85-450: Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk , England. The civil parish has an area of 16.31 km (6.30 sq mi) and in 2001 had a population of 2,451, reducing to 2,165 at the 2011 census . Wells is 15 miles (24 km) to the east of the resort of Hunstanton , 20 miles (32 km) to the west of Cromer , and 10 miles (16 km) north of Fakenham . The city of Norwich lies 32 miles (51 km) to
170-517: A Gross Domestic Product of £ 9,319 million, which represents 1.5% of England's economy and 1.25% of the United Kingdom's economy. The GDP per head was £11,825, compared to £13,635 for East Anglia, £12,845 for England and £12,438 for the United Kingdom. In 1999–2000 the county had an unemployment rate of 5.6%, compared to 5.8% for England and 6.0% for the UK. Data from 2017 provided a useful update on
255-567: A saffron grower. Over 20% of employment in the county is in the agricultural and food industries. Well-known companies in Norfolk are Aviva (formerly Norwich Union ), Colman's (part of Unilever ), Lotus Cars and Bernard Matthews Farms . The Construction Industry Training Board is based on the former airfield of RAF Bircham Newton . Brewer Greene King, food producer Cranswick and feed supplier ForFarmers [ nl ] were seeing growth in 2016–2017. A local enterprise partnership
340-419: A 10¼ inch-gauge railway (the longest of such a gauge in the world), now uses part of the track-bed and has its own separate Wells railway station . In addition to the two passenger railway routes in and out of the town, there was a tramway from the station to the quayside at Wells Harbour, whose rails are still visible today just beneath the modern road surface along East Quay. Locomotives were not allowed along
425-597: A fifth generation crabman, who sells Cromer Crabs to eateries such as M Restaurants and the Blueprint Café. The problem that he has found is attracting young people to this small industry which calls for working many hours per week during the season. Lobster trapping also continued in North Norfolk, around Sheringham and Cromer , for example. Norfolk's low-lying land and easily eroded cliffs, many of which are composed of chalk and clay, make it vulnerable to weathering by
510-401: A granary in 1990. The maritime tradition of the town meant it used to have a remarkable number of public houses for a town of its size although many of these have since closed. The northern end of the town used to be notable for parallel 'yards', narrow rows of cottages similar to the northern ' ginnels ', which may derive from the rebuilding of the port in the eleventh century. (The original port
595-833: A large green ringed by lime trees. Large elegant Georgian houses overlook The Buttlands, as do the Crown Hotel, Globe Inn and the Wells Catholic Church. If one exits The Buttlands down the hill at its south-west corner they can see Ware Hall, a medieval house which was rebuilt over a period of years from the 1970s by Miss May Savidge, who brought it in parts when she moved from Ware in Hertfordshire . There are three tiers of local government covering Wells-next-the-Sea, at parish (town), district, and county level: Wells-next-the-Sea Town Council, North Norfolk District Council , and Norfolk County Council . The town council has its offices at
680-454: A mile of sand for launch in Holkham bay. An Atlantic-class, rigid inflatable inshore boat is used for callouts along the coast; it has proved itself by responding to an increasing number of people cut off by the tide and carried out to sea while swimming or using paddleboards and inflatables. The earlier lifeboat house, built in the 1860s and now used as the harbour office, is at the western end of
765-425: A seaport since before the 14th century, when it supplied grain to London and subsequently to the miners of the north east, in return for which Wells was supplied with coal. Until the 19th century, it was easier to carry bulk cargoes by sea than overland. It was a significant port in the 16th century, with 19 ships over 16 tons burden operating out of Wells in 1580, making it the major port in the area. It had been, since
850-520: A surge almost as dangerous in 1978, for which the town was better prepared. On 5 December 2013, a storm surge occurred which caused severe damage to the properties on the Quay and to the east; it did not affect the west end of the town because of a tidal barrier built in 1982. The Prime Minister , David Cameron , visited the town on 9 December 2013 to inspect the damage caused by flooding. Norfolk Norfolk ( / ˈ n ɔːr f ə k / NOR -fək )
935-618: A traditional malting floor for two centuries. The village and maltings were formerly served by Ryburgh station on the Great Eastern Railway branch from Wymondham and East Dereham to Fakenham and Wells-next-the-Sea . This line is proposed for restoration, as far as Fakenham, by the Norfolk Orbital Railway . The church of Great Ryburgh St. Andrew is one of 124 surviving round-tower churches in Norfolk . The Boar Inn
