This is an extract from Magnae Britanniae notitia: The Present State of Great Britain, 1733 by John Chamberlayne. There is an earlier version of the book dated 1708.

This section about Norfolk has been transcribed by Claire Haynsworth of Norfolk, Virginia, USA. When the book was published, the letter s was printed like the letter f, which is why the words may look strange. Also 100,000 l means 100,000 pounds sterling.

In the text, Chamberlayne mentions the River Frin. This is not a misprint or an incorrect transcription. Please contact me (see below) if you can identify it.

Norfolk

Is in Norwich Diocefe, 140 Miles in Circumference, contains about 1,148,000 Acres, and 47,180 Houfes. The Air is fharp, the Soil diverfe, partly clayifh, and partly fandy: The Spring and Harveft are here not very forward. Its Rivers Oufe, Waveny, Yare and Frin. The commodities are Corn, Wool, Conies, Honey, Saffron, of which the beft is about Walfingham; and on the Sea coafts are abundance of Herrings. Jet and Amber are fometimes found on the Shore. Its chief Manufactures are Woollen and Worfted Stuffs, which are faid to have that Name from Worfted, a Town in this County and Stockings.

It has 660 Parifhes and 31 Towns: Norwich the Shire Town, 90 Miles from London, a Bifhop's See, contains about 7000 Houfes and 30,000 Souls, is eminent for Norwich Stuffs made there, of which they vend yearly to the Value of 100,000 l. There is a Cathedral Church, and the Bifhop's Palace. There is an Hofpital for 100 poor Men and Women; fair Cloifters, and a fine Market-crofs. Yarmouth is a beautiful Town, and hath an excellent Harbour; Lynn is a fair Town, and wealthy.

Chief Seats are Norwich Palace, Duke of Norfolk's; Pafton Hall, late Earl of Yarmouth's; Stifcay and Raynham, Lord Townfhends'; Blicking, Lord Hobart's: Houghton, Sir Robert Walpole's: Melton Conftable, Sir Jacob Afhley's, Bart.; Ranworth Hall, Col. Sidney's; Garboldifham, Sir Edmond Bacon's; Kirby Bedon, Sir Tho. Berney's; Oxborough, Sir Henry Bedingfield's; Hunftanton, Sir Tho. L'Eftrange's.

These pages are for personal use only. They may not be copied, and the links within them may not be harvested for use on your own web pages. Please see the Copyright Notice.

Copyright © Pat Newby.
April 1998

From Barclay's Complete and Universal English Dictionary, 1842

A county of England, lying on the German Ocean; bounded by Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Suffolk. It extends 70 miles in length and 40 in breadth. It contains 33 hundreds, 1 city, 32 market towns, and 660 parishes.

The face of this county varies less than in most tracts of equal extent in England. Not one hill of any considerable height is to be seen in the whole county; yet, in most parts, its surface is broken into gentle swells and depressions. At the western extremity is a considerable tract of flat fenny land, which is part of the Bedford Level; and, on the east, a narrow tract of marshes runs from the sea, near Yarmouth, to some distance up the country. Between Lincolnshire and the western extremity, is a broad but shallow arm of the sea, called the Wash.

The south western part is very sandy and light land, not very easy nor profitable for husbandry; but the rest is a good mixed soil, generally very productive in corn of all kinds, mangold-wurzel, turnips, &c. Excellent butter and cheese is made, especially in the marshlands, and is sold in London as Cambridge butter and Stilton cheese. Cattle, sheep, fowls, &c. are abundant. Game and rabbits are too plentiful by far for the farmers. A few bustards yet live in the western parts.

On the sea-coast, herrings and mackerel are caught in great plenty; and Yarmouth, in particular, is noted for the curing of red herrings.

The air of this county is sharp and piercing, which throws the seasons more backward than in other counties under the same latitude; but it is very wholesome, particularly in the inland parts.

Its principal rivers are the Great Ouse, Nen, Little Ouse, Waveney, Wensum, Yare, and Bure. Norwich is the capital. Population, 412,664. It sends 12 representatives to parliament.

These pages are for personal use only. They may not be copied, and the links within them may not be harvested for use on your own web pages. Please see the Copyright Notice.

Copyright © Pat Newby.
December 1995.

Breckland is an area in the south west of Norfolk, extending into Suffolk, which contains much forest and heath land. For a present-day description, see below, and also look at the web pages about individual places, starting at the Norfolk: Towns and Parishes page.

• Description
• Other Information

These pages are for personal use only. They may not be copied, and the links within them may not be harvested for use on your own web pages. Please see the Copyright Notice.

Copyright © Pat Newby.
December 1998

Description of Breckland

[Description copyright © Paddy Apling, who lives in the area.]

The term "Breckland" means an area only cropped occasionally (breaks).

