in 1626. The benches in the south aisle are of finely carved
oak; the brass eagle in the nave dates from 1518. An alabaster
altar-tomb in the nave has effigies of a man in armour, with his
wife and child. St Mary’s Hall, a mansion with portions of
different periods, contains the gatehouse of an ancient manor
house, probably the seat of the Kervile family, to whom there are
memorials in the church.

WIGGENHALL ST PETER.—A parish 2m. N.W. from Magdalen Rew .

station.

WicHToN.—A village 2 m. N. from Walsingham station. The —

church, a large Perpendicular building, contains a well-preserved

ancient font. ‘The nave windows have stained glass centres ©

representing the Apostles, St Paul, and St Barnabas. About

134m. W. from the village, at a spot called Crabbe’s Castle, are —

~ traces of ancient entrenchments.

WILpy.—A village 1 m. E. from Eccles Road station. The church {

has a Norman south porch.

WIMBOTSHAM.—A village on the Ouse, 1 m. N. from Downham
station. The church is Norman with Early English and later
additions. Its north and south doorways are fine Norman work,
and the nave ceiling has some good carved bosses.

Wincu, East.—A village, with a station, 54 m. S.E. by E. from

Lynn. The church was thoroughly restored in 1875 under the
direction of Sir Gilbert Scott, R.A., when an organ chamber was

built on the site of the ancient mortuary chapel of the Howards, —

Dukes of Norfolk. A brass tablet on the east wall of the organ
chamber records the interment, in 1309, of Sir William Howard,
a judge, and ten other members of the Howard family.

WINCH, WEsT.—A village 3 m. W. from Lynn. The church has a
curious south porch, and on the tower are the arms of the
Cholmondeley family, who are lords of the manor.

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Gazetteer

WINFARTHING.—A village 3 m: N.W. from Burston station. The
church contains a sixteenth century oak chest. Formerly this
place was renowned for possessing the ‘‘Good Sword of Win-
farthing,’’ which was kept in a chapel at the end of the south
aisle, and was useful for the discovery of lost articles or animals,
and the releasing of wives from husbands who were distasteful to
them. The sword was said to have been left here by a thief who
took sanctuary in the churchyard. On the Lodge Farm, which
is a portion of a deer park enclosed in 1604 by the Earl of Arundel,
is one of the largest oaks in England, measuring 70 feet round the
roots and 4o feet round the middle of its main trunk.

WINGLAND, CENTRAL.—Most of this parish is in Lincolnshire.

WINTERTON.—A coast village 1 m. N. from Hemsby station. The
church, which dates from the early part of the fourteenth century,
has an embattled tower 127 feet high, with eight figures between
the pinnacles. . The south porch, which has a parvise, is very fine
work. A lighthouse about 7o feet high stands on the high ground
not far from the church, ‘There is a fine beach, inland of which
are wide stretches of sandhills. A good many visitors come
here during the summer months, and more would be glad to
do so if there were better accommodation for them. Comfort-
able lodgings can only be obtained by arrangements made some
time before they are wanted.

WITCHINGHAM, GREAT.—A village 14 m. N. from Lenwade station.
The church contains a finely carved ancient font. Lenwade is a
hamlet in this parish.

WITCHINGHAM, LITTLE.—A parish 14 m. N, by E. from Lenwade
station.

WITTON (near North Walsham).—A parish 4 m. N.E. from North
Walsham. The church contains some curious mural paintings,
discovered in 1859. Two circular windows here are supposed to
be Saxon.

WITTON (near Norwich).—A village 2 m. N. from Brundall station.

WIVERTON.—A parish near the coast and $m. W. by S. from Cley.
- The church contains several interesting sixteenth century brasses ;
_ the Hall some fine carved oak panelling.

WOLFERTON (p. 103).—A coast village, with a station, 7 m. N. by E.
from Lynn. The station is the alighting-place for Sandringham
_ Hall, the seat of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. The church,

which replaced in 1486 an earlier structure of which there are
some remains, is a fine building chiefly in the Decorated style,
containing some good screens, those inclosing the south chapel
being of exceedingly fine fourteenth century workmanship. The
church was completely restored in 1886 at a cost of £6000,
defrayed by the Prince of Wales, who also presented the stone
pulpit. During the progress of the restoration some interesting
mural decoration was discovered over the chancel arch, and has

ose

Norfolk

been preserved. The parish is included in the Prince’s Sandring-
ham Estate, and from the heights between it and Sandringham
some fine views may be obtained, Boston Church (Lincolnshire),
being visible on clear days across the Wash.

WOLTERTON.—A parish 3 m. N.E. from Corpusty station and 4 m.
N.W. from Aylsham. The church has almost disappeared. Wol-
terton Hall, built in 1736 for Horace, first Baron Walpole, brother
of Sir Robert Walpole, the prime minister, who lived at Houghton
(pp. 129-32), formerly contained a fine collection of pictures.
Horace Walpole described the house as one of the best of its
size in England, adding ‘‘I am really charmed with Wolterton ;
it is all wood and water.” It is approached by a fine avenue of
cedars, and contains a bust of Sir Robert Walpole by Reysbrach ;
also a full-length portrait signed ‘‘Stef. Slaughter, 1742,” and
portraits of Sir Robert’s father and mother and the Jesuit
Walpole whose life-story has been written by Dr Jessopp.

WoobBASTWICK.—A Broadland village 23 m. N.E. from Salhouse
station. The Hall, completed in 1889, is a fine house in the
Elizabethan style, containing some valuable pictures and art
treasures.

