The History Anorak

The History Anorak

Tuesday, 8 September 2015

Blakeney Guildhall

Blakeney, on the north Norfolk coast, used to be a major port, but the harbour has been silting up for centuries and is now little more than a creek. However, some remnants of its once international role can still be seen, including the Guildhall. It never was a guildhall, of course, but is actually the remains of a 15th century merchant's house. It once stood two storeys high and what is now visible was a basement store room.

It has some fine vaulting and there is a chute in the outer wall that once provided an outlet for the privy. It must have been a bit smelly, because the tide never came that far in! (Except occasionally when strong winds and spring tides combined. You can see markers on a nearby wall that show quite how far the tide still comes in from time to time!)

It's now in the care of English Heritage and you can see the outside at any time. Inside is open daily at sensible hours.

There are three more plaques above that - but they were too high up to photograph!

Thursday, 3 September 2015

A romantic bridge


The Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux (the one played by Errol Flynn in the 1939 movie The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex) built this bridge for Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century so she could go hunting in nearby woodland when she visited him.  It remains the longest packhorse bridge in England, with 14 of its original 42 arches still to be seen crossing the River Trent on the edge of the Shugborough estate in Staffordshire. 

It's Grade I listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.