Norfolk, England’s easternmost county, is an area of great and still unspoiled natural beauty. Bounded by a long coastline, golden sandy beaches, panoramic skyscapes; its countryside provides a haven for wildlife. It is populated with elegant stately homes and parklands, charming historic market towns and villages, and bejewelled with a wealth of historic buildings, notably its many medieval churches. It possesses an exceptional wealth of archaeological riches that continue to be discovered daily in the open fields of its widespread agricultural land. The county combines a uniquely varied landscape and geology, while strong maritime influences link it with the North Sea world and beyond. Today, its historic role remains largely forgotten beyond the county borders.
This short history will look at the full span of human occupation in the area now defined as the county of Norfolk. Its origin as a political entity is a comparatively recent imposition, dating back some 970 years, with the first documentary mention of the county in the years 1043–45. The county as a unit was thus in use for the purposes of the new administration, with the arrival of the Normans in 1066. Unlike many counties, Norfolk is well defined geographically, comprising almost an island, with water on all sides. The Wash and the Fens form the western boundary, with the rivers Little Ouse and Waveney in the south and the North Sea in the east and north. This book will look at this geographical area back through deeper history. It will consider the relationship between the people who have inhabited it and the natural landscape, from the arrival of the very first humans to the present day, and just how this interaction has defined Norfolk’s role in national events.
It is not possible, nor is it desirable, in a work of this size, to attempt to cover everything of note that has happened in the county. Neither is it intended to provide a full political history. This account is necessarily a selective interpretation of the flow of events and the reasons underlying them. In particular, I wish to reflect Norfolk’s relationship with other areas, which was a changeable interaction. At times the county was at the forefront of innovation and experienced episodes of national prominence. At others, it has been more inward-looking, isolated, and less involved with other regions. Norfolk’s role has always been influenced by its unique geographical situation.
Throughout this work I would like to view, perhaps define, Norfolk through its geographical position in two ways. Firstly, the role of water, which has sculpted both its landscape and its character. As well as the sea forming its external borders, Norfolk’s rivers have acted as foci for settlement, while providing the means for communications and trade. Waterways have also provided natural routeways, guiding people to and from the county. In respect of its underlying significance, I would term Norfolk as a ‘waterland’.
The second definition I wish to apply to Norfolk is as a ‘borderland’, situated on the periphery, both geographically and in relation to events, which may be further qualified as a form of ‘edgeland’. Although not adhering to its strict definition, the latter term does in a simple sense describe Norfolk’s location on the eastern extremity of England. We shall see how these three terms remain appropriate for the county’s interaction with other parts of the country over time.
Noel Coward’s famously dismissive description of Norfolk as ‘very flat’, in his play Private Lives, has long fed perceptions of the county as dull and featureless, and a sleepy quiet backwater, belying its truly diverse landscape and the richness of its history. The quiet rural nature of Norfolk in the twenty-first century also disguises its long and busy past. The county was once one of the most heavily populated parts of England. The county town of Norwich was the largest walled town in the country during the Middle Ages; bigger than London and Southwark combined. As the richest provincial city for much of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was then recognised as England’s second city.
Today, Norfolk is often simply characterised in terms of its agricultural role. Although farming and the associated food service industries remain important, the most significant contributors to its economy, in terms of employment, are actually the wholesale and retail trade, together with the rapidly developing tourism sector.
In terms of communications, Norfolk does indeed lag behind other counties. It has no motorway and less than 100 miles of dual carriageway. There is no railway line connecting the east to the west. It takes an hour and a half to cross the county by car and a similar time to reach the next largest city of Cambridge from Norwich, all of which feeds its perception as an out-of-the-way place.
Norfolk’s population is also comparatively small, currently numbering approximately 880,000, which is just fourtieth across England’s forty-eight counties. Its population density is 165 per sq km, around one third that of Essex or Kent. Norfolk’s landscape is classified as 95 per cent rural, although just over half of the people live in urban parts.
A brief word must be said concerning Norfolk’s immediate geographical context. It is frequently referred to as being part of East Anglia. This imprecise term can be misleading and may varyingly embrace other eastern counties including Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and even Lincolnshire. Historically, its more precise definition derives from ‘Kingdom of the East Angles’, which essentially links just Norfolk and Suffolk.