Woop DALLING.—A village 24 m. S.W. from Corpusty station.

The church contains some memorial brasses and slabs to the ©

Bulwer and Fleetwood families. The late Lord Dalling and
Bulwer, diplomat and author, and ambassador to the Ottoman
Porte 1858-65, took his title from this parish.

Woop NorTon.—A parish 2 m. S.W. from Hindolveston station.

WooprisInc.—A village 5 m. W. from Hardingham station. The
church, the tower of which is in ruins, contains an ancient monu-
ment, with a recumbent figure in armour, supposed to represent

Sir Robert Southwell, a former lord of the manor; also a flat —

monument to Sir Francis Crane, Chancellor of the Order of the
Garter, who died at Paris in 1636. The latter knight established
a tapestry factory at Mortlake, in Surrey, where a great deal of
excellent tapestry was made.

WoopTon.—A village 4 m. N.W. from Ditchingham station. The
church contains a marble effigy of Anne Suckling, who died in
1653; also a renovated Norman font.

Wootton, NortTH.—A village overlooking the Wash, with a station,
34 m. N. from Lynn.

WooTTOoNn, SouTH.—A village 1 m. S. from North Wootton station.
The church contains an altar-tomb to Sir James Windt, dated

1601 ; also a Norman font. On the north side is a mausoleum of ~

the Hamond family, described by an antiquary as ‘‘ without
exception, the ugliest piece of modern deformity —— ever was
appended to an old church. a

WorMEGaY.—A village 4 m. E. from Magdalen Reutit ‘Station.

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Gazetteer

. There are remains of an ancient cross. on the village green.
Formerly there was a castle of the Lords Bardolf here. It was
demolished in 1408 by Henry IV., but its site can still be traced.

WORSTEAD (p. 175).—A village, with a Station, 3m. S. by E. from
North Walsham. ‘The church is one of the finest in the county,
having been built during the time when Worstead was an im-
portant centre of the woollen manufacture, carried on here by
Flemish refugees. It dates from the fourteenth century, and is
of Transitional character, having a Decorated tower and Per-
pendicular nave. Originally it contained nine chapels, one of
which has been restored in memory of the father of one of the
rectors. ‘Two double screens divide the chapels from the aisles ;
and under the west tower is a gallery or rood-loft of very fine
workmanship. The south porch, which has a parvise, is richly
carved and groined. The font is Perpendicular, and has a good
tabernacle cover.

WoORTHING.—A village near North Elmham station.

WORTWELL.—A parish on the Waveney, 14 m. E. from Harleston,
and extending to Homersfield station.

WRAMPLINGHAM.—A village 34 m. N. from Wymondham.

WRENINGHAM.—A scattered village 34 m. E. from Wymondham,
and adjoining Ashwellthorpe station.

WRETHAM, EAst.—A parish, with a station, 1 m. from the church on
the Thetford and Swaffham line. The church font has a lofty
carved oak canopy; the south doorway is Norman, and the east
wall of the chancel is adorned with mural paintings.

WRETHAM, WEsT.—A parish 2 m. W. from Wretham station. The
church is in ruins. In the park of 600 acres which surrounds the
Hall are two meres known as: Hill Mere and Mickle Mere.
Formerly there were two larger meres in the neighbourhood—
the Great Mere and West Wretham.Mere. Some interesting
discoveries were made in 1851 and 1856 when these meres were
drained (pp. 6-7).

WRETTON.—A village 1 m. W. from Stoke Ferry station.

WROXHAM.—A well-known Broadland village on the Bure, with a
station, 7 m. N.E. from Norwich. <A large number of yachts,
pleasure-wherries, and boats may be hired here for cruising in
Broadland, Messrs R. Collins & Son and J. Loynes being the
owners and builders of every kind of craft suited to the inland
waters. Wroxham Broad, one of the loveliest of the broads, is
about two miles from Wroxham Bridge (pp. 170-1). Both the
broad and the river with which it is connected are well-known to
anglers, who visit them in considerable numbers. The Broad
fishing, however, is preserved, and a charge of 2s. 6d. a-day made
to anglers. Cheap fishing tickets to Wroxham station are issued
from Norwich, Whitlingham, Cromer, and Gunton stations every

333

Norfolk

day during the summer months. Inns: Black Horse, Castle,
Horse Shoes, and King’s Head.

WYMONDHAM (pp. 42-43). — A small market town with a
station 94 m. S.W. by W. from Norwich and 11 m. S.E. from
Dereham. The church, which is attached to the ruins of a priory
founded by William d’ Albini, chief butler to Henry I. is remark- .
able for possessing two (east and west) towers, one square, the
other octagonal in its upper part. It is now believed that this is
a double church. It contains some exceedingly fine and interest-
ing Norman work, the central aisle of the nave having Norman
piers and arches. The east tower is of earlier date than the
west. The Grammar School is an interesting building, formerly
known as St Thomas 4-Becket’s chapel. The market cross was
built in 1616 and restored in 1863. The Old Green Dragon Inn
is an ancient building, formerly connected with the priory.
Near the church is a well (St Thomas a-Becket’s) which used to
be much resorted to by pilgrims.

There are.some interesting old houses in the neighbour- .
hood. Stanfield Hall, a moated Tudor house, about 2 m.
N.E. from the town, was at one time occupied by Sir John
Robsart, father of that ill-fated Amy Robsart, who became
the wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and died so
mysteriously at Cumnor Hall. Robert Dudley is supposed to
have first met his future wife here. Since 1848 the house has
had a gruesome interest through having been in that year the
scene of the sensational murder of Mr Jermy, the Recorder ;
of Norwich, and his son, who were shot by Blomfield Rush
(pp. 43-45). Burfield Hall, about 2 m. S. along the London
Road, was built in 1709, and contains a fine entrance hall
and old oak staircase. Gunvil Hall, an Elizabethan house, ~
once surrounded by a moat, is now a farmhouse.

