Great Yarmouth

Local History and

Archaeological
Society

EDITORIAL

Our 2021 edition of Yarmouth Archaeology and Local History follows a very difficult year when the
society’s activities had to come to an abrupt halt, in March 2020, after the outbreak of the global
Covid-19 pandemic. At the time this edition of the journal is being published, in Autumn 2021, the
situation is gradually improving and the hope is that normality will return soon.

Only one of the society’s planned 2020 programme of monthly talks was able to take place, early
in the year, when a lecture was given on the subject of Daniel Defoe’s tour through the Eastern
Counties; a full summary of this appears on page 60. Regrettably, all remaining lectures planned
for 2020, and all of the society’s summer outings for 2020 had to be cancelled, however a series
of ‘virtual’ online lectures was arranged for members between Autumn 2020 and Spring 2021, a
summary of which appears on pages 6 to 7. The programme for our younger members’ group
(YHAC) also had to be cancelled, but it is hoped to restart this in 2022.

Despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic, I am very pleased to report that our regular
contributors to the journal have supplied another excellent series of articles about a variety of
local people and places from the town’s past, which I hope you will find interesting in this 2021
edition.

Back issues of some Journals published since 1993 are still in stock. If any are missing from your
collection and you would like them, please contact me and I will supply if copies remain.

John Smail

Editor

E-mail: john@post2me.net
Telephone: 01493-300999
Address: 36 Yallop Avenue, Gorleston, Great Yarmouth. NR31 6HD

1
 Great Yarmouth
Local History and
Archaeological
Society

Copyright
No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of Great
Yarmouth and District Local History and Archaeological Society and the author(s) concerned.
Apply in the first instance to the editor.

The responsibility for obtaining any necessary permission to copy or reproduce other people’s
material, or to copy or reproduce material from other publications for use within Yarmouth Local
History and Archaeology lays with the author(s) and not the Editor or the Society. Upon receipt of
articles from contributors, the Editor will assume that all the necessary authorisation has been
obtained and he will not be held liable in the case of subsequent query.

The responsibility for accuracy of facts within any article lays with the author(s) of that article and
not with the Editor or the Society.

Any opinions expressed within an article are those of the author(s) of that article, and not
necessarily those of the Editor or the Society.

GREAT YARMOUTH & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Registered Charity No. 277272

2
GREAT YARMOUTH & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2021
OFFICERS & COMMITTEE

President: Andrew Fakes

Chairman: Paul Davies

Treasurer: Christine Silver

Secretary Patricia Day

(e-mail : infogylhas@gmail.com)

Membership Secretary Peter Jones

Committee: Stuart Burgess

Gareth Davies

Ann Dunning

Alan Hunt

Glen Johnstone

Ben Milner

Patricia Nelson

John Smail

Honorary Members: Shirley Harris

Derek Leak

Judy Leak

John McBride

Colin Tooke

Three Committee Members retire each year according to a three year rota.
Officers are elected tri-annually, and Honorary Members remain so for life.

3
 Yarmouth Archaeology & Local History
2021
Table of Contents

6 Virtual Lecture Programme 2020 to 2021 The Editor

8 The Picture of Yarmouth Project Gareth H. H.

Davies
10 Arnold Brothers’ Department Store Colin Tooke

16 The Comings and Goings of Gorleston Beach Ben Milner

22 The Changing Face of Hall Quay - 1870 to 1970 David Tubby

29 Lesser Water Courses around Great Yarmouth Andrew Fakes

36 Napoleonic Prisoner of War Jail, Row 110 (1803-1814) Paul P. Davies

38 The Isolation (Escourt) Hospital, Escourt Road, Great Yarmouth Paul P. Davies

46 Great Yarmouth and its Links with Dunkirk Caroline Buddery

48 Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Expedition Ship, Nimrod, lost on the Paul P. Davies
Barber Sands in 1919
54 Cine Snapped Paul Godfrey

60 Daniel Defoe’s Tour through the Eastern Counties Andrew Fakes

66 Journey to the centre of…Great Yarmouth: Jules Verne’s Visit in Stewart Adams
1879
72 James Holt - a Great Yarmouth Man who helped shape the town Andrew Fakes

74 The Sunningdale Holiday Camp, Links Road, Hopton-on-Sea Ben Milner

78 The Mystery of John Rowe Colin Tooke

80 The Grave of David Bartleman, Master Mariner - Trevor Nicholls

A Link to the War of American Independence (1776-1783)

87 Bromholm Priory - A Local Canterbury or Lourdes? Andrew Fakes

94 The Results of New Research into the History of the Paston Andrew Fakes
Family - Another Paston Woman Discovered

4
97 The House of the Rising Sun: Edward Peterson, Hosier of Great Adrian Marsden
Yarmouth

102 Proceedings of the Great Yarmouth Branch of the Norfolk and Paul P. Davies
Norwich Archaeological Society for the Year ending 31st
December 1932
105 A Gravestone, a Drowning, an Astrologer and an Unpaid Bill Paul P. Davies

106 Ninth Church Crawl 1st September 2021 - Burgh St. Peter, Paul P. Davies
Barsham, Ilketshall St. Andrew, Westhall and Ringsfield

118 The Tenth Cemetery Crawl, 22nd August 2021 Paul P. Davies

128 Panoramic Map of Great Yarmouth Paul P. Davies

Recent publications by the Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society

The Picture of Yarmouth - 200 Years of Built Heritage, Poppyland Publishing,

ISBN 978-0-9576092-2-8

Recent publications by members of the Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society

Old Master Paintings in Private Houses in Great Yarmouth in the 18th and 19th Centuries,
Paul P. Davies

5
 Virtual Lecture Programme 2020 to 2021
The Editor

When it became apparent that, due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent
suspension of all face-to-face social activities, the society would be unable to complete its 2020
lecture programme, the committee decided to offer members the opportunity to participate in a
new ‘virtual’ lecture programme between September 2020 and February 2021.

The programme consisted of pre-recorded presentations, which were available at the date and
time of the normal scheduled members’ meetings (3rd Friday in the month at 7.30pm), and for
one month afterwards. Members could create accounts on the Virtual Programme website and
take part in an online ‘chat’ during and after the presentation. Post discussion questions were
picked up and responded to by other members during the period after the virtual meeting.

Some members who did not have internet access at home were offered a DVD postal service by
the society so that they did not miss out. Six members took advantage of this service, while the
online resource was accessed by, on average, 20 members per talk.

The programme schedule:

The Pastons and Great Yarmouth - Controlling the Hinterland (4th September 2020)
Dr. Robert Knee (57 minutes)

Dr. Rob Knee, Chairman of the Paston Heritage Society, talked about the links to Great Yarmouth
of the various members of the Paston family from the early 1400s to the 1700s, with the final
demise of the family as Earls of Yarmouth. The lecture was recorded at the Paston Footprints/
Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society conference in October 2019.

Britain and the Legacies of Slavery (18th September 2020)

Professor Catherine Hall (42 minutes)
Emerita Professor of Modern British Social and Cultural History at University College, London.

Once abolition was secured, Britons were keen to overlook slavery and emphasise the memory of
emancipation. But Britain and Britons benefitted in multiple ways from slavery including William
Barth, timber merchant and Mayor of Great Yarmouth in 1824, 1826 and 1836. He married Jane
Jeffries, the daughter of Samuel Jeffries, a Jamaican planter. Jane was to claim compensation
for two enslaved people in 1823. The talk asked the question whether British history should be
reconsidered to take into full account the role of the many slave owners who lived here.

What Really Happened at the First Moving Picture Shows? (16th October 2020)
Professor Ian Christie (49 minutes)

The reception of moving pictures between 1894 and 1896 has been much mythologised. Were
spectators really frightened of an approaching train? Did they imagine seeing their departed
relatives reanimated on screen? How much attention was actually paid to this new phenomenon
among so many contemporary novelties and wonders? Moving pictures may not have been the
innovation once claimed, but within a decade few could doubt that they had become a major force
in changing the Edwardian world.

Professor Christie is a renowned British film scholar and currently Professor of Film and Media
History at Birkbeck, University of London, and a Fellow of the British Academy. He has
researched and published on many aspects of film history, including Eisenstein and Russian
cinema, Powell and Pressburger, Gilliam and Scorsese, and is a regular broadcaster on cinema.

6
Admiral Lord Nelson in Context (20th November 2020)
Assistant Professor Evan Wilson (50 minutes)

Vice-Admiral Horatio, Lord Nelson, is among the best-known and most studied figures in naval
history. This lecture put Nelson in the context of the officer corps from which he emerged. By
looking at the thousands of other officers who fought alongside Nelson, we uncovered a more
complete picture of him and the navy in which he served.

Evan Wilson is Assistant Professor in the John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical
Research at the U.S. Naval War College.

A Virtual Tour around St. Nicholas Minster (18th December 2020)

Dr. Paul Davies (50 minutes)

St. Nicholas Minster is probably the oldest building in Great Yarmouth. Dr. Paul Davies, the
society's Chair, who has written extensively on the building and related topics, provided us with a
virtual tour of the building. He was available to answer questions during the talk.

Dr. Davies is a member of a number of prominent societies in the town including the Great
Yarmouth Preservation Trust, Great Yarmouth Minister Preservation Trust (Chair), Great
Yarmouth Civic Society and Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society (Chair).

