The History of Great Yarmouth In brief.
At around 500,000BC, at the site where now is
standing the town of Great Yarmouth, there was a river running from the
(current) Midlands through a 150-foot deep valley between rolling chalk hills.
This river ran East across countryside where now is the North sea. At that time
Neanderthal and modern man coexisted and there was no modern agriculture. No
archaeological evidence has been found here from that age, being too deep, but
the geology is known from an 19th century borehole made for Lacon’s
brewery. Being a brief warm period, the ice came down from the North to cover
this area, and as it ebbed and flowed, sometimes up to two miles thick across
Scotland and Scandinavia, it ground away the rock beneath, forming sand and
gravel. As the ice at times melted away, the melt water carried the sand and
gravel across this part of East Anglia, filling up the valley in the chalk to
leave a flat sand surface.
In 125,000BC, there was a prolonged
interglacial period, and the area around Yarmouth was a sandy moor with
elephants and deer forests. This land surface was just above the current sea
level, and by digging at Corton at the base of the cliff there can be exposed
very easily, a peat layer containing bones and beetle shells, seeds and other
remains. This layer is also evident at East Runton, where an elephant’s
skeleton, including its very long tusks was recently excavated. The peat is
from time to time exposed by cliff falls. At Great Yarmouth this layer has not
been demonstrated, but has not been dug down for. The pipe trench up Nottingham
way went down 5 metres, and reached undisturbed glacial moraine, showing that
the sea had not disturbed the area of the town after the ice finally melted in
10,000 B.C., but lower levels were not penetrated.
10,000 B.C. was the end of the ice age. The
North Sea was dry land right across, and in 6,000 B.C. Maglemose man settled in
East Anglia, Britain was continuous with mainland Europe. There was a lake
where now is the North Sea, that gradually filled and eventually broke through
the land between the white cliffs at Dover and Northern France. In about 5,000
B.C. Britain was finally separated from European mainland as North Sea flooded
and the icecap receded to present size.
4,000 B.C. brought the Copper Age. The area
around Yarmouth was densely populated for those times. Copper tools have been
discovered at Gorleston at more than one site, and there are displays of some
at the Tolhouse Museum. There are millions of stone tools in the fields around
Yarmouth, found easily in many fields at Gorleston and at Caister. Early field
systems in evidence, with aerial photography in the dry summer of 1996 showing
the whole area to have been intensely farmed from prehistoric times. There are
many surviving hut sites, none of which have yet been excavated, but are
clearly demonstrable. Trade links were in place with Europe at an early date,
and the wider area is rich in prehistoric finds.
In 55 B.C. Julius Caesar made the first Roman
expedition to Britain. In 43 A.D. there was a Roman invasion of Britain
(Claudius), the first Roman Governor being Aulus Plautius. In 60 A.D. Boudicca
and the Iceni rebelled. Tribesmen from this area were likely involved as this
was a major grain-producing region. By AD100 the Roman presence would have been
felt in the Yarmouth Area. In 250 Caister Roman fort was established, and in
270AD Burgh Castle constructed. To have two such forts so close seems notable
at the least. There was a river available leading to the hinterland, and a
major food supply. Likely the grain could feed the troops and surplus be
exported to troops in Europe. Defence of the food supply of the Roman army
seems the most plausible explanation of this massive presence. The river ran
out to the North of the current town of Great Yarmouth, at the site of the
little Roman Catholic Cemetery on the Caister road. (later called Grubbs Haven)
Somehow the river became diverted to the South, and the excavation for the
sewer pipe at South Quay showed a man made quayside backed by a clay lining
that could indicate diversion of the river for a Roman harbour, but
insufficient work has been done to make this more than speculation. Roman
pottery was found at the deepest level excavated at Blackfriars, and Roman roof
tiles were found inside the base of the town wall at Alexandra Road. Far too
little excavation to deep levels has been done to know what this means, but
again the pipe trench in Nottingham way showed that the sand deposit was
undisturbed since the ice age, with a burned land surface above it, the date of
the earliest occupation being unknown.
In 630 Fursey established his monastic cell
somewhere in this area, and we can confidently say from the archaeology that it
was not at Burgh Castle, where only Roman remains were found. Yarmouth
certainly was at least a Saxon settlement of some size, and in 1002 Sweyne the
Viking invaded East Anglia. From the carbon dates at Fullers Hill, and recorded
history of Norwich, the wooden and straw structures of the sizeable town of
Great Yarmouth were in 1010 razed by Vikings. The burned layer of the Saxon
town lies across a large area, from Nottingham way to Fuller’s Hill.
