Did You Know?

King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn, is an English seaport and market town in Norfolk, about 98 miles north of London, 36 miles north-east of Peterborough, 44 miles north north-east of Cambridge and 44 miles west of Norwich.

Originally known as `Linn', the town 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. By the early 13th century with the granting of the charter, the town became Bishop's Lynn.

Medieval Kings Lynn was a big success. By the 14th century, it probably had a population of 5,500-6,000. It would seem small to us but by the standards of the time, it was a large and important town.

In 1683 an architect named Henry Bell, who was once mayor of Kings Lynn, built the Custom House. The same man built the Dukes Head Inn.

In the early 18th century, Daniel Defoe called the town "beautiful, well built and well situated". Shipbuilding continued to thrive, as did associated industries such as sail-making and rope-making. Glass-making was prosperous and brewing was another important industry. The first bank in King's Lynn opened in 1784.

King’s Lynn was one of England’s foremost ports as early as the 12th century, and was perhaps as important in the Middle Ages as Liverpool was to become during the Industrial Revolution. Aptly described as ‘The Warehouse on the Wash’ it maintained its prominence as a port until the railways robbed it of much of its traffic in the mid 19th century.

King John’s Cup is an excessively ornate cup, made of silver, gold and jewels almost 800 years ago. It is the finest and oldest object of its kind in the country and is on display at the Town Hall.

The Walks is King’s Lynn’s largest park and the only surviving 18th century town walk in Norfolk, created as a place citizens could enjoy some fresh air away from the bustle of the town centre. The 15th century chapel on a hill is known as the Red Mount.

In the 14th century King’s Lynn was the third largest port in England with trading partners in northern Europe and the Baltic, and to this day you get a sense of this perhaps forgotten past by walking through its historic core.