Robert Kett, who raised an insurrection in Norfolk in the —
reign of Edward VI., was a Wymondham tanner (p. 18). He
was hung from the walls of Norwich Castle, his brother meeting
with a like fate on Wymondham Church tower. Inns: King’s
Head, and Railway.

Yarmouth (pp. 50-67).—The great popular seaside resort of Nor-
folk and the East Anglian coast. It stands at the mouth of
the river Yare, on the border of Suffolk, and is 20 m. E. by
S. from Norwich, 9 m. N. from Lowestoft, and 123 m. by road
from London. Among Norfolk towns it ranks next in size and —
population to Norwich, which is the largest and most populous,
It is connected with the Great Eastern main line by a branch to
Norwich ; but the most direct route from London to Yarmouth
is via Ipswich and the East Suffolk line. The G.E.R. has two
stations here, Southtown, the terminus of the line from London
via Ipswich; and Vauxhall, the terminus of the Norwich branch
line. A third station, known as the ‘‘ Beach,” is that of the Mid-
land and Great Northern Joint Railway. There is a largely

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patronised steamship service between London and Yarmouth
during the summer months.

Although tourists with quiet tastes will probably avoid Yar-
mouth, or at most, pay it a few hours’ visit, for the purpose of
seeing its great church of St Nicholas, the largest parish church
in England, Yarmouth all through the summer is thronged
with visitors, many of them excursionists, for whom almost every
description of popular entertainment is provided. A considerable
portion of the sea front is laid out as pleasure gardens, where
military bands play frequently ; there are two piers, on one of
which, the Britannia, popular concerts are given morning and
evening. Other concert parties give daily entertainments on the
beach, from which a large number of pleasure boats are launched
when weather permits, and where there is abundant accom-
modation for bathers. The Royal Aquarium is now a theatre,
standing at the north end of the Marine Drive. The Theatre
Royal adjoins Regent Road. During the season dances are held
every evening at Winton’s Assembly Rooms on the Drive. The
local golf club has an 18-hole course among the sandhills north
of the town, the entire circuit being about three miles. Tennis
courts are laid out close to the beach, where there is also an
excellent recreation ground. There is a Free Library at the
Old Tolhouse in Middlegate Street and a Public Library and
Reading Room on the South Quay.

St Nicholas’, the parish church, was founded by Herbert de
Lozinga, Bishop of Norwich from t1o9gt to 1119, who also
founded Norwich Cathedral. It is doubtful if any portion of the
original building now remains. ‘The present church is a cruci-
form structure in the Early English, Decorated, and Perpen-
dicular styles, consisting of nave and chancel (both aisled),
transept, and central tower. The nave is chiefly Transition
Norman, the nave aisles, which are wider than the nave, are
Decorated additions. ‘The church’s extreme length is 236 feet,
and its breadth 112 feet, giving it a floor space of 23,265 feet.
It possesses few monuments, and all its brasses were, in 1551, cast
into weights for the local tradesfolk. In the wall of the south
aisle is the Fastolff tomb, which has been restored; in the north
aisle is a canopied tomb, known as the ‘‘ Prior's,” and in the north
chancel aisle is a canopied slab, which may be either a tomb or
an Easter Sepulchre. Near by is the dilapidated canopy of the
altar tomb of Thomas Crowmer, who was bailiff of Yarmouth
seven times between 1470 and 1497. This tomb was despoiled of
its sculptured shields in 1650, when a large vestry was erected in
the north chancel. At the west end of the north nave aisle is a
stained glass window erected to the memory of Sarah Martin,
who did such good work among the prisoners in Yarmouth jail.
A seat inside the west door is made of a portion of the skeleton
of a whale, and is known as the Devil’s Seat. The church pos-
sesses a Cranmer’s Bible, a Roman missal dated 1547, and a
MS. scroll of the Book of Esther.

Close by the church, in the large market place, is the quaint and

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Norfolk

picturesque Fzshermen’s Almshouse or hospital, erected by the
Corporation in 1701. It encloses a courtyard containing a figure
of Charity. An arched door on the east side of the yard is sur-
mounted by a cupola containing a figure of St Peter. In the
immediate neighbourhood of this almshouse are the restored
remains of Yarmouth Priory, founded early in the twelfth cen-
tury. They now form part of a schoolhouse. Apart from what
is left of this priory, there are few monastic remains in the town ;
but at the bottom of one of the ‘‘ rows,” which bears the name of
Grey Friars’ Cloisters, is an old arch which belonged to a religious
house; and not far away, on the opposite side of Middlegate
Street, is another arch which may have formed part of the same
building.

One of the town’s most interesting buildings is the Old Tol/-
house, in Middlegate Street, which is one of the few English
municipal buildings dating from the thirteenth century. Although
restored and converted into a free library and small museum, it
retains its antique character. For a long time it was used as a
jail, and it was here that Sarah Martin, the Caister seamstress,
came to labour among the prisoners. Various local antiquities
and curiosities are preserved in the portion which was used as a
prison, and the cells are very interesting.