In 1041 Yarmouth was in possession of Edward
the confessor, having 70 Burgesses, and from this period there is recorded
history. In 1101 Archbishop De Losinga of Norwich founded St. Nicholas Church
on a site occupied by the Church of St Bennet before it. Some archaeological
evidence of that may well remain beneath the present church.
Yarmouth was popular with Monks, and in 1204
the Blackfriars founded a monastery to the South East of the settlement. Later
there were monasteries established by the White Friars on North Quay and
another by the Grey Friars on the South Quay. Money flowed to the Church then.
There was a priory attached to St Nicholas Church, and the Town Hall was
established at the Church South Gate. In 1209 was the first Charter for the
town, of King John, and in 1261 Licence was granted by Henry II to build a
wall, which inevitably encircled the church and the monasteries, and
established gates at the North and South, and was bounded on the West by the
river. There was no bridge, but there was a ferry to cross the river to the
Southtown side. There was a little fishing village at Gorleston, and some saltpans
at Cobholm.
1278 saw the foundation of St.Mary's Hospital.
There was a Leper’s Hospital outside the North Gate, and the ground outside the
North Gate was divided into little field plots to grow food.
In the time of Edward I, the town was known to
supply herring, and Edwards’s son used a tailor in Yarmouth, and became Earl of
Norfolk, and his Royal Arms are seen on the church. The town then was an
important port. Edward III built up the navy, and ships and men from Yarmouth
fought and defeated the Dutch in the North Sea in 1340 at the Battle of Sluys.
In 1346 the river silted up, Grubbs Haven was
still open as well as the main river to the South. The “first” haven was then
cut to improve the passage of ships. As the river silted up the only method
they had was to cut a completely new channel to the south, until that one
silted and they cut another, and so on. These new channels were cut across the
South Denes at various sites. Yarmouth was a premier fishing port and a main
base for the Navy. These were difficult times, and in 1349 the Great Plague
struck. The town was struck by plague over several centuries; the dead were
buried outside the walls, and in the base of the “King Henry” (North-East) Tower.
There was a charnel house at some time in the precinct of the church, used to
incinerate bodies.
In 1382 Richard II paid a Royal visit. He
lodged at the Great Hall of the Priory (Priory School). The town wall was still
under construction. Perhaps Richard thought the construction should be
accelerated, as eventually, in 1396 the wall was completed. Not until 1427 was
the first bridge over the Yare constructed. Later that century, in 1450
foundations were laid for Caister Castle, which was owned by Sir John Fastolf,
who also kept a house on the Hall Quay. He was rewarded by the King for
successful campaigning in France at Crecy and Agincourt. In1469 Caister Castle
was besieged, after the Paston family inherited from Sir John Fastolf, and
there was much subsequent wrangling over the estate.
Several
breweries were established at North Quay and Fullers Hill, later owned
by the Wards, Meadowe, Browne and others.
The river had long been blocking up. It would
have been commercially important since the Bronze Age or earlier. Small boats
at that time had no difficulty in trading metal, grain and other goods. When
the Romans came they must have needed the river more than ever. The side of the
river at the pumping station and the building of the town hall has revealed ancient
Quay headings, but the date of the timbers could not be ascertained. When the
pipe trench was dug with deep pits either side of South Quay, there was a huge
deposit of clay that lined the river inside of the timbers to prevent erosion
into the sand. At what date this was constructed is unknown. Surely much later
than those features, having started in 1508, by 1529 the town had cut its 5th
Haven, a new outlet into the sea beyond the South gate, in an attempt to keep
the river flowing.
Royal visits have been few and far between, the
most famous being perhaps that of Charles I (1671), but in 1515 there was a
Visit by the Queen of France.
Famine in previous centuries was a regular
problem, and in 1528 there was famine and rioting. By whatever means the town pulled
through, and faced the threat from Spain. The town was inspected and a plan
drawn up for its fortification. It was very much a target with great naval
importance, the fleet being stationed in the Yarmouth Roads. Victualling the
fleet was an important trade. Many became rich or made a living from the supply
of the fleet. The town was to be fortified. In 1544 a huge Rampire upon the
wall was created. Some small remains of that can be seen today. This was a
platform built up outside the new gate to take a gun battery. Other work
included strengthening the inside of the wall by building up against it to a
depth of many feet with millions of tons of earth and sand. Any houses nearer
to the wall than the west side of King Street were ripped down. Meantime the river
was rapidly silting up. With no such thing as a dredger, the only recourse was
yet again to create a new opening across the South Denes, and this entered the
Sea much in the position of the current power station. This sixth haven was
completed in 1549. The same year saw
Kett's rebellion take place at Norwich. John Eachard and two other Yarmouth
Burgesses went to London to report the matter to the King.
