HISTORIC GREAT YARMOUTH (PART 1) YOUTUBE VLOG NOW LIVE!

 My Historic Great Yarmouth (Part 1) YouTube vlog is now live!

Link:-

https://youtu.be/CFYCoFm6ofk

Great Yarmouth is sandwiched between the North Sea and the River Yare, and settlement dates back to Roman times. Once considered to be a wealthy trading centre of great importance, it was granted a charter by King John in 1208. By the early 18^th century it was a thriving port with a significant herring industry, and was a main military supply base during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.

I visit Great Yarmouth at least once a year, and am a big advocate for British tourism. In this video I'm not going to be detailing the main tourist drag- although I do touch upon it- rather, I've honed in on the historic aspects of the town.

In Part 1 of this series, amongst other things I'll be visiting Anna Sewell's birthplace and wandering into neighbouring Great Yarmouth Minster's churchyard- home to a refectory containing a ghost! I'll also be walking through the Victoria Arcade and down to the historic waterfront, and I check out the Tolhouse Gaol, where I once had the privilege of a private tour. Then I take a stroll along King Street; home to Great Yarmouth's only surviving 17^th century urban jettied timber framed building, and another building once known as the leaning tower of Yarmouth! I also discuss some tourist attractions that are sadly no longer open, and hone in on some of the interesting things I find along the way.

Stay tuned, as there is a Part 2...

As you know, I will always be a writer before anything else, and have blogged about Great Yarmouth before.  This general Great Yarmouth blog is huge:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2019/09/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

Smaller blog, including Anna Sewell's house:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2020/02/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

Great Yarmouth Observation Wheel blog:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2021/10/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

Another Great Yarmouth vlog, featuring some of the things in this video:- https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2023/11/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

Remember to like and subscribe, and don't forget to follow this blog as well!

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS THE GREAT YARMOUTH OBSERVATION WHEEL...

I normally visit Great Yarmouth once a year, usually staying at Haven Caister in a Prestige caravan, and this was my 12th visit as an adult.  I was brought up on the other side of Norfolk, so I came twice as a tourist as a kid- once with my parents and another time with my summer youth group; and once more at the age of 15 for a very unsuccessful interview at the now-defunct Great Yarmouth College of Art.  The less said about that the better, but on the plus side I based a story around my disastrous experience for one of my MA Creative Writing projects- and achieved good marks.😁😁

I have blogged about Great Yarmouth before.  This is the link to a huge post containing details of the Tolhouse Gaol, the Nelson Museum (now sadly closed forever), Caister Lifeboat, the Waterways and the Pleasure Beach (amongst other things):-

http://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2019/09/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

Here is a smaller blog about Nelson's Monument, Anna Sewell's house and the Victoria Arches:-

http://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2020/02/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

I'll start my blog with a walk through the rose pergolas at the holiday camp...

I have to say, the gardens looked a tad unruly, but perhaps a wilderness was their intention...

We decided to walk down the beach to Caister Lifeboat  (which we always try and support).  These two stone lions at the end of Beach Road fascinate me- from the perspective of "why are they here?"

Do they have names? Shall I be unimaginative and christen them Lenny and Leo?!

A bit of Googly research reveals that they guard a gap in the concrete sea wall; built as a defence to tidal erosion in 1950.  There is some dispute as to whether Great Yarmouth is gaining land from the sea, or the opposite.

Once the essential wall was complete, the Engineer to the Sea Defence Committee, Mr S W Mobbs, presented the two lions to adorn the entrance to the Gap at Beach Road.  Lions are featured in Great Yarmouth's coat of arms.

We decided to go on the Great Yarmouth Observation Wheel.  Originally this wouldn't have been possible, but this travelling wheel decided to extend its stay, and it coincided nicely with our visit.

All the pictures are taken through the glass (to try and stick a camera through the door gaps would have been sheer folly) so I apologise for any quality issues.

Here we are looking down on neighbouring Wellington Pier, with the remnants of the older section of pier, left alone during its 1971 restoration, clearly visible...

For £8 you get three revelations plus it stops near the top for a couple of minutes, to allow you to get a good view.  Here's a similar angle, showing more of the road, and you can see Great Yarmouth Power Station to the centre right of the land line, and Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour jutting out to sea...

The 30 V80 turbines of Scroby Sands Wind Farm are visible to the right.  The area is famous for its grey seals, and sometimes they can venture onto Caister Beach.  We went looking, but sadly didn't see any.

The Britannia Pier is in the distance, and the nearby contraption is called the SlingShot ride and appears to be some kind of bungee bouncing thingumajig...

It was a very blue day, and you can just about make out a ship floating across the horizon.  We enjoyed our one-off wheel experience...

