Norfolk History And Background
Norfolk is a beautiful part of East Anglia that has so much to offer its visitors but its best known attraction to tourists would have to be the wetlands known as the Norfolk Broads, 200 miles of inland waterways which has now been given the status of a National Park. The Broads is home to some of the rarest plants and animals that can be found in the UK and with many boat trips available to enable you to explore this spectacular part of the country you won’t have to miss a thing.
Whatever your interest may be, history, architecture, nature or simply a good fun day out, you are bound to find somewhere worth paying a visit to during your stay in Norfolk. Norwich is a mixture of old, with its 11th Century castle, medieval streets and buildings, and new with its modern day restaurants, theatres as well as the football stadium whereas Great Yarmouth offers visitors the traditional seaside holiday with its blue flag sandy beach, the Pleasure Beach with over 20 fairground rides as for animal lovers there is also the popular Sea-life centre.
Norfolk is also home to the royal residence at Sandringham which has been the private home of four generations of royals since 1862. However, like many other stately homes throughout the country, the house and gardens are now open to the public to enable you to take a look around although you won’t get to see the royal families’ private quarters. Another stately home in the county that has previously been the residence for a member of the royal family is Castle Rising where Queen Isabella of France was imprisoned by her son for 30 years after she had murdered his father King Edward II.
Unlike some of the other counties in the UK, Norfolk has not been involved in any major historical battles but this does not mean that the county does not have its own fair share of history. The Black Death of 1349 saw the population of Norfolk reduce dramatically, 100 Norfolk villages that had been mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086 had mysteriously disappeared by 1500 but the most gruesome bit of historical information I found when I was researching this county was that in the 19th century there were organised railway excursions from other parts of the county into Norwich to witness public executions….Some might say it’s about time that public hangings were brought back!
During World War II many evacuees were sent to stay in Kings Lynn as it was assumed that they would be safe from bombings there but sadly the town was the victim of several bombings although most of the evacuees did make it safely home to London.
Over the years Norfolk has been the home to many people who have gone on to make names for themselves in different industries. One of the most notable has to be Admiral Horatio Nelson who was born in the village of Burnham Thorpe, Albert Einsten was rumoured to have hidden out in Cromer in the 1930’s after he escaped from Germany following Hitler’s invasion and famous Olympian Matthew Pinsent was born in Holt.