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#17330940501831020-451: A yeoman farmer, who was joined by recruits from Norwich and the surrounding countryside. His group numbered some 16,000 by the time the rebels stormed Norwich on 29 July 1549 and took the city. Kett's rebellion ended on 27 August when the rebels were defeated by an army under the leadership of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland at the Battle of Dussindale. Some 3,000 rebels were killed. Kett
1105-534: Is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia . It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and east, Cambridgeshire to the west, and Suffolk to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Norwich . The county has an area of 2,074 sq mi (5,370 km ) and a population of 859,400. It is largely rural with few large towns: after Norwich (147,895),
1190-532: Is administered by Norfolk County Council, which is the top tier local government authority, based at County Hall in Norwich. For details of the authority click on the link Norfolk County Council . Below Norfolk County Council the county is divided into seven second tier district councils: Breckland District , Broadland District , Great Yarmouth Borough , King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough , North Norfolk District , Norwich City and South Norfolk District . Below
1275-548: Is backed by dense pine woods which are part of the Holkham National Nature Reserve . The woods comprise Scots pine , Maritime pine and Corsican Pine growing on sand. More pinewoods exist to the east of the beach over the shipping channel at an area called the East Hills. This can be accessed on foot at low tide though all of the tidal sands in the area are extremely dangerous due to the speed and currents of
1360-596: Is controlled by the Labour Party and North Norfolk District by the Liberal Democrats . Norfolk County Council has been under Conservative control since 2017. There have been two periods when the council has not been run by the Conservative Party, both when no party had overall control, these were 1993–2001 and 2013–2017. For the full county council election results for 2017 and previous elections click on
1445-500: Is located in Great Ryburgh and is a traditional English country inn, with low-beamed ceilings and an inglenook fireplace in the bar. An Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered in 2016 by a Museum of London Archaeology excavation that was largely funded by Historic England . The waterlogged conditions of the site led to the remarkable preservation of burials including 6 plank-lined graves and 81 hollowed tree-trunk coffins dating from
1530-479: Is reputed to have been adjacent to the church.) Most of these remain though some have been lost to development and slum clearance . The North Sea flood of 1953 affected the northern edge of the town, breaching the beach bank and causing damage to houses on both east and west ends of the town. It also destroyed the Pinewoods caravan site. The pines themselves, which had been planted in the nineteenth century to stabilise
1615-492: Is served by these local newspapers: Before 2011, Norfolk had a completely comprehensive state education or "maintained" system managed by Norfolk County Council , with secondary school age from 11 to 16 or in some schools with sixth forms , 18 years old. Since then, a number of schools formerly in the "maintained" system have left it to become academies , or members of academy groups. Others have become free schools . Both academies and free schools are still publicly funded by
1700-468: The Conservative Party win the 2010 general election , they would reverse the decision. Following the 2010 general election , Eric Pickles was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 12 May 2010 in a Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government . According to press reports, he instructed his department to take urgent steps to reverse the decision and maintain
1785-509: The High Court , and on 21 June 2010 the court ( Mr. Justice Ouseley , judge) ruled it unlawful, and revoked it. The city has therefore failed to attain unitary status, and the two-tier arrangement of County and District Councils (with Norwich City Council counted among the latter) remains as of 2017. Norfolk's county town and only city is Norwich , one of the largest settlements in England during
