The Green Quay

CAFÉ www.thegreenquay.co.uk Marriot’s Warehouse, South Quay, King’s Lynn, PE30 5DT 01553 818500

The Green Quay has a superb river side licensed cafe/bar serving an excellent selection of freshly made baguettes, and tempting cakes. Also check out our daily specials board. Our drinks selection includes speciality coffee and tea plus wine and local beer.

SHOP We have a wide variety of gifts including Langham Glass, Norfolk Lavender, Greeting Cards, Books, Wash Calendars and Ornaments etc. Come to visit and enjoy a warm welcome.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF KING’S LYNN

King’s Lynn originally known as Lin is thought to have derived its name from the Celtic word for a lake or pool and it is recorded that a large tidal lake originally covered this area. In 1101 Bishop Herbert de Losinga of Thetford began the first medieval town between Purfleet and Millfleet by building St Margaret’s Church and authorising a market. Quite quickly a small prosperous town grew up and in the Charter of 1204 the town became Bishops Lynn. By the late 12th Century the town further expanded to accommodate inland water trade and sea trade. After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII Lynn changed its name to Lynn Regis – subsequently King’s Lynn and remaining an active port to this day.

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The source of the Wensum lies between the villages of and Whissonsett in Norfolk. The river flows westward initially close to the villages of South Raynham, and passing close to Raynham Hall, home of the Marquis Townshend. The river then turns and follows a path to the north flowing through a number of small villages until it reaches Sculthorpe. The river then turns and flows to the east through the market town of . The river then flows in a south easterly direction passing through the Pensthorpe Nature Reserve and the village of Great .

The river continues onwards through or close to the villages of Guist, North Elmham, Worthing, Swanton Morley, Lyng, Lenwade and Taverham before entering the City of Norwich from the north via Drayton, Costessey and Hellesdon. At New Mills Yard, a former waterworks, the river becomes tidal and navigable by boat. Flowing through the City, the river forms a broad arc which would have influenced the site of the settlement for defensive reasons; remnants of boom towers can be seen near Wensum Park and Carrow Hill which formed part of the city wall, a large defensive tower can be seen on the bank near Barrack Street, called Cow Tower This dates to the 12th Century and was also used for collecting tolls.

Along the river’s course were many Watermills, the first being Sculthorpe which still stands today as a public house, hotel and restaurant. Next came Mill which there are no visible signs but Fakenham Mill can be seen on the left as we head into the town centre on our tour.

Fakenham Mill

Fakenham Mill was built c.1720 on the site of an older mill dating from 1620. A wall plaque bears the date 1885, which presumably relates to a later alteration. The watercourse of the old river was significantly altered in order to accommodate the mill's position and to enable a sufficient size of dam to work the mill. At some points the river is higher than the road running beside it. This new cut along with the original river course are both shown on a 1650 map. Fakenham Mill had to run in conjunction with Sculthorpe Mill and Hempton Mill as they both had control of the water further upstream.

Fakenham Mill was about one mile downstream from Hempton Mill, which in turn was about two miles downstream from Sculthorpe Mill This meant that except in times of maximum river flow, the three mills would have had to have been worked in conjunction. When Sculthorpe opened its wheel sluice and started to use its stored head of water, the outflow would head towards Hempton's dam, ready for use before being passed downstream to Fakenham. In order to maximise the efficient use of the available water supply the millers at each of the mills used a system of smoke signals to warn their colleagues whenever the sluices were operated

As we travel between the villages of Little and Great Ryburgh at a small set of traffic lights via a bridge we again cross the path of the Wensum and if we look about ½ mile across the fields to our left, a modern Care Home can be seen. This is the former site of Ryburgh Watermill.

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We now travel along back roads which are the closest we can get to follow the path of the river. These roads eventually lead us to the next Mill along this rural waterway; Bintree Mill.