There are already many written studies covering all aspects of Norfolk’s past, including accounts of the towns, villages and landscape that comprise this distinct county, together with biographies of the inhabitants that have forged its history. In this short work, I look to combine the most significant events within a chronological framework and also within a national context. While doing so, I shall emphasise the themes that have been most important in the development of the county, including those relating to agriculture, industry, maritime history and military influences, religion, thought and writing.
Norfolk’s identity has continued to be expressed through the arts, which have uniquely reflected its people’s beliefs and their views of the world around them. The different forms of media employed have in turn often been influenced by the local landscape, which continues to provide rich inspiration to artists today.
I have sought to include the contributions of people who have lived here, from the earliest humans yet discovered in the whole of Britain, through to the current population. Many of Norfolk’s historical figures are well known and require little introduction, while others have left somewhat slighter traces, which are revealed to us through archaeology.
The pattern and nature of occupation throughout the centuries is reflected in many ways through Norfolk’s abundant archaeological remains. The daily lives of our ancestors are brought to life through these treasures, with many new discoveries, and our understanding of more distant times is growing rapidly as a result. They provide a prolific source of evidence from which we can interpret local history, with special reference to periods of technological innovation and social change. Norfolk’s material remains are especially strong for the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods. The richness of this material owes much to the contribution of amateur enthusiasts and especially metal detector users, who have unearthed a profusion of metalwork, pottery and flint finds. What is particularly special about Norfolk is that these discoveries are routinely reported to, and recorded by, professional archaeologists through the county’s well-established system of metal detector liaison, which has been in place since the 1970s – long before this was deemed an acceptable practice in other parts of England.
A note of caution must be raised before using this abundant archaeological material to interpret Norfolk’s historic importance. There is no question that the soils of Norfolk appear abnormally rich in archaeological discoveries. Unfortunately, through the profusion of recorded evidence, we are in danger of over-playing the importance of events here. We must always be wary to assess to what extent the number of finds represent genuine historical significance at any stage, and how much they just reflect the efficient reporting and recording of finds from within a rural landscape.
Norfolk is also rich in historic buildings. For the past 2,000 years its inhabitants have been leaving a legacy in the form of stone constructions. Many structures dating back over 1,700 years still survive above ground; particularly those built over the last thousand years. Both secular and religious buildings illustrate the historic past at its different stages. Together, they are able to reveal the character of the people and the societies that created them. The development of buildings over time also reflects art styles, thought and the wider cultural associations of our ancestors. Norfolk is particularly well known for its churches but it is through its secular buildings, including its great castles, that much of the county’s past is revealed. All of these great surviving structures are a direct and evocative link to periods throughout our history.
Jutting out into the North Sea, the area has always had an international outlook and connections. It is sometimes assumed that the long North Sea coastline has acted as a cultural barrier. Norfolk’s history, as we shall explore, shows that it has in fact served as a significant link between populations, with social bonds reaching back millennia. The county’s location close to mainland Europe has ensured that it has often been at the forefront of receiving new ideas from abroad and, on occasions, to experience the initial impact of invasions. It has frequently acted as a well-trod route into Britain for both invaders and long-distance travellers. The sea has also provided Norfolk with the means of generating wealth through trading links and direct economic benefits such as fishing.
Norfolk was not always bounded by sea. Britain was once joined to the continent of Europe at this point and the sea lay far off to the north. The coast formed a line running from the current Yorkshire coast to the northern tip of Denmark. The area that is now the North Sea was a fertile plain, populated by vast herds of migrating animals, in the way that the Serengeti plain is inhabited by big game in modern times.
The sea level eventually rose, steadily encroaching upon the land. However, it was not until around 8,000 years ago that the coastline reached approximately its present-day position, leaving Norfolk prominently exposed on the eastern edge of Britain. From about 3,000 until about 1,600 years ago, sea levels rose once again and coastal estuaries and marshes were extensively flooded. Today’s rivers were broader and deeper and formed more significant boundaries. After the Roman period, water levels dropped. This recurring cycle has continued, with sea levels rising again before the thirteenth century.
Once again, at the outset of the twenty-first century, the natural process of coastal change is causing devastation for coastal communities and signalling alarm for the resident population on Norfolk’s eastern edge. The soft shale and clay of its shoreline are being eroded and moulded at an alarming rate. At the same time, this process is serving to expose fascinating new evidence of former historic landscapes.