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#17330940501831870-611: The Local Government Act 1894 the improvement commissioners were replaced by an elected urban district council . Until 1954 the urban district council was based at the offices of the solicitor who acted as clerk to the council, at the corner of Chancery Lane and The Buttlands. In 1954 the council bought the former Park Cinema at 62 Mill Road for £1,600 and converted it to become their offices and meeting place, holding their first meeting there in December 1954. The urban district council
1955-556: The Norman era . Norwich is home to the University of East Anglia , and is the county's main business and culture centre. Other principal towns include the port town of King's Lynn and the seaside resort and Broads gateway town of Great Yarmouth . Great Ryburgh Great Ryburgh is a village and former civil parish , now in the parish of Ryburgh , in the North Norfolk district, in
2040-841: The Tacolneston TV transmitter. However, northwestern parts of Norfolk including King's Lynn , Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea are covered by BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire , broadcasting from Hull , and ITV Yorkshire , which broadcast from Leeds . The area receives its television signals from the Belmont TV transmitter. BBC Local Radio for the county is served by BBC Radio Norfolk . County-wide commercial radio stations are Heart East , Greatest Hits Radio East , Amber Radio , and Kiss . Community based stations are Future Radio (serving Norwich), Harbour Radio (for Great Yarmouth ), KL1 Radio (covering North West Norfolk ) and Poppyland Community Radio (serving North Norfolk ). Norfolk
2125-470: The enclosure of land. The county was not heavily industrialised during the Industrial Revolution , and Norwich lost its status as one of England's largest cities. The contemporary economy is largely based on agriculture and tourism. The area that was to become Norfolk was settled in pre-Roman times (there were Palaeolithic settlers as early as 950,000 years ago), with camps along the higher land in
2210-658: The 14th century to distinguish it from other places of the same name. It appears as Wells Next the Sea (no hyphens) on the Ordnance Survey maps of 1838 and 1921. When the Wells and Fakenham Railway was opened on 1 December 1857, the terminus was given the name of Wells-on-Sea. In 1956 the Wells Urban District Council voted to re-adopt the name Wells-next-the-Sea, and this has been the official name since then. The town has been
2295-409: The 15th and 17th centuries. The regulation of the harbour in order to preserve its use was by Act of Parliament in 1663; in 1769, Harbour Commissioners were appointed with powers over vessels entering and leaving (as they still have today). The quay was substantially rebuilt in 1845, as part of attempts to improve the town. At the same time, Improvement Commissioners were appointed with the task of making
2380-481: The 2017 General Election the 2015 result was repeated. In the 2024 General Election, Norfolk became the only county in the United Kingdom to be represented by MPs from five different parties. In October 2006, the Department for Communities and Local Government produced a Local Government White Paper inviting councils to submit proposals for unitary restructuring. In January 2007 Norwich submitted its proposal, but this
2465-595: The Boundary Committee recommended a single unitary authority covering all of Norfolk, including Norwich. However, on 10 February 2010, it was announced that, contrary to the December 2009 recommendation of the Boundary Committee, Norwich would be given separate unitary status. The proposed change was strongly resisted, principally by Norfolk County Council and the Conservative opposition in Parliament. Reacting to
2550-635: The Department of Education but are not with county council management. In many of the rural areas, there is no nearby sixth form, and so sixth form colleges are found in larger towns. There are twelve private , or private schools, including Gresham's School in Holt in the north of the county, Thetford Grammar School in Thetford , which is Britain's fifth oldest extant school , Langley School in Loddon , and several in
2635-520: The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce made this comment: "At a time when Norfolk firms face steep up-front costs, the apprenticeship system is in crisis, roads are being allowed to crumble, mobile phone and broadband 'not-spots' are multiplying, it's obvious that the key to improved productivity and competitiveness lies in getting the basics right". The solution was seen as a need for the UK government to provide "a far stronger domestic economic agenda ... to fix