There are several ancient houses well worth notice. On the
South Quay, which provides one of the most interesting walks
in the town, is a fine old building faced with flints and with
picturesque gables and dormers. On the Hall Quay, in front of
the Town Hall, are two other flint-faced houses, the Duke's Head
and Star Hotels. The former bears the date 1601; the latter, in
which Lord Nelson may have stayed when he visited Yarmouth,
was built by William Crowe, a merchant who was town bailiff
in 1594. The hall, now used as a bar, has a richly decorated
ceiling. Another room, on the first floor, known as the Nelson
Room, is lined with carved panelling, and above its fire-place is a
panel bearing the arms of the Spanish Merchants, who were in-
corporated by Queen Elizabeth. A son of the builder of this fine
old house bought Caister Castle (pp. 78-80) from Sir William
Paston in 1659 and made it his country residence. Several other
quaint old buildings are to be seen in Middlegate Street and the
numerous narrow ‘‘rows”’ which are such a conspicuous feature
of the town. Of the town’s old fortifications the most striking
remains are King Henry’s Tower in St Nicholas’ churchyard and
the Friars’ Tower in Blackfriars Street. '

On the South Denes stands the elson Column, the first stone
of which was laid in 1817. This striking memorial of the famous
admiral is thus described by Nall, the Yarmouth historian : ‘‘ The
pillar is of the Grecian Doric order, and beautifully fluted ; upon
the plinth are the names of the different ships on board which the
gallant admiral’s flag was so valorously displayed, and the coping
of the terrace beneath is inscribed in a similar manner with the
titles of his most celebrated battles. On each side of the pedestal
is a flight of steps to the terrace, which affords a promenade

336

Gazetteer

round the shaft. The roof is supported by caryatides, surmounted
by a ball and figure of Britannia, holding in her hand a trident
and laurel wreath.” (The figure was struck by lightning in 1860,
and the left hand and trident broken off.) On the west side of
the pedestal is a Latin inscription from the pen of Mr Sergeant
Frere, of which the following is a translation :—

HORATIO, LORD NELSON,
Whom, as her foremost champion in naval fight,
BRITANNIA,

Living,—with devotion and honours,
Dying,—followed after, with her lamentations,
of whom, renowned in all lands for his triumphs,
of whose firmness in counsel, of the undaunted ardour of whose courage,
the whole world stood in awe.

This NELSON,—Norfolk,

her own by birth, by honourable lineage, by early training,
her own in genius, in character, proudly claims.
The future fame of such a name
outlasting brass or stone,
his fellow-citizens of Norfolk, at their mutual cost,
by upreared column have sought to commemorate.

Born, 1758 ;
Appeared in arms, 1771;
In near one hundred and fifty engagements with enemies.

As victor waged war,
Memorably at Aboukir, August, 1798 ;
Copenhagen, April, 18o0r ;
Trafalgar, October, 1805;
Which crowning act of so many splendid achievements
he consecrated by a death
Mournful to his country, sweet and glorious to himself.

The chief places of interest in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth
are :—

i Burgh Castle (pp. 182-3).

Breydon (pp. 68-76).

Caister Castle (pp. 78-80).

Ormesby, Rollesby, and Filby Broads.

Fritton Lake (p. 184).

Somerleyton Hall (Suffolk).

Lowestoft (Suffolk).

Fishing Tickets.—Cheap fishing tickets are issued daily from April rst
to October 31st to Acle, Brundall, Buckenham, Cantley, Reed-
ham, St Olaves (for Fritton Lake), and Somerleyton.

Circular Trips into Broadland.—During the summer months cheap
rail and boat tickets, available for trips taken partly by rail and

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Norfolk

partly by saloon steamboats on the rivers Bure and Yare, are
issued every week-day at Yarmouth. Particulars of these trips
will be found on handbills to be obtained at the G.E.R. stations.
Saloon steamers often make river trips to Oulton Broad and
Lowestoft by way of Breydon Water and the Waveney; and

other pleasure steamers ply daily by sea between Yarmouth and
Lowestoft.

Road Excursions.—Every day during the season brakes and char-a-
bancs run from the Marine Drive to Lowestoft, Ormesby Broad,
Caister, and Fritton Lake ; and on one day in the week, when the
grounds are thrown open to the public, to Somerleyton Hall.

Other Excursions.—On certain days cheap rail excursions may be
made to Norwich, Cromer, Mundesley, Hunstanton, and San-
dringham.

Accommodation for Visitors.—There is accommodation in the town
for many thousand visitors, whole streets in some quarters con-
sisting of little else but lodging houses. ‘The principal hotels are
the Bath Hotel, Marine Parade ; Brunswick (Temperance), King
Street ; Cromwell (Temperance), Hall Quay ; Crown and Anchor,
Hall Quay; Duke’s Head, Hall Quay; Garibaldi; Holkham,
Marine Parade; Marine, Marine Parade; Norfolk, Marine
Parade; Queen’s, Marine Parade; Royal, Marine Parade; Star
and Garter, Hall Quay; Victoria, Marine Parade.

At Gorleston, which adjoins Yarmouth :—Anchor of Hope,
Cliff, and Tramway hotels.

The principal boarding-houses are :—Felixstowe House, Marine
Parade; Marine View, Marine Parade; Metropolitan, Marine
Parade: Pier View House, Regent Road : Redenhall House,
Marine Parade; Sandringham House, Marine Parade; Sea
View House, Marine Parade; Talavera House, Princes Road ;
Trafalgar House, Marine Parade.

At Gorleston: Belle Vue House; Gorleston House Hotel and
Boarding House; Highfield, Belle Vue Road.

YAXHAM.—A village, with a station, 2 m. S. from Dereham The
church is chiefly Decorated, with Perpendicular additions; but
the tower and tower arch are of Early Norman date. The font
is a very fine one, and has been reproduced in Cromer church.