Noel Coward’s description of Norfolk as ‘very flat’ was not in fact at all accurate, as any cyclist in the county will readily testify. In fact, it comprises a complex and diverse landscape, embracing a number of sub-regions that are all very different in appearance, together with a series of interlocking borderlands where these different regions come together, providing a rich combination of natural resources.
The most influential single aspect of Norfolk’s landscape is water, which has always dominated the area. The long and varied coastline contains stretches of dunes, shingle banks and marshes. Sea and rivers have been key to the development of its communications, transport and economy. Nowhere in Norfolk is more than 65km from the sea.
The influence of the coast and of waterways was equally significant in earlier times, way back into prehistory. Ports have been situated at key locations around the coastline for many centuries, as far back as we can trace. They have been the focus of prolific activity and trade that has, in turn, been the source of great wealth. In historical times, major trade routes have linked the area with Scandinavia, Russia, the mainland of northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Commerce has also been generated from coastal fishing.
The county is separated from the midlands to the west by the Fenland basin. The main land connection is to the south through Suffolk. Long deep-seated local rivalries have formed a contrasting type of barrier with the ‘South Folk’ in that direction. In the north-west the Goodsands comprise an area of rolling upland with fertile soils, good for growing cereals, especially barley and also provides good grazing. In the west of the county is the Greensand belt. These deposits are acidic, free-draining, and are associated with heathland. The area contains iron-rich strata and produces a form of local building material, known as carrstone.
In the centre of the county, and running through to the south-east, lays a thick covering of boulder clay. This becomes easily waterlogged and has often been avoided for agriculture. In the less-fertile parts, the greatest concentration of ancient woodland can still be found. This region is particularly good for cereal production. The central watershed runs in an arc through the clayland and divides the rivers that flow towards the east coast from those that flow to the Wash, in the west.
To the west of the claylands lies the Breckland, which is a region of undulating heathland, spanning the Norfolk–Suffolk border. It has low rainfall and suffers extreme temperatures, which include warm summers and late frosts. It has light soils, which are marginally productive but with good drainage. The ancient trackway known as the Icknield Way passes through this region.
The Broads are a wetland zone that lies between Norwich and the east coast. They were formed as disused medieval peat workings which flooded with water. Today the Broads are a National Park visited by thousands of holidaymakers each year.
There are 200 square miles of Norfolk Fens. Exploitation of the Fenland has always been dependent on changing sea levels. The northern part, adjacent to the Wash, is covered by marine silt, which was laid down just before the Roman conquest. In the south are the black peat fens.
It is also important to mention a little-known feature thats lies just beyond the North Norfolk coast. Europe’s longest chalk reef extends between the sea north of Sheringham Park eastwards through to Cromer. The reef comprises a unique biodiversity habitat, providing home to hundreds of species of fish and plant life. It also provides the clean and nutrient-rich conditions that produce the flavoursome crabs, for which Cromer is famous.
Norfolk has a relatively young geology, which means that it lacks evidence for Britain’s most ancient fauna, such as dinosaurs. However, the county’s sands, gravels clays and peats contain the fossil bones of a large variety of other exotic creatures. The world-famous Cromer Forest Bed, which dates back 1.5 million years, has revealed evidence of giant mammals including four species of mammoth (more than any other part of Britain), giant hippos, rhinoceros and even large sabre-tooth cats.
Norfolk has seen great diversity in the species that have lived here. It is impossible to state just what should be considered to be the native fauna of the area, as this would have differed profoundly, depending on the date in question over the last million years. Through its location as an edgeland and its contacts with the wider world, the area has absorbed waves of immigrant species and been the home of many exotic and diverse creatures, with a series of changing ecosystems over time. Species have included such creatures as elephants, mammoths, lions, hippopotamus, hyaenas, monkeys and giant elk. Animals and plants have adapted to the changing habitats and many others have become extinct. In fact, it has been our ancestors that have been largely responsible for killing off most of the larger land mammals that have lived here.
So, the species considered native to Norfolk have changed with the development of the land, the forces that have moulded it and also through the influence of the humans who have lived here. New animal and plant species have accompanied waves of incoming humans who have arrived to settle through time.