Bintree Mill

Bintree Mill is set in a valley along with its farm at one end of the flood plain and stands in magnificent isolation a mile from the village of Bintree. The mill and house are adjoining and used to share the same roof line until an additional floor was added to the mill around the turn of the century. Both buildings are of red brick under a Norfolk pantiled roof. The mill may well stand on the site of an earlier mill dating back to 1454.

In the census of 1851, William Dawson Seaman was living with William Burrell who was the then miller, presumably because William Seaman's parents, Thomas and Susan, were both dead and the majority of his 4 remaining brothers and sisters were in Gressenhall workhouse.

The Seaman family also took on North Elmham mill in 1904 but there was a family rift and Robert John Seaman moved away to take on the tenancy of Bintree Mill, which at that time was part of the Hastings Estate.

In March 1919 Albert Edward Delaval, Lord Hastings and Robert J. Seaman came to an agreement on the hire of Bintree Mill. 108 acres 3 rods 1 perch would be hired for an annual rent of £188 6s. A formal agreement followed on 7th January 1921. During the depression in 1933, the rent was decreased to £109 per annum.

Robert Seaman jnr was a fanatical gardener and would mobilise all the workers to protect his borders whenever cows were moved past the mill or gardens. He would also vent his wrath on any lorry driver who unwittingly put a wheel onto the verge.

The Mill was enlarged in 1870 by a building firm from , when an additional floor was added. The new roof was assembled on the ground before being taken apart and raised to its final position. Is that Pieter we can see driving the lorry – the one that’s hit the wall!? In 1996 Bintree Mill was used as the location for the film Mill on the Floss. Amongst other necessary cosmetic changes a plastic bridge was built against the back of the mill and the white walls of the mill and house were distressed by blackening them.

From Bintree Mill we travel up the side of the Wensum Valley then head South East a little way to the village of Billingford then head towards North Elmham where, along this road we will cross the Wensum and if we continue to look to the right we will see a large imposing North Elmham Mill.

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North Elmham Mill - known locally as Grint Mill, had two breastshot waterwheels until the early twentieth century when they were replaced by two turbines. By the 1970s the milling machinery was driven by mains electricity while the turbines were used to drive a sack hoist and two mixing machines. The mill continued to produce animal feed into the late twentieth century. North Elmham Mill (Grint Mill)

R.J. Seaman & Sons, which became one of the largest agricultural merchanting business in the eastern counties was started in North Elmham around the beginning of the 1900s when local farmer, Robert Seaman took over North Elmham Mill. Using a £50 loan from the former mill owner, he started by producing stone ground flour but as there was virtually no demand for the flour, the business nearly closed in the first few months. However, taking the advice of his five sons, who were also working at the mill, Robert Seaman converted the mill from flour to provender milling, thus allowing the sale of feed products to farming colleagues.

The next Mill we will see, Worthing Mill, stands less than ½ mile across the fields from Grint Mill but surprisingly this mill is not powered by the Wensum but by The Blackwater, a small subsidiary of the mother river.

We now follow the course of the Wensum passing many disused gravel pits through to the village of Swanton Morley. When we join the main B1147 we cross two bridges. As we cross the first we look to our left to the site of the former Swanton Morley Mill.

Soon we head out into the countryside again passing through the small hamlets of Bylaugh, Mill Street and Elsing continuing onto the village of Lyng. As we leave the village, passing the Village sign on our left, we will see to our left as we cross the river the former site of Lyng Mill.

Lyng Mill

Lyng mill was built as a flour mill in the early 1400s but over the centuries it was operated as both a flour mill and a paper mill. When the mill was rebuilt after being badly damaged during the riots of 1832, it was configured to run as both a flour mill and a paper mill using two cast iron wheels.

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Lenwade Mill

Next we head for the village of Lenwade, the mill being on the right hand side just before we turn left into Porter’s Lane.

This pretty little lane heads up the side of the valley but takes a sharp right hand bend to travel along the valley side passing Great Witchingham Hall which was purchased by an auctioneer’s clerk in 1955 for just £3,000. The Elizabethan Manor house, set in 30 acres of land, was very dilapidated. The auctioneer’s clerk proceeded to fill 35 of the halls rooms with turkeys – his name was Bernard Matthews. The rest, as they say, is bootiful!

