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Published: December 5th 2016
We surveyed the weather forecast for the next few days. The only place that appeared not to offer Storm Angus was north Norfolk. Cromer and Kings Lynn it was then.
Kings Lynn is a much under-estimated place. It is steeped in history. A town of 40,000 inhabitants, that by all accounts has more listed buildings than anywhere else in England per head of population. The old money is obvious from the historic buildings. Kings Lynn grew rich on trade with the Hanseatic League of ports across the North Sea to Germany and the Baltic and ranked as the No 1 port in England before the rise of the transatlantic trade. The Guildhall of St George is reputed the oldest and largest in England. The rise of Liverpool and ports in western England and the rise of London’s port sealed the fate of Kings Lynn as a major international port, but coastal trade remained strong. Coals from Newcastle, shipbuilding, and grain exports all continued. There would be enough entertainment for a couple of hours wandering round the old centre. It is also place of great significance for all those good folk from British Columbia, as I will explain later.
Cromer
The Red LionWe had spent the previous afternoon and evening in Cromer. A traditional seaside resort with a pier and famous for crabs. As a connoisseur of the North East’s Premier Seaside Resort is does no harm to compare the opposition from time to time. There has been talk recently of the return of the beach chalet making it the “new” Brighton. There were a multitude of brightly coloured chalets on the promenade above the beach towards Overstrand – perhaps the “new” Cromer would be a more appropriate title. We located our residence for the evening on Overstrand Road and followed the map instructions across the grounds to the woods beyond and down the steps on to the beach. The beach did match the pictures – a decline in the level of yellow sand in favour of pebbles seems to overcome this end. The potential stormy weather disguised the danger of the sea. The boats had been hauled high up beyond the tide level beside the Lifeboat Centre. An artist with his easel was busy creating his latest vision by the breakwater. The seafront was dominated by the pier extending out into the North Sea and the red brick
Hotel de Paris on the cliff.
We ventured on to Cromer Pier – National Pier of the Year 2000 and 2015, A plaque announced it’s re-opening by Stephen Fry, after a refurbishment in 2012. There are records of a “pier” dating back to 1391, but this reincarnation dates from circa 1902. The pier houses the Pavillion Theatre. A board advised of all the great and the good who have graced the theatre in recent times, as well as TV and films shot there. Alan Partridge has been a regular visitor. The RNLI Lifeboat Station is housed at the very seaward end. The current boat perched on the slipway ready for launch. The rescue boards detailed the launchings over the years. We climbed the steps towards the rather grand Hotel de Paris. We poked our noses into the lobby. Faded glory would be appropriate words. It wasn’t The Zetland.
The town itself seemed very much alive with an array of active businesses. We pondered our fish and chips for later in M & Ms, but it transpired after checking their restaurant closed “before 6 pm”. The website had suggested different. An alternative was spotted in
No 1, which looked more promising. The beach extended towards Sheringham beyond this restaurant. A series of gardens and lawns extended on the upper promenade. A seated shelter featured artwork from Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury. Countryfile had clearly been to town at some point. The Cliftonville Hotel was playing host to a bus tour. The boating lake was drained for the winter or possibly forever. We relocated to the Red Lion –
restaurant and rooms – overlooking the beach at the Overstrand end. The Lacons oatmeal stout was to our liking. We gazed out to sea and decided to return for evening meal. After a good night’s sleep and a cooked breakfast with a modern twist, we drove back towards Kings Lynn. The bright sunshine had brought out the daytrippers and a snake of cars was heading towards the coast.
We parked up by The Walks, an expanse of parkland within walking distance of the town centre. We approached via the Vancouver Quarter, a rather unattractive concrete shopping zone that forms the basis of the modern town. During World War 1 and 2 Kings Lynn suffered extensive bombing, although the Vancouver Quarter was probably more a
Kings Lynn
Corn Exchange victim of 1960s town planners. Kings Lynn was actually one of the first towns to suffer aerial bombing in World War 1, when a Zeppelin dropped 11 on an area of West Lynn. We proceeded towards the historic waterfront area. A statue of George Vancouver gazed towards the blue sky or perhaps he was gazing out to sea in anticipation of great discoveries. George was a son of the Kings Lynn parish, who after his apprenticeship in discovery with Captain Cook set about writing his name into Canadian history. He left England on 1 April 1791 and travelled via South Africa, Australia – where he claimed what is now modern day Albany, SW Australia – New Zealand, Hawaii and Tahiti, before following north from the coastlines of Oregon and Washington State.
