King's Lynn
Encyclopedia
King's Lynn ˌ is a sea port
and market town
in the ceremonial county
of Norfolk
in the East
of England
. It is situated 97 miles (156 km) north of London
and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich
. The population of the town is 42,800.
The town has two theatres, museums and other cultural and sporting venues. There are three secondary schools and one college. The service sector, information and communication technologies and creative industries, provide limited employment for the population of King's Lynn and the surrounding area.
of King's Lynn is uncertain. The name Lynn is said to be derived from the body of water
near the town (the Great Ouse river as it prepares to enter the Wash
): the Celtic
word Llyn, means a lake; but the name is plausibly of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the word Lean, implying a tenure
in fee or farm.
For a time it was named Len Episcopi (Bishop's Lynn) while under the jurisdiction, both temporal and spiritual, of the Bishop of Norwich
; but during the reign of Henry VIII of England
it was surrendered to the crown, and it then assumed the name of Lenne Regis, or King's Lynn.
In the Domesday Book
, it is known as Lun, and Lenn; and is described as the property of the Bishop of Elmham, and the Archbishop of Canterbury
.
The town is and has been for generations generally known by its inhabitants and local people simply as Lynn. The city of Lynn, Massachusetts
, just north of Boston
, was named in 1637 in honour of its first official minister of religion, Samuel Whiting, who arrived at the new settlement from Lynn, Norfolk.
. Development began in the early 10th century, but was not recorded until the early 11th century.
In 1101, Bishop Herbert de Losinga
of Thetford
began the first mediaeval
town between two rivers, the Purfleet to the north and Mill Fleet to the south, by commissioning St Margaret's Church and authorising a market. In the same year, the Bishop granted the people of Lynn the right to hold a market on Saturday.
Trade built up along the waterways that stretched inland from Lynn, and the town expanded between these two rivers.
and London
. It was considered as important to England during the Middle Ages
as Liverpool
was during the Industrial Revolution
. Sea trade with Europe was dominated by the Hanseatic League
of ports; the transatlantic trade and the rise of England's western ports would not begin until the 17th century. The Trinity Guildhall was rebuilt in 1421 after a fire. It is debated whether the Guildhall of St George is the largest and oldest in England. In order to defend the town, walls and gatehouses were established, including the erection of the South Gate and East Gate.
In the first decade of the 16th century, Thoresby College was built by Thomas Thoresby to house priests of the Guild of The Holy Trinity in King's Lynn. The guild was incorporated in 1453 on the petition of its alderman, chaplain, four brethren and four sisters. The guildsmen were then licensed to found a chantry
of chaplains to celebrate at the altar of Holy Trinity in Wisbech church and to grant to the chaplains lands in mortmain
. In 1524 King's Lynn was given a mayor and corporation. In 1537 the king took control of the town from the bishop. From then on it was called King's Lynn. However in the 16th century the town's two annual fairs were reduced to one. In 1534 a grammar school was founded. But in 1538 Henry VIII closed the Benedictine priory and the three friaries.
During the 16th century a piped water supply was created, although many could not afford to be connected: elm pipes carried water under the streets. Like all towns at that time King's Lynn suffered from outbreaks of plague: there were severe outbreaks in 1516, 1587, 1597, 1636 and 1665. But the 1665 outbreak proved to be the last. Fire was another hazard and in 1572 thatched roofs were banned to reduce the risk of fire. In 1642 came civil war between king and parliament. At first King's Lynn supported parliament, but in August 1643, after a change in government, the town changed sides. Parliament lost no time in sending an army to capture the town. King's Lynn was besieged for three weeks before it surrendered.
In 1683, the architect Henry Bell
, who was once mayor of King's Lynn, built the Custom House. Bell also built the Duke's Head Inn, the North Runcton Church, and Stanhoe Hall. Bell's artistic inspiration was the result of travelling Europe as a young man.
The town retains two former warehouses of the Hanseatic League
, in use between the 15th and 17th centuries. They are the only remaining buildings of the Hanseatic League in England.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the town's main export was grain
. The town was no longer a major international port, although some iron
and timber
were still imported. Like other East Coast
ports, King's Lynn suffered from the discovery of the Americas
, which benefited ports on the West Coast of England
. It was also affected by the growth of London which attracted the town's trade.
In the late 17th century, imports of wine from Spain, Portugal and France into King's Lynn boomed, and there was still an important coastal trade: at that time it was much cheaper to transport goods by water than by road, and thus many goods were shipped around the coast from one port to another. Large quantities of coal arrived in King's Lynn from North East England.
In the mid 17th century the fens were drained and turned into farmland. Vast amounts of farm produce were sent from King's Lynn to the growing market in London. King's Lynn was also still an important fishing port. Greenland Fishery House in Bridge Street was built in 1605. By the late 17th century shipbuilding had become an important industry in King's Lynn. A glass making industry also began in the late 17th century.
In the early 18th century Daniel Defoe said King's Lynn was: 'Beautiful, well built and well situated'. In the 18th century shipbuilding continued to thrive. So did associated industries such as sail making and rope making. Glass making continued to prosper. Brewing was another important industry. The first bank in King's Lynn opened in 1784.
On 28 September 1708, a seven year old boy, Michael Hammond and his 11 year old sister Ann Hammond were convicted of theft of a loaf of bread in King's Lynn. They were sentenced to death by hanging
, a sentence which was carried out publicly near the South Gates of the town to make an example of them. At the time of the hangings, Sir Robert Walpole
, generally regarded as the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, was Member of Parliament for King's Lynn.
By the late 17th century, the town had begun to decline, and it was only rescued by the late arrival of railway services in 1847. These services were mainly provided by the Great Eastern Railway
subsequently London and North Eastern Railway
. Trains ran from King's Lynn to Hunstanton
, Dereham
and Cambridge
. The town was also served by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
, which had offices in the town at Austin Street, and an important station at South Lynn (now dismantled) which was also its operational control centre until this was relocated to Melton Constable
. The M&GN lines were later closed to passengers in February 1959.
The town's amenities continued to improve into the 20th century. A museum opened in 1904, and a public library in 1905. The first cinema in King's Lynn, the Majestic Cinema
, was built in 1910, and the town council began regeneration
of the town in the 1930s.
During World War I
, Lynn was one of the first towns in Great Britain to be bombed from the air. In 1915, the Savage's Iron Works, an aeroplane parts factory, was bombed by a Zeppelin
. When World War II
began, it was assumed that King's Lynn would be safe from bombing, and many evacuees were sent there from London. However King's Lynn was not completely safe and suffered several air raids.
In 1962 King's Lynn became an overflow town for London, and the town's population increased. New estates were built at the Woottons and Gaywood
. In the 1960s the town centre was redeveloped and many old buildings were destroyed. Lynnsport, a sports centre, opened in 1982. The Corn Exchange was converted to a theatre in 1996.
The brewing industry had died out by the 1950s but new industries came to King's Lynn: food canning in the 1930s and soup making in the 1950s. In the 1960s the council tried to attract new industries by building a new industrial estate at Hardwick. The new industries included light engineering, clothes and chemicals. Fishing remains an important industry.
In 1987, the town became the first in the UK to install town centre CCTV
, though Bournemouth
had previously used CCTV in non-central locations. The single crime most frequently prosecuted as a result of this comprehensive system is men urinating in public on their way home at night from pubs.
the entire town. King's Lynn has undergone a multi-million pound regeneration scheme.
