History of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston-on-Sea

The Middle Ages

Great Yarmouth - The Beginnings

As with most towns as villages in England the first definitive documentation was in the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book was commissioned by William I (The Conqueror) as he wanted to know the value of what, he, now owned.

Great Yarmouth became an important town in the middle ages owing to it geographical location, being on the North Sea coast where two rivers reach the sea. The River Bure reached the North Sea somewhere between Caister-on-Sea and Great Yarmouth. The River Yare reached the sea, well to the south of its present position as the sand bar on which modern Great Yarmouth is located, stretched as far as Lowestoft. The mouths, of both these rivers had access to Great Yarmouth quays on the land side of the sandbank.

The river mouth of the River Bure was the more important until it was silted up in the 14th century. Around the same time the same fate befell the mouth of the River Yare but it was decided that this passageway to the North Sea should be maintained. A considerable amount of trade with the Netherlands, Germany, France and the Baltic was carried out from Great Yarmouth. Herrings were the most important commodity exported throughout the medieval period but by the 14th century wool and worsteds from Norwich had grown to become equal in importance.

The Wall goes up

The strategic importance of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston was also recognised in the thirteenth century by Henry III. The town of Great Yarmouth had grown in importance to such an extent that Henry III sanctioned the building of a town wall to protect its inhabitants. Some sections of the wall survive to this day. The most magnificent remnant being the North West Tower which still "protects" North Quay. The wall protected Great Yarmouth on 3 sides, the 4th side being the River Yare. The wall, which was started in 1285 took over 100 years to complete. All the people of Great Yarmouth had to work on the wall. However, it was possible to pay someone to do your share of the work, this was known as murage.

The construction of the wall had the effect of restricting the growth of the town for over 400 years as no one was allowed to live outside the walls. Indeed, houses that were outside the walls during the construction stage were demolished. The town fathers decreed that "Great Yarmouth" should remain firmly within its wall, which it did until the 19th century. Once built nothing much was done to improve the protection offered by the wall. The threat of the Spanish Armada of 1588 saw the defenses strengthened and the garrison increased as fear of the Spanish grew. However, throughout its history the wall never had to withstand a major attack, which is partly the reason so much of the wall still survives. Road and town planners being by far the biggest danger to its existence.

Silt - a perennial problem

1347

Edward III gave permission for a new river mouth, which was much nearer Great Yarmouth, to be cut to the North Sea.

1372

The mouth of the River Yare was again choked with silt deposits. Ships had to anchor on Kirkley Roads while their cargoes were transferred to small boats to enable the cargoes to be landed at Great Yarmouth. Kirkley Roads was annexed to Great Yarmouth which resulted in their merchants benefitting from the cargo transfers much to the chagrin of Lowestoft merchants.

1392

Richard II sanctioned another "cut" to the North Sea but this was shorter lived than the previous effort and by 1408 the River Yare was again silted up at its entrance to the sea.

1500

During the last hundred years much money was spent by various monarchs in an effort to maintain the harbour mouth. They all failed.

1508

Henry VII sanctioned the building of yet another harbour entrance, again, nearer the town. Within 20 years this haven was silted and Henry VIII allowed another harbour entrance to be cut which is near to the present day harbour mouth at Gorleston.

1535

Over 50 vessels were destroyed in a storm as they were laying at anchor off Great Yarmouth waiting to be unloaded.

1548

The building of another haven became necessary. Church plate and vestments had to be sold to finance the work which was dogged by ill luck and was finally abandoned in 1557 although incomplete. Trade in the town suffered because of this failure as only the smallest vessels could navigate the river. The rest were hauled across the sands to the towns quays.

1559

All the towns inhabitants were ordered to help build another Haven. The works were halted temporarily in 1567 when the river broke into the new harbour works. Joas Johnson from the Netherlands was sent for and under his direction two stone and timber piers were built at the harbour entrance. His work survived until 1962 when "The Old Dutch Pier" was replaced by the present concrete structure. As a result of this change Gorleston lost part of its beach. The configuration of the pier was changed by modern engineers who did not know best!

Rows - a unique medieval street layout

The Luftwaffe in a few short years during the 1940s managed to effectively destroy the unique town layout of Great Yarmouth which were known as Rows. The rows ran in an east/west direction from South Quay to the Market Place/King Street. No complete rows now exist but some of the narrow alley ways that run from the town down to the river follow the course of the rows. In fact many of the alleys bear the numbers of the row that was previously in this location.

If one looks closely some of these alley ways still have vestiges of medieval architecture. A very narrow cart called a Troll cart was developed to travel along the very narrow rows. Many houses had substantial wooden buffers fixed along their lengths to prevent damage to the brickwork by the Troll carts. Row 83 which runs alongside the Elizabethan House on South Quay still has its buffers in place.

Row 83 showing troll cart buffers

Had the Rows survived to the modern era they would no doubt have been a very picturesque asset to Great Yarmouth. However, for much of their existence the inhabitants, which was almost everyone in Great Yarmouth, were prone to the ravages of diseases such as cholera, smallpox, typhoid and the Black Death.

Until the mid 19th century when water was piped into the town there was no provision for sewage except the use of cesspits and drinking water was drawn from wells which were often tainted by sea water and sewage. Little wonder that the estimated 26,000 people that lived in the Rows in 1846 were in a parlous state of health.

The communities that lived in the rows were close knit and the Rows were all named, usually taking the name of a business or pub located in the row. However, some had more intriguing names such as Urquharts Back, Kittiwitches, Wildgres North, Says Corner South, Split Gutter and Body Snatchers. I leave you to investigate further.

Great Yarmouth and the Church

The church which stands at the northern end of the Market Place was started in 1119 and is dedicated to St Nicholas the patron saint of mariners. In time this church grew in size and by the 19th century is was thought to be the largest parish church in England. Medieval Great Yarmouth's prominence is confrmed by the number of religious houses it supported. A Benedictine Priory was attached to St Nicolas's church in the 12th century. Part of this priory survives in the grounds of the nearby Hospital School. The Dominican Blackfriars, Franciscian Greyfriars, Carmelites or Whitefriars and Augustines all had monastries in the town. Apart from some remnants, just off South Quay, of the Francisician Greyfriars monastery nothing remains of these religious orders who were at one time so prominent in the life of Great Yarmouth.

ruins of francisician greyfriars monastery - south quay

Ruins Greyfriars Monastery - South Quay

The Tolhouse

The Tolhouse has, since 1961, been a museum of local history. In the past this house itself has contributed to the history of Great Yarmouth. The Tolhouse which dates to the mid 13th century was probably built as a private dwelling. As early as 1306 it was being used for municipal purposes. It has functioned as a Borough Court, Admiralty Court as well as Assize Court and Quarter Sessions. There has been a gaol on the site for centuries. Perhaps the most notorious inmates were the sixteen woman held in the Tolhouse gaol in 1645, until their executions for witchcraft. One of its most important functions in medieval times was as the meeting place of the baliffs of Yarmouth and the Cinque Ports who administered the annual Herring Fair. If you are interested in finding out more about this unique building then, when next in Great Yarmouth why not spend and hour or two of your time visiting this fascinating museum.