YELVERTON.—A village 5 m. S.E. from:Norwich. The church con-
tains a fine mural monument, dated 1661, and a stone floor slab
with brass, dated 1525, also an ancient carved oak rood screen,
and an interesting Hoes

NORFOLK GOLF LINKS.

ROYAL NORWICH GOLF CLus. —The inks are at Rabbit's Hill,
Hellesdon, where there is a full 18-hole course over undulating
country with good natural bunkers of disused quarries and gravel —

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Gazetteer

pits. Mr Balfour pronounced it the finest inland course he had
ever played on.

ROYAL CROMER GOLF CLUB.—The links, which have an 18-hole
course, are on the Lighthouse Hills, 4 m. E. from Cromer. They
were designed by Tom Morris, and command fine views of the
‘beauty spot of Norfolk.”

SHERINGHAM GOLF CLUB,—The links are on cliffs which rise 200 feet
above the sea.

HUNSTANTON GOLF CLUB.—This club has a course of 18 holes on
the marram-hills beyond Old Hunstanton, the hazards being sand
bunkers, marshy ground, and rushes.

YARMOUTH GOLF CLUB.—The links have an 18-hole course on the
furze-grown sandhills north of the town. It extends for over a
mile along the coast, the circuit being about three miles. The
hazards are sand bunkers and whins.

ROYAL WEST NORFOLK GOLF CLUB.—The 18-hole course is on a
common near Brancaster Beach. Hunstanton and Burnham
Market are the most convenient stations.

BROADLAND YACHTING CENTRES.

_ Yachts, launches, wherries, etc., for Broadland cruising may be
hired at :—

Wroxham d . J. Loynes.
R, Collins & Son.
H. Press.
Oulton . : 2) J, ebullen:
R, Kemp & Co.
J. Gooch.
R. Barber.
Yarmouth ‘ . A. R, Brown, Cobholm, and at St Olaves,
_. Norwich. : .. J. Hart & Son, Thorpe Village. —
G, Hazell, Thorpe St Andrew.
C. Wright, King Street.

Lowestoft . - . Chambers and Colby.
Titcomb & Few.
North Walsham . Press and Pallett.
Brundall > LEY Wittle & Co,
Coltishall : . J. Allen.
Ludham . . W. Lake.
Potter Heigham . G. Applegate.
Reedham . ‘ . G. Grimsell.
C. J. Mutten.
Stalham . «> sos 7aJe Weasel

Visitors intending to cruise in Broadland will generally do well to
see yachts, wherriés, etc., before hiring them, unless they have friends

339

Norfolk

in the district who will do this for them. They may thus save them-
selves discomfort and disappointment. Some cruising parties are
more content to ‘‘rough‘it’’ than others; and yacht-letters, unless
supplied with very full information, cannot be expected to know just
what will meet each party’s requirements.

RAILWAY TICKETS AT REDUCED FARES.
TOURIST TICKETS.

Tourist Tickets (1st and 3rd class) are issued at all the principal
G.E.R. stations for all trains to Yarmouth, Cromer, Mundesley, and
Hunstanton. If issued on any date from 1st May to 31st October
inclusive, they are available for return by any advertised train on any
day up to and including 31st December. If issued on any date from
1st November to 30th April inclusive, they are available for return
by any train on any date within two calendar months from the date
of issue.

Tickets issued to Yarmouth are also available to or from Beccles,
Reedham, St Olaves, Acle, Lowestoft, Cromer, and Mundesley.

Tickets issued to Cromer are also available to or from North
Walsham, Gunton, Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Mundesley.

Tickets issued to Mundesley are also available to or from Paston
and Knapton, Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Cromer.

Tickets issued to Hunstanton are also available to or from
Heacham.

Passengers to Yarmouth, Cromer, and Mundesley are permitted to
break their journey at Waltham Cross, Cambridge, Ely, and
Norwich, or at Colchester and Ipswich, according to the route by
which they are travelling.

Tourist Tickets to Norwich are issued from Peterborough,
Wisbech, Godmanchester, Postland, Spalding, Donington Road,
Sleaford, Blankney and Metheringham, Lincoln, Gainsborough,
Haxey, Selby, and York.

Full details of these and the following issues may be obtained at —
Liverpool Street station.

FORTNIGHTLY RETURN TICKETS.

Fortnightly Return Tickets (rst and 3rd class) are issued at all
G.E.R. stations for all trains running to Yarmouth, Cromer, Mundes-
ley, and Hunstanton.

Similar privileges are extended to holders of these tickets as to those
who purchase tourist tickets.

FRIDAY TO TUESDAY RETURN TICKETS.

Every Friday and Saturday 1st and 3rd class Return Tickets are
issued at all G.E.R. stations for all trains running to Yarmouth,

oars

Gazetteer

Cromer, Mundesley, and Hunstanton. ‘They are available for return |
by any advertised train on the Sunday, Monday, or ‘Tuesday following
the date of issue.

Similar privileges are extended to holders of these tickets as to those
who purchase Tourist Tickets.

ELEVEN-DAY TICKETS.

Eleven-Day Tickets are issued to Yarmouth, Cromer, Mundesley,
and Hunstanton from York, Selby, Doncaster, Haxey, Gainsborough, ©
Lincoln, Blankney and Metheringham, Sleaford, Donington Road, .
Spalding, and Postland.

CHEAP TICKETS TO BROADLAND STATIONS.

