Some Interesting facts about Norfolk

If you were born and raised in Norfolk, you might know many of the following Norfolk facts. However, some are quite obscure; how many are you familiar with?

• Norfolk has over 650 medieval churches
• North Walsham market cross was originally built in the 16th Century
• King's Lynn Custom House was initially built in 1683
• Castle Rising, a Norman fortress was built around 1140
• Sandringham Royal Family's Estate, is where the Queen spends Christmas
• In Old Hunstanton, the ruins of St Edmunds Chapel is said to commemorate the landing of the King of the East Angles in 850 AD
• Castle Acre Priory, dates back to the 12th century
• Thetford Forest covers an area of around 80 square miles
• Grimes Graves are 4,000 years old and were once Neolithic flint mines
• Queen Boudicea and the Iceni tribe lived in Norfolk some 2,000 years ago
• Caister Castle was the first brick castle to be built in England and was erected in the 1430's
• Happisburgh lighthouse was constructed in 1791
• Acle was granted permission to hold a market in 1272 and, to this day, one is held every Thursday
• Caistor St Edmond has the remains of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum
• Hingham is an ancient settlement, and as early as 925 AD it is recorded as being the property of King Arthelstan
• Humphrey Repton designed Sheringham Park in 1812
• Blickling Hall dates from the early 17th century
• Oxburgh Hall was built by the Bedingfield family in 1482
• The Norfolk Broads were created by the flooding of ancient peat diggings
• St Benet's Abbey was founded in around 955AD and was once an important Benedictine monastry
• Stalham's gabled hall dates back to 1670
• The Norfolk Broads are made up of twelve large and twenty-four small lakes or meres
• The Swallowtail butterfly, the largest butterfly in Brittain, can now only be found in the Norfolk Broads
• Aldborough village is listed in the Domesday Book
• Most of Attleborough's town was destroyed by fire in 1559
• Aylsham was famed for its linen and canvas industry during the 14th century
• Cromer's best known feature is its pier, and was built in 1900
• Cromer's lighthouse was built in 1833
• Dereham's Church of St Nicholas was built by the Normans in the 13th century
• The Doomsday Book in 1086 AD states that Fakenham had a population of 150
• St Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth, is the largest parish church in England
• Gresham's public school, Holt, was originally founded in 1515
• In 1349 AD the Black Death struck King's Lynn and nearly half of the town's population perished
• Thetford Castle Hill is England's tallest medieval earthwork
• Medieval Norwich had an incredible 57 churches within the city walls
• Norwich Cathedral has attracted many pilgrims for over 900 years
• Norwich Cathedral's construction commenced in 1096. However, the Cathedral was not finally consecrated until 1278
• In 1272 the original Norwich Cathedral cloisters were destroyed in a fire
• Norwich Castle was built by the Normans in the 12th century
• Norwich was the largest walled town in medieval England
• In 1549 an army of 20,000 rebels, led by Wymondham farmer Robert Kett, took over control of Norwich
• By the early 1670's Norwich had a population of around 21,000 and was probably the largest provincial town in England
• Norwich originally had three railway stations
• Admiral Lord Nelson was born in 1758 at Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk
• Colman's Mustard was founded by Jeremiah Colman in 1814
• Sir Thomas Bignold was the founder of the insurance business, Norwich Union, known today as Aviva
• The Gurney family helped to found what is now known as Barclays Bank
• Start-rite Shoes has been in Norwich for over 400 years
• A. J. Caley began making chocolates at Chapelfield and the brand still exists today
• The name Bowthorpe came from either Denmark or Norway and was originally spelt Boethorpe
• Old Catton was inhabited as far back as the Stone Age
• Costessey Park House, was built around 1450
• From 1882 to 1959 Drayton had a railway station
• In 1086 Sprowston was first officially mentioned in the Domesday Book
• Taverham Hall was built by the Rev. J. Nathaniel Micklethwait in 1859
• The Norfolk coastline was the first part of Britain settled by early man
• Norfolk is one of the few counties that doesn't contain any stretches of motorway
• The spire of Norwich Cathedral is 315 feet high, second only to that of Salisbury
• The Norfolk accent is very hard to imitate, with many nuances that are difficult to capture
• A bishy barnabee is the Norfolk name for a ladybird
• Norfolk is England's fifth largest county
• The Norfolk coastline is nearly 100 miles long
• Norfolk's highest point is Beacon Hill, near West Runton, 338ft above sea level
• Howard Carter the archaeologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen grew up in Swaffham
• 'On The Ball City', Norwich City Football club's song, is the oldest football chant that is still being sung in UK football clubs today
• The Adam and Eve public house in Bishopgate is Norwich's oldest pub and was built in 1249 for workers building Norwich Cathedral
• In 1963 the Grosvenor Rooms on Prince of Wales Road, Norwich played host to a Beatles gig