In 2005, the Vancouver Shopping Centre, originally built in the 1960s, was refurbished as part of the scheme, with a life expectancy of only 25 years according to the construction firm, and an extension is planned. A new award winning £6 million multi-storey car park
was built.
To the south of town, a large area of brownfield
land is being transformed into a housing estate locally known as Balamory after the colourful children's programme, and there were ambitions to build another housing estate alongside the River Nar
but these were vehemently opposed by local opinion and the economic situation has seen this ambition stopped. There is also a business park, parkland, a school, shops and a new relief road in a £300 million+ scheme.
In 2006, King's Lynn became the United Kingdom's first member of The Hanse (Die Hanse), a network of towns and cities across Europe which historically belonged to the Hanseatic League
. Originally this was a highly influential mediaeval trading association
of merchant towns around the Baltic Sea
and the North Sea
, which contributed to the development of King's Lynn.
The Borough Council commissioned a report by DTZ and accepted by the Borough Council published in 2008 which describes King's Lynn as a town with a workforce as being of "low value" and having a "low skills base". The town was further described as having a "poor lifestyle offer". The quality of services and amenities was described as "unattractive to higher value inward investors and professional employees with higher disposable incomes". Average earnings are well below regional and national levels, and a large number of jobs that do exist in tourism, leisure and hotels are both subject to seasonal fluctuations and are poorly paid. Education and workforce qualifications are described also as being below the national average. The borough ranks 150 out of 354 in terms of deprivation.
In 2009, a proposal was submitted for the Campbell's Meadow factory site to be redeveloped to include a 5 hectares (12.4 acre) employment and business park, this plan had been rejected in favour of Sainsbury, but in June 2011 Tesco was given permission to build their store.
On 8 June 2010, Tesco unveiled its regeneration plans for the site that would cost £32 million, and might create 900 jobs overall.
Tesco also pledged £4 million of improvements in other areas of the town. It planned to spend £1.6 million widening the Hardwick Road but the Sainsbury bid was preferred by the Council as it offered more benefits to the town. Although now both stores will be constructed and as off August 2011 Tesco has started the redevelopment of the Campbell's site by slowly removing the current buildings which are full of asbestos for the construction of the new Tesco store which will be built behind the current Tesco Hardwick and will have twice the floor space it is due to open late 2012, as of the beginning of September no building work had been started on the new Sainsburys.
Sainsbury's has also had its £40 million plans for a new superstore opposite Tesco on the Pinguin Foods site, which is estimated to create 300 jobs and secure the future of Pinguin Foods in King's Lynn proposed and accepted by the town.
Pinguin Foods is releasing 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of its 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) site, to accommodate the proposed store. Mortson Assets and Sainsbury’s plan to create a new link road between Scania Way and Queen Elizabeth Way to improve access, allowing the industrial estate to expand and attract new employers. Sainsbury's will also keep their store open in the town centre. Sainsbury's has pledged £1.75 million for highways improvements and a further £7 million to invest in the Pinguin Foods factory.
, King's Lynn was made a county borough
in 1883. The Borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk
was formed by the amalgamation of the Borough of King's Lynn, the Downham Market Urban District, the Hunstanton Urban District, the Docking Rural District, the Downham Rural District, the Freebridge Lynn Rural District
, and the Marshland Rural District.
is the arms of the ancient Borough of King's Lynn, which was recorded at the College of Arms
in 1563. The shield shows the legend of Margaret of Antioch
, who has been portrayed on the Seals of King's Lynn since the 13th century, and to whom the Parish Church is dedicated.
The per chevron division and the addition of a bordure
serve to make the shield distinct from its predecessor while retaining its medieval simplicity. The bordure also suggests the wider boundaries of the new authority, and the new shield is composed of seven parts to symbolise the seven authorities which were amalgamated.
The gull
depicted on the crest is a maritime reference. It appeared as a supporter in some representations of the arms, but officially it stands on a bollard
in order to make it distinctive. It is supported with a crown
or coronet
like the King's Lynn supporter, and the lion
in the crest of Downham Market
Urban District Council
coat of arms.
The coronet refers to the Borough's royal connections. The cross held by the gull is an extension of the two in the shield, and the cross in the coat of arms of Freebridge Lynn Rural District
.
The supporters are based on the crest of the Hunstanton
Urban District Council
. The lion is a variation of the lions, or leopards, in the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom
and its fish tail suggests the borough's links with the sea.
The fishlion is also the centre feature in the borough's badge, but here it is surrounded by a garland
of oakleaves as a reference to the rural nature of much of the district. Oakleaves are also a feature of the coronet in the crest of the former Downham Market Urban District Council.
.
King's Lynn is the northernmost settlement on the River Great Ouse
, situated 97 miles (156 km) north of London
and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich
. The town lies about 5 miles (8 km) south of the Wash
, an estuary
on the northwest margin of East Anglia
and 12 miles (19.3 km) from the mouth of The Wash, an area subject to dangerous tides and shifting sandbanks. King's Lynn has an area of 11 square mile.
The Great Ouse at Lynn is about 200 metres (218.7 yd) wide and is the outfall for much of the drainage system of the Fens
. The much smaller Gaywood River
also flows through the town, joining the Great Ouse at the southern end of South Quay close to the town centre.
A small part, known as West Lynn
, is on the west bank, and linked to the town centre by one of the oldest ferries in the country. Other districts of King's Lynn include the town centre, North Lynn
, South Lynn, and Gaywood
.
, King's Lynn has a temperate climate. The annual mean daytime temperature is approximately 14 °C (57 °F). January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 0 °C and 1 °C (32 °F33.8 °F). July and August are the warmest months, with mean daily maximum temperatures of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F).
Two met office weather stations are in close proximity to Kings Lynn, Terrington St Clement, about 4 miles to the west of the town centre, and RAF Marham, about 10 miles due south south east.
The absolute maximum temperature at Terrington stands at 35.1c(95.2f) recorded in August 2003, though in a more average year the warmest day will only reach 29.4c(84.9f), with 13.8 days in total attaining a temperature of 25.1c(77.2f) or more. Typically all these figures are marginally cooler than the southern half of the fens due to the not uncommon presence of an onshore sea breeze, and occasional haar/sea fog, particularly in early summer and late spring. However, with a strong enough offshore breeze, the area can be notably warm. Terrington (along with Cambridge Botanical Gardens) achieved the national highest temperature of 2007, 30.1c(86.2f)
The absolute minimum at Terrington is -15.4c(4.3f), set in January 1979. A total of 41.6 nights will report an air frost at Terrington and 51.9 nights at Marham.
Annual rainfall totals 621mm at Marham, and 599mm at Terrington, with 1mm or more falling on 115 and 113 days, respectively. All averages refer to the 30 year observation period 1971-2000.
, a historic 17 hectare urban park
in the centre of King's Lynn. The Walks is the only surviving town walk in Norfolk
from the 18th century. The Heritage Lottery Fund
donated £4.3 million towards restoration on the park, including the addition of modern amenities
. The Walks is also the location of The Red Mount, a Grade II-listed 15th century chapel
. In 1998, the Walks was designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II National historic park. The Walks as a whole had a different and earlier origin, in that it was at first conceived not as a municipal park, as one understands the term today, but as a single promenade for the citizens away from the smell, grime and bustle of the town centre. Harding's Pits is another public park and lies to the south of the town. It is an attractive informal area of open space with large public sculptures erected to reflect the history of the town. Harding's Pits is managed by local volunteers under a Management Company and has so far successfully fought off the Borough Council's attempts to turn it into an attenuation drain.
of 42,800. According to Norfolk
's 2007 census, King's Lynn, together with West Norfolk, has a population of 143,500, with an average population density of 1.00 persons per hectare.