Cotman in Normandy (15th January 2021)

Tim Wilcox (60 Minutes)

John Sell Cotman, long considered one of the greatest exponents in the field of watercolour,
made three visits to Normandy in 1817, 1818 and 1820. In 1822, he published two monumental
folio volumes, Architectural Antiquities of Normandy, with the support of the Great Yarmouth
banker, Dawson Turner, who had accompanied him abroad and employed him as drawing tutor to
his children. The Cotman in Normandy exhibition at the Dulwich Gallery took place between
October 2012 and January 2013. The talk was given at the opening of the exhibition by Tim
Wilcox, the curator at the time.

Tim Wilcox held curatorial posts in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, the Victoria & Albert
Museum, Hove Museum and Art Gallery (Director) and the British Museum (Department of Prints
and Drawings). A self-employed curator and consultant for 15 years, he has worked for the Tate
Gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, Asia House and the Norwich Castle Museum, among many
others.

Roman Coins from Rivers and Wells in Britain: Hoards or Gifts for the Gods?
(19th February 2021)
Roger Bland (37 minutes)

Among the 3,300 coin hoards known from Britain, there is an interesting group of finds that come
from rivers and wells, such as the more than 12,000 coins found when the baths at Roman Bath
were drained in the 1970s. Other large groups are known from the River Thames at London
Bridge, the River Tees and Hadrian’s Wall. Why were these groups of coins deposited in these
watery places and are they hoards? The talk looked at this intriguing group of coins as a case
study of research into the huge number of Roman coin hoards known from Britain.

Roger Bland, OBE, FSA is a British curator and numismatist. At the British Museum, he served
as the Keeper of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasurer from 2005 to 2013, the
Keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe from 2012 to 2013, and the Keeper of the
Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory from 2013 to 2015. Since 2015, he has been a
Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester and a Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for
Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge.

(above notes, DVDs sourcing, and postal distributions kindly provided by Gareth H. H. Davies)
7
 The Picture of Yarmouth Project
Gareth H. H. Davies

In 2019, the society was successful in a £7,600 Heritage

Fund bid to commemorate the bicentennial of the publication
of The Picture of Yarmouth by John Preston. The article that
appeared in the 2019 journal explains the context for the
project which, in brief, was to produce a new Picture of
Yarmouth, highlighting a range of buildings that appeared in
Preston’s book and still existed, or had been lost, and to add
further buildings that were important to the people of Great
Yarmouth in the intervening two centuries. In addition, there
were plans to organise several activities, such as research
groups and events, during the year.

A sub-committee was formed consisting of members, Gareth

H. H. Davies, Janet Davies, Patricia Day and Terry Mills.
They met monthly to keep the project on track and ensure
that the conditions of the grant were met. Their first task was
to canvass opinion on a long list, from which a short list of
buildings would be drawn up. This short list would be used
to conduct a poll among the residents of Great Yarmouth as
to which buildings should be included in the book. The
Maritime Festival was the first opportunity to begin the
survey and many responses were received during the event. The Picture of Yarmouth:
This was followed up by an online survey and stations in 200 Years of Built Heritage
several prominent places in the town, for example, the Priory
Centre and St. George’s Pavilion Café. Publicity included interviews on
The Jack Jay Show on BBC Radio Norfolk and attendance at other
societies’ meetings such as the Civic Society. By the end of the year,
the survey was complete, and the results presented to society members
at the first meeting in January 2020.

In February 2020, the world was hit by a global pandemic leading to

severe restrictions being imposed, not only in the United Kingdom, but
throughout the world. Public meetings and gatherings were no longer
allowed, making the sub-committee’s plans for research groups and
events impossible. However, it was possible to recruit members to write
chapters on the selected
buildings and gather images for
the book. A professional Great
Yarmouth artist, Philip Harvey,
Philip Harvey, the was recruited to provide new
professional artist with
illustrations to complement those
the drawings he created
for the book of Preston. Although wider
aspects of the project had been
curtailed by unprecedented circumstances, the book, as a
legacy and celebration of Great Yarmouth’s rich ‘built’
history, went ahead. Due to finish in September 2020, an
extension was granted by the Heritage Fund, in the hope
that some of these activities could take place in 2021.

By June 2021, the book was complete and, with the lifting
of all restrictions on 19th July 2021, a launch event could
be planned for 4th August at St. George’s Theatre, one of
the buildings in Preston’s original book. Philip Harvey’s illustration of
The Town Hall

8
The launch took the form of an exhibition together with short
speeches by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Adrian Thompson, and
the High Steward of Great Yarmouth and Deputy Lieutenant for
Norfolk, Henry Cator, OBE. During his address, Mr. Cator said:
With this book you are securing that there will be a guardianship of
the future because it is the future and young people that will hold
that book up as a reference. It reflects past, present and the future.

Those that could not attend the event had opportunities to view the
exhibition at St. Nicholas Minister and the PrimYarc gallery in the
Market Gates before the project officially ended in September 2021.
In addition, the Great Yarmouth Heritage Guides ran a special
guided walk on a number of occasions during the season.

The book has been well received. A limited hardback edition of 300
copies was produced for the launch and a subsequent paperback
version is generally available.

The committee would like to thank all those who took part in the Henry Cator, High Steward of
project at a difficult time. The successful delivery of a Heritage Great Yarmouth, speaks at
Funded project confirms that our members are keen to share their the launch on
knowledge and engage in new and challenging heritage initiatives 4th August 2021
which reach out to a wider audience.

Right: visitors attend

the exhibition and
launch of the book

Below: an example of
the poll results, in this
case the buildings
regarded as important
for future generations

9
 Arnold Brothers’ Department Store
Colin Tooke

Department stores are disappearing from the nation’s high streets in today’s changing retail
world. They were a Victorian invention offering a wide range of goods and services that small
shops could not match. In Great Yarmouth, three department stores began as single shops,
which quickly grew to embrace several departments. In 1837, Garwood Palmer opened his first
shop in the Market Place, which soon
expanded into a large department store. By
1863, Henry Biddlecombe had opened a
shop at 5 King Street, which soon became
Biddlecombe & Boning. In 1903, this
became Boning Brothers, a department
store that eventually included 3, 4, 5, 6 and
7 King Street, and taken over in 1932 by
Marks & Spencer. The third department
store in the town, Arnolds’, began in 1869
and it this store that the following article
looks at in greater detail.

In May 1869, two brothers, Frank and

William Arnold, purchased the shop of Mr.
James Richardson Cossons at 180 King
Street, Great Yarmouth, a shop which
traded as a drapery shop and silk merchant.
It was not long before the enterprising Frank
and William were able to expand their
business by purchasing adjacent shops,
those of Creak, a grocer at 179 King Street,
and Miss Carrall’s toy and fancy bazaar at
181 King Street. More property, including
houses, a granary, a malthouse, and the
premises of the East Norfolk Printing
Company were bought in Row 63½ and Arnold Brothers’ store at 179-181 King Street
Row 66. in the 1890s

Frank and William Arnold were both involved in many aspects of the town’s social life. Frank
became a member of the Park Baptist Church and a founder member of the Conge Mission. He
lived at 14 Euston Road, a house he named The Haven. He was elected to the Town Council in
1878 and was Mayor three times, in 1894, 1907 and 1911. He was a magistrate for 21 years and
a director of the Great Yarmouth Gas Company and Grout & Co, the silk manufacturers. In 1912,
he received an illuminated address
from the Park Baptist Church
recognising his civic and philanthropic
services to the town and the church,
where the Bible class had, under his
direction, enrolled over 300 members.

William Arnold lived at 4 Norfolk

Square and was elected to the Town
Council in 1891. He became a
magistrate in 1893 and was a founder
member, and later chairman, of the
Great Yarmouth Liberal and Radical
Club.
One of the horse-drawn delivery vehicles

10
In 1889, seeking more space for the
business, the brothers temporarily
transferred the furniture and china
department to Market Row, a building
on the north-west corner with Howard
Street, previously a drapers and carpet
warehouse.

The three King Street shops were now

able to concentrate on the drapery and
silk side of the business. In 1897,
Arnold Brothers were advertising
themselves as: Drapers, Silk Mercers,
Carpet Warehousemen and House
Furnishers at King Street, Market Row
and Howard Street.

When William Arnold died in 1903,

aged 63 years, his sons Spencer and
Percy Arnold were appointed directors
of the business. In 1905, the
opportunity arose to take over the
business of Frederick Fuller at 178
King Street and 1 & 2 Regent Street, a
shop known as The Gt. Yarmouth
Dress House, specialising in silks,
dress fabrics and costumes.

This important corner site now gave

Arnolds’ property at 1 & 2 Regent
Street and 178 to 181 King Street a
large site suitable for redevelopment.
Above: Market Row / Howard
Street furniture and china shop
1889-1909

The old shops were

demolished and a new
building was erected by
James Harman of Northgate
Street, a prominent local
builder and contractor.

Arnolds’ new store, which

also took in part of Row 63½,
opened on 19th May 1906.
To bring the furniture and
china department closer to
the main store, the Market
Row shop was closed in 1909
and the department moved to
a shop that had been
obtained at 9 Regent Street.

Left: Arnolds’ new corner store

which opened in 1906

11
An illustrated brochure, printed soon after the new store opened in 1906, described the various
departments and gives an interesting insight into the goods available to Edwardian society in
Great Yarmouth:

The commodious Dress and Silk department is beautifully lighted with an arched
skylight and well stocked with the latest novelties and with every description of Black
and Coloured Dress Materials and Silks. We always hold a fully assorted stock of
goods suitable for Mourning, including Grouts’ noted Crepes and durable Black Silks
of the best makes.