Great Witchingham Hall

Soon we rejoin the A1067 which follows the natural course of the river, albeit approximately 1 mile from the valley floor. Now we head for lunch but will continue our meander soon.

Lunch at The Swan Inn, 1 The Street, Ringland, Norwich, Norfolk NR8 6AB. Tel 01603 868214 www.tasteofoz.com

After lunching on Skippy, we get back onto the flood plain of the Wensum which we follow for the next few miles into the village of Costessey (pronounced cossey if you’re a Norfolk Bumpkin) and Drayton where we will then head towards the outskirts of the City of Norwich.

Our next sighting of the Wensum, once entering the outskirts will be on Sweetbriar Road where we will cross the river before turning left, then left again onto Waterworks Road which has a significant tale to tell in the history of Norwich.

As early as the 18th century there was a piped water supply in Norwich for those who could afford it but the water was impure. In the 1850’s the council built a pure water supply which consisted of a steam pumping station which stood on the Anglian Water Site to the left hand side as you pass along Waterworks Road which pumped river water from the Wensum up to a reservoir which stood on the site of Chapel Field Gardens which was the highest commercial point in the City. The water was then fed by gravity through the pipe work of the City.

Page 5 of 7 The waters of the Wensum have been used to power various industries over the years to include weaving mills owned by the Norwich Yarn Company between the early 1800s to 1925, Boot and Shoe manufacture which at one time over 8000 were employed in this trade in the City’s factories all of which were powered by water from the Wensum.

Our next cross of the River Wensum is on Mile Cross Road where, after we turn right onto Drayton Road, eventually reaching a mini roundabout where again we turn right. At this point in our journey, if we look to our right we will see the pretty Wensum Park which was created in the 1920s to give work to the unemployed of the City. After passing this pretty little park we again gently drive downhill along Oak Street, turning left along a dual carriageway which again follows the path of the river until 100 yards before the end of Barrack Street if we look to our right across the car park of Zaks restaurant we see the Cow Tower which was built in the 12th Century as part of the City’s defences on a strategic bend in the river. The Tower was rebuilt using flint faced with brick in the late 14th Century. The Tower was originally situated in a place called Cowholme Meadow and at one point it was used as a shelter for cows. At the next roundabout we turn right onto Bishops Bridge Road. This sits alongside the prettiest part of the Wensum inside the City boundary.

On the right, 300 yards along this road you will see a very old looking bridge. This is the oldest recorded bridge crossing the Wensum. Bishops Bridge is the oldest of five medieval bridges across the River Wensum, a greater number than any other English medieval city. It was built in 1345 on the site of an earlier ford that had been in use since Roman times. As the Wensum forms a defensive barrier on this side of the city, it was provided with a gatehouse on the Western end, which was demolished in the 18th century. The Bridge is built of imported stone and local flint. The bricks were added in the 1930’s, when it was repaired, after having been saved from demolition.

As we cross the junction of Riverside and Prince of Wales Road, to our right is a very ornate cast iron bridge across the Wensum and to our left, the Victorian Railway Station. From here to the end of our tour, the old warehouses that once stood beside the river have now been demolished to create new shops, cinemas and supermarkets to satisfy the demands of 21st century living. But as we reach our final destination, the car park of Norwich City Football Club, we can look across the Wensum and still see how this part of Norwich looked 100 years ago.

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We’ve arranged this afternoon coffee stop as we do appreciate it’s a long day and hope you enjoy a glance at Delia’s finest. http://.wwwdeliascanarycatering.co.uk/yellows.php Carrow Rood, Norwich NR1 1JE 01603 218704

We hope you have enjoyed your meander along this beautiful part of Norfolk. Thank you for letting me re-live some of my childhood by reminiscing about the villages surrounding North Elmham where I was born and grew up and for making me ask the question – WHY am I living in flat Lincolnshire!!!!!!!

Steve

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