-making and small-scale engineering works (many fairground and steam engines were built here), and today, it is still the location for much agricultural-related industry including food processing. There are a number of chemical factories and the town retains a role as an import centre. It is a regional centre for what is still a sparsely populated part of England.
King's Lynn was the fastest growing port in Great Britain
in 2008. The figures from the Department for Transport
show that trade in the King's Lynn increased by 33 per cent.
In 2008, the German Palm Group began to erect one of the world's largest paper machines. The machine was constructed by Voith Paper. With a web speed of up to 2000 m/min and a web width of 10.63m, it can produce 400.000 per year of newsprint paper. The production is based on 100% recycled paper. The start-up was on 21 August 2009.
The Port of King's Lynn
has facilities for dry bulk cargo
such as cereals and liquid bulk products such as petroleum products for Pace Petroleum. It also handles timber imported from Scandinavia and the Baltics, and has large handling sheds for steel
imports.
King's Lynn is the primary retail centre in West Norfolk
, as well as being the principal centre for people living outside the border of West Norfolk. The town centre is dominated by budget shops reflecting the spending power of much of the population. The town centre fulfils a leisure role with entertainment centres, bars and restaurants, and has a range of service functions. There are around 5,300 retailing jobs.
The town centre has 73,000 square metres of retail floorspace in 347 shops, which is greater than the comparable centres of Bury St Edmunds and Boston
. However, whilst the percentage of floorspace in comparison shopping and that occupied by multiple retailers is above the national average, King's Lynn offers limited range of choice.
. The department program is a collection of smaller developments which are detailed below.
A cycle and bus route between the town centre and South Lynn started in June 2010 at a cost of £850,000. The route will be 720 metres long, running from Morston Drift to Millfleet, with buses travelling in both directions along it. It will also feature a separate path for pedestrians and bicycles, this path will meet the bus route when crossing the Nar sluice. As part of this development, the Millfleet - St James' Road junction will be developed to better accommodate the envisioned increased bus and bike traffic.
A contraflow lane for bicycles was proposed but will not be built along Norfolk Street from Albert Street to Blackfriars Road, this would have included a development of the Norfolk Road - Railway Road junction to better accommodate buses and bicycles. Similar work would have taken place at the Norfolk Street - Littleport Street junction so that buses do not get caught in the town centre gyratory system.
Bus priority
measures will be added to four sets of traffic lights along St James' Road. This is being undertaken to give buses quicker access to the town centre and normalise journey times.
Southgates Roundabout has also been redeveloped. Many of the approach roads will be widened in the run up to the junction and the road markings will be redone in an attempt to improve lane discipline. Southgates Roundabout is a noted congestion hotspot by the county council and thus targeted by this scheme as a point to be developed.
Other small developments are taking place to make junctions more car-friendly.
provides a regular bus services to many surrounding towns and villages around Norfolk. The town is connected to the local cities of Norwich
and Peterborough
via the A47
and to Cambridge via the A10.
is the only rail line providing rail transportation to King's Lynn, and is the terminus of the Fen Line
. The station provides connections to Ely
, Cambridge
and London King's Cross. It is the only remaining station of several the town once hosted. South Lynn railway station
closed to passengers in 1959, and the railway line to the Hunstanton railway station
was closed in 1969.
West Norfolk Council are considering reopening the railway route between the King's Lynn railway station and the Hunstanton railway station
. The possibility of reinstating the line was proposed at a meeting of the council's Regeneration and Environment Panel on 29 October 2008. The re-opening of the route was last discussed in the 1990s. The environmental case for reviving the line and relieving road congestion in and around Hunstanton is considered to be even stronger.
. It is a twice weekly newspaper, largely based on advertising
, owned by East Midlands Newspapers. The Lynn News has two local sister newspapers; the Peterborough Evening Telegraph
and the Fenland Citizen.
The local college runs a web-based TV station from the media department's students, entitled SpringboardTV.com and runs a little awards ceremony at the end of every academic year. This year, it won an award for most outstanding media department within the entire country of the United Kingdom.
For television, King's Lynn is served by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
and ITV Yorkshire, and also served by BBC East
and ITV Anglia.
King's Lynn has one locally broadcast radio station, KL.FM 96.7
, a commercial radio station with local programmes.
s; King Edward VII School, the King's Lynn Academy, and Springwood High School
. The former is known, academically, for its physical education
department.
The town contains one further education
college, the College of West Anglia
. It was founded in 1894, as the King's Lynn Technical School. In 1973, it was renamed The Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, and in 1998, it merged with the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture, which added two campuses in Wisbech
and Milton
. In April 2006, the College merged with the Isle College in Wisbech to form the College of West Anglia.
, an accomplished concert pianist, moved to King’s Lynn in 1931, as the bride of Lord Edmund Fermoy, who was to become the mayor and MP of the town. She demonstrated her affection for the town by organising concerts to give the local people the chance to listen to professional music of the highest standard.
In 1951 to complement the Festival of Britain
, Lady Fermoy organised the King's Lynn Festival of the Arts. She was a close friend and lady-in-waiting
to the Queenlater to become Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
who agreed to become the festival’s patron, and in July 1951 officially opened the restored St George's Guildhall. The Queen Mother was an enthusiastic and active supporter who remained the festival’s patron until her death in March 2002.
. It includes cottages and a former smokehouse.
, Deacon Blue
, Suzi Quatro
, 10cc
, Mungo Jerry
, The Human League
, Buzzcocks
, M People
, Atomic Kitten
, Kieran Woodcock, S Club, and Beverley Knight
.
The Majestic Cinema
, located in the town centre, is the town's only cinema.
King's Lynn's main venue for concerts, stand-up comedy shows and other live events is the Corn Exchange, located on Tuesday Market Place.
s which attracted visitors from as far as Italy
and Germany
. As the importance of trade fairs declined, the Mart's nature changed to become a funfair
, and was reduced to a single annual event that takes place on 14 February (Valentine's Day
), and lasts an average of 14 days.
The Mart is also a memorial to the work of Frederick Savage, a man who worked in partnership with the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain
to develop new attractions.
club (nicknamed "The Linnets") played football in the Northern Premier League
. It had its ground at The Walks Stadium on Tennyson Road. It was officially wound up in the High Court in December 2009. In 2010 it re-formed with the new name King's Lynn Town F.C.
.
King's Lynn also has a motorcycle speedway
team, the King's Lynn Stars
, who race at the Norfolk Arena on Saddlebow Road. The track has operated since 1965 when it operated on an open licence. Speedway type events were staged at the stadium in the 1950s.
The successful basketball team College of West Anglia Fury
, who compete in the second-tier English Basketball League
, is also based in King's Lynn.
Wales
and Scarlets rugby union
player George North
was also born here.
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
and market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in the ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
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...
in the East
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is situated 97 miles (156 km) north of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
. The population of the town is 42,800.
The town has two theatres, museums and other cultural and sporting venues. There are three secondary schools and one college. The service sector, information and communication technologies and creative industries, provide limited employment for the population of King's Lynn and the surrounding area.