Great attention is given to the Manchester Shop in obtaining goods from the best
makers and offering them to the public at the very lowest prices. Our Flannelettes are
noted throughout the County for value and variety, and the constant increasing
demand for Flannels, Calicoes, Apron Cloths, and all kinds of useful Drapery prove a
popular character of this department.

Owing to the demand for our noted Curtains, we have had to devote a new shop for
the sale of Lace Curtains and all kinds of Madras and Fancy Window Muslins.

We have a very convenient and well-lighted department containing Household Linens

of every description, Sheeting, Blankets, Etc.

The entirely new and large Floorcloth and Linoleum Hall is acknowledged to be the
most extensive and well stocked in the Eastern Counties, every description of
Floorcloth, Linoleum, Cork Carpet and Inlaid Linoleum at the very lowest prices.

The Carpet Department consists of a room given up entirely for the display of
Axminster, Brussels and Tapestry Carpets and British and Foreign Rugs and Mats.
Carpets are made by our Carpet Sewing Machine. We stock all sizes in useful and
inexpensive Tapestry and Kidderminster Squares.

The Untrimmed Straws and Flower Showroom is used for Untrimmed Hats, Sailor
Hats, Flowers and Feathers. In the Trimmed Millinery Showroom there is a large
selection of Trimmed Millinery and Novelties during the season. We have a large staff
of Practical Milliners under skilful management and we have every confidence in
inviting a trial.

The increasing trade in the Underclothing Department has necessitated our having a
private room added to our already spacious Showroom. This is well stocked with
every requisite for Ladies and Children’s wear. A staircase leads to our New
Dressmaking, Waiting and Fitting Rooms.

In the Mantle and Costume Showroom we hold a large stock of Mantles, Jackets and
Costumes. Every size stocked in Young Ladies’ and Children’s Garments and a large
selection of Mackintoshes and Golf Caps always in stock.

Frank Arnold died in 1916, aged 73 years, leaving Spencer and Percy to run the business. On
1st February 1919, the firm’s Golden Jubilee year, the store, several small shops further west in
Regent Street and cottages in Row 66 were totally destroyed by fire, one of the largest fires ever
seen in the town. The fire broke out at 9.30pm on a Monday night in the workroom and quickly
spread throughout the building, the limited resources of the fire brigade being unable to have
much effect. The two local fire engines and a horse-drawn steamer from Gorleston were
supplemented by the port tug, George Jewson, which moored at Hall Quay and pumped water up
Regent Street. An additional engine arrived from Norwich some hours after the fire had started
but, by now, it was too late to save anything. One reason given for the rapid spread of the fire
was the amount of timber used in the construction of the building in 1905. The fire quickly spread
to six small shops in Regent Street, destroying two tobacconists, Wigg the watch maker, John
12
 The row of small shops in Regent Street,
including the furniture department at
number 9, destroyed by the fire of 1st
February 1919

Churchyard, an umbrella manufacturer,

and the office of the Prudential
Insurance Company, together with
Arnolds separate furniture shop. By
2.00am the threat to the adjacent
buildings had been averted and the fire The remains of the store after the fire of 1st February 1919
was under control, the roof and internal
walls having collapsed. At 7.00am the Norwich engine and the port tug were withdrawn. It was
estimated at the time that the total damage came to £100,000, a sum that today would equal over
£8.5m.

A temporary office was quickly opened at 2 South Quay and ten days later a limited business
began at temporary premises acquired in Regent Road. Within six weeks, the company had
bought the burnt-out shops in Regent Street and plans were in hand for rebuilding the store,
which started almost immediately after the site was cleared. The architects for the new store
were Olley & Howard of Great Yarmouth and the builders were Barrett & Wright of London and R.
H. Carter of Anson Road, Southtown. The Regent Street frontage of the new store was built five
feet further back to allow the street to be widened at this point, and the new store took in the site
of the small shops, 3 to 8 Regent Street, that had
been destroyed. The furniture and china department,
which had occupied the separate shop at 9 Regent
Street, was now able to move into the main store. The
new store was equipped with a pneumatic tube
system connecting the 31 till points to a central cash
office, and had a lift to all floors. It was claimed to be
the town’s most up-to-date store, a store that had
everything for everyone. The first section opened for
business on 11th December 1921, followed by the
remainder of the store early in 1922. It was common
practice at this time for staff in department stores, in
particular female staff, to be provided with live-in
accommodation on site. It had been one of the ladies
living in the staff accommodation who had raised the
alarm when the fire started. Staff accommodation
was, however, not included in the new building and
Arnolds’ staff were housed in two residences at 3 and
4 Wellesley Road, where it was said, they are given all
the comforts of a home. Motor vehicles were now
taking over from the early horse-drawn delivery carts;
the first motorised delivery vehicle, complete with Motor delivery vehicle EX 36, complete with
uniformed driver, was on the road in the late 1920s uniformed driver
with the local registration EX 36.
13
 Arnolds’ second floor restaurant

In the new store, a restaurant opened on the second floor in July 1922, said to be probably one of
the finest restaurants outside London. The walls, tables, upholstery, carpet and waitresses’
dresses all co-ordinated with the colour scheme of black, blue and yellow. The 4,250 square feet
of carpet had been specially made by Crossley Carpets of Kidderminster. The restaurant could
accommodate 250 people and an orchestra platform was included on the Regent Street side,
where an orchestral trio played. There was a luxurious gentlemen’s smoke room and lounge
attached to the main restaurant where businessmen can transact their business in privacy. The
restaurant was advertised as: the shopper’s rendezvous, luncheons served daily in charming
surroundings. It rapidly became a popular venue for private parties, receptions and dinner-
dances and many local clubs and organisations, such as the Rotary Club, used it as a regular
meeting place. In 1953, Arnolds’ Regency Restaurant was offering the best three-course lunch in
town for 2/6 (12½p).

During the 1930s, the store staff fielded their own football team. In 1935, Arnolds’ merged with
Debenhams, at the time the country’s largest department store group, but continued to trade
under the old family name of Arnolds. It was said the company was: at once infused with a new
spirit of drive and enthusiasm under the chairmanship of Debenhams Ltd. The store celebrated
its 66th birthday in 1935, when customers were offered special 1/- (5p) celebration teas in the
restaurant and the store had special offers of ladies’ coats from 19/11, frocks from 12/11, men’s
shirts at 5/- and a three-piece suite for £11.11s. (not cheap, as one pound in 1935 is equal to
about £72 today).

In 1941, the basement was converted into an auxiliary hospital with 50 beds and a well-equipped
operating theatre, used for the duration of the Second World War. In 1946, when the large
Shrublands pre-fab estate was being built at Gorleston, Arnolds’ furnished a show house. The
American way of dining became popular in the post-war period and a self-service cafeteria was
opened in the basement, one of the first in the town. A new Soda Fountain with up to date
American drinks served at popular prices was installed.

In May 1969, the store held a three-week centenary celebration with historic displays, Victorian
room settings, fashion parades and competitions. The store claimed to be: unchallenged and
unrivalled as the hub of Yarmouth’s shopping centre, supplying the needs of ever increasing
14
 Arnolds’ Department Store in the 1950s

numbers of customers. Many goods were now sold under the Debenhams’ brand name
Debroyal. By now the basement cafeteria had been replaced with an up-to-date food hall. At
Christmas, the arrival of Father Christmas was heralded each year with a marching band and
procession through the town before he took his place in the festive grotto built in the basement,
an event eagerly awaited by the town’s children.

In December 1972, the store was rebranded as Debenhams and the well-known name of Arnolds,
which had existed in the town for over 100 years, disappeared from the local retail scene. The
store continued to trade on similar lines as in previous years until June 1985, when it closed with
the loss of 150 jobs. The building was then divided into several smaller retail units. Today the
large white building still stands on the corner of King Street and Regent Street, the only reminder
of the old family firm being the letter ‘A’, still visible on the stonework between the windows on the
second floor.

On 30th October 2008, Debenhams returned to the town, opening a smaller department store in
the newly extended Market Gates shopping centre. Marks & Spencer had closed in 2017 and,
with the closure of Debenhams in January 2020, rapidly followed by Beales, which had taken over
Palmers in 2018, the town had lost all its department stores.

Notes and References:

Davies, Paul P., Stories Behind the Stones pp412-415, privately published, 2008
Poulton, E., Amongst the Flames, p58, privately published, 2018
Yarmouth Mercury, 14th January 1933 and 2nd May 1969
Brochures, catalogues and other ephemera referring to Arnolds, author’s collection
Price comparisons taken from the Bank of England web site:
bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
Postcard showing the restaurant by courtesy of the Peter Jones collection

15
 The Comings and Goings of Gorleston Beach
Ben Milner

The size and shape of Gorleston beach has been a subject of much observation and debate for
many years. Gorleston was first developed as a seaside resort in the late 1800s and at that time
the beach was narrow and extended only a short distance beyond the promenade. Over time, the
beach grew and, by the 1930s, it had extended substantially, making the sea a considerable
distance from the promenade. However, by the late 1960s and 1970s, the beach had all but
disappeared with claims that the new concrete south pier, which had replaced the old wooden
harbour pier, was to blame.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Gorleston beach began to recover and sand accumulated to
restore the beach to a size not seen since the 1930s. The arrival of Great Yarmouth’s Outer
Harbour in 2008 caused more speculation as to whether that would again be the end of Gorleston
beach. The reverse, however, seems to be true, with the beach growing ever wider and at an
even faster rate. This article charts these comings and goings of Gorleston beach over the last
150 years.