Wells-next-the-Sea - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-470: The Wells Community Hospital on Mill Road, on the western outskirts of the town. Wells-next-the-Sea was an ancient parish within the hundred of North Greenhoe . Until 1844 the parish was governed by its vestry , in the same way as most rural parishes. In 1844 an act of parliament established improvement commissioners to look after the secular aspects of local government in the town. Under
2805-555: The announcement, Norfolk County Council issued a statement that it would seek leave to challenge the decision in the courts. A letter was leaked to the local media in which the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities and Local Government noted that the decision did not meet all the criteria and that the risk of it "being successfully challenged in judicial review proceedings is very high". The Shadow Local Government and Planning Minister, Bob Neill , stated that should
2890-545: The beginning of the century, an exporter of grain and an importer of coal. Wells was also from early days a manufactory of malt . At its height, the town boasted up to twelve maltings which, in 1750, contributed a third of the exports of malt from the country, mostly to Holland, more than any other port save for Great Yarmouth . Wells was also a fishing port: in 1337, it is recorded as having had thirteen fishing boats and nearby Holkham had nine. Its mariners brought first herring and then cod from Iceland in quantity between
2975-591: The city centre, next to the River Wensum . The City College Norwich and the College of West Anglia are colleges covering Norwich and King's Lynn as well as Norfolk as a whole. Easton & Otley College , 7 mi (11 km) west of Norwich, provides agriculture-based courses for the county, parts of Suffolk , and nationally. The University of Suffolk also runs higher education courses in Norfolk, from multiple locations including Great Yarmouth College . Norfolk
3060-463: The city of Norwich, including Norwich School and Norwich High School for Girls . The King's Lynn district has the largest school population. Norfolk is also home to Wymondham College , the UK's largest remaining state boarding school . The University of East Anglia is located on the outskirts of Norwich, and Norwich University of the Arts is based in seven buildings in and around St George's Street in
3145-402: The county of Norfolk , England. In 1961 the parish had a population of 484. On 1 April 1987 the parish was abolished and merged with Little Ryburgh to form "Ryburgh". The villages name means 'Rye town'. It is located about two miles south-east of the market town of Fakenham . The River Wensum flows through the village. The village has a large maltings which has been producing malt on
3230-500: The county's economy. The median hourly gross pay was £12.17 and the median weekly pay was £496.80; on a per year basis, the median gross income was £25,458. The employment rate among persons aged 16 to 64 was 74.2% while the unemployment rate was 4.6%. The Norfolk economy was "treading water with manufacturing sales and recruitment remaining static in the first quarter of the year" according to research published in April 2018. A spokesperson for
3315-402: The dunes and which fringed Abraham's Bosom, survived. Today there is a large moving floodgate next to the harbour car park and many of the houses have their own flood defences. It proved its worth in December 2013 when a flood exceeded both the 1953 and 1978 events, holding back the waters so that the west end of the town was unaffected. A feature of the town is the area known as The Buttlands,
3400-567: The entire estate was acquired by F. & G. Smith who had maltings in Dereham and Great Ryburgh ; they latterly bought out the competition becoming one of the biggest maltsters in the country. Following the First World War , demand began to fall and new methods of production were being used. After a local dispute, they closed the Wells operation down in 1929. Other agriculture-related enterprises, such as
3485-417: The ever-changing tides of Holkham National Nature Reserve , makes use of an old war siren to warn patrons of incoming beach floodings. The siren sounds around 5–10 minutes before the tide is predicted to take over the beach to allow users to vacate the area safely. Wells has been subjected to flooding going back to the thirteenth century. In the twentieth century, the notorious 1953 floods were followed by
Wells-next-the-Sea - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-403: The fleet. The old lifeboat station, which was the subject of some support for its retention, was demolished immediately thereafter. A new longer launch slipway was built at the same time, with a new tractor and trailer obtained. This is necessary for the retrieval of the boat after a call-out and, if there is a call-out when the tide is out, a response can only be made by taking the boat across over