Tourist, Fortnightly, and Friday to Tuesday tickets are issued
from Liverpool Street and St Pancras stations to Norwich, Wroxham, |
Acle, Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Oulton Broad, and Carlton Colville.

CIRCULAR TOUR TICKETS.

To enable tourists to visit the various places of interest in Norfolk ©
and the other East Anglian counties, Circular Tour Tickets, made up |
to include such towns and districts as may be most convenient to the
purchaser, are issued at the G.E.R. Company’s West End Ticket and
Enquiry Office and American Rendezvous, 2 Cockspur Street,
Trafalgar Square, and at Liverpool Street Station.

BROADLAND ANGLING STATIONS.

Brundall (for Surlingham and Coldham Hall).
Buckenham (for Rockland Broad and Buckenham Ferry). |
Cantley.

Reedham.

Acle.

Wroxham.

Coltishall.

Potter Heigham.

Stalham (for Barton Broad).

Ormesby (for Ormesby, Filby, and Rollesby Broads).
St Olaves

Haddiscoe MS Fritton Lake.

Herringfleet

Oulton Broad

Estiten Colville \ for Oulton Broad.

From April rst to October 31st inclusive cheap excursion tickets are
issued daily, available for return by any train on the day of issue
only, the return fares being as follows :—

341

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342

INDEX.

ABBEYS :—

St Benet’s, 166-8 ; Crabhouse, 1183
Langley, 159; .Thetford, 50;
Walsingham, 94-95; Wymond.
ham, 42.

Acle, 58, 165-6.
Acre, Castle, 127-8.
Acre, West, 128.
Aldeby Priory, 188,
Alfred the Great, 17.
Angling Resorts, 232.
a Tickets, 341.
Anna, King of ihe: East Angles, 8
- Ant, River, 172-6.
Antiquities, Fitch Collection of, 28.
Aram, Eugene, 114.
** Arcady,” Dr Jessopp’s, 11.
Attleborough, 47.
Aylmerton ‘‘ Shrieking Pits,” 88-89.
Aylsham, 134-5, 171.

» BABINGLEY, 108.

Bacton, 82.

Badger-baiting, 14.

“Bailiff's Daughter of Islington,”
118.

Barrows, 6.

Barton Broad, 173.

Beach Companies, 63-64.

Beachmen and their Work, 63-64.

Bearded Titmice, 178-9.

Beccles, 188.

Beeston Priory, 89.

Bigod, Hugh, 8, 17, 26.
» Roger, 8, 17.

Bigod’s Tower, 26.

Bilney, West, 120.

Binham Priory, 95-96.

Bird Life in Norfolk, 191-8

Birds, Rare, 27.

Bishop Hall’s Palace, 121.

Bishop's Bridge, 31.

Blakeney, 93.

Blickling, 133-41 ; church, 141 ; ghosts,
133, 140 ; Hall, 133, 135-40; Library,

* 130.

Boadicea, 7.

Boleyn, Anne, 133, 136-9

Booth, Mr E. T., 71.
Borrow, George, 13, 16, 31, 32): 355

124, 185.

Botany in Norfolk, 199-206.
Bramerton Wood’s End, 1 53:
Brancaster, 100,
Brandon, 54-56.

53 Flint-knapping at, 55-56
Branodonum, 100.
Breaches, Sea, 81-82.
Breckland, 56.
Breydoner, A typical, 75-76.
Breydon Water, 68-76, 161, 162.

», Gunning on, 76.

3 Wild-life on, 68-76,
Broadland, General description of,

142-9.
si Angling Resorts in, 341.

Broads :-—

Barton, 173; Filby, 165; Hickling,
180; Horsey Mere, 180 ; Hoveton
Great, 170 ; Hoveton Little, 170;
Ormesby, 8o; Oulton, 185; Ran-
worth, 168; Rockland, 158;
Rollesby; 165; Salhouse, 170:
Somerton, 181 ; South Walsham,
168; Stalham, 174; Surlingham,
153; Womack, 177; Woodbast-
wick, 170 ; Wroxham, 170-1

Broadsman at "Home, 147-8.
Bromholm Priory, 83.
Browne, Sir Thomas, 19, 24, 34-5,

134, 154.

Brundall, 153.

Buckenham, Old, 47.
Bungay, 189.

Bure, River, 162-72.

Burgh Castle, 39, 182-3.
Burgh St Peter, 187.
Burnhams, Seven, ‘100.
Burnham Thorpe, too.
Bustards, 27.

Buxton, Sir T. Fowell, 9, 86.

CAISTER Castle, 78-80.
Caistor Camp, 28, 39-40.
Caistor St Edmunds, 38-40.

Caius, Dr, 35.
343

Camping-matches, 13.
Canute, 17, 50.

Castles :—
Bungay, 189 ; Caister, 78-80; Castle
Acre, 127-8; Rising, 109-10;

Norwich, 26-20.

Castle Hill, Norwich, 30.
a5 Thetford, 50.

Celtic Ox, 7.
Chet, River, 159.
Cimmerii, 6.
‘* City of Churches,” 2, 16.
Civil Wars, 9, 18.
Cley, 92-93.
Cock-fighting, 13.
** Coke of Nortole, ” 98.
Colman, J. J.,
Cooper, Sir ee 61.
Corbet, Miles, 67.
Costessey, 121-3.
Cotman, John Sell, 9, 28.
Cowper, 83, 123.
Crabhouse Abbey, 118.
‘*Crome, Old,” 9, 24, 28, 32; 35-
Cromer, 85-90.
Cycling in Norfolk, 243-50.

D’ALBINI, ae 42, 109.

