Blakeney Guildhall
Encyclopedia
Blakeney Guildhall is a building in the coastal village of Blakeney
in the north of the county of Norfolk
. The property is in the care of English Heritage
but is managed by the local parish council. Blakeney is just off the A149
coast road and is nine miles west of Sheringham
. The property can be found in an alley
just off the quay.
being used for storage of his merchandise. The building later became the guildhall of Blakeney’s guild of fish
merchants.
The Guildhall was once a two-storey building but now all that remains is the 14th-century brick-vaulted undercroft
. It is divided into two aisles by a row of stone piers which support the ribbed vaults of brickwork. The doorway and the windows are all original. The bricks, no doubt, were locally made and are typical of their period, being of variable shape, quality and appearance. For this reason brickwork of this period was often plastered over.
The main building was entered from higher ground on the southern land side of the building. A projection at the south-east corner contains the shute that served a garderobe
or privy
.
Over the years the basement
has been used for the storage of cargo, as a grain
store, coal
bunker, for growing mushroom
s and also a worm and bait store for local fishermen.
During the war years the basement was used as a mortuary for drowned sailors.
, and to nearby Wiveton
Hall, are rumoured to have been built by the White Friar
s of the nearby Carmelite Friary, which was also rumoured to be linked by tunnel.
In 1924 evidence of the mysterious tunnels was uncovered close to the Guildhall on Mariners Hill; a Mr Archie Bedwell and his employer, who were working for a Mr William Starling, dug down about 12 feet and discovered the barrel roof of a tunnel. Unfortunately they did not investigate any further and the hole was backfilled. Blakeney’s village sign depicts a fiddler and his dog and the story goes that this fiddler entered tunnels. According to legend as he set off to explore the mysterious tunnels he played on his fiddle and both he and his dog were never seen again.
Blakeney, Norfolk
Blakeney is a coastal village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Blakeney lies within the Norfolk Coast AONB and the North Norfolk Heritage Coast. The North Norfolk Coastal Path passes through the village...
in the north of the county of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. The property is in the care of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
but is managed by the local parish council. Blakeney is just off the A149
A149 road
The A149 is a major route in Norfolk, linking Kings Lynn to Great Yarmouth. It runs via the coast rather than on a more direct route such as the A47. The eastern section runs through The Broads.-Kings Lynn to Wells next the Sea:...
coast road and is nine miles west of Sheringham
Sheringham
Sheringham is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, west of Cromer.The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District Council, is Mare Ditat Pinusque Decorat, Latin for "The sea enriches and the pine adorns"....
. The property can be found in an alley
Alley
An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane found in urban areas, often for pedestrians only, which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting...
just off the quay.
Origins
The building has always traditionally been called the Guildhall but nothing is known of its early history. It is likely to have originally been built for a prosperous medieval Blakeney fish merchant, the undercroftUndercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground area which is relatively open to the sides, but covered by the building above.- History :While some...
being used for storage of his merchandise. The building later became the guildhall of Blakeney’s guild of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
merchants.
The Guildhall was once a two-storey building but now all that remains is the 14th-century brick-vaulted undercroft
Undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground area which is relatively open to the sides, but covered by the building above.- History :While some...
. It is divided into two aisles by a row of stone piers which support the ribbed vaults of brickwork. The doorway and the windows are all original. The bricks, no doubt, were locally made and are typical of their period, being of variable shape, quality and appearance. For this reason brickwork of this period was often plastered over.
The main building was entered from higher ground on the southern land side of the building. A projection at the south-east corner contains the shute that served a garderobe
Garderobe
The term garderobe describes a place where clothes and other items are stored, and also a medieval toilet. In European public places, a garderobe denotes the cloakroom, wardrobe, alcove or an armoire. In Danish, Dutch, German and Spanish garderobe can mean a cloakroom. In Latvian it means checkroom...
or privy
Outhouse
An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...
.
Ownership
It is believed that the Guildhall was once owned by the Carmelite Friary that stood nearby. It has been in the ownership of the village for over 400 years. There is a series of deeds recording the transfer of ownership from one group of trustees to the next. Each deed provides for the Guildhall to be used for the benefit of the villagers of Blakeney. The first surviving deed dates from 1627. There are other similar deeds dated 1687, 1750 and 1808. Subsequent deeds do not appear to have survived.Over the years the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
has been used for the storage of cargo, as a grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
store, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
bunker, for growing mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s and also a worm and bait store for local fishermen.
During the war years the basement was used as a mortuary for drowned sailors.
Tunnels
Tunnels that linked the Guildhall to a chapel which once stood on the marshes close to the mouth of the River GlavenRiver Glaven
The River Glaven is 10½ miles long and flows through picturesque North Norfolk countryside. Rising from a tiny headwater in Bodham the river starts just 2 miles before Selbrigg Pond where three streams combine at the outfall...
, and to nearby Wiveton
Wiveton
Wiveton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the west bank of the River Glaven, inland from the coast and directly across the river from the village of Cley next the Sea...
Hall, are rumoured to have been built by the White Friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
s of the nearby Carmelite Friary, which was also rumoured to be linked by tunnel.
In 1924 evidence of the mysterious tunnels was uncovered close to the Guildhall on Mariners Hill; a Mr Archie Bedwell and his employer, who were working for a Mr William Starling, dug down about 12 feet and discovered the barrel roof of a tunnel. Unfortunately they did not investigate any further and the hole was backfilled. Blakeney’s village sign depicts a fiddler and his dog and the story goes that this fiddler entered tunnels. According to legend as he set off to explore the mysterious tunnels he played on his fiddle and both he and his dog were never seen again.