Sir John Oldcastle: Both Hanged and Burned
In the winter of 1417 the crowds at St Giles’ Fields saw an unusual punishment: Sir John Oldcastle, once a royal companion and soldier of […]
Read moreSea Salt and Sin – The Beginning of King’s Lynn
There have doubtless been people visiting and living at the southern corner of the Wash throughout human history, but the town of King’s Lynn itself […]
Read moreThe Leaning Tower of Lynn
One Not Four King’s Lynn has a famous leaning tower. And it’s quite safe. The twenty-eight metre tower of the Franciscan (Greyfriars) Friary leans just […]
Read moreSt George’s Guildhall, King’s Lynn
The Buttresses, the Extended Building, the Bard, and the Button Factory The Guildhall of St George in King’s Lynn is a Grade 1 listed building […]
Read moreKing’s Lynn Teacher Hanged
Eugene Aram – possible philandery (sex), definite philology (words), plunder, murder, and the King’s Lynn Grammar School. On 16 August, 1759, Eugene Aram, a former […]
Read moreMade From Whales in King’s Lynn
Most people walking along the quayside in King’s Lynn would be astonished to learn that the town once had a whaling industry. The port, which […]
Read moreThe Red Mount Chapel In King’s Lynn
The Red Mount Chapel in The Walks is one of King’s Lynn’s most iconic buildings. However, despite surviving over five and a quarter centuries it […]
Read moreWhy Is King’s Lynn Called “King’s Lynn”?
If they think about it for a second, people are often puzzled by the name King’s Lynn. Most inhabitants of the town have no idea […]
Read moreKing’s Killers in King’s Lynn
Not many people know that for several years King’s Lynn produced two regicides (killers of a king). The Civil War: Promotion And Pain When the […]
Read moreJohn Capgrave
John Capgrave – the Lynn historian, hagiographer, theologian, and church leader who saw the princess with his own eyes. In 1406 the twelve year-old Princess […]
Read moreLynn Man Gets Away With Two Murders
Even the father-in-law of the murdered Customs Officer was persuaded to provide Kemball with a spurious alibi for the time the murders were committed. William […]
Read moreLynn Man Buys An Alibi
There were so many people willing to commit perjury in support of Franklyn that the trial took seven hours. Thomas Franklyn – King’s Lynn Smuggler […]
Read moreLynn Mayor Cheats Customs For Years
Francis Shaxton – King’s Lynn Smuggler Francis Shaxton was a respected alderman in the respectable prosperous town of King’s Lynn. But when he was first […]
Read moreCastle Rising: National Figures
Castle Rising is a small village five miles to the northeast of King’s Lynn, and the Castle today is a ruin. Yet, despite the village’s […]
Read moreThe Hanging and the Two Survivors
The Tragedy In 1808 William Wildblood entered St Margaret’s Church in King’s Lynn, climbed the stairs to the belfry, and using the strong rope attached […]
Read moreThe Jews of King’s Lynn
Prior to 1066, no Jews were recorded as living in the England. However, William the Conqueror wanted government dues to be paid in coin rather […]
Read moreKing’s Lynn’s Compass
The Compass Plaques on Purfleet Quay, King’s Lynn. Explorers and Adventurers. On the Purfleet Quay there is a compass rose with plaques commemorating eight significant […]
Read moreLynn Lost A Chantry
The purification offset scheme that failed In the heart of medieval King’s Lynn, chantries once shaped the town’s religious and social life – until they […]
Read moreKing’s Lynn’s Contradictory Window
St Margaret’s Church, King’s Lynn (since 2011 designated The Minster) has a very imposing west window above the main entrance. The church was originally built […]
Read moreThrough Lynn to Walsingham
The second most popular place to visit in England between about 1200 and 1537 During the Middle Ages the shrine at Walsingham was the second […]
Read moreMargery Kempe’s Horses and Cries
”His death to me is as if he had died this same day …” Margery Kempe’s Business Failures In Lynn After the failure of one […]
Read moreHostage Taking in Lynn
The French Are Coming Ironically, although King John had proved himself very capable of hostage taking and demanding ransom, it was not King John who […]
Read moreSt James’: The Clock That Killed
It was the clock on the St James’ Workhouse, given by Thomas Tue of King’s Lynn almost 200 years earlier, that was to inadvertently kill […]
Read moreLynn Priest Makes National History
One-time Lynn priest at St Margaret’s, William Sawtry, was the first person in England to be officially burned alive for heresy. He was executed at […]
Read moreThe Road to the 1688 Revolution: James, Duke of York
Summary of main events and background factors up to the death of Charles II in 1685 The 1688 Revolution marked an important milestone in the […]
Read moreThe Custom House That Originally Wasn’t
The Original Purpose Wasn’t A Custom House The Custom House in King’s Lynn is one of the town’s most iconic buildings. However, few people know […]
Read moreLynn MP’s Netflix Conversation
Introduction Unfortunately, we are not able to be a fly on the wall when we might want to be. And there are many, many occasions […]