Toponymy
The etymologyEtymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
of King's Lynn is uncertain. The name Lynn is said to be derived from the body of water
Body of water
A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, usually covering the Earth or another planet. The term body of water most often refers to large accumulations of water, such as oceans, seas, and lakes, but it may also include smaller pools of water such as ponds, puddles or...
near the town (the Great Ouse river as it prepares to enter the Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
): the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
word Llyn, means a lake; but the name is plausibly of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the word Lean, implying a tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
in fee or farm.
For a time it was named Len Episcopi (Bishop's Lynn) while under the jurisdiction, both temporal and spiritual, of the Bishop of Norwich
Bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...
; but during the reign of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
it was surrendered to the crown, and it then assumed the name of Lenne Regis, or King's Lynn.
In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, it is known as Lun, and Lenn; and is described as the property of the Bishop of Elmham, and the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
.
The town is and has been for generations generally known by its inhabitants and local people simply as Lynn. The city of Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...
, just north of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, was named in 1637 in honour of its first official minister of religion, Samuel Whiting, who arrived at the new settlement from Lynn, Norfolk.
Middle Ages
Lynn originated as a settlement on a constricted site to the south of the mouth of the River Great OuseRiver Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
. Development began in the early 10th century, but was not recorded until the early 11th century.
In 1101, Bishop Herbert de Losinga
Herbert de Losinga
Herbert de Losinga was the first Bishop of Norwich. He founded Norwich Cathedral in 1096 when he was Bishop of Thetford.-Life:...
of Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
began the first mediaeval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
town between two rivers, the Purfleet to the north and Mill Fleet to the south, by commissioning St Margaret's Church and authorising a market. In the same year, the Bishop granted the people of Lynn the right to hold a market on Saturday.
Trade built up along the waterways that stretched inland from Lynn, and the town expanded between these two rivers.
Early modern
During the 14th century, King's Lynn ranked as the third most important port in England, behind SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was considered as important to England during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
as Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
was during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Sea trade with Europe was dominated by the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
of ports; the transatlantic trade and the rise of England's western ports would not begin until the 17th century. The Trinity Guildhall was rebuilt in 1421 after a fire. It is debated whether the Guildhall of St George is the largest and oldest in England. In order to defend the town, walls and gatehouses were established, including the erection of the South Gate and East Gate.
In the first decade of the 16th century, Thoresby College was built by Thomas Thoresby to house priests of the Guild of The Holy Trinity in King's Lynn. The guild was incorporated in 1453 on the petition of its alderman, chaplain, four brethren and four sisters. The guildsmen were then licensed to found a chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
of chaplains to celebrate at the altar of Holy Trinity in Wisbech church and to grant to the chaplains lands in mortmain
Mortmain
Mortmain is a legal term that means ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution that can be transferred or sold in perpetuity; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition...
. In 1524 King's Lynn was given a mayor and corporation. In 1537 the king took control of the town from the bishop. From then on it was called King's Lynn. However in the 16th century the town's two annual fairs were reduced to one. In 1534 a grammar school was founded. But in 1538 Henry VIII closed the Benedictine priory and the three friaries.
During the 16th century a piped water supply was created, although many could not afford to be connected: elm pipes carried water under the streets. Like all towns at that time King's Lynn suffered from outbreaks of plague: there were severe outbreaks in 1516, 1587, 1597, 1636 and 1665. But the 1665 outbreak proved to be the last. Fire was another hazard and in 1572 thatched roofs were banned to reduce the risk of fire. In 1642 came civil war between king and parliament. At first King's Lynn supported parliament, but in August 1643, after a change in government, the town changed sides. Parliament lost no time in sending an army to capture the town. King's Lynn was besieged for three weeks before it surrendered.
Henry Bell (architect)
Henry Bell was an architect from the 17th century, a contemporary of Christopher Wren. The son of a wealthy merchant family, he designed many buildings in West Norfolk including the Custom House in King's Lynn and All Saints Church in North Runcton.He served twice as Mayor of King's Lynn, he was...
, who was once mayor of King's Lynn, built the Custom House. Bell also built the Duke's Head Inn, the North Runcton Church, and Stanhoe Hall. Bell's artistic inspiration was the result of travelling Europe as a young man.
The town retains two former warehouses of the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
, in use between the 15th and 17th centuries. They are the only remaining buildings of the Hanseatic League in England.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the town's main export was 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...
. The town was no longer a major international port, although some iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
were still imported. Like other East Coast
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...
ports, King's Lynn suffered from the discovery of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, which benefited ports on the West Coast of England
West of England
The West of England is a loose and locationally unspecific term sometimes given to the area surrounding the city and county of Bristol, England, and also sometimes applied more widely and in other parts of South West England.-Use in the Bristol area:...
. It was also affected by the growth of London which attracted the town's trade.
In the late 17th century, imports of wine from Spain, Portugal and France into King's Lynn boomed, and there was still an important coastal trade: at that time it was much cheaper to transport goods by water than by road, and thus many goods were shipped around the coast from one port to another. Large quantities of coal arrived in King's Lynn from North East England.
In the mid 17th century the fens were drained and turned into farmland. Vast amounts of farm produce were sent from King's Lynn to the growing market in London. King's Lynn was also still an important fishing port. Greenland Fishery House in Bridge Street was built in 1605. By the late 17th century shipbuilding had become an important industry in King's Lynn. A glass making industry also began in the late 17th century.
In the early 18th century Daniel Defoe said King's Lynn was: 'Beautiful, well built and well situated'. In the 18th century shipbuilding continued to thrive. So did associated industries such as sail making and rope making. Glass making continued to prosper. Brewing was another important industry. The first bank in King's Lynn opened in 1784.
On 28 September 1708, a seven year old boy, Michael Hammond and his 11 year old sister Ann Hammond were convicted of theft of a loaf of bread in King's Lynn. They were sentenced to death by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
, a sentence which was carried out publicly near the South Gates of the town to make an example of them. At the time of the hangings, Sir Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
, generally regarded as the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, was Member of Parliament for King's Lynn.
Modern
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
subsequently London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
. Trains ran from King's Lynn to Hunstanton
Hunstanton
Hunstanton, often pronounced by locals as and known colloquially as 'Sunny Hunny', is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, facing The Wash....
, Dereham
Dereham
Dereham, also known as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, some 15 miles west of the city of Norwich and 25 miles east of King's Lynn. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of...
and Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. The town was also served by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, was a joint railway owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway in eastern England, affectionately known as the 'Muddle and Get Nowhere' to generations of passengers, enthusiasts, and other users.The main line ran from Peterborough to...
, which had offices in the town at Austin Street, and an important station at South Lynn (now dismantled) which was also its operational control centre until this was relocated to Melton Constable
Melton Constable
Melton Constable is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 518 in 225 households as of the 2001 census.For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of North Norfolk...
. The M&GN lines were later closed to passengers in February 1959.
The town's amenities continued to improve into the 20th century. A museum opened in 1904, and a public library in 1905. The first cinema in King's Lynn, the Majestic Cinema
Majestic Cinema, King's Lynn
The Majestic Cinema is a cinema in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England.- 2001: Multiplex demolition proposal :In , a scheme to demolish the Majestic Cinema and build a Multiplex in its place was denied. The plans were submitted to the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk by SMM Investments...