Great Yarmouth’s harbours

Before 900 AD, Yarmouth did not exist and instead the rivers Yare, Bure and Waveney opened
out into a large estuary. The small fishing village of Gorleston was on the southern bank of this
estuary. Over the next few hundred years the sandbank that would become Great Yarmouth
moved closer inshore and eventually closed the estuary, leaving a northern outlet and a southern
outlet. To the south, the River Yare flowed out to sea beyond Corton, separated along its length
from the sea by a spit of sand and shingle. Gorleston became a village on the bank of the River
Yare and would have had no sea-fronting beach, rather like the position now of Orford in Suffolk,
where the River Alde flows past on its way out to sea and forms Orford Ness spit.

By the early 1300s, this southern outlet had begun to get blocked by silt and prevented shipping
from entering the river. For Great Yarmouth, this was financially disastrous. Seven attempts
followed to create a new haven for the river, going as far north to what is now Queen’s Road in
Great Yarmouth and as far south as Corton. It wasn’t until the 1560s that the final and present
haven was cut. This was designed to have a south pier to introduce a right-angle bend that
deflects the river out to sea, known as Brush Bend, and to stop water running to the south. The
services of a Dutchman, Mr. Joas Johnson, were used to build first the north pier and then the
south pier, which was constructed from 1,800 tarred timber piles, each a foot square.

Over time, the north pier stopped longshore drift from the north, which allowed Great Yarmouth
beach to build up. It had the opposite effect to the south and reduced the deposit of sand and
shingle, which had been the spit, to leave Gorleston beach at the base of the sea cliffs. It was at
this point that Gorleston beach started to take shape and begin to look as it does today.

Breakwaters

The earliest attempts to protect the land below the south pier and to create a beach began when
several breakwaters were constructed to the south. The largest of these was the spur
breakwater, which projected almost perpendicular from the south pier. It was made from
concrete, with a rocket post towards its end. The spur breakwater remains today and is a
prominent and important structure at Gorleston beach. It also forms a useful marker for gauging
the size of the beach. A south-west breakwater was also built, which was closer to the shore and
made from wooden piles and planking. At this time there was no concrete promenade and
instead the rough shape of the area was defined by the breakwaters, wooden posts and groynes.
On the south pier was the Anchor and Hope public house, which had its own watchtower, and
nearby was a rocket house. The area was very much for commercial seafaring and fishing and
had yet to develop as a seaside resort.

16
 The spur breakwater pictured from Gorleston’s south pier. The breakwater looks very much the same
today as it does in the picture, with the exception of the rocket mast, but the cliffs have not yet been
landscaped and are still in their natural state

Gorleston beach in probably the 1870s taken from the top of the cliffs. The spur breakwater and
south-west breakwater are prominent structures, along with several other groynes and wooden posts that
form the edge of the beach. The Anchor and Hope public house can be seen, which is where the
Pier Hotel now stands. Picture supplied by kind permission of Ron Taylor

Further south of the harbour, Gorleston cliffs were still natural sea cliffs as the landscaping and
gardens that are there today had not yet been developed. Pictures from this era show Gorleston
beach to be small and hugging the cliffs and south pier.

17
Development of Gorleston beach

Up until the mid-1800s, Gorleston was predominantly a fishing village and centred around the
parish church, High Street and Baker Street area, with little development as far south to what is
now the beach. By the middle of the 1800s, Gorleston began to extend southwards with new
housing, public houses and churches. In fact, when Gorleston Methodist Church was being
planned, questions were asked as to why it was being built so far out of the town.

In the late 1800s, a proposal was made to develop Gorleston into a holiday resort by exploiting its
beach and cliffs and to offer something more genteel than was available at Great Yarmouth.
Work began when a sea wall was built in 1889 at the base of the cliffs to provide an area for the
Victorian visitors to walk along, or promenade. Regulations were introduced to prohibit activities
such as puppet shows, noisy games and even walking or lying on the slopes of the cliffs. In
1896, the beach gardens and a bandstand were opened, and a wooden promenade built to give
easier access to the beach. A row of shops along the Lower Esplanade was also built which
provided more attractions. Bathing machines were introduced to the beach to allow bathers easy
access to the sea, and tents also adorned the sands. To go along with its new identity as a
seaside resort, the suffix ‘on-Sea’ was added to conjure up images of sandy beaches and bathing
in the sea. Gorleston-on-Sea was an altogether different place from the original fishing village of
Gorleston.

Before the turn of the century two new hotels were also opened; the Pier Hotel, built in 1897, and
the Cliff Hotel, built in 1898. The Pier Hotel was built on the south pier on the site of the Anchor
and Hope public house, which had been demolished. The Cliff Hotel was built at the top of the
cliffs, overlooking the harbour, although it survived for only 17 years, burning down on Boxing
Day, 1915. These dates provide useful clues to date pictures taken at Gorleston beach around
that time. Pictures and postcards from this era show that the beach was still quite narrow and
took protection from the spur breakwater and south-west breakwater.

Gorleston beach in around 1900. The sea wall now forms a definite edge to the beach, which is offered
protection by the spur breakwater and south-west breakwater. Only a thin strip of beach is present
inside the spur breakwater. The Pier Hotel, Cliff Hotel and Pavilion are all visible. With the exception of
the loss of the Cliff Hotel and the awnings on the shops on the Lower Esplanade, the scene is similar
to how it looks today

18
More attractions were soon added around Gorleston beach for the increasing numbers of visitors.
These included further landscaping of the cliffs, erection of shelters and the cutting through of the
Ravine in 1903 to connect the lower promenade with Marine Parade. To enhance Gorleston as a
seaside resort, Great Yarmouth council invited proposals for a shelter hall, which was designed
by borough engineer, J. W. Cockrill, and built in 1898. This began by showing band concerts,
and then moved on to films, and became known as the Pavilion Theatre, which still provides
typical seaside summer shows and Christmas pantomimes.

Further to the south, adjoining the lower promenade, a yacht pond was opened 1926. The Floral
Hall was opened in 1938, which was later to be renamed the Ocean Rooms. A year later, the
bandstand and beach gardens were replaced by Gorleston Lido, which opened in 1939 and was
demolished in 1993. By this time Gorleston beach had extended considerably since the late
1800s, with the south-west breakwater almost entirely covered by sand.

Gorleston beach seen from the top of the cliffs in the 1930s showing the recently opened
yacht pond. The beach has extended, now reaching close to the end of the spur breakwater
while the south-west breakwater has become buried by sand

Gorleston beach looking south from Marine Parade in the 1930s. In the foreground are the tops of
the shops along the Lower Esplanade and the observation gallery that was on the southernmost
shop. The yacht pond is a recent addition and numerous bathing huts and tents occupy the beach,
which at this time was wide, but can be seen to narrow further southwards. Housing along
Marine Parade has started, but extends a relatively short distance compared to nowadays

19
New harbour piers

Both the north and south piers at the harbour’s mouth were wooden structures and in need of
constant maintenance and repair, which was expensive. As the condition of the two structures
deteriorated, the decision was made to replace them by more substantial concrete piers. The
north pier was rebuilt in the 1950s and the south pier between 1962 and 1964, once funds had
been obtained. Removal of the old Dutch pier, as it was known locally, changed once again the
character of Gorleston beach. The old wooden Cosies were gone and the new concrete south
pier was a solid construction that did not allow water to flow through.

Within a few years, erosion had reduced Gorleston beach to just a thin strip of sand below the
promenade adjacent to the lido and Pier Hotel. Further south, the beach had retreated right back
to the edge of the yacht pond. There were serious concerns that the beach might disappear
altogether and the sea undermine the sea wall, leading to a potential collapse. To mitigate this,
granite blocks were built up against the sea wall to provide protection. The old south-west
breakwater was removed and new groynes constructed that were perpendicular to the shore and
positioned at regular intervals all the way south to Hopton. Whether this worked, or whether the
prevailing tides and wave directions changed, but, by the 1980s, Gorleston beach had started to
extend again.

In the 2000s, there was a reduction in the number of northerly storms and an increase in the
number of southerly storms. This had the effect of moving sand deposits in a northerly direction
and further building up Gorleston beach, in some years by as much as five metres.

Outer Harbour

The most recent threat to Gorleston beach has been Great Yarmouth’s Outer Harbour, which was
completed in 2008. Situated only a few hundred metres north of Gorleston beach, and projecting
one-third of a mile into the sea, it was feared that this structure might destabilise the beach and
cause it to retreat again in a manner similar to that which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s.

A few years after the Outer Harbour had been built, a report was written by the Centre for
Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) to examine its impact on the coast
from as far north as Winterton, and as far south as Lowestoft. This concluded that within a
vicinity of 1½ km south of the Outer Harbour, which includes Gorleston beach, the structure
provided shelter against storms and allowed an accretion of deposits. This caused Gorleston
beach to continue to grow, now at an increased rate of up to 15 metres a year. This is very
evident nowada ys, wit h
Gorleston beach extending a
considerable way out from the
promenade and even beyond
the spur breakwater. Further
south in Gorleston, and at
Hopton, the beach had been
eroding and the report found
this to be continuing, although it
stated that this was unlikely to
be a result of the Outer
Harbour. A separate report
was commissioned by Bourne
Leisure Limited, owner of a
holiday park on the cliff edge at
Hopton, which came to a
different conclusion and found
Gorleston beach in the late 1960s. The old wooden south pier had
evidence that the erosion of recently been replaced by the concrete south pier. The size of the
Hopton beach was caused by beach is in decline and the sea now quite close to the promenade with
the Outer Harbour. the south-west breakwater once again almost fully exposed
20
The future

For the foreseeable

future, Gorleston beach
appears to be safe again
with huge quantities of
sand having built up.