Danes, 8,

Decoying, Fyalationl: 153-8.

Defoe, Daniel, 2, 66, 155+

Dereham, East, 123-6; Cowper's
Tomb, 123; Borrow at, 1243 Bell
Tower, 124; St Withburga’ s
Tomb, 125.

Dersingham, 108.

Dickens at Yarmouth, 60.

Diss, 47.

Ditchingham, 189.

Dussyn’s Dale, 18.

East Barsham Manor-house, 95.
Edmund, King, 8.
Eels and Eel-catching, 163-5.
Elmham, 129.
Entomology in Norfolk, 207-14.
Erpingham Gate, 22.

Sir Thomas, 22.
Ethelbert Gate, 23.
Eugene Aram, 114.
Euskarians, 6.
Evelyn at Norwich, 34-35-

FASTOLFF, Sir John, 79, 137-

Felix of Burgundy, 108.

Fenland, 4, 112

os Fenland, * Miller and Skertchley’s,

4.
344

Norfolk

Fenn, Sir John, 35, 83.
Fens, Draining of the, 112.
Filby Broad, 165.

Fishing Tickets, 341.

», _ in Norfolk, 232-9.
Fitch Collection of Antiquities, 28.
Fitz Osborn, Wm., 26.
Flint-knapping, 55, 56.

Flint Weapons, 6, 55, 56.
Forest Bed, 5.

Fritton Lake, 153, 156-7, 184-5.
Fry, Elizabeth, 9, 35.

Games, Rural, 13-14.
Gariononum, 182.
Gazetteer, 255.
Geology, 5, 28, 215-25.
Gipsies, 12, 13, 31-32.
Golf Links, 338.
Gresham, 89.
Greyfriars Tower, Lynn, 114.
Grimes’ Graves, 55-
Guader, Ralph de, 8, 17.
Guildhall, Lynn, 115.

aa Norwich, 33-34.

an Thetford, 51.
Gunflints, Manufacture of, 55° 56.
Gurney, J. H., 27.

» J. Je, 35:

Hatt, Bishop, 21, 121.
Happisburgh, 82.
Hardley Cross, 159.
Heacham, rot.
Heigham Sounds, 178-80.
Herringfleet, 185.
Hethersett, 41.
Hickathrift, 118.
Hickling Broad, 180.
Holkham Hall, ‘98.
Holt, 93.
Horning Ferry, 169-70.
Horsey Gap, 81.

Mere, 180.
Houghton Hall, 129-32.

34 Pictures, 130.

Hoveton Great and Little Broads, -

170.
Howard, Henry, Earl of ;Surrey, ©

35-

IBERIANS, 6.

Iceni, 7, 39, 68, 89, 182.
Ingham, 174.

Ingoldisthorpe Hall, 108.
Invincible, Loss of H.M.S., 65.
Irstead, 173.

Isabella, Queen, 110.

Index

‘‘ Islington, Bailiffs Daughter of,”

Ito.
Ttinerarium Anglia, to.

JASPER PETULENGRO, 2.

Jermy, Murder of Mr Isaac, 43-45.
*¢ Jerningham Letters,” 121-3.
Jessopp, Dr, 2, 11, 118.

KENNINGHALL, 47.

Keswick, 4o.

Kett, Rebellion, 9, 18.

Kett, Robert and William, 18.
Kimberley, 46.

King’s Lynn, 111-17 ‘—

Braunche and Walsoken brasses,
114 ; Custom House, 116 ; Eugene
Aram at, 1143 Greyfriars Tower,
1143 Guildhall, 115; ‘ King
John’s Cup,” 115; Origin of,
112; Red Mount Chapel, 113 ;
‘*Red Register,” 115; South
Gate, 113 ; St Margaret’s Church,
114; St Nicholas’ Church, 115.

LAKE-DWELLINGS, 6.
Langley Abbey, 159.

‘© Lavengro,” 32.
L’Estrange, Sir Roger, ro1.
Links, Golf, 338.

Loddon, 159-60.

Lost Towns and Villages, 5, 88.
Lothbrock, Legend of, 161.
Lothing, Lake, 186.

Louis of France, 8, 17.
Lowestoft, 185.

Lozinga, Herbert de, 20, 6.
Lozinga’s Tomb, 21.
Ludham, 177.

Macau ay’s Description of Norwich,

19.

Maid’s Head Inn, Norwich, 35-36.
Manby, Captain G. W., 65.
Marryat, Captain, 93.

Martham, 81.

Martin, Sarah, 59.

Martineau, Harriett, 35.

Marshes, 58, 73, 90.

Marshland churches, 118-19.
‘Marshland Shales,” 31.
Mautby, 74.

Mousehold Heath, 18, 31, 32-33.
Mowbray, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk,

79:
Muck Fleet, 165. |

Mundesley, 86.
Museum, Norwich, 27-28.

NELSON, 9, 34, 59, 100.
New Cut, The, 189-90.
Newton, West, 108.
Norfolk :—
Botany, 199-206.
Bird Life, 191-8.
Churches, 9.
Cycling in, 10, 243-50.
Dimensions of, 4.
Early Inhabitants of, 6.
Entomology, 207-14.
Fishing, 232-9.
General Description of, 1-15.
Geology, 215-25.
Gipsies, 12.
Golf Links, 338.
Natural Features of, 4.
People, 11.
Population of, 4.
Rivers, 11.
Roads, 10.
Scenery, 14.
Sea Fishing, 240-2.
Shooting, 226-32.
Travelling in, 10.
Wild-life, 13, 68-76, 90-92, 98-99,
109, 143-48, 178-79.
* Norfolk Gridiron,” 60.

