King's Lynn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| King's Lynn | ||
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| Statistics | ||
| Population: | 34,564 (2001 census) | |
| Ordnance Survey | ||
| OS grid reference: | TF615205 | |
| Administration | ||
| District: | King's Lynn and West Norfolk | |
| Region: | East | |
| Constituent country: | England | |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom | |
| Other | ||
| Ceremonial county: | Norfolk | |
| Historic county: | Norfolk | |
| Services | ||
| Police force: | Norfolk Constabulary | |
| Fire and rescue: | {{{Fire}}} | |
| Ambulance: | East of England | |
| Post office and telephone | ||
| Post town: | KING'S LYNN | |
| Postal district: | PE30 | |
| Dialling code: | 01553 | |
| Politics | ||
| UK Parliament: | North West Norfolk | |
| European Parliament: | East of England | |
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King's Lynn is a town and port in the English county of Norfolk. Over the years, the town has been known variously as Bishop's Lynn and Lynn Regis; to local people it is simply Lynn.
King's Lynn is situated on the River Great Ouse close to the point where it flows into the Wash, some 35 miles (55 km) north-east of the city of Peterborough, 44 miles (70 km) west of the city of Norwich, and the same distance north of the city of Cambridge. London lies about 110 miles (180 km) to the south.[1][2]
The Ouse at Lynn is about 200 m wide, and is the outfall for much of the drainage system that created the Fens (systematically drained from the seventeenth century onwards). It flows into the Wash, a bleak landscape of saltmarsh, shifting sandbanks and tidal flows.
The unparished urban area that makes up the town of King's Lynn has an area of 28.41 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 34,564 in 15,285 households. It is the main town in the larger district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.[3]
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[edit] History
Originally named Bishop's Lynn, the town was part of the manor of the Bishop of Norwich in the 12th century. By the 14th century, the town ranked as the third port of England. It still retains two buildings that were warehouses of the Hanseatic League that were in use between the 15th and 17th centuries.
When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1538, the town and manor became royal property. The names King's Lynn and Lynn Regis reflect this change. The town became very prosperous from the 17th century through the export of corn; the fine Customs House was built in 1683 to the designs of local architect Henry Bell.
The town went into decline after this period, and was only rescued by the relatively late arrival of railway services in 1847 - with services mainly provided by the Great Eastern Railway (subsequently London and North Eastern Railway) and its fore-runners, and by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, which had its headquarters in the town at Austin Street, and an important station at South Lynn (now dismantled) which was also its operational control centre.
In the post-Second World War period King's Lynn was designated a London Expansion Town, and its population roughly doubled as thousands of people were relocated from the capital.
[edit] Today
The town is mainly situated on the east bank of the Great Ouse, with a small part, known as West Lynn, on the west bank. Other districts of King's Lynn include the town centre, North Lynn, South Lynn, Gaywood, North Wootton, South Wootton, and Fairstead.
In the town centre, the Guildhall (1421) and the Town Hall (1895) are King's Lynn's most impressive secular buildings, built with flint-chequered facades, and adjacent to the Saturday Market Place (the original hub of the town). It also has two impressive churches: St Margaret's (also on the Saturday Market Place) and St Nicholas' Chapel - the latter built close to the newer Tuesday Market Place, at the heart of a massive Georgian expansion and one of the finest public squares in England. The roads connecting the two markets contain many fine historic buildings, and run parallel to the quays that lined the River Great Ouse (now largely superseded by docks). 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 most numerous crime prosecuted as a result of this comprehensive system is men urinating on their way home at night from pubs.
King's Lynn has always been a centre for the fishing and seafood industry (especially inshore prawns, shrimps and cockles). There have also been glass-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 railway station is the terminus of the Fen Line, and gives connections to Ely, Cambridge and London King's Cross.
The town is connected to the local cities of Norwich and Peterborough via the A47 and to Cambridge via the A10.
The town has three secondary schools, educating students from the town and the surrounding areas: King Edward VII High School, The Park High School and Springwood High School. There is also The College of West Anglia (the largest further education campus in town).
Sandringham House, the Norfolk residence of the Royal family, is 6 miles north of King's Lynn.
The Lynn News is the local newspaper which is published twice a week, while the biggest selling regional morning newspaper in the country, the Eastern Daily Press, publishes a specific West and Fens edition daily from its district office in King's Lynn High Street KL.FM 96.7 is the local commercial radio station.