Fifty years later, in 1550 there was another
outbreak of Plague. This must have played havoc in a small unsanitary seaport
such as Yarmouth, with ships in and out of harbour, the quays and streets
scurrying with rats. The sewage ran in open drains in the narrow rows, or was
ferried in carts to the North and South Muck Heaps that were outside the gates
by a short distance only. The population of rats must have exceeded the head of
population many times over.
In 1555 Henry Manship junior, was born.
(1555-1625) Manship the younger was to become an important local historian and
was to build upon the work of his predecessor Thomas Damet, documenting the
first important written history of the town. His father, Manship senior was a
leading figure and arranged the work to construct the Seventh Haven, completed in 1560, that finally was well enough
engineered to stand the test of time, so that we benefit from that same harbour
entrance today.
.
An amusing incident occurred in 1578 when Scroby island was annexed to the town.It had
been fully dry for a couple of years and grassed over. It was thought that it
would remain dry land and be useful to build upon. Needless to say the weather
only had to change and soon enough the “island” was once more under water,
making those involved look as foolish as they truly were.
There had long been an important market in the
town, and it appears to have been on its present site from the very earliest
times. Little archaeology has been done, but livestock have been kept and sold
there from early times. One of the important feaures of the town was the
permanent stall or market cross, of which there were two, but in 1604 a third
market cross was erected, showing that trade was booming. It was a cold period
of weather followed, and in 1607 The rivers were all frozen solid for three
days, something rarely recorded.
Mayors have generally been held of high regard
in the town, and their names have been placed on record. The office of Mayor
has however remained controversial, more than once been discontinued, and in
1688 the office of Mayor was abolished. It remained so, to be restored in 1702
by a Royal Charter. (Queen Anne).
Fishing has
been the mainstay of Yarmouth’s economy. In 1702 a Fisherman's hospital was
erected to care for old and destitute fishermen. In the Middle Ages, the fishing in Yarmouth
was all important. Herring was a staple in the diet, and had the great benefit
of being well preserved in salt. Thus herring was stored and transported by the
barrel all over the country. Edward I, whose bust was displayed high inside the
roof of St. Nicholas Church, ordered 18,500 herring for consumption by his
household in 1300 when he stayed at Stirling Castle, and he showed his love of
this fish still further by requesting twenty-four pasties of herring in return
for the grant of a lease at Carlton. During the next century, Margaret Paston
bought a horse load of herring for four shillings and sixpence, and complained
to her husband that “that is all I can get at the moment.” Herring was
dispersed far and wide from the town, and aside from brewing and the cloth and
woollen trade, seems to have been the greatest source of income for the populace.
Herring was sent in 1755 to such diverse places as Naples, Venice, Genoa,
Ancona, Trieste, Bordeaux and of course throughout Britain also. Over the years
there were tremendous ups and downs in the success or otherwise of the catch.
Much of the town itself was devoted to fishing, and the ropewalks were retained
inside of the town wall until 1678. There was a lack of warehousing, and goods
that could be traded in the open air were few. More perishable produce such as
wool was moved straight from one ship to another, whilst herring was dealt with
immediately upon landing. John
Andrews whose house still stands on South Quay, was the most prominent fish
tradesman in the 18th. Century. He owned twenty fish houses and six malt houses
in 1741. The fishing then as always was unreliable. Some years had a glut of
herring, and others were so poor that there was scarcely a living to be made.
As an example, there were 7.5 million herring cured in 1760, and 9.2 millions
in 1780. This contrasts with the glut in 1756 of nearly 73 millions, and 57.6
millions in 1773. At the end of that century the trade with Norwich in other
consumables was dwindling, but there was a substantial Naval presence in the
town due to the French wars, which caused a huge number of extra persons to be
billeted in the town, and trade was developed supplying the personnel on shore
and the naval vessels in the roads. The navy was stationed in the town from
1796-1811. Further business in regard of shipping was in terms of the
construction of new vessels, by example there were 19 new vessels built in
1790, with a total tonnage of 2028, and as many as 44 were built in 1796.
In 1709 Peter Le Neve the historian, purchased
a residence in King Street. He had contracted tuberculosis, and whereas he had
inherited an estate near Norwich, the sea air had been declared healthy and was
fashionable as a cure for ill health. He was responsible for much of the
research that enabled the subsequent compilation of Blomefield’s “Norfolk”. A
few years later, in 1716, Henry Swinden was born. Swinden mapped the town in
amazing and most accurate detail. He also wrote a detailed history, published
after his death by his young friend the antiquarian, John Ives junior.