The Great Yarmouth Tower is the oblong building that looks like it has square eyes to the right.  It's a complex containing a number of tourist attractions.  Great Yarmouth Minster is visible in the centre of the photograph.

Looking towards the River Yare.  A word of warning- book via the wheel website as it costs less.  If you do decide to use the machines underneath the wheel, then put in your pin number when using your card rather than just tapping.  The SuperDean tried the latter, the payment was declined but ended up in his "pending transactions" for days- he had to ring his bank to sort it out.  I mean, now difficult would it be to hire a person to sit in a ticket office, rather than being lazy skinflints and relying on (sometimes unreliable) machines?

I tried to crop SuperDean's big fat swede out of this photo, which shows the former Windmill Theatre (now used for indoor crazy golf) but for some reason my computer is not saving my endeavours.  Oh well, he gets to be famous...😉

The lighting installation down Regent Road represents wind turbine blades, symbolising this local source of renewable energy- but some people thought they were Mercedes-Benz badges!😂

It was opened in May this year, and I rather like this photo peering the other way- up Regent Road from the seaside to the town.  I love the way the lights disappear into the sunset.

We popped into the Sea Life Centre, and I didn't take much in the way of photos (I do want to actually observe things, and not see life (ha ha, see life, geddit?!😁) at one remove away.

But I just had to take a piccie of these adorable penguins.😊

I loved this display of hanging witches in Cobholm Miniatures, which is being used to promote a book.

Macabre little moi would....😈

Skull nail varnish courtesy of Belzart, a gothic/ witchcraft shop down in Great Yarmouth Rows, and £1 necklace a gift from the SuperDean from the charity shop section of Caister Lifeboat.  The necklace was falling to bits (hence the reason it was in the cheap "tut" tray), had a weak link between two of the diamante emblems and when I tried to mend it it sheared- but I solved the problem by sewing it back together with a discreet application of cotton.  Inventive, aren't I?!😁

How big can hoop earrings be before they're considered chavvy?!  SuperDean treated me to these delights from Martyn's Walk Round Store and I love 'em!😁😁

 Great Yarmouth, I will return...

Until then...

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS GREAT YARMOUTH (YET AGAIN!)

This is going to be a very brief blog as it's not my first trip to Great Yarmouth- I counted, and it's my 15th as an adult.   We stayed for a long weekend in a Premier Inn near the railway station.

 It wasn't that cold for November- a tad crisp, sometimes rainy, but certainly bearable.  On our first night we went for dinner and a walk down Marine Parade, and it was good to see all of Britannia Pier's lights in working order (that isn't always the case, and sometimes you feel like the pier is playing a game of hangman with you!)

The Silver Slipper amusement arcade.  As a shoe lover I just had to photograph this sign!

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The Golden Nugget amusement arcade.  To the right of the photo you can make out the Fish & Grill, where we ate.  The deep fried calamari rings here are excellent, and as big as tractor tyres!

Sunlight descending over the River Bure, photographed as walked around from the back of our hotel one morning.

The same river on a different, drizzly day, and you can make out the book memorial in the centre of the photo.  

Built in 1829, a suspension bridge crossed the river very near here, until 1845 when a terrible disaster took place.  Viewers gathered to watch Nelson the clown being pulled by geese down the river in a tub as part of a circus promotional stunt.  Thousands stood on the river banks and hundreds on the bridge.  But the bridge couldn't take the weight of the spectators and collapsed, throwing most into the water and killing 79.

This memorial was unveiled in 2013, and lists the 79 victims, along with their ages.  59 were children.  It is made of granite and stands 1.4m high.

The sad disaster is noted as being "the largest recorded loss of life" in Great Yarmouth.

It is so upsetting to see the beautiful Victoria Arcade- opened in 1926 and updated in 1987- mostly empty and devoid of shops.  Several businesses have either moved or closed during my time (since 2011) coming to Great Yarmouth. 

I know us consumers are partly to blame- the internet is now the world's biggest shop.  But there will always be people who want to go shopping; enjoy the experience and who want to handle goods, try on clothes and play with gadgets, etc.  I hope landlords and councils are doing all they can to encourage shopping back into the town centre.

Down Row 46 is this little beauty; an original Thomas Crapper manhole cover.  These are rare!  Crapper (1836-1910) didn't invent the water closet- he was a Yorkshire-born plumber and businessman who just improved upon it, and perhaps had the perfect name for such an association.  One story is that crap was originally an American term for rubbish, and the name evolved to mean a bowel movement after WWI, when US servicemen were stationed in Britain.  But the word crap is also thought to be of Middle English (1066-C15) origin, again referring to rubbish and first logged (yes, I'm aware of the double entendre!) in writing in 1846 as a term for bodily waste.