The town holds two festivals each summer, 'King's Lynn Festival' and 'Festival Too'. The latter is a large free festival and is held on The Tuesday Market Place: it has attracted crowds of more than 12,000. Past performances include Midge Ure, Wizard, Deacon Blue, Suzi Quatro, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Mungo Jerry, and (2006) The Human League. The King's Lynn Festival is primarily a classical music festival; it is held in historic venues throughout town, and attracts big names from Orchestras to Opera and stage-plays. There are also Literature and Poetry festivals.
The town is currently undergoing a multi-million pound regeneration scheme. A new shopping area has been built in the town centre in place of the dated 1960s Vancouver Centre. And to the south of town a huge swathe of brown-field land is being transformed into a housing development (including attractive contemporary apartments lining the River Nar), a business park, parkland, a school, shops and a new relief road. A 250-berth marina, surrounded by apartments, hotel, shops and bar/restaurant is also planned.
[edit] Entertainment and things to do in King's Lynn
King's Lynn is the 3rd largest town in Norfolk after the city of Norwich and the town of Great Yarmouth, so there are plenty of activities for people to do all year round.
Every year on St Valentine's Day, a travelling funfair called The Mart sets up residence in the Tuesday Market Place for roughly a fortnight, after which it moves on to other towns around the United Kingdom. There are two cinemas in the town centre, the biggest being the Majestic Cinema, which has been refurbished in the last few years in order to compete with the cinemas of Norwich and Peterborough. However the King's Lynn Arts Centre also shows films as well as performances, it is one of the Festival Too venues during the summer months. Football fans can attend Linnet matches at The Walks football ground on Tennyson Avenue. The town centre also has a park called The Walks. For those who like going out in the evening, there are plenty of pubs in the town centre, as well as three night clubs, called Zoots, Chicago's and Diva, which are mainly open at weekends.
Out & About is a charity supporting disabled children in Kings Lynn to take part in local leisure activities, such as cubs, brownies, youth clubs, sports, etc. Volunteering to work with disabled children or fundraise is an excellent "thing to do" in Kings Lynn. Visit [1] to find out how you can get involved.
[edit] Popular Culture References
King's Lynn is referred to in the film The Eagle Has Landed. The historic heart of King's Lynn was used as a location in the 1985 film Revolution, where it stood in for New York during the American Revolutionary War. And, of course, no town is complete without the workings of a local football team, King's Lynn F.C., or, the Linnets, are a team in the British Gas Buisness Southern League Premier Division , and are title favorites for the season.
[edit] Twinned Town
King's Lynn's Twinned town is Emmerich, in eastern Germany.
[edit] Notable people
Notable current and former residents of King's Lynn include:
- Robert Armin. 17th century actor and known homosexual.
- Thomas Baines. 19th century artist and explorer.
- Martin Brundle. 20th century Formula One driver and sports commentator.
- Fanny Burney. 19th century novelist and diarist.
- Margery Kempe. 15th century author.
- Roger Taylor. 20th century drummer and vocalist with rock band Queen.
- George Vancouver. 18th century naval officer and explorer, gave his name to Vancouver Island and the city of Vancouver.
- Robert Walpole. 18th century statesman, Member of Parliament for King's Lynn.
- Eugene Aram. 18th century "Usher", namely Assistant Master at the Grammar School: murderer and subject of poem by Thomas Hood.
- Frederick Savage. 19th century leading developer and manufacturer of steam roundabouts and other fairground machinery.
- George William Manby. 19th Century inventor of the lifesaving rocket apparatus used until recently by HM Coastguard to pass line and breeches buoy to wrecked ships.
- Peter Parfitt. 20th century Test cricketer.
- Sir William Lancaster (19th/20th century) Joint founder of Prudential Assurance.
- Princess Diana 20th century attendee of a primary school in King's Lynn.
- James Crouchman 21st Century Last of the international playboys
[edit] References
- ^ Ordnance Survey (2002). OS Explorer Map 250 - Norfolk Coast West. ISBN 0-319-21886-4.
- ^ Ordnance Survey (1999). OS Explorer Map 236 - King's Lynn, Downham Market & Swaffham. ISBN 0-319-21867-8.
- ^ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved December 2, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Map sources for King's Lynn.
- Information from Genuki Norfolk on King's Lynn.
- History of medieval Lynn
- Port of King's Lynn
- KLFM 96.7
- Out & About - volunteer to help disabled kids in Kings Lynn
- The Linnets, King's Lynn Football Club
- Lynn News
- Photographs and more details about Kings Lynn
- The Park High School
- Zoots
- Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk
