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Information about
GREAT
YARMOUTH
or visit
www.greatyarmouth-norfolk.co.uk
Built
originally on a sand bank that formed in the 5th century,
Great Yarmouth was recorded in the Domesday Book as having a
population of just 100. However, thanks mainly to the humble herring,
the town rapidly increased in both size and wealth. This industry
continued to flourish until the 1930’s but today all that remains
are the memories and the lovely old steam drifter “The Lydia
Eva” 
which is moored in the town and is open to the public.
By
the 1800’s Yarmouth had become established as a fashionable
sea side town and in 1844 the rail link between Norwich and Yarmouth
meant that the town, with its bracing sea air, became accessible to
all and the holiday resort, as we know it today, became established.
In
the 1960’s the oil and gas industries began exploring the
North sea off great Yarmouth and the town became a center for all
the businesses associated with the industry. Bringing wealth and
jobs to the area the town expanded and had yet another source of
wealth. This has, however, in recent years declined and today the
town again relies to a great part, on the holidaymaker for its
income.
Yarmouth of old
In 1209 Yarmouth was declared a free borough by King John.
This meant that the townsfolk could run their own affairs and as a
consequence had its own courts, set its own taxes and decided its
own destiny. In 1261 a wall was built to defend the town, the
remains of which can still be seen today. It was a mile and a half
long, some 7 feet thick and 23 feet high and surrounded the town on
3 sides.
The wall meant that all building work was confined within its
perimeter, which resulted in houses and buildings being packed
tightly together. The outcome was the famous “Yarmouth
Rows”
with streets or alleyways as narrow as a meter,  where the less well
off lived. Bombing in the war sadly destroyed many of the original
145 rows and more recently, Market Row was badly damaged by fire.
Many large imposing properties were also built, some of which remain
to this day. The
Tollhouse
built in 1260, is now a museum and other properties such as No.4
South Quay, built
in 1596 by Benjamin Cooper with its elaborate ceilings and paneled
rooms, are open to the public. It is allegedly the place where the
execution of Charles 1 was decided in 1648. South Quay is also home
to The
Custom House,
another imposing property built in 1720.
Yarmouth’s
quayside was in the 1700’s tree lined and was described by
Defoe as the “finest quay in Europe”. Even in the early
1900’s, up to two thousand craft of varying types could be seen in
harbour and the town had become the busiest herring port in the
world.
Yarmouth
as a Naval Port In the 14th century
Yarmouth had its own navy consisting of twenty men-of-war and its
naval strength was greater than even London’s.
From
the 1300’s to the mid 1800’s Yarmouth was
considered by the Admiralty to be a naval port of considerable
importance. Indeed, as a result of the important part that Yarmouth
ships and their sailors played in the war against the French, the
Royal Arms were granted to the borough by Edward Ш.
The area of sea between the town of Yarmouth and the sandbanks
offshore, known as the Yarmouth Roads, has always been a safe area
for ships to shelter from storms and a popular place to anchor and
it was from here in 1799 that the fleet sailed against the Dutch
returning victorious with seven Dutch vessels as prizes. The battle
took place off Camperdown and to commemorate this battle, a terrace
of houses near Wellington Pier was named Camperdown.
Although naval ships still regularly visit the port of Great
Yarmouth, today the port is used by oil rig support vessels and for
agricultural purposes.
The North Sea Oil and Gas industry
Yarmouth was at the center of the North Sea boom. Although
initially no large quantities of oil were found off Norfolk, vast
quantities of gas were eventually discovered and the town became a
base for the companies involved in the exploration and extraction.
The old buildings, originally used by the rapidly declining fishing
industry, were either demolished or converted for use by the gas
industry and ships and supply vessels tied up at the quay. Huge rigs
and derricks began appearing offshore and several can still be seen
today.
Great
Yarmouth’s Maritime disasters
Inevitably, as a busy seaport Yarmouth, has had its fair share of
ships coming to grief over the years. Many of them have been
stranded on the sand banks that abound along this part of the coast.
In rough weather the banks help to form the Yarmouth Roads where
ships can shelter in reasonably calm water but in fog they become
dangerous traps for the unwary sailor..
In
the early 1900’s there were some 27 lifeboat stations along
the coast. Yarmouth itself had two boats stationed on the front and
Gorleston had an RNLI boat, The Leicester, in 1886. This boat
was paid for by the citizens of Leicester after hearing of the
capsize and loss of the crew of an earlier boat named The Rescuer in
1866.
In 1901 the Caister lifeboat, The Beauchamp, attempted to go to the
rescue of a ship on the Barber sands. The lifeboat capsized on
launching with the loss of 9 men. It was then salvaged and spent the
remainder of its life as a cruiser on the broads. It was finally
left to rot at Gorleston.
There have been numerous other cases of ships coming to grief, some
of the more memorable being: -
1902
The Maggie Williams crashed into the pier at Gorleston trying to
come into the harbour in rough weather
1905 The Erna which dragged her anchor and ended up on the
beach
1929 The Scotia which dragged its anchor, whilst sheltering
in the Roads and was a total loss
The Oscar loaded with timber caught fire whilst coming in to
port. The crew was rescued but despite attempts to extinguish the
blaze the fire raged for 4 days and explosives on a raft finally
sank the ship.
The
Porthcawl loaded with grass also caught fire and burnt for
nearly a week before coming ashore as a complete wreck.
Great
Yarmouth as a Holiday Resort
Great Yarmouth as a holiday resort, dates
back to 1759, when a “bath house” was erected. A horse mill was
used to pump water into reservoirs and then by a system of pipes
into the baths. Shortly afterwards a reading room was built
alongside.
In the 1800’s the town began to build and expand into the
Yarmouth we know today.
