Abbey

Closer to home for me these days, some great history can be seen in the county that contains Beetley.

Kings Lynn.
During the 14th century, this West Norfolk town was the most important port in all of England. Some of the historic dockside has been resored.

Central Norwich.
The old part of the city has remained the same since the Elizabethan age. These photos are modern, it still looks the same today.

Bickling Hall.
The stately home where Anne Boleyn was born in 1501. The house as it is shown here was mainly built in 1616, by Sir Henry Hobart. It is now managed by The National Trust, and open to visitors.

Oxburgh Hall.
A moated country house, built by in 1482 by Sir Edmund Bedingfield, and later crenellated. He was a supporter of the Yorkists during the Wars of The Roses. Now managed by The National Trust, and open to visitors.

St Benet’s Abbey.
Close to the east coast near Great Yarmouth, this dates from 1022, at the time of King Harold Godwinson who was killed in 1066 at The Battle of Hastings. Sir John Fastoff (Shakespeare’s Falstaff) was buried here.

Before we moved to Norfolk in 2012, we visited the county often, to see Julie’s daughters. At the time, they were living in the ancient market town of Wymondham, and we stayed in a small hotel there, opposite the famous Abbey. (By the way, the name is pronounced Win-dom, not Why-Mond-Ham.)
In September 2010, I had taken along my SLR camera, and with the benefit of some very nice weather, I walked across to the Abbey, and took some photographs. They are all large files, and benefit from the big sensor in the SLR. Please click on them to see more detail.

The famous twin towers, unusual for a Norfolk church.

The ancient Abbey began life as a Priory, in the 11th Century, and some of that original complex remains, now little more than ruins.

The building is still in regular use as a place of worship, and though it is also very impressive inside, I couldn’t take interiors that day, as a large wedding party was in attendance. This is a view of only half of the Abbey, so gives some idea of its impressive size, and imposing position.

The town is now substantially developed, but the old centre still retains many buildings of historical interest, and makes for a nice diversion off the busy A11 road nearby. Close to the Abbey, there is an old station, with occasional trains to Dereham, run by railway enthusiasts, and an attractive riverside walk. For those of you interested to discover more about this important Abbey, I have added the following link to their website. http://www.wymondhamabbey.org.uk/