Today, Norfolk is considered to be the top county for birdwatching. This has been ascribed to its geographical location on the edge of Britain, jutting into the North Sea, pointing towards Europe and Scandinavia. Many bird species make landfall here, often as stopovers on longer routes, and make use of its diverse range of especially watery habitats.
The appearance of its historic built environment has been governed by the fact that Norfolk suffers from a lack of good building stone. The people who have lived in this part of the country have needed to either adapt other local materials for construction purposes or bring in stone from further afield if they have been wealthy enough. One native form of building stone is flint, which has led to a distinctive appearance to buildings across some parts of the county, where the chalk bedrock has provided an abundance of this material. The flint of Breckland is exceptional in quality and has been used in buildings and as tools for thousands of years.
Other natural building materials include the form of brown sandstone in West Norfolk called carrstone. Ironstone is also found in the west. In Breckland, a yellow-grey form of chalk rubble, known as ‘clunch’, has been used for construction. Chalk has also been used right across the county. However, the most ubiquitous building material in this rural county has always been timber, which means that so many of its historic buildings have not survived.
The lack of mineral wealth, coupled with the richness of its soils, have made Norfolk more suited to profitable agriculture than to industry. It was for this reason that the county was largely bypassed by the Industrial Revolution.
Britain’s prevailing weather comes from the west and is influenced by the Gulf Stream. Norfolk, situated in the far east, has less exposure to the westerly conditions, winds and rainfall, which means that it is the driest county in England. Nowhere in the county receives more than 27 in of rain each year. Norfolk’s unique climate has been another important factor in its agricultural prosperity, being particularly suited to the production of arable crops, which has been the case from very earliest times.
This area is also characterised by occasional very cold winters. Although the county has a predominantly mild climate, its eastern maritime location and low topography can give rise to difficult winters when prevailing conditions switch to the east and biting winds speed in across the North Sea, unstopped by any physical barrier, direct from Russia’s Ural Mountains.
Norfolk’s past is not well known on the national stage, despite the amount of historical research it has received. The county has a vivid history that is an integral part of the wider and unfolding national story and deserves to be better understood. As a nation, we continue to learn from our past. It can be said that what happens in the present often has roots deep in our history. Written records and the material culture of our ancestors revealed through archaeology provide us with an insight into the beliefs and actions of previous generations. Historical issues, involving the relationship between belief, religion and the state, have a continuing resonance in the modern world. Such current issues as multiculturalism similarly have echoes in the past that we can learn from.
Norfolk’s history has been inextricably entwined in a series of revolutions, of which some have been in the form of ideas and technological developments. Invasions from abroad have been another recurring theme. The study of Norfolk’s history shows how successive waves of people and foreign influences can be absorbed and contribute to a cohesive, strong, identity and a stable but progressive society. The new, incoming peoples did not always stay but often moved through to other locations. In such cases, Norfolk’s role was often that of a routeway to other parts of Britain.
Norfolk has played a role at all stages throughout the broader history of England. The large amount of research and archaeological attention it has received allows us to determine the periods when it was at the forefront of national developments as well as identifying when it played a more detached, inward-looking, complementary role. But its history throughout is integral to understanding the national story.
It is perhaps ironic that, given its role as a routeway, the county became somewhat isolated during the latter stages of the twentieth century. People have not passed through on the way to other parts of Britain. Coupled with the slowness of communications, its geographical position has meant that, in modern times, it has often been considered a ‘dead-end’ location. Now, improved road and rail links, coupled with its promotion as a tourist destination, are changing things and in the twenty-first century, Norfolk is regaining a national profile.
This short history has needed to be restricted and selective in its coverage of past events. Inevitably, there have been many omissions. Wherever possible, I have looked to draw on the lives of real people who have lived in the county and shaped our history and to follow events through their contributions.
To follow the relationship between the people, from those who first visited and then settled in this area, with the developing landscape, which they subsequently shaped and moulded over time, is to recognise the forging of the modern Norfolk character. The motto of the University of East Anglia is ‘Do Different’; a strapline that has subsequently been associated with the county of Norfolk as a distinct and special place. In this work we shall investigate to what extent, and on what occasions, Norfolk’s people have in fact ‘done different’.