A sand bar even seems

to have formed at its
eastern edge, which
serves to trap water after
high tides or storms to
create lagoons that take
some time to drain away.
However, Gorleston
beach has shown itself to
come and go and, with a An aerial view over Gorleston beach, taken in the late 1970s. The beach
change in prevailing wind below the lido and Ocean Rooms has gone completely and even the beach
directions, it may once around the yacht pond has retreated to leave the structure projecting out
again change its shape. to sea. The south-west breakwater has been removed and a series of
new groynes has been built perpendicular to the shore. These extend
south along the coast to Hopton

An aerial view of
Gorleston beach
captured by a drone in
December of 2020.
The beach is probably
the largest it has ever
been, and in
comparison to pictures
taken in the 1960s and
1970s, its growth is
spectacular. The
picture shows that the
beach has even
accumulated on the
seaward side of the
spur breakwater. After
recent winter storms a
lagoon has formed
alongside the yacht
pond and is prevented
from draining into the sea by a sand bar that has formed as the beach has grown ever eastwards. This
illustrates the constantly changing character of Gorleston beach. Picture supplied by kind permission of
Will Vickers

Bibliography

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Holiday Guide 1909, reprinted by Great Yarmouth Local History
and Archaeological Society, 2017
Meeres, Frank, A History of Great Yarmouth, Phillimore and Co. Ltd., 2007
Tooke, Colin, Gorleston: Short Blue to Pop’s Meadow, Poppyland Publishing, 2019
Ecclestone, A. W. and Ecclestone, J. L., The Rise of Great Yarmouth, Jarrold and Sons Ltd.,
1959
Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), The Impacts of the
Construction of Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour on Coastal Evolution, 2014
21
 The Changing Face of Hall Quay - 1870 to 1970
David Tubby

Many years ago I began collecting postcards of the Town Hall and Hall Quay. In order to better
identify some of the changes to and features of this area, I later, during various researches for my
books, began to put aside written information relating to it, largely from press cuttings and council
minutes. The following is not a comprehensive history of the area, but does record the changing
face of this important area of the town over the 100 year period from 1870 to 1970.

The first description of the area I have is from the Yarmouth Independent of 8th June 1872. It
describes the scenes on the day of the Prince of Wales’ visit to open the new Grammar School on
Trafalgar Road: The decorations on the Hall Quay, as seen from the bridge, were very effective.
All the banks, shops and houses being gaily draped with cloth, draped with flowers and
evergreens. Gurneys’ Bank looked very pretty with scarlet cloth, yellow fringe and flags. Messrs.
Lacons’ Bank also similarly draped with trophies of flags, shields and festoons of flowers under
the windows. The Provincial Bank was similarly decorated. Mr. Clowes had dressed his front very
elaborately with flowers, greenery and flags; and his neighbour, Mr. Hunter, followed his example,
only in a less degree. The other buildings facing the bridge were also gaily attired in their holiday
uniform.

Messrs. Spellman's’ office had a crystal medallion with the words ‘God bless the Prince’ and the
balcony was dressed with scarlet cloth. Mr. Coleman had erected a balcony which was draped
with red cloth and festooned with flowers. Mr. Johnson exhibited considerable taste in the manner
in which he had festooned and dressed the front of his house with greenery and flowers.

The Royal Oak had a very appropriate decoration in the shape of a transparency of Charles in the
Oak, with flags &c. Messrs. Fenner and Suffling’s office was also garlanded with flowers and
greenery, and a balcony was erected for the accommodation of their friends, who we should think
obtained from this point a very good view of the arrival of the Prince’s party at the hall.

Mr. Foreman also decorated the front of his house in a very artistic manner. In the centre was a
gas plume and on each side a gas star. There were also festoons of flowers, drapery, shields
and trophies of flags, flying from almost every window, making up a very pretty little scene.

In 1887, Clowes Stores inserted an advert in the Yarmouth Independent, which included a brief
history of their business: On January 1st, 1875, the present proprietor of Clowes Stores
commenced business at No.15 Hall Quay in a shop measuring 14½ft by 15ft. During the year the
premises were re-built giving a length of 51ft and a width of 20ft, with two warehouses over, 21ft
by 20ft each, the whole being opened in October of that year.

In 1883 it was found necessary to increase the warehouse accommodation by the addition of two
large rooms 45ft by 16ft each, whilst a further enlargement of the shop was effected by removing
the counting house upstairs.

In 1885 the adjoining premises, No.14 Hall Quay, was added, which secured another shop of 49ft
by 14ft and a warehouse of 26ft by 13½ft.

This Jubilee year, however, an alteration has been effected by which is gained additional shop
room amounting to 840 square feet, thus forming a fine double shop 95½ ft long with a frontage of
39ft. The largest Establishment of the kind in the Eastern Counties.

During the period under review the staff of employees has increased from 5 in 1875 to 40 at the
present date.

This simple history may safely be left to speak for itself, the most obvious inference being that
progress so considerable and so steady could never have been achieved save by supplying
articles of sterling quality at the lowest possible prices.
22
 1904 OS Map of Hall Quay showing the tram lines and the railway line that ran along the quay

In May 1882, rail lines were laid along the quay to the Fishwharf, and in the October of that year a
shelter for cabmen was erected on the quay.
The local press in 1890 reported that the Stone House Hotel on Hall Quay had been changed to
the Cromwell Hotel, with Tudor-style upper floors being added. This remained the Cromwell
Temperance Hotel until 1934, when it was renamed the Star Hotel.
In 1898, the appropriate council committee sanctioned the application of the Steam Boat Co. Ltd.
to place two ticket boxes on the quay in the same positions as they had occupied the previous
year. An application from Messrs. T. Small and Co. for permission to place a ticket box in
connection with the steamers Yarmouth Belle and Walton Belle was also granted.

According to John McBride’s Diary of Great Yarmouth, the end of the 19th century and the
beginning of the 20th century saw many of the old familiar local banks along Hall Quay taken over
or merged. In 1896, Gurney’s Bank was amalgamated with several other banks to become
Barclay’s; in 1901, the Lacon, Youell & Kemp Bank became the Capital & Counties Bank, which
was later merged with Lloyd’s in 1918 and, in 1906, the National Provincial Bank at 23 Hall Quay
was rebuilt; and finally the London County Westminster and Parr’s Bank purchased Owles the
Chemist at 11 Hall Quay in 1918 to build a bank.
My remaining notes relating to Hall Quay are derived from the council minutes, but these short
extracts monitor the gradual changing face of the area through a large part of the 20th century.
In May 1903, the Chief Constable was directed to notify the proprietors of the oyster stalls
standing at the foot of the bridge that stalls would be prohibited from standing there if the practice
of throwing dirty water on the public quays or roadway was not discontinued. Later that year, in
September, complaints were again received of nauseous smells emanating from the oyster stalls
usually standing at the northern foot of Haven bridge. The Borough Surveyor was instructed to
present a plan showing the public thoroughfare contiguous to the bridge, together with an
estimate for paving and draining the portion occupied by the oyster stalls. However problems
with the stalls persisted as demonstrated by this press report of 1908: The Fishwharf and Quays’
Committee had had under consideration a memorial from the shellfish dealers, coffee and
23
refreshment purveyors asking the council to reconsider their decision and permit them to continue
to occupy positions with their stalls at the east end of the Haven Bridge.

The Town Clerk informed the committee that the stalls had been removed in pursuance of a six
months’ notice ordered to be served upon the stall holders in July last.

The committee adhered to their previous instruction with regard to the stalls of the shellfish
dealers, but resolved to permit a coffee stall to stand on each side of the east end of the bridge
until 9 o’clock a.m.

An instruction was given to the Borough Surveyor to find a pitch for a man named Thompson with
a sweet stall, he having occupied a stall near the bridge for many years.

That same year, in August, a letter from the Local Government Board was reported to the council
indicating that approval had been given to borrow £625 for the provision of underground toilets on
Hall Quay. The board stated that the loan was sanctioned on the understanding that no payment
would be made therefrom in respect of the cost of incandescent lights, and adding that the board
were advised that additional thickness should be given to the outer walls below the ground line. A
report to the Sanitary Committee in May 1904 indicated that the works were complete, and that
they were to be let by public tender.

In February 1908, the council’s General Purposes Committee agreed that the General Post Office
could erect on Hall Quay a creosoted (rather than painted) telegraph pole; it was to have an
ornamental base and top. The following year a report was submitted to the same committee
indicating that the cabmen’s shelter needed re-painting and required a new stove. In December,
a letter was read to the Stables and Roads Committee from Major Macdonald R. A. calling
attention to the uncomfortable quarters of the caretaker at the Hall Quay lavatories; and the
following April Mr. J. R. Nutman, the proprietor of the Cromwell Hotel, complained to the same
committee of nuisance arising in consequence of one of the exits from the lavatories facing the
windows and balcony of his hotel; the Borough Surveyor was instructed to take such steps as
were necessary to deal with the problem.