3655-650: The fundamentals needed for business to thrive here..." In 2017, tourism was adding £3.25 billion to the economy per year and supported some 65,000 jobs, being the fifth most important employment in Norfolk. The visitor economy had increased in value by more than £500 million since 2012. Important business sectors also include energy (oil, gas and renewables), advanced engineering and manufacturing, and food and farming. Much of Norfolk's fairly flat and fertile land has been drained for use as arable land . The principal arable crops are sugar beet , wheat, barley (for brewing) and oil seed rape . The county also boasts
3740-474: The greatest concentration in the world. The economy was in decline by the time of the Black Death , which dramatically reduced the population in 1349. Kett's Rebellion occurred in Norfolk during the reign of Edward VI , largely in response to the enclosure of land by landlords, leaving peasants with nowhere to graze their animals, and to the general abuses of power by the nobility. It was led by Robert Kett ,
3825-837: The growth of the Royal Air Force and the influx of the American USAAF 8th Air Force which operated from many Norfolk airfields . The local British Army regiments included the Royal Norfolk Regiment (now the Royal Anglian Regiment ) and the Norfolk Yeomanry . During the Second World War agriculture rapidly intensified, and it has remained very intensive since, with the establishment of large fields for growing cereals and oilseed rape . In 1998 Norfolk had
3910-425: The harbour. Wells relies on the tides to scour the harbour because the town does not have a river running through it. The problem of siltation had preoccupied the merchants of the town for hundreds of years and occupied the attentions of various engineers, leading eventually to disputes which came to court in the 18th century. Sir John Coode , who had been knighted for his work on the completion of Portland Harbour ,
3995-728: The homelands of the Iceni were vulnerable to attacks from continental Europe and other parts of Britain, and forts were built to defend against raids by the Saxons and the Picts . A period of depopulation, which may have been due to these threats, seems to have followed the departure of the Romans. Soon afterward, Germanic peoples from the North Sea area settled in the region. Though they became known as Angles , they were likely not affiliated to any tribe in particular at
4080-547: The impacts on the environment of various realignment options. The draft report of their research was leaked to the press, who created great anxiety by reporting that Natural England plan to abandon a large section of the Norfolk Broads, villages and farmland to the sea to save the rest of the Norfolk coastline from the impact of any adverse climate change . The county is covered by BBC East and ITV Anglia , which both broadcast from Norwich. Television signals are received from
4165-477: The increasing size of vessels made the port uneconomic. Wind-farm support began in 2009, with the building of the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm . The transfer of operations to Yarmouth, on the closure of the facility in Wells in 2021, repeated the long-term pattern of opportunity and reversal in the town. Tourism, which had begun on a small scale a century before, became a major draw; it
4250-521: The interior, while light and airy, lacks stained glass, once found. The Victorian bench ends are worth a look. John Fryer , Captain Bligh 's sailing master on HMS Bounty , was born at Wells and is buried in the churchyard. His gravestone is in the church porch. The distinctive landmark of the seafront is the granary with its overhanging gantry on the quay, started in 1904 and finished in 1905. This has now been converted into flats, having ceased operating as
4335-626: The king, Edmund the Martyr . Several place names around the Fenland area contain Celtic elements; this has been taken by some scholars to represent a possibly significant concentration of Britons in the area. In the centuries before the Norman Conquest the wetlands of the east of the county began to be converted to farmland, and settlements grew in these areas. Migration into East Anglia must have been high: by
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#17330940501834420-406: The kingdom of East Anglia (one of the heptarchy ), which later merged with Mercia and then with Wessex . The influence of the early English settlers can be seen in the many place names ending in "-ham", "-ingham" and "-ton". Endings such as "-by" and "-thorpe" are also fairly common, indicating Danish toponyms: in the 9th century the region again came under attack, this time from Danes who killed