, was built in 1910, and the town council began regeneration
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
of the town in the 1930s.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Lynn was one of the first towns in Great Britain to be bombed from the air. In 1915, the Savage's Iron Works, an aeroplane parts factory, was bombed by a Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
. When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began, it was assumed that King's Lynn would be safe from bombing, and many evacuees were sent there from London. However King's Lynn was not completely safe and suffered several air raids.
In 1962 King's Lynn became an overflow town for London, and the town's population increased. New estates were built at the Woottons and Gaywood
Gaywood, Norfolk
Gaywood is a civil parish in Norfolk, EnglandSince 1974, the parish has formed part of the non-metropolitan district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk...
. In the 1960s the town centre was redeveloped and many old buildings were destroyed. Lynnsport, a sports centre, opened in 1982. The Corn Exchange was converted to a theatre in 1996.
The brewing industry had died out by the 1950s but new industries came to King's Lynn: food canning in the 1930s and soup making in the 1950s. In the 1960s the council tried to attract new industries by building a new industrial estate at Hardwick. The new industries included light engineering, clothes and chemicals. Fishing remains an important industry.
In 1987, the town became the first in the UK to install town centre CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
, though Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
had previously used CCTV in non-central locations. The single crime most frequently prosecuted as a result of this comprehensive system is men urinating in public on their way home at night from pubs.
Contemporary
Since 2004, plans have been under way to regenerateUrban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
the entire town. King's Lynn has undergone a multi-million pound regeneration scheme.
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
was built.
To the south of town, a large area of brownfield
Brownfield status
Brownfield status is a condition, within certain legal exclusions and additions, of real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant, which may include petroleum hydrocarbon...
land is being transformed into a housing estate locally known as Balamory after the colourful children's programme, and there were ambitions to build another housing estate alongside the River Nar
River Nar
The River Nar is a river in England, and tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises near Litcham in Norfolk and flows 15 miles west through Castle Acre and Narborough , joining the Ouse at King's Lynn. It has had a variety of alternative names, such as the Setch, the Sandringham, and Lynn Flu,...
but these were vehemently opposed by local opinion and the economic situation has seen this ambition stopped. There is also a business park, parkland, a school, shops and a new relief road in a £300 million+ scheme.
In 2006, King's Lynn became the United Kingdom's first member of The Hanse (Die Hanse), a network of towns and cities across Europe which historically belonged to the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
. Originally this was a highly influential mediaeval trading association
Trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
of merchant towns around the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
and the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, which contributed to the development of King's Lynn.
The Borough Council commissioned a report by DTZ and accepted by the Borough Council published in 2008 which describes King's Lynn as a town with a workforce as being of "low value" and having a "low skills base". The town was further described as having a "poor lifestyle offer". The quality of services and amenities was described as "unattractive to higher value inward investors and professional employees with higher disposable incomes". Average earnings are well below regional and national levels, and a large number of jobs that do exist in tourism, leisure and hotels are both subject to seasonal fluctuations and are poorly paid. Education and workforce qualifications are described also as being below the national average. The borough ranks 150 out of 354 in terms of deprivation.
In 2009, a proposal was submitted for the Campbell's Meadow factory site to be redeveloped to include a 5 hectares (12.4 acre) employment and business park, this plan had been rejected in favour of Sainsbury, but in June 2011 Tesco was given permission to build their store.
On 8 June 2010, Tesco unveiled its regeneration plans for the site that would cost £32 million, and might create 900 jobs overall.
Tesco also pledged £4 million of improvements in other areas of the town. It planned to spend £1.6 million widening the Hardwick Road but the Sainsbury bid was preferred by the Council as it offered more benefits to the town. Although now both stores will be constructed and as off August 2011 Tesco has started the redevelopment of the Campbell's site by slowly removing the current buildings which are full of asbestos for the construction of the new Tesco store which will be built behind the current Tesco Hardwick and will have twice the floor space it is due to open late 2012, as of the beginning of September no building work had been started on the new Sainsburys.
Sainsbury's has also had its £40 million plans for a new superstore opposite Tesco on the Pinguin Foods site, which is estimated to create 300 jobs and secure the future of Pinguin Foods in King's Lynn proposed and accepted by the town.
Pinguin Foods is releasing 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of its 44 acres (178,061.8 m²) site, to accommodate the proposed store. Mortson Assets and Sainsbury’s plan to create a new link road between Scania Way and Queen Elizabeth Way to improve access, allowing the industrial estate to expand and attract new employers. Sainsbury's will also keep their store open in the town centre. Sainsbury's has pledged £1.75 million for highways improvements and a further £7 million to invest in the Pinguin Foods factory.
Governance
Historically part of the county of NorfolkNorfolk
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...
, King's Lynn was made a county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
in 1883. The Borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district and borough in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn.-History:...
was formed by the amalgamation of the Borough of King's Lynn, the Downham Market Urban District, the Hunstanton Urban District, the Docking Rural District, the Downham Rural District, the Freebridge Lynn Rural District
Freebridge Lynn Rural District
Freebridge Lynn Rural District was a rural district in Norfolk, England from 1894 to 1974.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Freebridge Lynn rural sanitary district, and was named after the Freebridge Lynn hundred...
, and the Marshland Rural District.
Coat of arms
The shield in the coat of arms of King's Lynn and West NorfolkKing's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district and borough in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn.-History:...
is the arms of the ancient Borough of King's Lynn, which was recorded at the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
in 1563. The shield shows the legend of Margaret of Antioch
Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
, who has been portrayed on the Seals of King's Lynn since the 13th century, and to whom the Parish Church is dedicated.
The per chevron division and the addition of a bordure
Bordure
In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself...
serve to make the shield distinct from its predecessor while retaining its medieval simplicity. The bordure also suggests the wider boundaries of the new authority, and the new shield is composed of seven parts to symbolise the seven authorities which were amalgamated.
The gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
depicted on the crest is a maritime reference. It appeared as a supporter in some representations of the arms, but officially it stands on a bollard
Bollard
A bollard is a short vertical post. Originally it meant a post used on a ship or a quay, principally for mooring. The word now also describes a variety of structures to control or direct road traffic, such as posts arranged in a line to obstruct the passage of motor vehicles...
in order to make it distinctive. It is supported with a crown
Crown (headgear)
A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...
or coronet
Coronet
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. Unlike a crown, a coronet never has arches.The word stems from the Old French coronete, a diminutive of coronne , itself from the Latin corona .Traditionally, such headgear is – as indicated by the German equivalent...
like the King's Lynn supporter, and the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
in the crest of Downham Market
Downham Market
Downham Market is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, some 20 km south of the town of King's Lynn, 60 km west of the city of Norwich and the same distance north of the city of Cambridge....
Urban District Council
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
coat of arms.
The coronet refers to the Borough's royal connections. The cross held by the gull is an extension of the two in the shield, and the cross in the coat of arms of Freebridge Lynn Rural District
Freebridge Lynn Rural District
Freebridge Lynn Rural District was a rural district in Norfolk, England from 1894 to 1974.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Freebridge Lynn rural sanitary district, and was named after the Freebridge Lynn hundred...
.
The supporters are based on the crest of the Hunstanton
Hunstanton
Hunstanton, often pronounced by locals as and known colloquially as 'Sunny Hunny', is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, facing The Wash....
Urban District Council
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
. The lion is a variation of the lions, or leopards, in the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...
and its fish tail suggests the borough's links with the sea.