A Hall Quay scene at the turn of the century showing the cabmen with their shelter on the left in the
distance, the refreshment stalls at the foot of the bridge, the trams and also railway trucks in the
middle distance

24
A Stables and Roads Committee minute of 29th May 1912 stated that a letter had been received
from Mr. William Shipley, stating that he saw no objection to drinking troughs being placed on Hall
Quay and Marine Parade, especially as provision was to be made for drinking from a pail. He
also suggested it would be to the benefit of cattle coming into the borough if a drinking trough was
placed at the north end of the town near the destructor. An instruction was given to the Borough
Surveyor to arrange for the trough intended for Hall Quay to be placed as indicated by Mr.
Shipley.
In October 1912, the Postmaster General informed the council that he would shortly be
commencing the building of the extension to the Great Yarmouth Head Post Office, and that the
works would as far as possible take place during the winter months. That same month, Mr. A. J.
Johnson was granted permission to take over the site of the coffee stall at the south-east corner
of Haven Bridge from Mrs. Housego at an annual rent of 10/-.
The summer of 1914 saw the council agree to the improvement to the western approach to
Regent Street by setting back the pathway and railings on Hall Quay at an estimated cost of £60.
Later that year the Post Office was granted permission to erect a pillar-box on the pathway
outside the Post Office after the Postmaster assured the council that the box would be cleared at
the same time as those post boxes situated inside the Post Office.

In March 1915, the Borough Surveyor was instructed to construct a granite crossing to be paved
from the refuge on the east side of Haven Bridge to the north footpath of the bridge, and to fix on
the lamp post on the refuge an illuminated sign stating: Foot passengers keep to the right, in an
attempt to regulate foot passenger traffic. Later, in August 1915, the Watch Committee instructed
the Chief Constable to withdraw the extra constable, who had been placed on duty at the Haven
Bridge to assist in regulating foot passenger traffic; and the Borough Surveyor was directed to
cause further notice boards to be placed at each end of the bridge with the words: Keep to the
right printed thereon.
A letter from the local secretary of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was
sent to the council in October 1917, complaining that the water supply to the drinking trough on
Hall Quay had been cut off. The Borough Surveyor explained that this had been done due to the
extravagant waste that had taken place; he was instructed to turn it on during the daytime only,
and to erect a notice in the cabmen’s shelter prohibiting them the use of water for cab washing.

The Borough Surveyor reported that the penny-in-the-slot door fastenings in the underground
toilets at Theatre Plain and Hall Plain had yielded £170.7s for the year ended 31st December
1918.
In the autumn of 1919, the Controller of the National War Savings Committee wrote to the local
secretary of the War Savings Committee suggesting that a tank would be presented to the
borough, and stated that arrangements had been made with the Transport and Military Authorities
for the delivery to Great Yarmouth of one of the war trophies in December. The tank would
eventually be displayed on Hall Quay however, in April 1923, the Borough Engineer was
instructed by the council’s General Purposes Committee to submit a report for the improvement of
Hall Quay and to deal with the disposal of the tank and other war trophies that had been placed
there; in May, the Town Clerk was instructed to write to the War Trophies Committee asking them
to remove the tank and inform them that failing to do so would result in it being sold to a local
metal merchant. It was not until August 1929 that a decision regarding the tank was finally made,
with a resolution that a tender by S. D. Harrison Ltd. of £12.10s be accepted to cut up the tank
and cart it away.
In the early post-war days many stalls and kiosks existed in this area, but the council saw fit in
1924 to refuse the application for yet another refreshment stall to be erected between the
cabmen’s hut and the kiosk on Hall Quay; they did however agree to fix the rent of the kiosk
occupied by the United Automobile Services Ltd. at £10 per quarter.

Moves were afoot by the end of 1926 on the reconstruction of Haven Bridge and, in December of
that year, a request was granted by the General Purposes Committee for Sir William Arrol & Co.
25
Ltd. to construct a temporary building on Hall Quay for use by their resident engineer as an office.
By the following August, the Borough Engineer was pressing for the immediate carrying out of the
proposals included in the Haven Bridge Bill with regard to the removal and reconstruction of the
railway sidings on Hall Quay, as further delay would hold back the opening of the temporary
bridge. A month later it was decided that the works were considered to be less urgent and could
be deferred until after the fishing season. At this time a new layout to Hall Quay was also being
considered.

While considering the new layout of Hall Quay, the Post Office was approached, expressing the
desire to remove the three telegraph poles on the quay and to replace the wires underground.
Later on during the development, electric standards carrying overhead lines would also be
replaced underground.

The sub-committee dealing with the proposed new layout decided to arrange for a competition to
take place regarding its design, and advertisements were placed in the local press to this effect.
Four entries were received, with the first prize of ten guineas being awarded to Mr. T. R. Humble.
The Borough Engineer was instructed to submit a plan taking into account suggestions made in
the four submissions. A major problem for the new plan was the siting of the public lavatories.
The proprietor of the Cromwell Hotel had objected to their continued presence outside his hotel,
and finally a decision was made to resite them between rows 59 and 61 on an area of land that
would need to be purchased from Steward & Patteson Ltd; during the interim period of
construction the former Buck Inn, recently acquired by the Corporation, would serve as temporary
lavatory accommodation on Hall Quay. The removal of the kiosk used by United Automobile
Services Ltd. would also require resiting and a temporary arrangement was made for it to be
erected on Church Plain, with the company’s buses standing on Brewery Plain. Final approval for
the scheme was received from the Ministry of Health in January 1930, giving the council authority
to borrow £5,287 for the reconstruction of Hall Quay.

During the reconstruction in 1931, the old cab stand that had been used for over 70 years was
removed. Provision had been made for cabs to stand near the hoarding around the bridge works.
However, owing to the noise of the works and the possibility of the horses becoming frightened, a
recommendation was made for a new stand to accommodate six cabs. A recommendation was
also later made for steel studs to serve as traffic lines on the Hall Quay approach to Haven
Bridge. The Borough Engineer was instructed to enlarge, temporarily, the island refuge at the
east side of Haven Bridge, so as to extend it further westward. Three years later, in 1934, the
Borough Engineer was again ordered to remove the refuge, this time to 14ft nearer the bridge.
This wide roadway was becoming an increasingly busy thoroughfare and it was important to get
the positioning right; the refuge would be installed as a temporary circular wooden roundabout
together with three illuminated direction signs.

Another interesting addition to the Hall Quay scene in 1934 was the placing of an airmail posting
box immediately to the north of the Post Office door as air mail had become a serious rival to the
old surface deliveries. The ever expanding communications sector also added to the street scene
on Hall Quay when Radio Relays Ltd. submitted an application for a 36ft pole to be erected there.

The public lavatories took longer than anticipated to complete and, in January 1935, a letter was
read to the Highways Committee from E. Moore & Sons Ltd. offering a sum of £30 in
compensation for the delays in completing the contract. The following year the Borough Electrical
Engineer was instructed to erect a neon sign on the toilets at a cost of £15. He was also asked to
look into the cost of illuminating Hall Quay and floodlighting the Town Hall until 10.30pm in the
evening during the winter months. In December 1936, his recommendation was agreed by the
council’s Finance Committee.

In July 1937, the General Purpose Committee recommended the approval of a scheme to erect
slipper baths at the rear of the new public lavatories on Hall Quay at a cost of £1,880; it would
provide for five baths and lavatory accommodation for both sexes. In order to complete the
project the council was required to apply to the Minister of Health for approval to purchase an
26
area of 150 square yards at the
rear of the public conveniences
on the south side of Row 52.
The Minister’s approval was
received in June 1938. Three
tenders were received for the
construction, with the lowest
being £2,329 by R. H. Carter &
Sons Ltd. and the baths were
finally opened in October 1939.
The charges were agreed to be :-
Use of bath (limited to half an
hour), including soap and towel :-
Adults 6d
Children (under 14) 3d
The Borough Engineer and
Alderman Yallop were given
power to act on a request by the
Officer Commanding the 4th
Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment
for the use of the baths by his
men on two afternoons a week.
Later, the slipper baths were
made great use of by the various
branches of H. M. Forces during
the war as a council minute in
September 1944 indicates: as the
war drew to a close the Borough
Engineer reported that due to the
considerable decr ease in
demand by H. M. Forces for the
use of the Hall Quay slipper
baths he suggested the baths
might be made available for the
use of the general public on
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Clowes’ Stores, Hall Quay
of each week, which suggests
that prior to that date their main
use was by H. M. Forces billeted
in the town.
During the war, in August 1942, the library, which had been badly bomb damaged, was moved to
the shops vacated by Clowes’ in Hall Quay. Clowes’ shop had closed in July 1941. The library
would remain there until 1961.

Post-war reconstruction of Hall Quay was undertaken in 1949-50 at a cost of £11,000, which
included what was termed a ‘gyratory’ traffic scheme for the area. Prior to the works, the railway
lines on the quay were realigned to pass closer to the foot of Haven Bridge, to enable the
enlargement of the traffic island at the foot of the bridge.

In 1953, a reinforced concrete and glass bus shelter was erected on the quay at a cost of £300.
Unlike the present shelter, it had panels in the front to shelter passengers from the easterly winds.
In the following year, the Finance Committee rejected a proposal to remove the flagpoles on Hall
Quay, but instead recommended that new flags be purchased prior to the visit of the Duke of
Edinburgh, on 2nd December, 1954.
27
The ever evolving road layout was tinkered with yet again in November 1957, when the Borough
Engineer was authorised to proceed with improvement of the kerb lines at the junction with Haven
Bridge and the resiting of the pedestrian crossings, with a view to improving road conditions
around the traffic island.

In October 1960, negotiations were under way for the council to purchase numbers 8 and 8A Hall
Quay in order to complete the proposed road from Howard Street to George Street, which would
become Stonecutters Way. These negotiations dragged on and it was not until 1968 that
provision was made to acquire 8 and 9 Hall Quay, together with Selbourne House, in order to
proceed with the link road scheme.