4505-488: The largest settlements are King's Lynn (42,800) in the north-west, Great Yarmouth (38,693) in the east, and Thetford (24,340) in the south. For local government purposes Norfolk is a non-metropolitan county with seven districts. The west of Norfolk is part of the Fens , an extremely flat former marsh. The centre of the county is gently undulating lowland; its northern coast is an area of outstanding natural beauty , and in
4590-563: The link Norfolk County Council elections . The county is divided into ten parliamentary constituencies, with Waveney Valley straddling the border with Suffolk: In the 1945 United Kingdom general election , all seats in Norfolk were won by the Labour Party and the National Liberal Party . In the 2010 General Election seven seats were held by the Conservatives and two by the Liberal Democrats . The Labour Party no longer held
4675-519: The local flour mill and the Ipswich -based Eastern Counties Farmers Cooperative, were, over the following years, bought out or closed. The post-war revival of the harbour trade made the quay a busy place from the 1960s to the 1990s. Small coasters, mostly from across the English Channel, brought in fertiliser and animal feed, latterly mostly soya beans until 1992 when changes in government regulations and
4760-483: The local relay transmitter that broadcast BBC East and ITV Anglia which is transmitted from the Tacolneston TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Norfolk , Heart East , Amber Radio , Greatest Hits Radio East (formerly North Norfolk Radio ), and Poppyland Community Radio, a community based station. Local newspapers are Fakenham & Wells Times , North Norfolk News and Eastern Daily Press . The Wells-next-the-Sea beach, being subject to
4845-455: The mile-long sea wall north of the harbour closed in 2021). The beach is known for its long flat terrain, abstract sand dunes, varied beach huts and a naturist area situated to the west at Holkham. A landlocked brackish pool called Abraham's Bosom was for many years used for pleasure boating and canoeing; it is all that remains of the West Fleet which once drained the Holkham marshes. The beach
4930-474: The nineteenth century; none of these survive. A National School was set up following the closure of the town workhouse. A British School was set up in 1938 which became a Board School in 1875. A secondary school was built in 1929 when the original school became the primary school. The primary school closed in 1964 when the Alderman Peel secondary modern school was built in a different part of town adjacent to
5015-527: The old Heacham railway line. The old school buildings were used for some years as a field studies centre but have now been converted to social housing units administered by Homes for Wells, a community led housing association. Wells schools are now part of the Wensum Trust which administers 24 schools in Norfolk. The town receives television signals from the Belmont TV transmitter which broadcast BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Yorkshire programmes and
5100-405: The quay and wagons were hauled by horses. The line continued in a curve to the south-east to connect with the lines at Wells station and the track bed can be walked. The Wells Harbour Railway was a separate 10¼ inch-gauge railway that took passengers from the harbour behind the sea wall towards the beach and caravan site. It was in operation from 1976 to 2021, when the lines were taken up. Wells
5185-437: The quay. In 1880, during the Wells lifeboat disaster , eleven of the thirteen crew drowned, leaving ten widows and 27 children without fathers. A memorial to the crew stands adjacent to the old lifeboat house. Various charity schools in the town included that set up by Christopher Ringer in 1678 when he left £600 in his will for the education of thirty boys and thirty girls in the town. A number of academies were established in
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#17330940501835270-608: The region declined somewhat. During the Industrial Revolution Norfolk developed little industry, except in Norwich, which was a late addition to the railway network. Early military units included the Norfolk Militia . In the 20th century the county developed a role in aviation. The first development in airfields came with the First World War ; there was then a massive expansion during the Second World War with
5355-577: The region was home to the Iceni , whose leader Boudica led a major revolt in AD60. The Angles settled the area in the fifth century, and it became part of the Kingdom of East Anglia . During the later Middle Ages the county was very prosperous and heavily involved in the wool trade ; this allowed the construction of many large churches . In 1549 Norfolk was the scene of Kett's Rebellion , which unsuccessfully protested
