Norfolk Leasing

Did You Know?

Norfolk has the most number of churches with round towers in the country. Norfolk 125, Suffolk 42, Essex 7, Sussex 3, Cambridgeshire 2, Berkshire 2.

Nelson's Birthplace. Horatio Nelson was born in Burnham Thorpe, where his father was rector, and he learnt to sail at nearby Burnham Overy Staithe. Nelson of course went on to become the greatest naval commander this country has ever seen.

Robert Hales (1820-1863) the 'Norfolk Giant' is buried in West Somerton churchyard, he grew to the height of 7ft 6in.

The Domesday Book shows that during the 11th century, Norfolk was one of the most heavily populated counties. This remained the case until 1600.

North Norfolk is one of the few places in the UK where you can see the northern lights, or aurora borealis. Kelling Heath and Wiveton Downs, both have Dark Sky Discovery Status, which means the area is unaffected by light pollution.

The Blickling Pyramid. It’s quite unusal to find a pyramid in north Norfolk, but you can find one here! Built as a mausoleum, in 1794 for the 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, the pyramid can be seen in the Great Wood at the National Trust’s Blickling Estate.

When the Romans came to Norfolk in AD46, Great Yarmouth didn’t exist – it hadn’t yet been established by longshore drift. Now its beaches are a great place to go roamin’.

The Queen's Country Retreat. North Norfolk is home to the Queen’s country retreat, Sandringham; the Royal Family’s only private home and estate in England. And when unoccupied by Royalty, Sandringham is open to the public.

The Thames used to run through Norfolk – it was fed by an extinct river called the Bytham from the Midlands, and that was even larger.

The stretch of coast from West Runton on the north coast of Norfolk to Happisburgh on the east, has earned the name the 'Deep History Coast' because of three historical, unique discoveries. The largest most complete mammoth skeleton in the world was uncovered in the cliffs at West Runton Beach.

On the run from the Nazis, Albert Einstein fled to Norfolk in 1933, before going to the USA. He lived for a month in a small hut on Roughton Heath near Cromer as a guest of Oliver Locker-Lampson, who guarded the genius with two secretaries, all armed with rifles.

Cromer Chalk Reef. The Chalk Reef, off Cromer and Sheringham, is the world’s longest chalk reef, at over 20 miles, and is more than 100,000 million years old, created in the Mesozoic Era when dinosaurs roamed. It’s part of the same chalk stream as the White Cliffs of Dover.