The fishlion is also the centre feature in the borough's badge, but here it is surrounded by a garland
Garland
A garland is a class of decoration, of which there are many types.Garland may also refer to:-Places:*Garland, Arkansas, a town in Miller County*Garland County, Arkansas*Garland, Maine, a town in Penobscot County...
of oakleaves as a reference to the rural nature of much of the district. Oakleaves are also a feature of the coronet in the crest of the former Downham Market Urban District Council.
.
Town twinning
King's Lynn has three twin towns:- Emmerich am Rhein, Germany
- JičínJicínJičín is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It lies approximately 85 km northeast of Prague in the scenic region of the Bohemian Paradise under the Prachov Rocks ....
/Mladá BoleslavMladá BoleslavMladá Boleslav is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, on the left bank of the Jizera river about 50 km northeast of Prague.Founded in the second half of the 10th century by King Boleslav II as a royal castle...
, Czech Republic - Sandringham, Australia
Topography
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
, situated 97 miles (156 km) north of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
. The town lies about 5 miles (8 km) south of the Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
, an estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
on the northwest margin of East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
and 12 miles (19.3 km) from the mouth of The Wash, an area subject to dangerous tides and shifting sandbanks. King's Lynn has an area of 11 square mile.
The Great Ouse at Lynn is about 200 metres (218.7 yd) wide and is the outfall for much of the drainage system of the Fens
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
. The much smaller Gaywood River
Gaywood River
Gaywood River is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the west of the county of Norfolk. Its source is 11 metres above sea level, northwest of the village of Gayton in Derby Fen, Map Reference TF 705 209...
also flows through the town, joining the Great Ouse at the southern end of South Quay close to the town centre.
A small part, known as West Lynn
West Lynn, Norfolk
West Lynn is the part of the town of King's Lynn that is west of the River Great Ouse. It is linked to the main part of King's Lynn by a direct passenger ferry or by a circuitous 4 km road journey....
, is on the west bank, and linked to the town centre by one of the oldest ferries in the country. Other districts of King's Lynn include the town centre, North Lynn
North Lynn
North Lynn is an urban residential area of King's Lynn in the county of Norfolk, England.There are three main parks in North Lynn: Peck's field , The Rec and Colombia Park...
, South Lynn, and Gaywood
Gaywood, Norfolk
Gaywood is a civil parish in Norfolk, EnglandSince 1974, the parish has formed part of the non-metropolitan district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk...
.
Climate
Along with the rest of the East of EnglandEast of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...
, King's Lynn has a temperate climate. The annual mean daytime temperature is approximately 14 °C (57 °F). January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 0 °C and 1 °C (32 °F33.8 °F). July and August are the warmest months, with mean daily maximum temperatures of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F).
Two met office weather stations are in close proximity to Kings Lynn, Terrington St Clement, about 4 miles to the west of the town centre, and RAF Marham, about 10 miles due south south east.
The absolute maximum temperature at Terrington stands at 35.1c(95.2f) recorded in August 2003, though in a more average year the warmest day will only reach 29.4c(84.9f), with 13.8 days in total attaining a temperature of 25.1c(77.2f) or more. Typically all these figures are marginally cooler than the southern half of the fens due to the not uncommon presence of an onshore sea breeze, and occasional haar/sea fog, particularly in early summer and late spring. However, with a strong enough offshore breeze, the area can be notably warm. Terrington (along with Cambridge Botanical Gardens) achieved the national highest temperature of 2007, 30.1c(86.2f)
The absolute minimum at Terrington is -15.4c(4.3f), set in January 1979. A total of 41.6 nights will report an air frost at Terrington and 51.9 nights at Marham.
Annual rainfall totals 621mm at Marham, and 599mm at Terrington, with 1mm or more falling on 115 and 113 days, respectively. All averages refer to the 30 year observation period 1971-2000.
Parks
The town has several public parks, the largest one being The WalksThe Walks
The Walks is an urban park in King's Lynn, Norfolk. The Walks is also the name of the football ground where King's Lynn F.C. played, it was named for the urban park. It is believed the Walks were originally established in the 18th century. -External links:...
, a historic 17 hectare urban park
Urban park
An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...
in the centre of King's Lynn. The Walks is the only surviving town walk in 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...
from the 18th century. The Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
donated £4.3 million towards restoration on the park, including the addition of modern amenities
Amenity
In real property and lodging, amenities are any tangible or untangible benefits of a property, especially those that increase its attractiveness or value or that contribute to its comfort or convenience...
. The Walks is also the location of The Red Mount, a Grade II-listed 15th century chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
. In 1998, the Walks was designated by 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...
as a Grade II National historic park. The Walks as a whole had a different and earlier origin, in that it was at first conceived not as a municipal park, as one understands the term today, but as a single promenade for the citizens away from the smell, grime and bustle of the town centre. Harding's Pits is another public park and lies to the south of the town. It is an attractive informal area of open space with large public sculptures erected to reflect the history of the town. Harding's Pits is managed by local volunteers under a Management Company and has so far successfully fought off the Borough Council's attempts to turn it into an attenuation drain.
Demography
As of 2007, King's Lynn has a populationPopulation
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 42,800. According to 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...
's 2007 census, King's Lynn, together with West Norfolk, has a population of 143,500, with an average population density of 1.00 persons per hectare.
Economy
King's Lynn has always been a centre for the fishing and seafood industry (especially inshore prawns, shrimps and cockles). There have also been glassGlass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
-making and small-scale engineering works (many fairground and steam engines were built here), and today, it is still the location for much agricultural-related industry including food processing. There are a number of chemical factories and the town retains a role as an import centre. It is a regional centre for what is still a sparsely populated part of England.
King's Lynn was the fastest growing port in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 2008. The figures from the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
show that trade in the King's Lynn increased by 33 per cent.
In 2008, the German Palm Group began to erect one of the world's largest paper machines. The machine was constructed by Voith Paper. With a web speed of up to 2000 m/min and a web width of 10.63m, it can produce 400.000 per year of newsprint paper. The production is based on 100% recycled paper. The start-up was on 21 August 2009.
The Port of King's Lynn
King's Lynn Docks
King’s Lynn Docks are located to the north of the town of King’s Lynn in the English county of Norfolk. The Docks are 42.7 miles west southwest of Cromer, 49.2 miles west of Norwich and 105 miles north of London. The Docks are on the A1078 Edward Benefer Way. The nearest railway station is the...
has facilities for dry bulk cargo
Bulk cargo
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. This cargo is usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...
such as cereals and liquid bulk products such as petroleum products for Pace Petroleum. It also handles timber imported from Scandinavia and the Baltics, and has large handling sheds for steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
imports.
Retail
King's Lynn and West Norfolk
King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district and borough in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn.-History:...
, as well as being the principal centre for people living outside the border of West Norfolk. The town centre is dominated by budget shops reflecting the spending power of much of the population. The town centre fulfils a leisure role with entertainment centres, bars and restaurants, and has a range of service functions. There are around 5,300 retailing jobs.
The town centre has 73,000 square metres of retail floorspace in 347 shops, which is greater than the comparable centres of Bury St Edmunds and Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
. However, whilst the percentage of floorspace in comparison shopping and that occupied by multiple retailers is above the national average, King's Lynn offers limited range of choice.