I suppose the term is a little ambiguous, especially because Breckland DC is now a district council of Norfolk, centred on Dereham, Thetford, Attleborough and Swaffham.

However, the way I and most locals use the term Breckland is to cover an area which to quote the old archeologist W.G. Clarke ("In Breckland Wilds", 1925 - or 2nd edition by R Rainbird Clarke, 1937):

comprises about 400 square miles, of which 253 are in south-west Norfolk, and about 145 in north-west Suffolk, extending from Narborough on the north to Culford and Mildenhall in the south, from East Harling and Garboldisham on the east to Lakenheath and Feltwell on the west. The only towns within the area are Thetford, Brandon, Mildenhall and Swaffham, and it is less densely populated than any district between the Pennines and the New Forest.

Those who have been there will recall seeing the wryly shaped Scots pines at the edges of the roads and spreading in lines across the landscape at intervals, and these "hedged" Scots pines in practice define the area of Breckland, although now much of the area is covered by the forestry plantations of Thetford Forest. They were planted as windbreaks, probably in the late 18th/early 19th century, to stop the light soil from blowing. (A farmer is quoted as answering when asked if his farm was in Norfolk or Suffolk - tha' depens which wa' tha winds a-blowin' - and the village of Santon Downham was almost completely covered by sand-blow in 1688).

The Normans used the area for rabbit warrens (Thetford Warren Lodge still exists on the Thetford to Brandon Road - and oddly the Norman Lord of much of the area was the Earl de Warenne), but the area was evidently comparatively highly populated in pre-historic times - neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves, between West Tofts and Brandon, pre-historic graves and cooking places all over the area.

The meres (or lakes) in the area are notable for often being dry in wet seasons and full in dry, as the water comes from the underlying chalk strata. Breckland has probably the lowest rainfall of anywhere in Britain, and certainly is the nearest thing to a desert we have.

The central part of the region, in the triangle between the roads from Thetford to Mundford and Norwich, and a little north of the road from Bodney to Watton has since 1942 been a military training area, and is still mainly heath as it has been for several centuries. The area is renowned for its distinct flora and fauna - some of its birds and plants are extremely rare outside Breckland (and the wildlife is not at all bothered by the firing!!!).

Other Information

Description and Travel

Clarke, William George

In Breckland wilds.
[1st edition: London; Robert Scott, 1925]
[2nd edition: (revised and re-written by R. Rainbird Clarke) Cambridge; Heffer, 1937]

Cook, Olive

Breckland.
[2nd ed., London; Hale, 1980]

Mason, H.J. and McClelland, A.

Background to Breckland.
[ISBN: 0903803275, Ely: Providence, 1994]

Economic History and Conditions

Bailey, Mark

A marginal economy ? East Anglian Breckland in the later Middle Ages.
[ISBN: 0521365015, Cambridge University Press, 1989]

Social History and Conditions

Home, Michael

Autumn fields.
[3rd ed., London; Methuen, 1946]

Home, Michael

Spring sowing.
[London; Methuen, 1946]

• Descriptions of Norfolk
  • 1733: Chamberlayne's The Present State of Great Britain
  • 1842: Barclay's Complete and Universal English Dictionary
• Areas of Norfolk
  • Breckland - south west Norfolk
  • The Broads - east and north east Norfolk
  • The Fens - west Norfolk
  • Flegg Island - east coast of Norfolk. This is a link to an archived copy.
  • Poppyland - north Norfolk coast
• Places in Norfolk
  • See the individual Towns and Parishes pages for links to pictures, information and websites.
  • Norfolk Libraries Photo Collections
    Thousands of pictures of Norfolk.
  • Tour Norfolk: Places in Norfolk
    This has short descriptions and pictures of many places, churches, etc.
  • Old Photographs of Norfolk
    From Fenprint.
  • Photographs of Norfolk
    From the Frith Collection.
• Most villages have a village sign, often showing some aspect of the history of the village.
  • Village Signs of Norfolk
    This is a link to an archived copy.
• Rivers and Waterways
  In the following pages, look for links to East Anglia and Norfolk.
  • Canals and Waterways: Roots and Routes
    This is a link to an archived copy.
• Norfolk Mills
  Information and pictures of Norfolk mills.

These pages are for personal use only. They may not be copied, and the links within them may not be harvested for use on your own web pages. Please see the Copyright Notice.

Copyright © Pat Newby.
December 2008

Poppyland is the area of the north Norfolk coast around Cromer, Sidestrand and Overstrand. It acquired this name at the end of the 19th century.