Vancouver was the second European to enter Burrard Inlet on 13 June 1792, naming it after his friend Sir Harry Burrard. It is the present day main harbour area of the City of Vancouver. In August 1792, Vancouver went to Nootka, then the region's most important harbour, on what is now known as Vancouver Island. Whilst these two location bear George’s name, the coastline and hinterlands to the
south bear names of his friends and associates:
Mount Baker – after 3rd Lieutenant Joseph Baker, who was the first on the expedition to see it
Mount St Helens – after Fitzherbert, 1
st Baron of St Helens
Pugets Sound - after
Discovery's Lieutenant Peter Puget.
Mount Rainer – after Rear Admiral Peter Rainer.
We passed the Old Customs House, which now doubles as a tourist information centre and headed down towards Tuesday Market. The sign to the ferry to West Lynn point down a small lane. Wetherspoons had rescued an old hotel, which was heavily populated with Saturday lunch time drinkers. The Old Corn Exchange is now run by the Council and transformed into a concert space with a cafe out front. The promotional posters advertised the forthcoming imminent arrival of late 1970s and early 1980s disco sensations, Shalamar. The Sound of Los Angeles Records comes to Kings Lynn. I am sure it will be a
Night to Remember! A flea market was on-going in the concert space. The Tuesday Market square was enormous and flanked by impressive old buildings. The very colourful Duke Head is described as chic lodging and
Kings Lynn
Tuesday Market dining in a 1683 property. I mistook the St Nicholas Chapel as the Cathedral. It is actually a “Chapel of Ease” and the largest of it’s type in England. There are no longer church services held inside and today it was kids activity sessions. It was in a good state of repair, after the restoration with lottery money.
We walked through the shopping area to Saturday Market, which was much smaller than the Tuesday vertsion. The Kings Lynn Minster appeared no bigger than St Nicholas Chapel. Medieval looking streets flank the market place, which other than the Minster is dominated by the Town Hall. I noted that down one was King Lynn’s own version of Hampton Court. I was taken by the Devil’s Alley, behind there must be a story. As ever, it was football time and we departed for the grand old fashioned ground that is the Walks Stadium. Kings Lynn Town were entertaining – I use the word loosely – Banbury United in the Evostik Southern Premier League. There was a muttering of discontent in a queue for a ticket.
“Why can’t we just pay at the turnstiles, like we used to?” I
Cromer Pier
Cromer Lifeboat Station treated the Other Half to a seat at an extra investment of £1. She was most impressed. The capacity of 5,733 would not be tested and nor would the 1,200 seats be fully occupied. The original Kings Lynn FC went bust in 2009, owing a mere £77,000. They once crammed nearly 13,000 into the Walks Stadium in 1951. Today the crowd was in the high 500s, which was enough to ensure the Other Half could have her choice of a seat for the 1st half and a change for the 2nd half. The football was sterile. Kings Lynn content with a long ball hammered upfront, until sub Ryan Hawkins added pace and imagination to set up a tap in winner.
We were on the road within 5 minutes of the final whistle and home in time for Strictly Come Dancing. What more could a girl want? An invitation to Ilkeston Town v Whitby Town next week was duly forthcoming!
Appendix 1 Evostik Premier Division (Southern) Kings Lynn Town FC 1 Banbury United 0
Date: 19 November 2016 @ 1500 Hours Venue: Walks Stadium, Kings Lynn, Norfolk
Attendance: 587
King's Lynn Town FC: Alex Street, Jacek Zielonka (Ryan Hawkins 65), Jordan Yong, Sam Gaughran, Dan Quigley, Lee Smith (Shaun McWilliams 52), Michael Clunan, Lee Stevenson, Toby Hilliard, Leon Mettam (Dylan Edge 79), Sam Warburton. Subs (not used): Danny Emmington, Dylan Edge.
Banbury United: Jack Harding, Jack Westbrook (Callum White 72), Marvin Martin, George Nash, Luke Carnell, Eddie Odhiambo, Zac McEachran, Jack Self, Ricky Johnson, Conor McDonagh (George Jeacock 56), Darius Browne (Mark Bell 79) 6), Subs (not used): Andy Gunn, Jacob Blacktock
Goals: 1-0 Hilliard (Kings Lynn Town FC) 75 Mins
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
What are the chalets used for?