Aylsham
| Aylsham | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TG1927 |
| Location: | 52°47’24"N, 1°15’22"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 5,504 |
| Post town: | Norwich |
| Postcode: | NR11 |
| Dialling code: | 01263 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Broadland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Mid Norfolk |
Aylsham is a historic market town on the River Bure in northern Norfolk, about 9 miles north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, 11 miles upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea, although it was only made navigable after 1779, allowing grain, coal and timber to be brought up river.
The town is close to large estates and grand country houses at Blickling, Felbrigg, Mannington and Wolterton, which are important tourist attractions.
About the town
Aylsham is the terminus for the Bure Valley Railway (on the site of Aylsham South railway station), the Bure Valley Path and the Marriott's Way long distance footpath. Blickling Hall, the great country house in the care of the National Trust, is a mile and a half away. With its dramatic symmetrical front, flanked by two great yew hedges, it is a fine example of a Jacobean brick-built manor house, and was formerly the home of the young Anne Boleyn, later to become Henry VIII's second wife.
Aylsham was once noted for its spa, situated about half a mile south of the town, comprising a chalybeate spring, formerly used by those suffering from asthma and other chronic conditions.
Local entertainment in the town includes concerts by the Aylsham Band, which plays at venues in and around Aylsham; the Aylsham Players who host one or two productions a year; and Aylsham High School, which presents an annual school musical.
The annual Aylsham Show features agricultural exhibits and takes place on August Bank Holiday Monday at nearby Blickling Park.[1]
The parish church
The Market Place and surrounding area is dominated by the tower of the parish church of St Michael and All Angels, a fine example of Gothic architecture of the Decorated style. The small spire on top of the 98-foot tower is also a landmark that can be seen for miles around.
The nave, aisles and chancel were built in the 13th century. The tower and ground floor of the south porch were added in the 14th century. The north transept was built under the patronage of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster around 1380. An upper floor to the porch was added in 1488.
The lower part of the rood screen survived the destruction visited by Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans, although some of the painted panels were disfigured.
History
Archaeological evidence of prehistoric occupation has been found. Aylsham is just over two miles from a substantial Roman settlement at Brampton, linked to Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund, south of Norwich, by a Roman road which can still be traced in places - that site was a bustling industrial centre with maritime links to the rest of the empire. Excavations in the 1970s provided evidence of several kilns, showing that this was an industrial centre, pottery and metal items being the main items manufactured.
Aylsham as such may have been established by early English settlers, and its name certainly if from Old English, believed to be from ‘’Ægles ham’’ or simlar, which would mean, “Aegel's Home” after an otherwise unknown progenitor.
The town is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Elesham and Ailesham, at which time it had a population of about 1,000. Until the 15th century, the linen and worsted industry was important here, as well as in North Walsham and Worstead, and Aylsham webb or 'cloth of Aylsham' was supplied to the royal palaces of Edward II and Edward III.
John of Gaunt was Lord of the manor from 1372 and Aylsham became the principal town of the Duchy of Lancaster. Although John of Gaunt probably never came to Aylsham, the townspeople enjoyed many privileges, including exemption from jury service outside the manor and from payment of certain taxes. The village sign depicts John of Gaunt.
In 1519 Henry VIII granted a market on Saturdays and an annual fair to be held on 12 March, which was the eve of the feast of St Gregory the pope. Aylsham markets have always been an important feature of the town, and businesses developed to meet the needs of the town and the farming lands around it. Besides weekly markets there were cattle fairs twice a year and, in October, a hiring fair.
The historic Black Boys Inn in the Market Place is one of Aylsham's oldest surviving buildings, and has been on the site since the 1650s, although the present frontage dates to between 1710 and 1720. There is a frieze of small black boys on the cornice and a good staircase and assembly room. The Black Boys was a stop for the post coach from Norwich to Cromer, had stabling for 40 horses, and employed three ostlers and four postboys.
A thatched waterpump was built in 1911 at Carr's Corner in memory of John Soame by his uncle, a wealthy financier. An artesian well 170 feet deep, its canopy is thatched in Norfolk reed.
As with many of the other market towns in the county, the weaving of local cloth brought prosperity to the town in the Middle Ages. Until the 15th century it was the manufacture of linen which was the more important, and Aylsham linens and Aylsham canvases were nationally known. From the 16th century linen manufacture declined and wool became more important, a situation that continued until the coming of the Industrial Revolution. Thereafter the principal trade of the town for the 19th century was grain and timber, together with the range of trades to be found in a town which supported local agriculture. Records show that Aylsham had markets and fairs, certainly from the 13th century. Such weekly and annual events were important for the trade that they brought. Annual horse fairs would bring many other traders to the town, and the weekly market would be the occasion for more local trade. The rights of the stallholders in the market place today date back to the rights established in Middle Ages.
Civil history
In the Middle Ages, the parish of Aylsham was established as four manors, the main manor of Lancaster, Vicarage manor, Sexton's manor and Bolwick manor. The ownership of the Lancaster manor changed hands many times, before James I assigned it to his son, the future Charles I.
In the course of the events which led up to the Civil War, Charles I had to raise as much money as possible, and mortgaged Lancaster manor to the Corporation of London. The Corporation eventually sold it to Sir John Hobart, and through him it passed to the ownership of the Blickling Estate. The current lords of the manor are the National Trust.
Transport
The ancient but natural transport route for Aylsham would have been the River Bure, but it was not open to substantial navigation. There was a scheme in the 18th century to widen the navigation from Coltishall to Aylsham and, after many difficulties, trading wherries from Great Yarmouth were able to reach a staithe at Aylsham. The final end for this scheme was the devastating flood of 1912.
Road transport for Aylsham was very important. It was the principal coaching point on the Norwich-Cromer road, and the meeting point for other roads. Each day the coaches from Cromer and Holt would draw up at the Black Boys, the main inn in Aylsham market place. Coaching ended with the coming of the railways in the 1880s. There were many different plans for railways, but eventually two lines served Aylsham, with the town having both North and South stations until the 1950s.
Aylsham once had two railway stations, both now closed, Aylsham South railway station on the Great Eastern line between County School railway station (near North Elmham) and Wroxham and the other Aylsham (North) railway station on the M&GNJR line from Melton Constable to Great Yarmouth.
Aylsham today
Today Aylsham remains well known for its twice-weekly market and its Monday auctions. It is a popular town for people working in Norwich, but remains an active local business centre in its own right, particularly in the support of agriculture. Today the town has a population of about 5,000, several local industries and still serves the needs of a wide area with twice weekly markets and a farmers' market on the morning of the first and third Saturday of each month.
The Aylsham Partnership was formed in 2001 to implement the Market towns Initiative in Aylsham. The Partnership includes elected members of County, District and Parish/Town Councils in the Aylsham County Council Division and representatives of other statutory bodies and community organisations.
The Market Towns Initiative finished in 2004 but the Partnership successfully bid for funding to take part in the Cittaslow pilot project and to sustain work on traffic management and heritage. As a result, Aylsham became one of the founding towns, and the first in Norfolk, of the Cittaslow movement, an international organisation promoting the concept of 'Slow Towns' ("a Network of towns where Quality of Life is important").[2] It is claimed that Aylsham did not have to change to become a member, as it was already a clear example of the type of community advocated by the Cittaslow movement.
Tesco's new store built from wood, recyclable plastic and other sustainable materials, and claimed to be the "greenest in the world" opened in the town July 2008.[3]
Pictures
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Black Boys Inn -
Aylsham Town Hall -
The John Soame thatched water pump -
The River Bure downstream of the mill -
Cawston Road Mill
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Aylsham) |
- Information on Aylsham from GENUKI
- Aylsham in the Domesday Book
References
- ↑ The Aylsham show Retrieved 5 August 2009
- ↑ The first Cittaslow in Norfolk. Cittaslow UK (Official Website). Retrieval Date: 10 February 2008.
- ↑ Tesco news report Retrieved 26 July 2008