Calling all pub quiz aficionados! Pubs might be closed for now but many of us are getting our pub quiz fix at home. The virtual pub quiz has taken off in a big way, but you need to know your facts from fiction to get those high scores. At Discover King’s Lynn, we’ve got just the thing for you, a Discover King’s Lynn blog brimming with trivia and things you might not know about our town. You never know when a King’s Lynn question might come up and you’ll dazzle your team members when you get it right.
Whether you live here, have visited previously or are planning a trip in the future, see how many of our top ten things you know about King’s Lynn. You might surprise yourself!
It’s thought that King’s Lynn was named after the Celtic word for a lake or pool, the town was initially known as ‘Lin’. A large tidal lake originally covered this area. Water is central to the town’s history, during the 14th century King’s Lynn ranked as the third most important port in England. The town is famed for its rich maritime heritage and today we celebrate links with the Hanseatic League at the annual Hanse Festival.
The Mart has been entertaining fairgoers in King’s Lynn town centre for more than 800 years and traditionally opens on Valentine’s Day with an official opening by the Mayor of West Norfolk. It was granted a Royal Charter by King Henry V111 in 1537. Over 400 years later, the Queen visited the Mart in the year of her coronation (1953). Many of the fairground families have been coming to the Mart for generations.
The Victorian Fairground Manufacturer Frederick Savage (1828-1897) built carousels, switchbacks and showmen’s engines; his innovative fairground machinery was exported all over the world. During the 19th century Frederick Savage showed his latest fairground attractions to showmen at the Mart. You can see his colourful gallopers in the Lynn Museum.
King’s Lynn was home to Captain George Vancouver (1757-1798) who sailed with Captain Cook and charted the north-west coast of North America. The Vancouver Quarter complex with its variety of retail businesses is named after him. Other famous names with King’s Lynn connections include Roger Taylor, drummer for the rock band Queen, who was born in the town. Actor Michael Caine was evacuated here during the second world war and attended King Edward V11 Grammar School. Comedian and actor Stephen Fry attended the College of West Anglia (formerly the Norfolk College of Arts and Technology).
William Shakespeare is said to have performed at St George’s Guildhall in 1593, his leading comic actor Robert Armin was born in King’s Lynn in 1565. The 15th century Grade 1 listed Guildhall is now Britain’s oldest working theatre!
Something fishy happened in King’s Lynn…There are records of the bones of a ‘Monster Cod’ being unearthed in the town centre. The bones indicated the fish was a whopping 51 inches long, compared to the average 18-inch cod we find now. If you want to know about the people who worked and lived in King’s Lynn’s fishing community, you can visit two restored fisherman’s cottages at True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum on North Street.
The oldest-recorded instance of a market on Saturday Market Place in King’s Lynn dates back to 1104. The daily market on Saturday Market Place (with the exception of Tuesdays) must have been a real draw for King’s Lynn’s Medieval residents. In 2018, Discover King’s Lynn revived the tradition of a market on Saturday Market Place with the launch of the monthly Farmers’ Market. Similarly, to our medieval ancestors, today locals and visitors have the opportunity to meet the traders, hear their stories and sample the produce.
The mere mention of the Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins (1620-1647) and his witch trials in the mid-1600s sends a shiver down the spine. He casts a dark shadow over East Anglia. The persecution of innocent women with false accusations of witchcraft began in the 1500s. In the red brick above one of the windows of 15-16 Tuesday Market Place is a diamond shape with a carved ‘witch’s heart’ inside. This marks the death of Margaret Read, a woman burned at the stake in the square in 1590 having been found guilty of witchcraft.
History is everywhere in King’s Lynn, with a tale round every corner of our historic town. Take a walk through history in King’s Lynn.
The first recorded Royal Charter granted to King’s Lynn was in 1204 in the reign of King John (1166-1216). According to legend, on 12 October 1216, King John lost the crown jewels in the Wash. 800 years later in 2016 a life-size bronze statue of King John was unveiled in New Conduit Street in King’s Lynn town centre. King John is said to have caught a fatal case of dysentery while feasting here – today you don’t need to worry about such things! There are some fabulous places for food and drink in King’s Lynn. The ornately decorated 14th century King John Cup is on display in the Stories of Lynn museum.
King’s Lynn with its historic buildings and quayside is a top choice for film location scouts. TV and film productions have taken advantage of our picturesque town centre with its merchants’ houses, warehouses and cobbled streets. Most recently ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’ was filmed here. The Custom House and The Purfleet featured in the trailer for the film. Have fun spotting King’s Lynn on camera!
How many facts did you know? You’ll be top of the class now in a King’s Lynn quiz!
You can go on a fact-finding mission of your own. When you do, we’d love to hear what you discover here! #DiscoverKingsLynn.
📸: © Matthew Usher