Towards the end of 1963, the Highways Committee received an estimate of £20,500 for works of
reconstruction on Hall Quay and other roads as part of a new one-way system, including traffic
signals, signs and street lighting. The reconstruction scheme required the removal of two well
established weeping elm trees from the quay, which had been planted in the 1930s.

7651 HAVEN BRIDGE OPEN TO SHIPPING, GT YARMOUTH

A 1950s Hall Quay scene showing the two weeping elm trees on the right hand side of the photo and the
Haven Bridge traffic roundabout

After the completion of the one-way system it only took a few years for the council to decide upon
further alterations to the Hall Quay road layout and, in April 1967, the Highways Committee
approved the removal of the central traffic island at the foot of Haven Bridge, and the installation
of traffic lights, at a cost of £11,000.

The 100 years since 1870 had seen a gradual change in the layout of Hall Quay inevitably take
place, particularly to reflect the changing modes of transport, but up to this point it had always
remained the town’s centre of commerce: sadly in recent years, with the dispersal of the banks,
this has now drastically changed.

28
 Lesser Water Courses around Great Yarmouth
Andrew Fakes

The landscape and the extensive wide rivers of East Norfolk are the result of torrents of water
from the melting ice of glaciers when the last ice age ended about 18,000 years ago. Vast
quantities of water flowed from the land to the sea, cutting the shallow river valleys of Norfolk and
Suffolk. The huge sea inlet, where Great Yarmouth now stands, was a remainder of this deluge.

It has diminished over the years due to silt carried down the rivers, the lateral drift of the North
Sea, which brought material down from northern Britain, and the efforts of man. East Norfolk’s
wide rivers drain the county’s surplus water, but there are a few smaller streams remaining on this
side of the county that owe their existence to springs, rain water run-offs, and melting snow. As
all water runs from higher to lower ground, streams will form. These drain into the main rivers,
and later into the sea.

Both rivers and broads have a tendency to fill up with reeds, leaves, wind-blown soil and general
detritus unless they are scoured out by water flowing through them, or by the intervention of man.
The pressures of population, and subsequently agriculture, have diminished areas of wetland in
the county. The Enclosure Acts from the 1750s onwards made it worthwhile for a landowner to
drain marshes that had previously been fallow. However, marshland provided fish, wild birds,
turf, sedge and reeds. Ditches were dug and drainage mills built, obliterating natural streams,
marshes and peat bogs. Peat bogs are now recognized as an essential carbon store and their
loss has added to ‘Global Warming’.

The Pickerill Holme: sometimes referred to as ‘Pickerill Gill’ (‘gill’

being the old Norse word for a wooded ravine). This is the stream
running down from the higher land of West Caister to join the River
Bure. Historically speaking, only one mill is recorded in the
Domesday Book in the Flegg Hundreds (actually two half mills; half
belonging to Caister and half to Mautby). It must have been a water
mill as windmills for grinding corn were not introduced to England
until the 12th century and it is reasonable to assume that the
Pickerill Holme was the only site in the area where there was
sufficient gradient to power a water driven mill. The stream was The River Bure with mill.
The Pickerill Holme would
later canalised to carry building materials for the construction of have run into the Bure at
Caister Castle in the 15th century. about this point.

The Muck Fleet: the unromantic title of a further stream that is still running through the Fleggs
today. It marked the border with Trinity Broads, between the Saxon Hundreds of East and West
Flegg. It flows from Filby Broad to the River Bure and takes the overflow of surface water from
the villages around Ormesby and Rollesby Broads, as well as from Filby. It is not possible to join
the River Bure by boat. William Dutt, writing in
1901, states: Yachts and wherries are never seen
at Filby owing to the channel connecting the broad
to the Bure being unnavigable. Jane Hales,
writing in 1969, describes it as a mucky ol’ deeke.
David Tubby recalls fishing in the Muck Fleet as a
boy. There were some good fish and lots of eels.
I recall rowing down it some 40 years ago with my
father and nephews and it was full of small fish
and very tranquil. The water level of the Muck
Fleet is kept lower than the River Bure by a sluice
and a pump maintained by the local drainage
board.
Intrepid explorer on the Muck Fleet 1978
29
The Hundred Stream: runs toward
the sea at Horsey and disappears
into the marshes and sand dunes.
This was the northern border
between the Fleggs and Happing
Hundreds. Old maps show the sea
had ingress to the River Thurne,
making the Fleggs an island
surrounded by river and sea. When
the North Sea ceased to flow into
this part of Norfolk is open to
speculation. It was certainly not sea
one day and dry land the next
morning, but it would have been
subject to high or low tides and
heavy rain or droughts. In the
Norfolk and Norwich Remembrancer
in 1822, J. Matchett writes of a high
tide in 1797, causing alarm from a
sea breach at Winterton, Horsey and
Waxham threatening the destruction
of all marshes through to Yarmouth
and Beccles. A further breach was
made between Winterton and
Horsey in 1805, which was later filled The Flegg Hundreds. From ‘The Broads’ edited
in, with an artificial bank of sand and by E.A. Ellis (Collins 1965)
shingle, after the Sea Breach
Commissioners consulted the noted engineer William Smith.

Faden’s Map of 1797 showing the ‘Navigation’ to Acle, the Muck Fleet, the Pickerill Holme and the vast
area of marshes. (N.B. the Pickerill Holme is shown as entering the River Bure further west than on current
Ordnance Survey maps) Note: the Acle New Road was not opened until 13th April 1831

30
The fate of the marshes at Horsey was not a prime consideration of the local authorities in earlier
centuries but, elsewhere in the County of Norfolk, they worried that, should there be a big sea
influx here, the salt water would ruin grazing and agricultural land for miles inland. Funding for
sea defences was therefore forthcoming from county sources.

There was a suggestion that French prisoners of war should be housed at Horsey during the
Napoleonic Wars as it was very remote and inaccessible.

In the 1979 edition of Norfolk Archaeology, the noted Flegg historian Barbara Cornford wrote an
article entitled: The Sea Breach Commission in East Norfolk 1609-1743. In a section entitled
Topographical Information, she states: I had hoped the study of the Sea Breach Commission
papers might throw some light on the topography of the area, particularly on the history of the
Hundred Stream and the outline of the coast. Water broke through the sea banks by the Hundred
Stream in 1601,1608, 1625, 1651, 1715 and 1791, as it did in 1938. (there were further incidents
between 1791 and 1938). It was the most vulnerable spot along the coast. However, there is no
indication in the Sea Breach evidence that the Hundred Stream connected with the sea in the
17th or 18th centuries. The proposal to cut a channel through the marsh to the sea for drainage
does not make use of the Hundred Stream but is further north through the Horsey Marshes. An
Elizabethan map shows sluice gates on the map between Winterton and Waxham, one of which
might be the outfall of the Hundred Stream. The 17th century evidence, including Mr. Briggs’
detailed description of the area, never mentions any existing sluice gates. (Mr. Briggs was Reader
in Mathematics at Oxford University reporting in 1625). It would seem that these outfalls had
been abandoned by that time.

As Mrs. Cornford noted, the last time the River Thurne connected to the North Sea was in 1938.
Following three successive breaches in the sand dunes between January and April, a sea wall
was completed in May of 1938 and there have been no more marine transgressions in this area
since.

Bruce Robinson (former journalist for the

Eastern Daily Press), in a book Norfolk
Byways, wrote in 1994: having recently
swept the beach by a bomb disposal
squad for mines, prior to work being
allowed to begin on a sea wall north of
Winterton, the contractors encountered a
problem with the discovery of the buried
course of the old Hundred Stream’s
former outflow of the Broads system to
the sea.

Grubb’s Haven, or Cockle Water: this

was where the River Bure flowed into the
sea at Caister and it is said that Roman
galleys entered here for their port at
Caister, and to sail to their East Anglian
capital at Venta Icenorum (modern
Caistor St. Edmund). When this channel
became unnavigable or when it became
blocked is not definitely recorded, but E.
A. Ellis in his book entitled The Broads
(Collins New Naturalist, 1965) shows it as
being ‘sealed’ in 1347. This would have
been about the time when Yarmouth was
having great difficulties in keeping the The lower River Bure Cockle Water or Grubb’s Haven,
Harbour’s Mouth open there, so it is a Pickerill Holme and the Bure loop.
likely date. From The Broads by E. A. Ellis (Collins 1965)

31
The great loop of the lower Bure is somewhat of a mystery to me because its course goes very
near Breydon Water, where an inlet suggests that the two may have been joined at one time. In
my school geography lessons we were told of Ox Bow lakes where rivers meandered so greatly;
they would eventually join the main stream again at a point so as to make the diversion
superfluous, but leaving a horseshoe-shaped lake away from the main river, which has not
happened here.

Patricia Wills-Prior told me that Caister fishermen feel that the North Sea off that village is less
saline than in other areas of the North Sea, so perhaps some of the waters of the River Bure still
flow underground to the sea there.

About five years ago, I contacted Ken Hamilton at the Norfolk Archaeological Unit to see if there
had been any Lidar (light detection and ranging) surveys of this area or if any could be made. He
felt that there had been too much development in the area for anything to show up.

The Fleet Dike: On maps of the Acle marshes there are many watercourses, but these are
mostly straight and almost certainly man-made drainage ditches. However, the meandering
stream known as the Fleet Dike drains from the higher land around Wickhampton and runs about
two miles to the north-west end of Breydon Water at the Breydon Sluice.