A
jetty was constructed near to the bathhouse after an earlier mooring
jetty was swept away by storms. This new jetty was 456 feet in
length and was advertised as a means of taking in the clean sea air,
being beneficial to health. The first racecourse was built in 1810
on the Denes to enable officers from the Yarmouth barracks to race
their horses and in 1819 a monument was erected commemorating
Nelson’s victory at the battle of Waterloo in the middle of the
race course.
Businessmen
from London now took an interest in the investment and growth
potential of the town and in conjunction with some of the leading
townsfolk, established The Victoria Building Company in 1841. This
company was largely responsible for much of the following
development of Yarmouth and what was to become The Golden Mile.
By 1846 much of the front had been developed, a sea wall had been
built, and The Victoria Hotel had been opened and enlarged. The
Victoria estate, with an entrance arch on to Wellington Road and
developments in Albert square, Trafalgar Square, Kimberley terrace
had all taken place.
By the 1870’s Yarmouth had 3 railway stations and as most of
Britain now knows, had rail links the town and was able to accept
holidaymakers from the length and breadth of the country. Some were
concerned that this would enable a lower class of visitor to come to
the town, but the people of Yarmouth welcomed this new opportunity
and adapted to it.
In
1899 the Wellington Pier or what remained of it were purchased by
Yarmouth corporation and demolished. It was completely rebuilt and
reopened in 1903. in the same year the Hippodrome was built. Used
mainly as a circus arena it had a sunken ring that could be flooded
for water shows. In 1904 The large glass structure now known
as the Winter Gardens, was purchased from Torquay corporation for
the knock down price of £1300, less than a tenth of its original
cost, and rebuilt on Wellington Pier giving the pier a much more
imposing façade. The piers appearance was later further enhanced in
1927 with the addition of an ornate entrance to the pier to help
attract the ever-increasing amount of passing traffic.
At
around the same time Britannia Pier was rebuilt at a cost of some £65,000
and extended out around 810 feet into the sea. Its pavilion seated
2500 people. It was subsequently destroyed by fire in 1910 and
again in 1914 but was rebuilt on each occasion.
With the declaration of war in 1914 building work in Great Yarmouth
ground to a halt but not before The Regent had been opened on 26th
December 1914 and The Central cinema early in 1915 this was later
demolished and is now Woolworth’s.
In 1915 Yarmouth was the subject of one of the country’s first air
raids.
At the end of the war, Yarmouth corporation embarked on further
building work and expansion to meet the needs of the new style
holidaymakers
During the 1920’s the area between the two piers was developed,
with bowling greens and waterways. A new swimming pool was
built and a new racecourse was built at North Denes.
In 1937 The Marina Open Air Theatre was built and a year later the
Majestic Amusement Arcade was opened at the end of Britannia
Terrace. In the same period the great wooden roller coaster that
still operates was built and the Pleasure Beach that today occupies
over 9 acres along the South Beach began to grow
Yarmouth sea front was now full of businesses and attractions with
very little space left.
The second world war broke out in 1939 and again all development
ceased. The town was the subject of over 150 air raids and sustained
considerable damage to its ancient buildings and quay area.
After the wars
At the end of the war Yarmouth again embarked on a massive
rebuilding program to enable the fishing industry and the tourist
trade to continue and expand. For the fishing industry however, it
was already too late and it never recovered.
The South Denes area, formerly used by the fishing area, was now
redundant until Bird’s Eye Frozen foods built a factory there in
1945 and many small businesses sprung up in and around the area. It
was not until the 1960’s when the oil and offshore gas industry
came to the town that the area was again fully utilized.
The
holiday industry too was doing its share of building after the war
and in the 1950’s both piers were rebuilt or refurbished and in
1960 a new swimming pool was built. Many of the visitors coming to
the area now came by car as well as rail and as these car owners
were able to travel out of the town caravan sites and holiday camps
sprung up along the coast and in the surrounding areas.
The hotels and boarding houses along the seafront found, that due to
these new camps and sites, their trade was diminishing and the
buildings were converted into amusement arcades and restaurants. The
Victorian face of Yarmouth was rapidly disappearing and being
replaced with the face we know today with its bright lights and
holiday atmosphere.
In
1965 the Tower complex which dominates the sea front skyline was
built on the west side of the sea front with its, at the time very
modern, design it contains accommodation, restaurants and dance
halls all under one roof.
By
the mid 70’s holidays and short breaks abroad were becoming
increasingly popular and in an attempt to encourage visitors further
work was undertaken along the front
. In
1979 the swimming pool and the open-air theatre were demolished to
be replaced by the huge Marina Leisure Centre of today.
In the early 1990 the Sea Life Centre opened and other
attractions along The Golden Mile were either revamped or replaced
with attractions more appealing to today’s visitor.
Sadly,
despite all the efforts, the busy days of the 50’s and 60’s were
never to return to the town and although Great Yarmouth still has a
lot to offer the holidaymaker and while the amusements and
restaurants along the front and the guest houses and hotels in the
town continue to ply their trade, the town is an all together
quieter place. Some of the attractions are beginning to show their
age, in particular the Wellington Pier. But in 1994 the comedian Jim
Davidson took an interest in the structure and buildings. He has now
reached agreement with the council and has already made vast
improvements and with his help and guidance the pier is beginning to
take on a new lease of life.
The Golden Mile now includes 2 piers, boating lakes, tennis courts,
bowling greens, a sea life centre, restaurants, amusement arcades, a
huge pleasure beach, a vast leisure centre amongst many other
attractions and of course, a lovely sandy beach and safe bathing.
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More old pictures of Yarmouth (click
on picture to see it full size) |
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For a more up-to-date Great Yarmouth, with all its amenities,
shops businesses, what to do and where to visit, go to:-
www.greatyarmouth-norfolk.co.uk
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