Tourism
Tourism in King's Lynn is a minor industry and attracts a relatively tiny amount of tourists each year.South Transport Project
A £7 million program to redevelop King's Lynn's Town Centre's infrastructure is due for completion in 2011. The majority of the money is provided by the Community Infrastructure FundCommunity Infrastructure Fund
Community Infrastructure Fund is a UK government initiative created as a joint venture by the Department for Transport and the Department for Communities and Local Government., it was created following the recommendation of the Barker Review of Housing Supply.CIF was created to fund transport...
. The department program is a collection of smaller developments which are detailed below.
A cycle and bus route between the town centre and South Lynn started in June 2010 at a cost of £850,000. The route will be 720 metres long, running from Morston Drift to Millfleet, with buses travelling in both directions along it. It will also feature a separate path for pedestrians and bicycles, this path will meet the bus route when crossing the Nar sluice. As part of this development, the Millfleet - St James' Road junction will be developed to better accommodate the envisioned increased bus and bike traffic.
A contraflow lane for bicycles was proposed but will not be built along Norfolk Street from Albert Street to Blackfriars Road, this would have included a development of the Norfolk Road - Railway Road junction to better accommodate buses and bicycles. Similar work would have taken place at the Norfolk Street - Littleport Street junction so that buses do not get caught in the town centre gyratory system.
Bus priority
Bus priority
Bus priority or transit signal priority is a name for various techniques to speed up bus public transport services at intersections with traffic signals amongst other methods. Trams and light rail vehicles can also be given priority...
measures will be added to four sets of traffic lights along St James' Road. This is being undertaken to give buses quicker access to the town centre and normalise journey times.
Southgates Roundabout has also been redeveloped. Many of the approach roads will be widened in the run up to the junction and the road markings will be redone in an attempt to improve lane discipline. Southgates Roundabout is a noted congestion hotspot by the county council and thus targeted by this scheme as a point to be developed.
Other small developments are taking place to make junctions more car-friendly.
Buses
Norfolk GreenNorfolk Green
-About Norfolk Green:Norfolk Green is a bus operator based in King's Lynn in Norfolk, England.It operates 31 public bus services across Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire as well as numerous school and collage services with a fleet of 73 low floor easy access buses, services include the...
provides a regular bus services to many surrounding towns and villages around Norfolk. The town is connected to the local cities of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
via the A47
A47 road
The A47 is a trunk road in England originally linking Birmingham to Great Yarmouth. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114.-Route:...
and to Cambridge via the A10.
Rail
King's Lynn railway stationKing's Lynn railway station
King's Lynn railway station serves the town of King's Lynn in Norfolk. The station is the terminus of the Fen Line from Cambridge, which is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead...
is the only rail line providing rail transportation to King's Lynn, and is the terminus of the Fen Line
Fen Line
The Fen Line is a railway in the United Kingdom that runs between the cities of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and King's Lynn, Norfolk; the line is so called because it runs through The Fens. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5 and comprises SRS 05.06 and part of 05.05...
. The station provides connections to Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and London King's Cross. It is the only remaining station of several the town once hosted. South Lynn railway station
South Lynn railway station
South Lynn railway station was a station located in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.-History:The Lynn & Sutton Bridge Railway was authorised on 6 August 1861, to build a line between those points. It was opened between and in November 1864; passenger trains...
closed to passengers in 1959, and the railway line to the Hunstanton railway station
Hunstanton railway station
Hunstanton was a railway station which served the seaside town of Hunstanton in Norfolk, England. Opened in 1862, the station was the northern terminus of the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line immortalised by John Betjeman in the British Transport Film John Betjeman Goes By Train...
was closed in 1969.
West Norfolk Council are considering reopening the railway route between the King's Lynn railway station and the Hunstanton railway station
Hunstanton railway station
Hunstanton was a railway station which served the seaside town of Hunstanton in Norfolk, England. Opened in 1862, the station was the northern terminus of the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line immortalised by John Betjeman in the British Transport Film John Betjeman Goes By Train...
. The possibility of reinstating the line was proposed at a meeting of the council's Regeneration and Environment Panel on 29 October 2008. The re-opening of the route was last discussed in the 1990s. The environmental case for reviving the line and relieving road congestion in and around Hunstanton is considered to be even stronger.
Media
King's Lynn has one main local newspaper, the Lynn NewsLynn News
The Lynn News is published by East Midlands Newspapers Ltd., and appears each Tuesday and Friday in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England....
. It is a twice weekly newspaper, largely based on advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, owned by East Midlands Newspapers. The Lynn News has two local sister newspapers; the Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Peterborough Evening Telegraph
The Peterborough Evening Telegraph, or ET as it is known locally, is the local newspaper for the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom...
and the Fenland Citizen.
The local college runs a web-based TV station from the media department's students, entitled SpringboardTV.com and runs a little awards ceremony at the end of every academic year. This year, it won an award for most outstanding media department within the entire country of the United Kingdom.
For television, King's Lynn is served by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, sometimes abbreviated to BBC Yorks & Lincs, is the name for the BBC's twelfth English Region, based in Hull and created from the division of the former BBC North region, based in Leeds...
and ITV Yorkshire, and also served by BBC East
BBC East
BBC East is the BBC English Region serving Norfolk, Suffolk, north Essex, Cambridgeshire, northern and central Hertfordshire, most of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and parts of Buckinghamshire.-Television:...
and ITV Anglia.
King's Lynn has one locally broadcast radio station, KL.FM 96.7
KL.FM 96.7
KLFM 96.7 is an independent local radio station located in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. Its name is an abbreviation of King's Lynn FM, followed by its broadcasting frequency, 96.7....
, a commercial radio station with local programmes.
Education
King's Lynn has three secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s; King Edward VII School, the King's Lynn Academy, and Springwood High School
Springwood High School (Queensway)
Springwood High School is a secondary school in Norfolk, United Kingdom.It has five houses: Felbrigg, Blickling, Oxbrough, Holkham and Sandringham....
. The former is known, academically, for its physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
department.
The town contains one further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
college, the College of West Anglia
College of West Anglia
The College of West Anglia is a college of further education in Norfolk, England. Founded in 1894 as the King's Lynn Technical School in the port town of King's Lynn, Norfolk...
. It was founded in 1894, as the King's Lynn Technical School. In 1973, it was renamed The Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, and in 1998, it merged with the Cambridgeshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture, which added two campuses in Wisbech
Wisbech
Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
and Milton
Milton, Cambridgeshire
Milton is a village just north of Cambridge, England. It has a population of approximately 4,300 with 3,200 being on the electoral register. It expanded considerably in the late 1980s when two large housing estates were built between the bypass and the village resulting in a doubling of the...
. In April 2006, the College merged with the Isle College in Wisbech to form the College of West Anglia.
Arts
Lady Ruth FermoyRuth Roche, Baroness Fermoy
Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, DCVO, OBE, was a friend and confidante of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the maternal grandmother of Lady Diana Spencer, later Princess of Wales....
, an accomplished concert pianist, moved to King’s Lynn in 1931, as the bride of Lord Edmund Fermoy, who was to become the mayor and MP of the town. She demonstrated her affection for the town by organising concerts to give the local people the chance to listen to professional music of the highest standard.
In 1951 to complement the Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
, Lady Fermoy organised the King's Lynn Festival of the Arts. She was a close friend and lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to the Queenlater to become Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
who agreed to become the festival’s patron, and in July 1951 officially opened the restored St George's Guildhall. The Queen Mother was an enthusiastic and active supporter who remained the festival’s patron until her death in March 2002.