—+ Northampton, Marquis of, 18.

Norwich, 16-36 :—

Borrow on, 16 ; Bishop's Bridge, 31 ;
Bishop’s Palace, 23; Castle, 26-
29; Cathedral, 20-22 ; Churches,
24-25; Erpingham Gate, 22;
Ethelbert Gate, 23; Evelyn at,
34-35 ; Grammar School, 23;
Guildhall, 33-34; In the Seven-
teenth Century, 19; Mousehold
Heath, 18, 31-33; Museum, 27-
28; St Andrew's Hall, 23; St
Martin’s Gate, 23.

Oak of Reformation, 18.
Ormesby Broad, 80.
Ormesby, Great and Little, 80.
Oulton Broad, 185.

; Dyke, 185, 187.
Overstrand, 86.
Oxnead Hall, 140, 141.

» John of; 82.

Paine, Thomas, 52.
Palace, Bishop of Norwich’s, 23.
Bishop Hall's, 121.

345

29

Palace, Duke of Norfolk’s, 109.

Paston, 83-85.

Se Family, 28, 36, 79, 83-85, 94-
176.

Basten Letters,” 79, 84-85,

Patterson, Mr A., 68-76. Hea

Pocahontas, rot.

Postwick, 151.

Potter Heigham, 177-

Prasutagus, 7.

Priories :-—
Aldeby, 188; Beeston, 89; Binham,
95-96 5 Bromholm, 83; Castle

Acre, 1283 Walsingham, 94-95.
Publius Ostorius Scapula, 182.

QUIDENHAM, 47.

RANwWoRTH Broad, 168.
Rood Screen, 168-9.
Raptorial Birds, J. H. Gurney’s
Collection of, 27-28.
Red Mount Chapel, Lynn, 113.
Red Register of Lynn, 115.
Reedham, 5, 8, 160.
Rising Bedehouse, 111,
» Castle, 109-10.
» Church, 111.
Robsart, Amy, 45-46, 130.
Sir John, 45>
Rockland Broad, 158.
Rollesby Broad, "165.
Roman Camps, "38, 39, 68, 182-3.
Romans, 7, 68.
Rush, James Bloomfield, 43-45.

SALHOUSE Broad, 170.
Salthouse Marshes, go-92.
Sandringham Church, 106-7.

3 Hall, 103-8.
Saxons, 8.
Sea Breaches, 81-82, 112.
Sea Fishing off Norfolk, 240-2.
Sheringham, 90
‘¢ She-wolf of aeiencets TIO.
Shipden, Lost Town of, 88.
Shoe House at Houghton, Q5-
Shooting in Norfolk, 226-32.
Shovel, Sir Cloudesley, 9, 93.
a6 Shrieking Pits of Aylmerton,” 88.
Silurians, 6.
Smith, Sir James, 35.
Somerton Broad, 181.
South Walsham Broad, 168.
Stalham Broad, 174.
St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, 23.
Stanfield Hall, The Tragedy of, 43-

45-

346

Norfolk

St Benet’s Abbey, 166-8.
St Martin’s Gate, 23.
Stiffkey, 96-97.

Stokesby, 165.

St Withburga’s Tomb, 125.
Surlingham, 152-3.

a Broad, 153.
Swaffham, 126-7.
Sweyn, 17.

TayLor, WILLIAM, 35. :
Terrington St Clement, 118.
Thetford, 48-52.

Abbey Gate, 50; Antiquity of, 48-
49; Bell Inn, 51; ‘‘ Canons,” 50;
Castle Hill, 50; Churches, 51;
Guildhall, 51; King’s House, 5r;
Manor House, 51; ‘‘ Place” Farm,
50; Warren, 53-54.

Thorpe Hamlet, 57.

» Village, 57.
Thurnam, Dr, 6
Thurne, River, 177-81.
Titus Oates, 134.
Tourist tickets, 340.
Trimingham, 86.
Tyler, Wat, o.

pers King of the East sale 17>.
Uvius, Abbot, 50.

Venta Icenorum, 39.

WALPOLE, HORACE, 131, 141.
‘5 Sir Robert, 9, 126, 120-

132.

Walsham, North, 176.
Walsingham Abbey, 94-95..
Walsingham, Erasmus at, 95.

» Way, 94.
Warren, Thetford, 53-54.
Warrenne, William de, 50-51, 127.
Warwick, Earl of, 9, 18, 41.
Wat Tyler, 19.
Waveney, River, 182-90.
Weeting, 55.

| Wells, 94. 4

Wherrymen, 148-9.

Whittesley, 180.

Wild Flowers, 143, 145-6, 199-206.

Wild Life, 13, 68-76, 90-92, 98-99, 109;
143-8, 178-9.

William Rufus, 8, 17.

Windmills, 151-2.

Index

Winterton, 8r.
Wodehouse, Sir John, 46.

“ Sir Philip, 51.

Wolterton Hall, 141.
Womack Broad, 177-

Woodbastwick Broad, 170.

Worstead, 175.
Wrestling, 13.
Wretham Great Mere, 7.
West Mere, 6.
Wroxham Broad, 170-1.

; Wykeham, William of, 173.

Wymondham, 42.

VACHT-LETTERS, List of, 339.
Yare, River, 150-61.
Yarmouth, 57-67 :-—

Beachmen and their work, 63-64 5
Chief buildings in, 65 ; Church,
60-61; Defoe at, 66; Disastrous
Wrecks off, 65; Harbour, 62
Old Tollhouse, 61.

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