Description and Travel

Jones, Elizabeth

Poppyland in Pictures.
[ISBN 0946148031, Poppyland Publishing, c1983]

Rothery, Constance

The Poppyland Flyer: the story of the railway line from Cromer to North Walsham, 1906-1953: calling at: Cromer Links - Overstrand - Sidestrand Halt -Trimmingham and Paston & Knapton - Mundesley.
[Trimmingham, Norfolk, 1984]

Stibbons, Peter and Cleveland, David

Poppyland - Strands of Norfolk History.
The writings of Clement Scott, and the visitors from the world of the theatre who came because of those writings.
[ISBN: 0946148171, Poppyland Publishing, 1985]

These pages are for personal use only. They may not be copied, and the links within them may not be harvested for use on your own web pages. Please see the Copyright Notice.

Copyright © Pat Newby
July 1999.

The Broads (or Broadland) is an area of rivers and stretches of water, situated roughly between Norwich and Great Yarmouth, from Stalham in the north to Lowestoft in the south.

Description and Travel

• Norfolk and Suffolk Broads
• Photographs by P.H. Emerson
  Pictures of East Anglian Life (1888) (this is a link to an archived copy)
  Wild Life on a Tidal Water (1890) (this is a link to an archived copy)
  On English Lagoons (1893) (this is a link to an archived copy)
  Marsh Leaves (1895) (this is a link to an archived copy)
• Photographs by P.H.Emerson, taken in the 1880s (this is a link to an archived copy)

Bulmer, Jane

The Norfolk Broads in colour.
[ISBN 0711702926, Norwich: Jarrold, 1987]

Clark, M. Aitken; Denyer, Richard and Knights, Sarah

Still Waters : photographs of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads [ISBN 0951485903, Still Waters Press, 1989]

Dawson, John G.

Broads and Broadsmen.
[ISBN 0863326463, Lewes: Book Guild, 1991]

Dye, Margaret

More memories from the marshes: people of the Broads, past and present.
[ISBN 0948400390, Dereham, Larks Press, 1996]

Manning, Stanley Arthur

Portrait of Broadland.
[ISBN 0709181310, London: Hale, 1980]

Middleton, C. S.

The Broadland photographers: the photographs of J. Payne Jennings, P.H.Emerson and George Christopher Davies, 1880-1890.
[ISBN 0903619237, Norwich: Wensum Books, 1978]

These pages are for personal use only. They may not be copied, and the links within them may not be harvested for use on your own web pages. Please see the Copyright Notice.

Copyright © Pat Newby
October 2003

For pictures of the Fens, see:

Day, Anthony

Fen and marshland villages: a portrait in old photographs and picture postcards.
[ISBN: 1857700414, Seaford, East Sussex: S.B. Publications, 1993]

A fen is usually an area of marshy ground, for example Strumpshaw Fen which is to the east of Norwich. Many such areas are now nature reserves. They tend to be on the edges of villages, near to water, and have few people living there.

"The Fens", or "the fenlands", are different. This is the name given to an area of land in north west Norfolk, north east Cambridgeshire and south Lincolnshire. Very roughly, the boundary is marked by King's Lynn and Downham Market in Norfolk; Ely and Peterborough in Cambridgeshire; and Bourne, Sleaford, Lincoln and Skegness in Lincolnshire. To the east is the very wide estuary of the Wash. The greatest distance from north to south is about 30 miles, and similiarly from east to west.

Originally much of the land was very marshy, if not under water, but from Roman times attempts were made to drain it. This was done by digging many deep channels (called dykes and drains), building high banks and using windmills to pump water. By the mid 19th century most of the work was completed, providing the rich agricultural land that is seen today, and allowing people to travel on dry land.

A small scale map or atlas will show the rivers, the Nene and the Ouse, and also the main drains with names such as the Middle Level Main Drain, North Level Main Drain etc. A large scale map will show thousands of smaller drains through and between each field, and alongside each road.

See also the History of Southery and the Fens (this is a link to an archived copy).

This evocative description of the fens today is by Rod Neep:

Nowadays... the picture is... a land perfectly flat (at or up to 2 feet above sea level) ..... with mile upon mile of crops and waving wheat in the summer, hardly a tree in sight ..... where you can see as far as the horizon. The roads, large and small are built on banks 6 to 10 feet above the level of the surrounding land, bordered each side by small open drains... like streams... which are all directed into the main waterways, which are hardly rivers in the natural sense, but with high banks (levees to you American folks) to prevent flooding. The water from the field drains is pumped *up* into these main drains, which are usually dead straight for miles.

The villages are built on land just slightly higher than sea level - usually no more than 6 to 9 feet above sea level.

Overall... a picture of complete tranquility and beauty, thriving agriculture, and gorgeous in the summer time.

These pages are for personal use only. They may not be copied, and the links within them may not be harvested for use on your own web pages. Please see the Copyright Notice.

Copyright © Pat Newby
May 1999