Life was becoming slowly a little more
civilized, and 1729 the pillory was removed from the market place, thus ceasing
public abuse of minor miscreants. People were more aware of their fellows in
general and when in 1766 a severe famine struck the town that would clearly
have caused the death of hundreds, several more well to do, led in particular
by John Bell the lawyer, paid and raised money by subscription for bread to be
distributed.
Water in the town was for centuries obtained
from a few public wells. As time went by hundreds were sunk in yards all round
the town. Wells would have been easy to sink in the sand, and were a ready
water source due to the river on one side and the sea on the other. There is a
constant water table at only around 30 feet down. One such well was documented
as sunk in a yard behind the dwellings at 53, 54 and 55 King Street in 1776.
Politically Yarmouth has had its moments, with
its deep involvement in the regicide of Charles the first, and being slightly
involved at least in Nelson’s domestic difficulties by hosting him and the
Hamiltons in 1800 when Emma was some 7 months pregnant. Earlier, in1795 the
Princess of Orange likewise arrived in England via Yarmouth, which as ever
provided an easy sea route from the continent..
The town was until around 1830 confined between
the river and the wall. Many other towns have had medieval Rows. It is not a
unique feature as some would suggest. Towns such as Leeds have likewise had
narrow passages with multiple small dwellings crowded with small dwellings. Few
may have been quite as confined as Row 95, but the feature of narrow medieval
rows is far from unique. Indeed medieval London before the great fire was built
likewise. Where Yarmouth was unusual was that it continued to have that pattern
unbroken to such a late date. It was not until 1804 that the rows, more than
150, were first numbered (145 plus half rows). Medieval strips for land
ownership were present between the three main streets and these were
progressively subdivided. When the rows were numbered a group of persons to do
the task assembled at the North Gate most likely, then walked up and down,
progressing south with a pail and whitewash, painting up the numbers on the
walls. Despite the existence of a map, no planning was used to determine the
numbering.
A year later, Yarmouth’s most important and
prolific historian, a man who shaped much of the town outside the walls,
Charles Palmer, was born. Meanwhile the destruction of famous medieval
landmarks accelerated, being marked by the demolition in 1807 of the North
Gate. In 1812 the South Gate was demolished. One day the North and South Gates
ought to be recreated as a statement for the restitution and preservation of
this important medieval seaport.
Napoleon remained a threat, and whilst Martello
towers and forts were built on the south coast, Yarmouth was felt to be good
for the sea air, to recover health and was a sensible distance from the action.
In 1811 St.Nicholas Hospital was built for the benefit of sailors injured in
the war with France. The town continued its modernization, and the rows were
too narrow for modern commerce. Some wider Streets were needed and in 1813
Regent Street constructed.
In 1813 William III landed at Yarmouth, on his way to London. The same year social reform continued with the last local hanging. (John Hannah) Yarmouth continued as a rich and important place perhaps just starting to decline from the withdrawal of the provisioning of the fleet. To mark the town’s importance, in 1814 a Grand Dinner was held upon the Quay, tables stretching all the way from end to end. Equally a statement was made by the erection on the South Denes in 1817 of the first column to celebrate Nelson’s life and victories. This monument was then visible for miles around, painted famously by J M W Turner, and preceded the building of a similar column in London by several years. One of Nelson’s seamen by the name of Sharman, tended the column and admitted visitors to climb up the steps inside it. The town being quite a spectacle, George IV visited it in 1822.
In the 19th century developments in
medical science promoted the need for dissection of corpses. Insufficient
bodies were available, although trade in dead bodies was not illegal. Yarmouth
was involved with the body snatchers, who raided fresh graves in St Nicholas
churchyard at night from their base in Row 6. Travel then was either over the
bridge to the south, through Southtown, or to the north, via Caister. The road
to Norwich was up the coast and turned west to Filby and thence to Acle. A new
road was proposed across the marshes in 1828. Meanwhile, to get to the west
side of the Bure there was constructed a new suspension bridge, opened in 1829.
The railways were not to reach Yarmouth until the Norwich to Yarmouth line was
opened with its terminus at Vauxhall, in 1844. That year, Paget’s brewery, on
the east side of the Bure from the
railway station was removed, which enabled the line to run over another
suspension bridge, southwards down North Quay and South Quay to the fishwharf.
Sarah Martin of Row 57, who had tirelessly
campaigned for prisoners’ rights, died in 1843.
In 1845 the suspension bridge was overcrowded,
with hundreds of people enjoying a carnival and water spectacle. The bridge was
being used as a grandstand, and it failed to take the weight. Many could not
swim, and when the bridge gave way, eighty people were drowned.
