Contents 05 Welcome to the Official 59 Wymondham Words, Sing Your Heart Out Wymondham Town Guide 61 Venues For Hire 07 - 09 Local Councils 63 Travelling To Wymondham 10 - 11 Meet The Wymondham Safer 65 Around Wymondham In World War II Neighbourhood Team 66 - 67 Wymondham Map 13 Walk Through Time 69 Wymondham Dementia Support Group 15 History of Wymondham 71 - 73 Health Care 17 Wymondham Timeline 75 National Far East Prisoners Of 19 Wymondham Abbey War Memorial Church 21 Wymondham History In Pictures 76 Fairland United Reformed Church 23 Wymondham Heritage Museum 76 Wymondham Methodist Church 25 Robert Kett : Wymondham’s Hero 77 Roman Catholic Parish Of Our Lady 27 Wymondham Town Archives & St. Thomas Of Canterbury 29 Tourism Policy 79 Wymondham Baptist Church 31 Wymondham Historic Railway Station 81 Wymondham Local Quaker Meeting 33 Mid-Norfolk Railway 81 The Alive Church Wymondham 35 Tiffey Valley, Wymondham’s Waterway 85 Hope Community Church, 36 Wymondham Nature Group Hub Community Project 37 Heritage Buildings & History 87 Hethersett Old Hall School 39 The Tiffey Trails Project 88 Playgroups 41 Getting Into The Valley 89 Ashleigh Primary School & Nursery 43 Wymondham Library 90 Browick Road Primary & Nursery School 45 - 47 Wymondham Music Festival 91 Spooner Row Primary School 48 - 49 Celebrating 400 Years Of The Market Cross 92 Robert Kett Primary School 51 What’s On 93 Wymondham High Academy 53 The Green Dragon Tavern Over The Years 94 Adult Education 55 Wymondham Arts Forum, 95 Wymondham College Wymondham Arts Centre 97 - 130 Local Listings 57 Jarrold The Official Wymondham Town Guide 2019/20 © Wymondham Whilst reasonable care is taken when accepting Town Council. advertisements, the publisher will not accept responsibility for any resulting unsatisfactory transactions. The Official Wymondham Town Guide 2019/20 has been designed, produced and published by One Press Publications Photos supplied by: Chris Hoelzer on behalf of Wymondham Town Council. Archive photos supplied by: Philip Yaxley Photos cannot be reproduced without prior consent. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder, Wymondham Town Editorial content: Council. Wymondham Heritage Museum - Neil Haverson Every effort has been taken to ensure that the contents of Printed by: Swallowtail Print this guide are accurate, but the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. 3 The town benefits from its rail links to Cambridge and its situation on the main A11 trunk road between Norwich and London. The Great Fire of Wymondham in 1615 destroyed 300 properties including the original market cross, the vicarage and the Guild House. The town is also famed for its former Bridewell jail, built in 1785. It was the first prison in the country with separate cells for inmates. The building now houses the town’s Heritage Museum. Wymondham Town Council is the statutory Welcome to local government elected body for the Parish of Wymondham. Its statutory powers and some of its responsibilities are set out in the Local the Official Government section on page 7. Running the only local government office in the town, it is in the front Wymondham line in dealing with issues, providing information, services and speaking up for the Wymondham Town Guide parish. The Town Council is pleased to welcome this latest for 2019 - 20 in an unbroken line of guides which have been published for over 60 years. These have been a vital It has been published by source of information and help for Wymondham One Press Publications on behalf people. We are sure that this latest guide will be of Wymondham Town Council. welcomed by both residents of long standing and by the many new residents and visitors which One of Norfolk’s most historic towns, picturesque the town welcomes in increasing numbers. For Wymondham is set in the River Tiffey Valley and information on the Town Council, please call 01953 the distinctive twin towers of its medieval abbey 603302. dominate the skyline. Wymondham is the largest market town in South Norfolk, covering an area We hope you enjoy this edition. of 4,431 hectares. Its fast-growing population now Trevor Gurney, Town Clerk. exceeds 16,000. www.wymondhamtowncouncil.org 5 Outstanding advice and legal expertise for the region Our solicitors in Wymondham provide outstanding advice on a full range of legal services to businesses and individuals in the local and surrounding areas. These services include: - Agriculture - Residential Conveyancing - Commercial Property - Wills, Tax, Probate & Trusts - Litigation & Disputes - Family - Employment - Corporate & Commercial Attleborough | Aylsham | Dereham | Diss | Norwich | Watton | Wymondham 01953 606351 www.spiresolicitors.co.uk Wymondham Town Council Wymondham Town Council runs the town’s markets, Local most of its open spaces and play areas, the cemetery, allotments and wildife site. It plays a major part in promoting local information services and