5440-458: The rising tide. It is not advisable to cross the channel without detailed local knowledge. The majority of shops and other such businesses are now found on Staithe Street but up to the 1960s commercial premises were also to be found along High Street which continues south towards St Nicholas's Church. The church burned down after a lightning strike in 1879; the exterior shows the original stonework, but
5525-664: The sea. The most recent major erosion event occurred during the North Sea flood of 1953 . The low-lying section of coast between Kelling and Lowestoft Ness in Suffolk is currently managed by the British Environment Agency to protect the Broads from sea flooding. Management policy for the North Norfolk coastline is described in the "North Norfolk Shoreline Management Plan" published in 2006, but has yet to be accepted by local authorities. The Shoreline Management Plan states that
5610-443: The second tier councils the majority of the county is divided into parish and town councils, the lowest tier of local government (the only exceptions being parts of Norwich and King's Lynn urban areas). Currently the Conservative Party control five of the seven district councils: Breckland District , Broadland District , King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough , Great Yarmouth Borough and South Norfolk District while Norwich City
5695-555: The section from Wells to Cromer was taken over by Sanders Coaches . The new Lifeboat station, replacing one which had stood since 1899, was opened in 2022 to house the new Shannon -class lifeboat named the Duke of Edinburgh , which came on station in October. It replaced the Mersey-class boat, Doris Mann of Ampthill , which had served since 1990, making it then the longest serving lifeboat in
5780-506: The south is part of Thetford Forest . In the east are the Broads , a network of rivers and lakes which extend into Suffolk. The area is protected by the Broads Authority and has similar status to a national park . The geology of the county includes clay and chalk deposits, which make its coast susceptible to erosion. There is evidence of Prehistoric settlement in Norfolk. In the Roman era
5865-456: The south-east. Nearby villages include Blakeney , Burnham Market , Burnham Thorpe , Holkham and Walsingham . The name is Guella in the Domesday Book of 1086 (half gallicised , half Latinised from Anglian Wella , a spring). This derives from spring wells , of which Wells used to have many, rising through the chalk of the area. The town became Wells-next-the-Sea from juxta mare in
5950-502: The status quo in line with the Conservative Party manifesto. However, the unitary plans were supported by the Liberal Democrat group on the city council, and by Simon Wright , LibDem MP for Norwich South , who intended to lobby the party leadership to allow the changes to go ahead. The Local Government Act 2010 to reverse the unitary decision for Norwich (and Exeter and Suffolk) received Royal Assent on 16 December 2010. The disputed award of unitary status had meanwhile been referred to
6035-413: The stretch of coast will be protected for at least another 50 years, but that in the event of sea level rise and post-glacial lowering of land levels in the South East, there may a need for further research to inform future management decisions, including the possibility that the sea defences may have to be realigned to a more sustainable position. Natural England have contributed some research into
6120-530: The time of the Domesday Book survey it was one of the most densely populated parts of the British Isles . During the high and late Middle Ages the county developed arable agriculture and woollen industries. Norfolk's prosperity at that time is evident from the county's large number of medieval churches: out of an original total of over one thousand some 659 have survived, more than in any other county in Britain and
6205-557: The time of their migration. It is thought that the settlement here was early (possibly beginning at the start of the fifth century, thereby preceding the alleged date of Hengist and Horsa 's arrival in Kent) and that it occurred on a large scale. By the 5th century the Angles had established control of the region and later became the "north folk" and the "south folk"; hence "Norfolk" and " Suffolk ". Norfolk, Suffolk and several adjacent areas became
6290-411: The town commodious and attractive to residents and the burgeoning tourist trade. As a small port, it built ships until the late 19th century; it never transferred to building motor vessels or to steel hulls. The coming of the railway in 1857 reduced the harbour trade, but it revived briefly after the Second World War for the import of fertiliser and animal feed. In 1982, there were 258 ship movements into