Read moreSome King Street Secrets
Can you guess what you might find if you do a bit of digging into the history of King Street in King’s Lynn? The Crossroads, […]
Read moreThe House, The Bank, And The Arctic Ice
Who were the two men who lived in Bank House, King’s Lynn? And what were their very different achievements? The House Bank House on King’s […]
Read moreMansion in Queen Street, King’s Lynn
The Lynn Mansion That Was Briefly A Prison Clifton House is an exceptionally fine early eighteenth century house that in its history has briefly served […]
Read moreExecutions in King’s Lynn
Many people in King’s Lynn were hanged or burned or quartered, but who were they, and what had they done? And why were their deaths […]
Read moreGeorge Vancouver: The Overshadowed Achiever
Innocent King’s Lynn hero attacked with a cane on a London street. Captain George Vancouver: The Caning in Conduit Street In September 1796 a 39 […]
Read moreTime for Edith and Thomas
If you were a merchant sailor in the port in King’s Lynn in the seventeenth century and wanted to know both the time and height […]
Read moreNapoleon’s Soldiers in King’s Lynn
Book a Walk with a Trained and Qualified King’s Lynn Guide During the Napoleonic Wars King’s Lynn was designated as one of the ports to receive […]
Read moreSir Benjamin Keene
King’s Lynn man goes to Spain and helps save thousands of lives Sir Benjamin Keene 1697 – 1757 Introduction At various stages in his life […]
Read moreThe Biscuits and the Cannon Ball
Hampton Court (14th – C17th) in King’s Lynn is a very interesting series of buildings. The complex was finished by biscuits and finally saved by […]
Read moreKing’s Lynn’s Half Fathoms
Visitors to King’s Lynn who park on the South Quay are often mystified by the thin, bendy shape that reaches over six metres towards the […]
Read moreBig Changes to the River and to the Town of Lynn
Lynn has been described as the Warehouse of the Wash during the medieval period. During the Middle Ages it was as important to the country […]
Read moreKing John Had At Least Three Very Cunning Plans
The leader, commemorated locally for giving Lynn a Charter in 1204, was infamous nationally for taxing certain mistresses – a trick he had adapted from […]
Read moreKing’s Lynn’s Third Most Famous Sailor?
The Eighteenth Century Sunderland Sailor who left a mark in the heart of historical King’s Lynn If you ask people to name a famous sailor […]
Read moreThe Languages Left Behind in Place-Names
A Variety of Language Sources British place names contain elements that can be traced back to the languages spoken by at least five quite distinct […]
Read moreCastle Rising’s She-Wolf Revisited (1 of 2)
Queen Isabella – the woman who declared herself a widow while her husband still lived History isn’t always kind to people, especially if the writers […]
Read moreCastle Rising’s She-Wolf Revisited (2 of 2)
Queen Isabella – the only woman to successfully invade the country and depose an English king See Castle Rising’s She-Wolf Revisited (1 of 2) for […]
Read moreThe Riot when Bishop Henry Despenser came to Lynn
This wasn’t an afternoon for cucumber sandwiches and tea on the lawn. The bishop was running. His horse had bolted, and he was wounded. He […]
Read moreHanseatic League and King’s Lynn (3 of 3)
What happened to the Hanseatic Buildings in Lynn after the 1474 Peace Settlement? After permission was granted to build on the site (see Hanseatic League […]
Read moreHanseatic League and King’s Lynn (2 of 3)
What was the Hanseatic League? The Hanseatic League was an organization founded by the Northern European Baltic and German trading towns and cities to protect […]
Read moreHanseatic League and King’s Lynn (1 of 3)
Why did trade disputes miles away at sea end up leaving such a mark on a Norfolk Market Town? The Bay Fleet Attacks In the […]
Read moreThree Peoples on the Road
Who was the Viking who decided to stay near the Norfolk coast on the road from King’s Lynn to Hunstanton? Although people in Britain like […]
Read moreThe Siege of King’s Lynn 1643 (4) – Afterwards
(4 of 4) Local aristocrat convicted of spying and treachery. Execution date fixed for 2 January. “Sir, God hath taken away your son by cannonshot […]
Read moreThe Siege of King’s Lynn 1643 (3) – Ending
(3 of 4) Lynn’s complete legal establishment enter tough negotiations. “In our passage through the towne, not one man appeared, only women, who for the […]
Read moreThe Siege of King’s Lynn 1643 (2) – Grenadoes
(2 of 4) Lynn MP Escapes House Arrest Through Window Thomas Toll, one of the two Parliamentarian MPs for King’s Lynn, escaped house arrest through […]
Read moreThe Siege of King’s Lynn 1643 (1) – Which Side?
(1 of 4) He spent “£5. 5s when he travailed to avoyd the Troopers”. Alice Lestrange family accounts The Siege of Lynn: Which Side Are […]
Read moreThe Sinner and the Dragon: St Margaret’s, King’s Lynn
We all have three lives: a public life, a private life, and a secret one. Gabriel García Márquez The novelist García Márquez once said that […]
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