Henry Bell (1647–1711) was one of King’s Lynn’s more remarkable and versatile figures: a talented architect, a twice-elected mayor, a merchant, and a man with artistic and civic sensibilities. Bell’s work remains part of the architectural fabric of Lynn – from the still-standing Custom House to the memory of the once-grand Market Cross. Though not as widely known as Sir Christopher Wren, Bell’s contribution to provincial English architecture was substantial, and his buildings reflect a combination of local loyalty and European sophistication.
From Scholar to Statesman: Henry Bell’s Early Life
Born into a prosperous merchant family in 1647, Henry Bell was baptised at St Margaret’s Church and received an early education under the guidance of his scholarly uncle. By the age of thirteen, Bell was admitted to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he earned his BA in 1665. Although the records are lost, like many sons of England’s mercantile elite, Bell almost certainly embarked on a Grand Tour shortly after his studies. These travels (through France, Italy, and the Netherlands) would have exposed him to the principles of Renaissance and Baroque architecture, experiences which shaped both his stylistic preferences and his worldview.
Returning to Lynn by the end of the 1660s, Bell resumed his involvement in the family’s linseed-oil export trade. But his ambitions stretched beyond commerce. At 24, he was granted the Freedom of the Borough and quickly became active in local governance. In 1679 he became an alderman and served as Mayor of Lynn twice — in 1692 and again in 1703. He married Ann Bromley in 1677, and together they had a large family, further rooting him in the life of the town. Throughout this period, he continued to pursue artistic interests: he engraved views of Lynn’s streets, mapped the area, and even wrote a treatise on painting, published after his death.
Henry Bell’s first major building project in King’s Lynn is believed to be that of St James Workhouse, which involved transforming an existing building. He was later appointed Governor of the completed workhouse, a position he held for most of his life.
The Custom House (1683): Henry Bell’s Classical Beacon for King’s Lynn
The Custom House on Purfleet Quay is arguably Bell’s crowning achievement. Commissioned by Sir John Turner as a merchants’ exchange and completed in 1683, it marked a new chapter in Lynn’s built environment.
The first floor of the merchants’ exchange was let to the Collector of Customs and it only became the official Custom House in 1703 (18 years after the building was originally opened), being sold to the Crown in 1717 for £800. The Custom House continued to be occupied by HM Customs and Excise until 1989 when it passed into private ownership.
Photo © James Rye 2021
It is rumoured that Robert Walpole himself was not averse to occasionally popping in on his journeys to and from London to sample some of the products being imported. After all, he was buying a lot of wine (orders of 1000 bottles at a time) for Houghton Hall. Walpole was to develop family links with Sir John Turner who paid for the building.
The needs of the local merchants had been previously met by a building called Hogge Mansion at 91 High Street where they gathered from 1620. However, this building proved to be too small, so they temporarily met in St George’s Guildhall until the Merchant Exchange was completed.
Constructed of pale brick with dressed stone detailing, the building originally featured an open arcade at ground level, supported by Doric columns, providing a sheltered marketplace for trade. Above, a formal, symmetrical façade with restrained classical ornamentation reflects Bell’s understanding of proportion and harmony.
The building is topped by a distinctive timber lantern – in the shape of a Greek cross – which replaced an earlier and more ambitious plan for a soaring obelisk. Pevsner called it “one of the most perfect buildings ever built”, a judgment echoed by architectural historians ever since. The Custom House not only stood as a centre for commerce but has become an enduring symbol of King’s Lynn’s civic identity and architectural maturity.
The Duke’s Head Hotel: Henry Bell’s Baroque Elegance for Market Day
Not far from the Custom House on Tuesday Market Place stands another Bell commission: the Duke’s Head Hotel. Designed in the 1680s, this three-storey inn was constructed for Sir John Turner as accommodation for merchants and visitors to Lynn’s thriving corn market.
Photo © James Rye 1991
The Duke’s Head reflects Bell’s command of classical grammar. Its nine-bay symmetrical frontage, central projection beneath a broken segmental pediment, and ornate modillion cornice all point to Baroque influences, likely derived from Bell’s Continental tour and from contemporaries like Wren and Sir Roger Pratt. The original design included wide arched doorways and a rusticated base course, providing visual rhythm and grounding. Decorative features include acanthus scrolls, plaster lintels, and a heraldic coat of arms above the main entrance.
Though altered over the centuries, much of the building’s external character remains intact.