runs the Councils Tourist Information Centre in the Market Cross. Contact: Trevor Gurney, Town Clerk, 14 Middleton Street, Wymondham. Tel : 01953 603302 [email protected] www.wymondhamtc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk Opening hours: 9.30am to 4.00pm Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is responsible for major county-wide services such as education, highways, police, fire and rescue, social services and libraries. Like most of England outside the cities, It co-ordinates strategic, transport and emergency Wymondham is administered within a planning. Its main office is in County Hall in Norwich. three tier system of local government. Tel : 034 4800 8020 (Mon to Fri 9am – 5pm) Norfolk County Council, South Norfolk www.norfolk.gov.uk District Council and Wymondham The quickest way to get in touch is through online form. Town Council all have separate buildings, councillors and officers. Although all three work within a South Norfolk Council standard code of practice which South Norfolk District Council one of six district ensures consistency of operation, each councils in Norfolk, is responsible for planning (including most planning applications), housing, has its own particular range of tasks council tax and refuse collection, electoral and responsibilities, which in practice registration, licensing, most leisure centres and pools and street cleaning. Its offices are in Long Stratton. overlap in certain areas. All three tiers of local government work together, Telephone : 01508 533701 Minicom / Textphone : 01508 533622 but each authority is autonomous and Freephone : 0800 389 6109 independent. www.south-norfolk.go.uk 7 For electoral purposes Wymondham is split into Abbey Ward five wards. Each ward is represented by three Mr R Savage, Mr K Hurn, Mrs P Stearn Wymondham Town Councillors, one South Norfolk Councillor and four wards (Abbey, Northfields, Cromwells Ward Rustens & Town) are combined as the division of Mr J Halls, Mr J Hornby, Mrs S Nuri, Wymondham for a Norfolk County Councillor the 5th ward (Cromwells) is part of the Forehoe division for Northfields Ward County Council purposes. Mr C longhurst, Mr J Mooney, Mr D Underwood Wymondham is situated in the constituency of Rustens Ward Mid Norfolk whose elected Member is George Mr P Broome, Mr A Holden, Mrs S Sayer Freeman. His office is situated at 8 Damgate Street, Wymondham, telephone (01953) 600617. For details Town Ward of properties that make up each ward, please contact Mr L Hornby, Mr I Flatt, Mrs S Wyer the Council on 01953 603302 or visit our offices at 14 Middleton Street. 9 Meet The Wymondham Safer Neighbourhood Team I am the Local Policing Commander for Wymondham and my team and I are here to listen to your issues and concerns and work with our partners to improve the quality of life in your neighbourhood. Please feel free to raise issues with local officers when they are on patrol, or get in touch with your local Beat Manager, PC Andy Read. As Beat Manager, Andy is here to engage with the local communities and work to solve local issues and priorities within your neighbourhood. His aim is to Inspector keep your neighbourhood as a safe Mick Andrew place to live, work and visit. The South Norfolk Engagement Officer, PC Jim Details about the team, meetings and the latest Squires, can also be contacted for local enquiries news from the neighbourhood can be found on the that affect your neighbourhood. As Engagement Wymondham pages of the Norfolk Police website, Officer, Jim is here to provide communications and www.norfolk.police.uk. updates regarding your neighbourhood as well as co-ordinate volunteers, specials, community You can also contact us by telephone, calling the speedwatch and Police Cadets. non-emergency number 101. Please also feel free to stop any of my team when they are out on patrol The Local Policing Commander is responsible for if you have anything you wish to discuss. a group of Safer Neighbourhoods teams, who will respond to your calls for service 24 hours a day. They also investigate the crimes in your area and work with the Beat Manager team to deliver your local priorities. @SouthNorfPolice 10 PC Andrew Read PC Jim Squires 1594 1224 PC Simon Redhead Sgt Jim Heath 619 3069 11 Hop Back in Time Two free augmented reality walking trails for all the family. Start your adventure at the Market Cross, Wymondham, NR18 0AX Download the Wym Trails app for free The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas In the Heritage Museum and the Wymondham Take a ‘Walk Leisure Centre, you can put on a virtual reality headset and spend a mind-blowing four minutes Through Time’ immersed in the famous Kett’s Rebellion and be transported back to stages of this local and or go on a virtual nationally important story, via a virtual reality experience that is utterly spectacular. And it’s all treasure hunt… free! Although not recommended for the under 12s.