Old Lynn In The Cold Light Of Dawn

I travelled up to the North Norfolk coast today and found myself with a little over an hour to wait to make a connection between the train- and the bus parts of my journey. I decided to keep warm by taking a stroll around King's Lynn, or Lynn as the locals call it. The only problem with my plan was that it was still almost dark.

Believe it or not, Lynn was once the third largest seaport in England and was a very wealthy place; the old town centre has many buildings which testify to its former glory. It also was the home of one of the country's finest yet largely forgotten sea-faring heroes - more of him later.

The sun was slowly making its way over the horizon, throwing St Margaret's Church into a striking silhouette. The church was founded by the Bishop Of Norwich in 1101 but very little of that building remains having been largely rebuilt in the 13th century and then again in the 18th. It was also further restored by the Victorians.

The church is nevertheless an impressive structure as it soars above the Saturday Market Square.

Not far away stands the only remaining part of the Franciscan Friary known as "Greyfriars". But what an amazing survival it is; it looks as though it could be blown down by the first strong wind but here it has stood proudly since Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1538.

Parts of the beautiful Town Hall date from 1421 and though it's been added to over the centuries the unusual "chequerboard" pattern of the stonework has been used throughout giving the structure a sense of unity. It shows better than any other building the wealth and style that the historic town possessed.

There are some fine streets too where many of the merchants houses survive intact.

All this grandeur was paid for by money earned by the port much of which can still be seen today though most of the commercial activity has moved a few hundred yards downstream. The little ferry still plies its trade, taking people across the River Great Ouse to West Lynn on the opposite bank. It can be seen behind the larger vessel in the picture above.

The 17th century Customs House was described by the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the most perfect buildings ever built". In front of it, among the old chains and anchors stands a small statue of George Vancouver.

Captain Vancouver, as his name suggests, was almost certainly descended from a Dutch family. There were close trading links between King's Lynn and  the Low Countries so it would not be surprising if some of them settled in Norfolk. He is mainly remembered, when he's remembered at all, as the man who led the expedition to chart the Pacific coast. His survey was extremely accurate though he somehow failed to chart the outlet of the Columbia River. But this oversight, important as it was, was not the reason that George Vancouver died in obscurity and was largely forgotten in English history. His problem was that he had disagreements with influential people on his return to England. The link above gives a fairly full account of the Captain's life.

A nearby monument lists those with King's Lynn connections:

 CAPTAIN GEORGE VANCOUVER 1757 - 1798

SEARCHED FOR NORTH-WEST PASSAGE

ACQUIRED BRITISH COLUMBIA FOR THE CROWN

CAPTAIN

SAMUEL GURNEY CRESSWELL

1827 - 1867

FIRST MAN TO NAVIGATE

THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE

 ADMIRAL

SIR W EDWARD PARRY

1799 - 1855

 ARCTIC EXPLORER

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH

1580 - 1631

VIRGINIA PIONEER

FOUNDER OF NEW ENGLAND

FRIAR NICHOLAS OF LYNN

DIED 1369

VOYAGED TO ICELAND

REPUTED DISCOVERER OF THE AMERICAS

ADMIRAL LORD NELSON

1758 - 1805

HERO OF

 THE NILE, COPENHAGEN & TRAFALGAR

KING EDWARD IV

1442 - 1483

FLED TO FLANDERS

FROM THE PORT OF KING'S LYNN IN 1460

ADMIRAL JAMES BURNEY

1750 - 1821

EXPLORED WITH COOK AND VANCOUVER



Just to prove me wrong about Vancouver being forgotten by the rest of the country when I got on the train to return home this evening I glanced at the nameplate - "Captain George Vancouver". 

Take care.