Buildings in King's Lynn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

King's Lynn is an attractive English market town in West Norfolk. This page details a selection of some of the more prominent buildings in King's Lynn with pictures where available.

Contents 1 Churches 1.1 St Margaret's Church 1.2 St Nicholas's Chapel 2 Historical Buildings 2.1 Customs House 2.2 Greyfriars Tower 2.3 South Gates 2.4 Town Hall and Trinity Guildhall 2.5 Red Mount 2.6 Library 3 Modern Buildings 3.1 King's Lynn's 'Sky Scraper' 3.2 Vancouver Shopping Centre 3.3 The Docks 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Churches

[edit] St Margaret's Church

The construction of St Margaret's Church in 1101 is the point at which King's Lynn first came into existence in terms of how it is now recognised today. Commissioned by the Bishop of Norwich, Bishop Herbert de Losinga, at the request of the townspeople 'in honour of the Holy Mary Magdalene and St Margaret and all holy virgins' the church is one of the town's most dominating landmarks.^[1]

The church has seen substantial redevelopment over the centuries - at its peak it had a library in a wing to the south. The church also had a spire on the south west tower and a central lantern similar to Ely Cathedral - these were destroyed by lightning in the 18th century.

Of the original structure, it is believed that only the bottom portion of the south west tower is original. The church was first rebuilt in the 13th century at the request of the Bishop of Norwich - Bishop de Grey. Of this rebuild only the chancel remains.

The north west tower had to be rebuilt in 1453 as it had been set in poor foundations. Although it is still safe to stand for a few more centuries, if you enter the church you can see just how dramatic the lean is.

During the siege of Lynn in the 15th century pot shots were taken at the church damaging various religious embellishments and, most significantly, the main Western window. The cannonball that destroyed the window now hangs in the entrance to Hampton court, nearby to the church.

The most serious damage to the church occurred in 1741 when a great storm destroyed the spires of St Margaret's church and St Nicholas's Chapel as well as St Margaret's central lanteen. Despite a generous donations totalling £1,000 from George II and Robert Walpole the £3,500 required was not raised and the church was not able to be restored to its former glory.

[edit] St Nicholas's Chapel

St Nicholas's Chapel was constructed around 1200 during the expansion of Lynn by Bishop William Turbus - the third Bishop of Norwich. The expansion saw not only the construction of the chapel, but also the Tuesday Market Place - which is still the primary marketplace in the town today. Consequently, the chapel quickly became Lynn's second church by a comfortable margin. It was not long before it was so popular that it launched pleas to become independent from St Margaret's Church; in 1426 St Nicholas's Chapel had congregations of 1,400 - compared to 1,600 at St Margaret's. Despite this, it took until 1627 before the chapel obtained baptismal rights.

Due to the rise in popularity, and the fact that the north of Lynn became quite affluent the chapel was rebuilt between 1380 and 1410 on a much larger scale in the grand perpendicular scale of the time.

The church is England's largest chapel of ease, a chapel dependent on a church and serving part of the parish for the convenience of parishioneres nearby. It is worth visiting not only for the building itself, but also for the human stories it tells.^[2]

The church is most distinctive for its tall spire, although it is not the original. There were at least two spires previously - one of which was destroyed in the storm of 1741 (along with the spire and lantern of St Margaret's), and another which stood from 1749 to 1854 described as 'never a regular spire but a kind of wooden extinguisher stuck on to be seen at sea'.^[3]

[edit] Historical Buildings

[edit] Customs House

The King's Lynn Customs House is one of the town's most iconic landmarks. It was designed by architect Henry Bell and built by Sir John Turner in 1685. It was not the first Customs House built for the town - originally one was constructed in 1620 on the site where the Hogge Mansion is currently located (currently occupied by Barclay's Bank), however this was too small and as a result a larger one was needed; St George's Guildhall was used in the intervening years.

Initially, Customs only occupied the top floor and the ground floor was used by merchants for trading - however merchants were uhappy they were too far from the Tuesday Market Place and by 1717 Customs occupied the entire building.

300 years later and whilst the building is no longer used by Customs it is still a gateway to the town as it houses the town's Tourist Information Office.

The building was described by architect Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the most perfect buildings ever built".^[4] He was an admirer of King's Lynn in general, also commenting that the walk from the Tuesday Market Place to the River (by the Customs House) was of the finest in the world.^[5]

[edit] Greyfriars Tower

The Greyfriars Tower is the only remaining part of a Franciscan monestry, and one of only 3 surviving such towers in England and is considered to be the finest.^[6] Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII all such monestries were demolished. The tower at Lynn remained because it was considered to be a useful seamark by sailors entering the town, still being clearly visible on the town's skyline to this day.

The tower is informally referred to as 'the leaning tower of Lynn' as it leans dramatically to the west. At its worst, the lean was 67.5 centimetres - which given its height of more than 28 metres is just over 1 degree. This compares to 5.5 degrees on the Leaning Tower of Pisa.^[7]

Whilst it is not believed to be in imminent danger of collapse, until recently it did require work to correct the lean to ensure it remains a part of the King's Lynn skyline. This was completed by August 2006 and on October 18th 2006 the grounds were officially opened by the Mayor, Councillor Ann Clery-Fox. It was once forecast that the tower would collapse onto the theatre next door when the Queen came to visit - however as the theatre has since been converted into a bingo hall this now seems unlikely!

The tower itself was featured in the first season of the BBC TV series Restoration^[8] for the Eastern region. Whilst the tower won its regional and proceeded to the national final, which was won by the Victoria Baths in Manchester.