6375-499: The town's population, as mentioned in the 1861 census. Formerly, the town was served by Wells-on-Sea railway station and was connected to the British Rail network by two lines. The line westwards towards King's Lynn was never reinstated after damage in the North Sea flood of 1953 , while the line to Norwich via Fakenham, Dereham and Wymondham was a victim of the " Beeching Axe " of the 1960s. The Wells and Walsingham Light Railway ,
6460-458: The urban constituencies they once held in Norwich North and Great Yarmouth, leaving them with no MP's in the whole of East Anglia ; the former Labour Home Secretary Charles Clarke was a high level casualty of that election. In the 2015 General Election seven seats were won by the Conservative Party , with Labour winning Norwich South and the Liberal Democrats winning North Norfolk. In
6545-417: The west in 1859 when Holkham Estate reclaimed some 800 hectares of saltmarsh north-west of Wells with the building of a mile-long bank. This reclamation was claimed to have reduced the tidal scour though the West Fleet, which provided much of the water entered the channel to its north. In the 19th century, malting assumed an industrial character dominated by merchants rather than hands-on maltsters. Eventually,
6630-450: The west, where flints could be quarried. A Brittonic tribe, the Iceni , emerged in the 1st century BC . The Iceni revolted against the Roman invasion in AD 47, and again in 60 led by Boudica . The crushing of the second rebellion opened the area to the Romans. During the Roman era roads and ports were constructed throughout the area and farming was widespread. Situated on the east coast,
6715-400: Was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , with the area becoming part of North Norfolk . A successor parish was established to cover the former urban district, with its council adopting the name Wells-next-the-Sea Town Council. The former council offices at 62 Mill Road were subsequently redeveloped for housing in the 1990s. The coming of the railway in 1857 notably reduced
6800-612: Was based on the Pinewoods Caravan site much expanded post-war first by the Town Council and subsequently by Holkham Estates. As with many coastal towns, the number of second homes resultant on the tourist trade has increased dramatically over the last few years, reaching over 34% in 2019. The town has long thrived as a seaport and is now also a seaside resort with a popular beach that can be reached on foot or by car. (The narrow-gauge railway , built in 1976, that ran partway alongside
6885-506: Was being established by business leaders to help grow jobs across Norfolk and Suffolk. They secured an enterprise zone to help grow businesses in the energy sector, and established the two counties as a centre for growing services and products for the green economy . To help local industry in Norwich, the local council offered a wireless internet service, but this was subsequently withdrawn as funding had ceased. The fishery business still continued in 2018, with individuals such as John Lee,
6970-628: Was captured, held in the Tower of London, tried for treason, and hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle. By the late 16th century Norwich had grown to become the second-largest city in England, but over one-third of its population died in the plague epidemic of 1579, and in 1665 the Great Plague again killed around one-third of the population. During the English Civil War Norfolk was largely Parliamentarian . The economy and agriculture of
7055-498: Was located on the high-profile Coasthopper bus route between King's Lynn and Cromer , run by Norfolk Green . The operation was handed over to Stagecoach in 2015 but, in April 2018, Stagecoach ceased operations in Norfolk. The Coasthopper service was split into two sections at Wells-next-the-Sea: the section from King's Lynn to Wells was rebranded as the Coastliner 36, extended inland from Wells to Fakenham and taken over by Lynx ;
7140-409: Was recruited to solve its siltation problems in the 1880s; no attempted solution proved permanent. The growth of faster marine traffic, whose wake washes at the banks of the marshes, has widened the channel and reduced tidal flow further. The North Sea is now a mile from the town; the main channel which once wandered through marshes, grazed by sheep for hundreds of years, was confined by earthworks to
7225-558: Was rejected in December 2007 as it did not meet the criteria for acceptance. In February 2008, the Boundary Committee for England (from 1 April 2010 incorporated in the Local Government Boundary Commission for England ) was asked to consider alternative proposals for the whole or part of Norfolk, including whether Norwich should become a unitary authority , separate from Norfolk County Council. In December 2009,
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