Museum
There is a small museum of the former life of the North End fishermen at True's YardTrue's Yard Museum
True's Yard Museum is a social history Museum in King's Lynn, Norfolk. It is an independent Museum run almost entirely by volunteers and depicts the story of the old North End fishing quarter of King's Lynn. Support was received from the late Bernard Matthews and others...
. It includes cottages and a former smokehouse.
Entertainment
Festival Too is held on the Tuesday Market Place every summer. Past performers include Midge UreMidge Ure
James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
, Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow during 1985. Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". The band consists of vocalist Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond....
, Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, 10cc
10cc
10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...
, Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry is an English rock group whose greatest success was in the early 1970s, though they have continued throughout the years with an ever-changing line-up, always fronted by Ray Dorset. They are remembered above all for their hit "In the Summertime". It remains their most successful and most...
, The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...
, Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
, M People
M People
M People are a British house music act from Manchester, who formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is from the initials of Mike Pickering, who formed the group.-Career:...
, Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten were an English girl group from Liverpool, first established in 1997. Created by Andy McCluskey, the final line-up, and most commercially successful, consisted of Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon, and Jenny Frost...
, Kieran Woodcock, S Club, and Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight MBE is a British soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer who released her debut album in 1995. Heavily influenced by soul greats such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released six studio albums to date...
.
The Majestic Cinema
Majestic Cinema, King's Lynn
The Majestic Cinema is a cinema in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England.- 2001: Multiplex demolition proposal :In , a scheme to demolish the Majestic Cinema and build a Multiplex in its place was denied. The plans were submitted to the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk by SMM Investments...
, located in the town centre, is the town's only cinema.
King's Lynn's main venue for concerts, stand-up comedy shows and other live events is the Corn Exchange, located on Tuesday Market Place.
Mart
During the 16th century, King's Lynn's Tuesday Market Place hosted two important trade fairTrade fair
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
s which attracted visitors from as far as Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. As the importance of trade fairs declined, the Mart's nature changed to become a funfair
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
, and was reduced to a single annual event that takes place on 14 February (Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
), and lasts an average of 14 days.
The Mart is also a memorial to the work of Frederick Savage, a man who worked in partnership with the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain
Showmen's Guild of Great Britain
The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain exists to protect the interests of travelling showmen at funfairs in Great Britain.The Showmen's Guild was originally founded as the United Kingdom Van Dwellers Protection Association in 1889 in Salford...
to develop new attractions.
Sport
King's Lynn F.C.King's Lynn F.C.
King's Lynn F.C. was an English football club based in King's Lynn, Norfolk. Established in 1879, they were wound up at the High Court on 25 November 2009 with debts of £77,000 and went out of business in December after a failed appeal...
club (nicknamed "The Linnets") played football in the Northern Premier League
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...
. It had its ground at The Walks Stadium on Tennyson Road. It was officially wound up in the High Court in December 2009. In 2010 it re-formed with the new name King's Lynn Town F.C.
King's Lynn Town F.C.
King's Lynn Town F.C. is an English football club based in King's Lynn, Norfolk. They were founded after the winding-up of their predecessor, King's Lynn and are currently members of the United Counties League Premier Division...
.
King's Lynn also has a motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
team, the King's Lynn Stars
King's Lynn Stars
King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the British Elite League. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team...
, who race at the Norfolk Arena on Saddlebow Road. The track has operated since 1965 when it operated on an open licence. Speedway type events were staged at the stadium in the 1950s.
The successful basketball team College of West Anglia Fury
College of West Anglia Fury
College of West Anglia Fury, often shortened to COWA Fury and formerly known as Kings Lynn Fury, is an amateur basketball team from Kings Lynn, Norfolk, competing in the English Basketball League Men's Division 4....
, who compete in the second-tier English Basketball League
English Basketball League
The English Basketball League is a semi-professional and amateur basketball league in England. It forms the second-tier of competition below the professional British Basketball League....
, is also based in King's Lynn.
Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Scarlets rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player George North
George North
George Philip North is a Wales international rugby union player currently playing for the Scarlets in the RaboDirect Pro12, in the position of winger.-Early life:...
was also born here.
Notable people
- Captain George Vancouver (born 1757)
- Margery KempeMargery KempeMargery Kempe is known for dictating The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. This book chronicles, to some extent, her extensive pilgrimages to various holy sites in Europe and Asia, as well as her mystical conversations with God...
(born c. 1373), pilgrim and mystic, produced arguably the first autobiography in the English language. - Frances Burney (born 1752), writer, produced the classic work EvelinaEvelinaEvelina or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World is a novel written by English author Frances Burney and first published in 1778...
. - Florence GreenFlorence GreenFlorence Beatrice Green is the last known living veteran of the First World War. She was a member of the Women's Royal Air Force.-Biography:...
(born 1901), one of Britain's oldest living people and last surviving World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veterans; also the world's last verified female World War I veteran. She was born in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
but has lived in King's Lynn since 1920. - Roger TaylorRoger Meddows-TaylorRoger Meddows Taylor , known as Roger Taylor, is a British musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of...
, drummer with the rock band QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, was born at King's Lynn in 1949, although, he moved to CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
as a child during the 1950s1950sThe 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
. - Martin BrundleMartin BrundleMartin John Brundle is a British racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011 and Sky Sports from 2012....
, former racing driver, was born in the town in 1959, as was his son AlexAlex BrundleAlex Brundle is a British racing driver. He is the son of Formula One driver-turned-commentator Martin Brundle. He attended Oakham School in Rutland, and is managed by 2MB Sports Management, a company established by Martin and his colleague Mark Blundell.-T Cars:Brundle drove a kart for the first...
(also a racing driver) in 1990. - Claire GooseClaire GooseClaire Goose is a British actress. She is best known for her role as nurse Tina Seabrook in the BBC television drama Casualty and later as DS Mel Silver in Waking the Dead.-Life and career:...
(born 1975), actress, grew up in the town having been born in EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. - Nick AldisNick AldisNicholas Harry "Nick" Aldis is an English professional wrestler and actor. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Magnus, where he is a one time World Tag Team Champion with Doug Williams...
(born 1986), Professional Wrestler with TNA, known as Magnus. - Arthur LoweArthur LoweArthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:...
, star of Dad's ArmyDad's ArmyDad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
, lived here. - George NorthGeorge NorthGeorge Philip North is a Wales international rugby union player currently playing for the Scarlets in the RaboDirect Pro12, in the position of winger.-Early life:...
(born 1992), WalesWales national rugby union teamThe Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
international, was born in King's Lynn, but moved with his family to the Welsh Isle of Anglesey when he was two years old. - Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
Actor, comedian, writer, and presenter as well as director of Norwich football club famously lives near King's Lynn. - Deaf HavanaDeaf HavanaDeaf Havana are an English alternative rock band from King's Lynn, Norfolk in the UK. The band was formed in 2005 at the King's Lynn campus of The College of West Anglia...
James Veck-Gilodi, Lee Wilson, Tom Ogden, Chris Pennells. English Post Hardcore Rock band formed in King's Lynn.
Location
See also
- List of buildings in King's Lynn
- List of people from King's Lynn
- King's Lynn DocksKing's Lynn DocksKing’s Lynn Docks are located to the north of the town of King’s Lynn in the English county of Norfolk. The Docks are 42.7 miles west southwest of Cromer, 49.2 miles west of Norwich and 105 miles north of London. The Docks are on the A1078 Edward Benefer Way. The nearest railway station is the...
- King's Lynn Power Station