[edit] South Gates

The South Gates are one of the most recognisable structures in King's Lynn as most visitors to the town still have to pass through them. Originally constructed in the 14th century, they were rebuilt in the 1450s, much in the form that is seen today. However the ashlar front, which gives the building a much more imposing impression, is merely a facade which was added in 1520; the structure itself is actually bricks and mortar, which given the date of construction makes it one of the oldest surviving brick structures in the country.

Although the gates have stood largely unaltered since the 1520, they were modified later in the 19th century^[9] with the two smaller arches to the side of the main one. Whilst the main arch was used for horse drawn carriages, the smaller arches were intended for pedestrians - mainly the lower class. However, by the end of the 19th century the traffic demands had grown so much that in 1899 London Road was widened and now the gates only straddle half of the road.

Today, traffic still passes through the arch to enter from the south. The structure is situated on London Road, one of the busiest roads in the town meaning there is a constant stream of traffic through it during the day. Despite this, accidents are unheard of as the arch can comfortably fit most forms of traffic from articulated lorries to double-decker buses.

[edit] Town Hall and Trinity Guildhall

The townhall of King's Lynn has existed since the early fifteenth century, between 1422 and 1428,^[10] when the Guildhall of the Holy Trinity was built. It is the most prominent feature of the townhall today with its steep arched roof, large window and chequered patterned exterior. The building was enlarged in 1624, when an extension with the same chequered style was added which now forms the main entrance to the townhall.

The arms of Elizabeth I can be seen above the main window on this building. They were removed from St James's Church on 7th August 1624. The arms of Charles II are above them - they were added 40 years later.^[11]

The townhall had a final expansion when a further extension in a similar chequered style front was added in 1895.

[edit] Red Mount

Sitting in the centre of The Walks, King's Lynn main urban park, lies the Red Mount chapel. Also known as 'Our Lady's Chapel' it is a remarkable building in that it is completely unique and no other building like it can be found. It was built in the 15th century to contain a relic of the Virgin, but was also used by pilgrims on their way to Walsingham.^[12]

It was built by Robert Corraunce on instructions from the prior of Lynn. The inner core is divided into 3 stories and there is an additional cross shaped ashlar building in Anscaster stone on top.^[13]

Unfortunately, due to its location in the centre of the park it has become the target of vandalism - particularly graffiti - however future plans to rejuveniate the Walks include restoration for this curious landmark.

• Reffley Temple

On part of the site of the Reffley Housing estate there existed until the 1970s a tiny brick building with lion monuments outside which was reputed to be the meeting place of an eccentric group of gentlemen. Perhaps it was a version of the famous "Hellfire Club?" Unfortunately it fell into ruin when the estate swamped its site which had once been remote. (Les Gillard - former resident)

[edit] Library

The King's Lynn library was funded and opened by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Some cynics believe that he chose King's Lynn as a site for the library due to its close proximity to the Royal residence in Sandringham in an attempt to get a knighthood - however given Carnegie's history of financing libraries across the world, as well as his positive comments regarding King's Lynn and similar towns in his autobiography^[14] it is impossible to ascertain whether there is any truth to these accusations.

The library is still in use today and is still the town's primary library, opening Monday to Saturday. It is situated on London Road, the main entrance to the town, opposite one of the entrances to the Walks, the town's main urban park.

[edit] Modern Buildings

[edit] King's Lynn's 'Sky Scraper'

As a low rise market town, the vertical addition of the Campbell's Soup Tower in 1959^[15] marked a radical departure from the norm. Coupled with the flat nature of the Fens the building was visible for miles, much more prominently than any of the other tall buildings, mostly churches and similar towers.

The tower was built as part of Campbell's international expansion. King's Lynn was chosen as a site due to the large local agricultural economy.

Although the tower is no longer the tallest building in the town (the tower at the docks is presently the tallest structure, and the main block at the college is also larger) it is almost certainly Lynn's most famous tall building, even though it would be dwarfed by any true skyscraper.

The building is situated on the town's largest commercial/industrial sector - the Hardwick Estate. It is the most noticeable part of the estate when driving past on the A47 southern bypass.

[edit] Vancouver Shopping Centre

The Vancouver Shopping Centre was originally constructed to much controversy in the 1960s. Many objected to the idea of a traditional market town having its historic centre pulled down and replaced with modern shops. Despite this, the shopping centre was built but by the 1990s it was clear that the facilities were not adequate to deal with the modern commercial needs and it began to fall into disrepair.

Eventually though, by 2003 plans were approved for a new shopping centre. Construction began in 2004 and it opened (although it was not 100% complete) in time for the Christmas shopping for 2005. Whilst the style is still not to everyone's tastes, most people tend to agree the new development is a vast improvement over the previous design. Whilst the majority of the previous development has been replaced, there are still two buildings left from the original town centre, Argos and the Westgate Department Store.

Although not part of the same development, the opening of the new shopping centre coincided with the opening of a new multistorey car park which together have served transform the shopping experience in the town.

[edit] The Docks

Considered to be as important to England in medieval times^[16] as Liverpool was during the Industrial Revolution the port at King's Lynn has been fundamental to the town's economy as long as it has existed.

Originally, ships docked at the town near the Customs House down past the quay near St. Margaret's Church. However, with the development in ship design during the Industrial Revolution this was no longer adequate and in the 19th century the larger, more modern docks were constructed.

Whilst the surrounding structures and equipment are obviously more modern - the docks themselves are still the same today.

The white tower seen in the photograph is the tallest structure in King's Lynn and can be seen for miles.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• A website with a vast catalogue of photographs and information on King's Lynn taken in 2002
• The homepage of St Margaret's Church