The Market Cross (1707): Henry Bell’s Lynn’s Baroque Monument
Bell’s final grand civic project was the Market Cross, constructed in the centre of Tuesday Market Place in 1707 to replace an older, medieval structure. Raised through public subscriptions from prominent families – including the Walpoles and Turners – this new Market Cross cost £596 and was designed as both a public shelter and architectural statement.
Bell’s design took the form of an octagonal pavilion crowned by a domed roof, supported by eight slender columns and richly decorated in the Baroque manner. It offered both grandeur and practical function, serving as a focal point for civic ceremonies and market trading alike. Contemporary descriptions lauded it as “the most Baroque of [Bell’s] works” — an unambiguous statement of civic pride and architectural ambition.
Unfortunately, the structure stood on unstable ground and was demolished by the 1830s. However, its form survives in sketches and written accounts, preserving a sense of its original impact.
Beyond Lynn: Henry Bell’s Churches, Courts and Country Churches
Bell’s reputation extended beyond King’s Lynn. After the Great Fire of Northampton in 1675, he was invited to contribute to the town’s reconstruction. His best-documented work there is All Saints Church (1676), a large classical building with a rectangular plan and shallow domed ceiling, echoing London churches designed by Wren.
Bell is also credited – at least in part – with the design of Northampton’s Sessions House (1676–78), a red-brick courthouse featuring a grand façade of Ionic or Corinthian columns and semicircular pediments, hallmarks of Bell’s architectural vocabulary. Contemporary observers noted its elegance and civic gravitas. In addition, some attributed the design of the town’s Peacock Hotel to Bell, citing its strong resemblance to the Duke’s Head.
Back in Norfolk, Bell turned his attention to North Runcton, near his family’s estate. In 1703 he designed a new All Saints Church there, again featuring a shallow central dome supported by columns – a motif that links several of his ecclesiastical designs. The church was completed in 1711, two years after Bell’s death. In his final years, he also undertook interior work in Lynn, including the design of organ lofts and altarpieces in St Margaret’s and St Nicholas’s churches, revealing his continued interest in the harmony of architecture and decoration.
Henry Bell’s Style and Legacy
Henry Bell’s architectural language was sophisticated yet grounded. He employed classical orders – Doric, Ionic, Corinthian – with assurance, and was adept at integrating elements such as rustication, broken pediments, and symmetrical façades. His use of domes, arcades, and lanterns places him firmly in the English Baroque tradition, though he avoided excessive grandeur in favour of balance and clarity.
His inspirations were clearly drawn from both his Grand Tour and his exposure to leading architects like Wren and Pratt. However, unlike their monumental works for the aristocracy and Crown, Bell’s buildings were designed for merchants, clergy, and civic use. This gave his work a unique flavour – ambitious but human-scaled, learned but local. The Custom House, Duke’s Head, and North Runcton Church form a cohesive architectural legacy that demonstrates how Continental ideas could be reinterpreted in a Norfolk context.
Henry Bell passed away in 1711, and for much of the next two centuries, his name slipped from public memory. His contributions were obscured by changes to his buildings and a general lack of recognition for regional architects. It was only in the 20th century, through architectural surveys, local records, and renewed interest in vernacular classicism, that Bell’s importance began to be fully appreciated.
Today, Bell is once again recognised as a key figure in King’s Lynn’s history. His work appears in guidebooks, heritage listings, and local education materials. The Custom House, now a Grade I–listed building, stands as the emblem of the town. The Duke’s Head and the site of the Market Cross remain central to Lynn’s historical landscape.
Bell may not have reached the heights of Inigo Jones or Sir Christopher Wren, but he represents something more approachable: the cultured provincial who used his knowledge, skill, and civic pride to transform a town. His legacy is not just in brick and stone, but in the enduring identity of King’s Lynn itself.
© James Rye 2025
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Further Reading and Resources
- Pevsner, N. (1962) The Buildings of England: Norfolk: West and South, Penguin
- Colvin, H. M. (1995) A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840, Yale University Press.
- Ketteringham, J. (1970) Northampton in the Seventeenth Century, Northamptonshire Record Society
- King’s Lynn Civic Society, Walking Tour of Historic Lynn (pamphlet)
- Historic England Listings for:
- The Custom House [List Entry No: 1298449]
- The Duke’s Head Hotel [List Entry No: 1298451]
- All Saints Church, Northampton [List Entry No: 1372092]
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