Tunstall Dike: A stream running from the higher lands around Acle into the River Bure and
previously known as the Navigation also appears to be natural. The Tunstall Dike now runs
under a humpback bridge on the Acle Straight about three quarters of a mile west of the former
Stracey Arms public house. In the pre-railway age, these minor rivers would have been very
useful for carrying harvested crops to market and for bringing coal etc. to the villages.

River Thurne: there are two small un-

named streams running down from
the high ground at Martham. On
Ordnance Survey maps of the village
of Thurne, two adjoining streams are
shown beginning at the high lands of
Ashby and Repps and running into
the river there. They are called the
Dubeck and the Shallam Dikes. In
1797, Faden’s map shows a small
broad on Thurne Fen, which is no
longer there. According to a book
called: Thurne at the Water’s Edge;
the history of a Broadland village,
compiled by Thurne Community
Archive Group and published by them
in 2010, the area around the Dubeck
stream was possibly the site of
Thurne Broad, or it could have been
near the River Bure. The broad has
since disappeared and waters from
the Shallam Dike now drain into the
Thurne.

Right: 1960 Map showing the Shallam

Dike and the Dubeck stream running into
the Thurne, but there is no broad shown

32
 Faden’s Map of 1797 shows a fair size broad on Thurne Fen which is no longer there. Interestingly,
the Hundred Stream branches from the River Ant to join the Thurne, bypassing the Bure

Hemsby: In his book The Norfolk & Suffolk Broads (The History Press, 2007), Robert Malster
reprints a map of the District of the Broads from the Rev’d. Richard Lubbock’s Observations on
the Fauna of Norfolk and more particularly on the District of the Broads, published in 1845.

He shows a watercourse running from the Newport area of Hemsby to Ormesby Broad. There is
no sign of this today but in my youth, I remember a ditch running beside Newport Road and
progressing through several ponds on Yarmouth Road. This would have proceeded to Hemsby
Fen, where a steam-driven pump would have sent excess water into an arm of Ormesby Broad.

My contacts report that Mr. Harold Hodds was employed as a roadman in the parish. He had a
barrow, a spade, a rake and a hoe and it was his job to keep the gullies and ditches clear to allow
surface water to flow into the drains. Storm water would now appear to go into culverts and
underground pipes when heavy rain flowing off the fields results in flooded roads and houses.
There are now fewer open fields with more houses and caravan sites, and the ground is less able
to contain rainwater so, recently, more flooding has occurred in Hemsby.

The following information is taken from the sale catalogue of: Hemsby Hall Estate by auction by
John D. Wood & Co. at the Maid’s Head Hotel Saturday June 29th 1918 at 1 p.m. (the First World
War had a further five and half months to run). The pump house was on Hemsby Fen and it
pumped the water into the north-east arm of Ormesby Broad.

Brick & Tile Engine House with 10 horse-power Steam Engine by Holmes of Norwich and a
turbine pump capable of delivering 8,000 gallons per minute. The pump, which drains or takes
water from various sites around the village, brings in a gross revenue of £86 p.a.: the drainage
rate being chargeable to the tenants of the land. The new rate commences on 11/10/1918.

33
 Left: Rev’d. Lubbock’s map showing
watercourse from Newport in Hemsby
leading into Ormesby Broad. This would
have been little more than a ditch in the
1950s and gone by the 1970s. Right: The
brick building known as ‘the Pump House’
on Hemsby Fen, which housed a coal-
fired steam engine as it looked in 1980. It
was demolished c2000 and the engine
was removed to the Steam Museum near
Potter Heigham

The Lady Haven: is a stream recorded on the older maps of Great Yarmouth dividing the
Southtown area from what was then Cobholm Island. It is shown on Corbridge’s Prospect of the
town dated 1724 with two bridges. There are two buildings with smoking chimneys shown on the
island, which are presumed to be for the production of salt from brine. In 1875, C. J. Palmer in
his Perlustration of Great Yarmouth writes in
volume III, page 302, in a chapter on Cobham,
writes: Cobham, or as it was formally written
Cobholm, now comprising about twenty-seven
acres, was formed by the accumulation of mud
and silt washed down by the river, which
gradually consolidated until it became dry land.
It was formerly an island (and is still so called),
having been separated from Southtown by a
channel called Lady’s Haven which ran from
Breydon to the river as shown in the Elizabethan
plan so often referred to, at which period there
were no buildings upon it. Cobham ceased to
be an island about the year 1780, when the
water passage at the Breydon end silted up.
The river wall was carried across it and the From Corbridge’s West Prospect of Yarmouth.
channel became a ditch, receiving drainage from The above shows one of a series of small maps
the adjoining marshes. and sketches around the main picture

The late Alec McEwen (a former President of Great Yarmouth Archaeological Society),
contributing to a book entitled: A Yarmouth Miscellany (Ecclestone, 1974), in his chapter entitled:
The Story of Cobholm Island, p.122, wrote: Topographically, the area of the island was about 25
acres disconnected from the adjacent marshes by a channel called the Lady Haven, a name
which exists today to describe a road and a public house. The channel was at one time navigable
commencing in the River Yare some 200 yards north of the Haven Bridge, following a route
parallel to the present Lady Haven Road to its end and on through the marshes discharging into
Breydon Water. The two bridges over the Lady Haven were situated at the point where Steam
Mill Lane turns westward and where Mill Road does likewise. These are both depicted on a map
of 1668 as having a centre opening section, the average width of the channel being about 50 feet
at this time. There is no sign of the stream today. The Lady Haven public house is still trading.
34
Belton and Burgh Castle: In
his book on Belton, Brian
Callan records that the
Stepshort stream in that village
is the remains of the entrance
to the Roman Harbour at Burgh
Castle. The area around
Stepshort has been subject to
flooding, but recent work by
Anglian Water has straightened
the ditches, and pumping
stations have been built so that
the extensive housing in the
village is now safe from
inundation.

Faden’s Map of 1797 shows

two streams originating on the
higher lands at Burgh Castle
and Belton flowing into the
marshes beside the Waveney
River. One of these was
probably called the Stepshort
stream when they were
landscape features.
Faden’s Map of Norfolk 1797

Aerial
view of
Belton
and
Stepshort
(Anglian
Water)

From Anglian Water’s Website Article by Regan Harris: Anglian Water’s scheme to upgrade the
Morton Crescent and Stepshort Road pumping station and reduce the risk of flooding in Great
Yarmouth. (Date 30/4/2018)

 Nearly 4 kilometres of brand new sewer pipe has been installed to take overflow away from the
area and reduce the amount of used water passing through the Morton Close Pumping Station at
the same time.

 Alongside the new sewer, a large underground storage facility has been installed to better manage
the flow of used water, particularly at times of extreme rainfall. The storage tank can hold excess
water in the pipe network until there is enough capacity for it to be taken away and treated.

 Finally, the new pumping station on the current site at Stepshort Road will also reduce the risk of
flooding by pumping used water away to be treated before returning it to the river.

Editor’s Note: The author continues with his research however this has been considerably
hindered by ‘lockdown’. A further article on this subject may follow in a future issue.
35
 Napoleonic Prisoner of War Jail, Row 110 (1803-1814)
Paul P. Davies

Until the 20th century Great Yarmouth was a major Royal Naval
base. During the Napoleonic Wars a prison was required to
house the prisoners of war landed in the town. In 1793, two fish
houses with associated yards with a frontage on to Row 135 were
acquired. For some time, the row was referred to as ‘Old Prison
Row’.1 However, large prisons were needed, and one was
established in 1797 at Norman Cross near Peterborough and the
Great Yarmouth facility became a holding establishment before
transfer there. Prisoners were also transferred to hulks at
Chatham. With the signing of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 by
Britain, France, Spain and the Batavian Republic (the
Netherlands) the row prison was closed. During the Row 135
prison’s existence, 3,340 prisoners were held in it, of whom 2,700
were transferred to Norman Cross.1 After the building of the
Norman Cross Prison, the world's first purpose built prisoner of
war camp with a capacity of nearly 7,000, Great Yarmouth
became, like Deal and Falmouth, a mere receiving port, but an
exceedingly busy one with the
prisoners landed here direct
Row 110 in 1902
from capture.

In a series of articles in the Norwich Mercury in the latter part of

1905, Rev’d. G. N. Godwin wrote: Columns of prisoners, often
1,000 strong, were marched from Great Yarmouth to Norwich
and were lodged there in the Castle. They frequently expressed
their gratitude for the kindness shown to them by the Mayor and
the citizens. One smart captured privateer captain coolly
walked out of the Castle in the company of some visitors, and,
needless to say, did not return. From Norwich they were
marched to King's Lynn, halting at Costessey, Swanton Morley,
East Dereham, where some were lodged in the detached church
tower, and thence to Lynn. Here they were lodged in a large
building, afterwards used as a warehouse, now pulled down. At
Lynn they were given water and were conveyed in barges and
lighters through the Forty Foot, the Hundred Foot, the Paupers'
Treaty of Amiens by Gilray Cut, and the River Nene to Peterborough, from whence they
marched to Norman Cross. In 1797, twenty-eight prisoners
escaped from the prison at Great
Yarmouth by undermining the wall and
the row adjoining. All but five of them
were retaken. In the same year four
prisoners broke out of the prison, made
their way to Lowestoft, where they
stole a boat from the beach and got on
board a small vessel, the crew of which
they put under the hatches. The
prisoners cut the cable and put out to
sea. Seven hours later the crew
managed to regain the deck, a rough