The town developed for the new trade in holiday
visitors. Transport was now available to the town by rail from the midlands and
the north as well as many steamers from London. In 1853 building the Wellington
Pier commenced. New hotels were built and a promenade Kimberley Terrace was
erected in 1843, as was the Victoria Hotel (now the Carlton). Queen Victoria’s
son, Bertie, Prince of Wales, stayed regularly at the Shadingfield Lodge,
(first in 1872) when his mistress, Lilly Langtry was on stage at the Royal
Aquarium. He had visited the theatre on the 9th June 1881, causing
quite a stir. Despite that it closed a year later, but was then rebuilt with
the current front. It became a successful theatre in the hands of John
Nightingale..The Winter gardens were bought second hand from Torquay in 1903.
The Britannia pier, first to be built, had several disasters and was rebuilt
several times. The seafront was laid with tramlines in 1901. The Hippodrome
circus, one of only two purpose built circus buildings in the country was added
in 1903, although it replaced a less permanent circus, Gilbert’s that had been
there since 1898. The pleasure Beach complex was built in 1906. The Gem
(Windmill) opened 1907, and the Empire Theatre in 1911.The Marina open-air
swimming baths were added in 1922, and the boating lake in 1926. Hotels
included the Queens Hotel (New Beach), and the Royalty complex was built as a
Royal Aquarium and included enormous dining rooms to seat 1000, and so feed the
mutitude of hungry visitors. Lord Suffield laid the foundation stone on October
8th 1875, and afterwards the Mayor, Samuel Barker, entertained 100
gentlemen to luncheon at the Town Hall. It opened 5th September
1876. Yarmouth’s holiday trade was then booming, only a century later to run
down and fade as a residential trade after the advent of cheap package tours by
air abroad, with which the old fashioned and un-modernised English seaside town
could not compete. Nowadays, most visitors either make day trips by car or
coach, or stay in the many largely self-sufficient holiday camps outside of the
town.
The war years had their effect upon the town.
Yarmouth was never a prime target, and it was a long flight over the sea from
Germany, but when the bombers flew to blitz London and Coventry, their safest
route home was to swing east over the North Sea. Yarmouth was the last place to
drop any remaining bombs. Many fell into the sea. The town was largely
evacuated, women and children being dispersed to the safer countryside. At
times local militia used the half empty town for target practice in their exercises.
The buildings were already in substantial disrepair and became further
dilapidated. Surprisingly little was totally destroyed. St Nicholas church was
burned out completely in 1940, and not rebuilt until 1961. South Quay and many
Row buildings of great historical worth were bulldozed to make way for the
cheap utilitarian flats that were rapidly to become slums themselves. Then in
1971 a further wave of destruction removed many more famous landmarks including
Fullers Hill, Lacon’s Brewery, and Laughing Image corner. The latter was all in
the name of road improvement, as was the loss of the Methodist Temple and
Southtown Station. Likewise have Yarmouth Way and the inner ring road cut a
swathe through the old town. New building at that time, such as the Havenbridge
House and the Market Gates complex were not in keeping with the medieval town.
Fortunately at least some of the old town, and in particular much of the wall
and towers remain. Lately an attempt has been made to stabilize the historical
basis of the town, and the work on South Quay, and the new buildings in Row 57
are a step in the right direction.
Industry has come and gone in Yarmouth. Trade
was for centuries seasonal in nature, with the fishing and the influx of boats
and whole families from Scotland. The holiday trade served to complement that,
and year round industries such as the Birds Eye factory, and the Smiths Crisp
factory have been short lived by comparison. The North Sea oil trade, that sees
a relatively small number of vessels in port, has replaced the fishing but
there are many small businesses on the sidelines that add to the town’s
livelihood. The latest trend is a substantial building programme of relatively
large and expensive houses at the periphery, whilst the town center remains
somewhat stagnant. Commuters, travel to work in Norwich or further afield,
whilst the industries of Yarmouth are unchanged. Whilst there is no great
motorway link either to the north or south, it seems unlikely that there will
be any more development of the harbour. If this were to happen the town would
lose even more of its character, yet the number of jobs for locals would be
small. The main problem in the central town remains the decentralization of
shopping to big stores in warehouses, and the continued refusal by the council
of the necessary upgrading of former holiday hotels and guesthouses that,
barred from change to better and more valuable houses and flats, are only
economic by being let to the poorest of migrants from elsewhere that promote a
subculture of deprivation, and suppress the restitution of the town to its
former medieval glory.