Norfolk

I

Introduction

Norfolk, county, eastern England, bordered on the north and north-east by the North Sea, on the south-east and south by Suffolk, and on the west by Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. A small area formerly in north-east Suffolk was incorporated into the county under the local government reforms of 1974. The land area is now 5,360 sq km (2,069 sq mi). Norwich is the seat of local government.

Norfolk is a county of contrasts, renowned for its rich farmland and the beauty of the Norfolk Broads, the academic excellence of the University of East Anglia, and its involvement in North Sea gas and oil exploration and scientific research. The medieval shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, restored in modern times, is a place of pilgrimage for Anglo-Catholics. Sandringham House, built for the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, in 1870-1871, is a royal residence.

II

Land and Resources

Norfolk is mainly low-lying. There are chalky outcrops in the west, and in the north-west, clay and sandstone. In the south-west the sandy heathlands known as Breckland, now widely planted with conifers, extend into neighbouring Suffolk. There are sand dunes along part of the 145 km (90 mi) coast, and also some saltmarshes, historically the haunt of smugglers. The north coast has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Norfolk Heritage Coast. The north-western region of Norfolk is drained by the Great Ouse, which flows northwards into The Wash, an inlet of the North Sea. At Hunstanton on the west coast there is a curious formation of layers of red and white chalk, which gives the cliffs a striped look. The famous Broads take up the greater part of the county east of Norwich. They consist of numerous shallow freshwater lagoons linked by the slow-flowing Yare, Waveney, and Bure rivers, and their tributaries. These lagoons were created from flooded peat workings about 600 years ago. The western part of the county is also known for its extensive area of reclaimed marshland, the Fens. The various waterways, more than 320 km (200 mi) of which are available for cruising, converge at Breydon Water and flow into the North Sea at Great Yarmouth. Hickling Broad, in the north of the region, is a bird sanctuary, and there is a floating conservation centre on Ranworth Broad. Norfolk has an abundance of nature reserves, and this profusion of natural vegetation and wildlife attracts many naturalists and anglers to the region.

Flint is a major local resource and has been mined for over 4,000 years at Grimes Graves, in Breckland, not far from the Norfolk-Suffolk border. There being little building stone, timber and thatch are the traditional materials for local domestic architecture; colour is added by plaster walls painted in all shades of pink, orange, and yellow. Carstone is a traditional building material in the north-west of the county. The numerous thatched churches and round flint church towers are distinctive features. The bricks, manufactured from local clay, are of a warm red colour.

Norfolk enjoys a reasonably moderate temperate climate. The average annual rainfall is in the region of 635-760 mm (25-30 in), somewhat lower in the coastal areas. Winters can be harsh, with strong winds.

III

Population and Administration

Norfolk has a county council and seven local government district councils: Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich, and South Norfolk. The police authority is the Norfolk Constabulary, which has its headquarters at Norwich. Crown Courts sit at Norwich and King's Lynn.

The population of Norfolk was estimated in 2001 at 796,733. The cathedral city of Norwich (2001, 121,553) is the largest town in Norfolk, and the main commercial, cultural, and educational centre of the county, as well as the administrative centre. Other important towns include the resorts of Great Yarmouth (2001, 90,813) and Cromer (1991, 7,267); and King's Lynn (1991, 41,281). Around 60 per cent of the population lives in small towns and villages.

IV

Education and Culture

The University of East Anglia (UEA), at Norwich, was founded in 1964 and has achieved a reputation for academic excellence. The boys' public school, Gresham's School, at Holt, was founded in 1551; Norwich School in 1250, and Norwich High School for Girls in 1875.

As befits a county with such a long stretch of coastline, Norfolk is renowned for its fish and shellfish. Cromer crabs are deemed the best in England, and Great Yarmouth specializes in bloaters and smoked herring. Lobsters are caught off Sheringham, mussels off the Brancaster coast, and shrimps along the coast of The Wash. There are oyster beds at Morston, near Holt. Wells-next-the-Sea is famous for its whelks, and Stiffkey nearby for its cockles. In medieval times there was a tradition that Norwich had to supply the royal court each year with 24 herring pies, well seasoned with ginger, pepper, and cinnamon. With the coming of the railway, the county at one time supplied more than half the meat consumed in London.

Turkey-rearing is centred around Norwich. Pig's fry is a very popular dish locally, and Great Yarmouth is known for its chitterlings (pigs' intestines) and for its tripe. Dumplings were a staple food when times were hard; in Norfolk they are made with bread dough and, since they do not sink while cooking, are known as “floaters”.

There are many legends told in the county, perhaps the most famous is that of King John losing all his baggage at King's Lynn, or, as the tale goes, losing his baggage in the Wash. It is said that people still search for the missing treasure. Another well-known story is that of the “Pedlar of Swaffham”, whose image is incorporated into the town sign. The pedlar is supposed to have dreamed three times that he would meet a man on London Bridge who would make him rich. He travelled to London and was on the point of throwing himself into the Thames when he met on the bridge a stranger who told him he had dreamed of meeting a tinker from Swaffham who had a crock of gold under the tree in his garden. The tinker rushed home and on digging found first one, and then a second, crock of gold.

Numerous houses and churchyards are said to be haunted; phantom coaches have been seen hurtling down lanes at breakneck speed, and church bells have been mysteriously rung. “Black Shuck”, the famous Hell Hound of Cromer, which according to tradition inspired The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is said to have haunted the Norfolk and Suffolk coast for centuries.

The county is home to Norwich City Football Club, which plays its home games at the Carrow Road stadium. In 1776 England’s first greyhound coursing club, the Swaffham Club, was created in Norfolk. At Snetterton, close to the Norfolk-Suffolk border, is one of England’s foremost motor-racing circuits, constructed on the site of a former airfield.