Looking down Row 89, which is known as Old Hannah's Row (although I've also seen it listed as Old Hannah's Back Row, Herring's Row and Hans Hering Row) and this is the back of Great Yarmouth's only surviving 17th century urban jettied timber framed building.  It's the building to the left, and this particular row is off King Street.

Oddly- although I'm sure the people responsible knew what they were doing- it looks like its been over-restored, and has lost authenticity.  

Looking over to St George's Theatre, which was originally commissioned as a chapel in 1714.  It was deconsecrated in 1959 and fell into disrepair, before being established as an arts centre and theatre in the early 1970s.

It hasn't been without its problems- from 2006 it was shrouded in scaffolding as the building suffered with structural defects.  In particular, the tower was unstable, and I have heard it referred to as "the leaning tower of Yarmouth!"  2009 lottery funding ensured its restoration and survival.

The Royal Hotel, and Charles Dickens stayed here whilst writing David Copperfield, which is considered to be autobiographical.  Great Yarmouth features as a key location in the novel.

This plaque on the front of the hotel lists the dates of Dickens' residence as 1848-49.

We nipped inside the Empire building; a live music venue and nightclub which is also open during the day.

Here is the view towards the back, where there are comfortable lounge seats, a stage and a cocktail bar.

Back towards the entrance, and they also serve various kinds of street food in little alcoves to the side.

Standing at the door looking all the way down, and it looked fantastically sparkly and impressive.

This guy stands out side a joke shop, sicking up.  Yes, I know I'm lavatorial but that's a bit revolting even for my sensibilities!

We took a walk around the Waterways, and here's the morning sun glinting over the lake nearest the vast expanse of sand dunes.

Sand In Your Eye created this 2019 sculpture which sits in the railway station.  It's a replica of Greater Anglia's new trains, the sculptors worked on site and it took three days to complete.

I have three older Great Yarmouth blogs for you to look at.

This huge blog features the Tolhouse Museum, Caister Lifeboat and the (now sadly gone) Nelson Museum:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2019/09/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

This smaller blog shows you Anna Sewell's birth place and the Nelson Monument:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2020/02/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

This depicts my ride on the observation wheel on the seafront, and also details the Caister lions:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2021/10/miss-elaineous-visits-great-yarmouth.html

Great Yarmouth, of course I will return!

Until then,

TTFN

Miss Elaineous

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MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS GREAT YARMOUTH (AGAIN...!)

It's not the first time I've visited Great Yarmouth so this is going to be a very brief (by my standards😉) blog post.  It is, however, the first time I've actually stayed in the town centre, as normally we stay at a holiday centre in Caister, a short bus trip away in the suburbs.

Being the middle of February an abundance of shops, restaurants and tourist attractions were closed- including Brittania Pier- but that didn't bother us as we've seen it all before (been there, done that, omitted to buy the T-shirt...)  Arriving hot on the heels of a storm didn't offer us the kind of clement weather that made sightseeing a delight anyway- on the first day we encountered rain and sleet (fortunately, we were cosily ensconced back in our hotel room when the hail descended!), the second day was bitterly cold and didn't lend itself to dawdling, although the third day offered some milder sunny respite.  How British of me, to wax lyrical about the weather!😁

Read all about my more eventful previous visit here:-https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/search?q=great+yarmouth

One thing we did do was pop into the birth place of author Anna Sewell, writer of Black Beauty.  It is right near the market, on Church Plain...

There is a plaque dedicated to her just below the tiny dormer window.  She was born here on 30th March 1820, but wrote Black Beauty in Old Catton, which is north-west of nearby Norwich.

...It now houses Kirsty's Cakery...

These tea rooms are absolutely charming; top marks all round...

This gorgeous carrot cake looked (almost!) too good to eat, and was reasonably priced at only £1 per slice.

My teapot was cute, too.  I take it that the house didn't double as a tea room back in Anna Sewell's day...

We walked right up to Nelson's Monument, which sits in the centre of an industrial estate and was built between 1817-1819.  

It is a dedication to the local naval hero, has a statue of Britannia on the top, and is 144 ft (44 m) high.  The top can be reached by 217 steps, although it only opens on some Sundays in the summer. Horatio Nelson's battles saw him lose both his right eye and right arm.

When asked to raise his right arm, when being rewarded the freedom of Great Yarmouth, apparently he replied, "That is in Tenerife!"

The idea for the Victoria Arches- named in honour of the Queen- was conceived in 1840 as part of a grander plan to turn this area of Great Yarmouth into an esteemed estate, therefore creating a fashionable seaside resort town.  This larger edifice is called The Wellington Arch, and was completed in 1846.

This smaller arch is also known as The Camperdown Arch, or Wellington Mew's Arch and was built in 1847.  The grandiose plans included houses and a hotel, but defective building work, smelly drains and unpaid rents meant that the plans never fully came to fruition. 

The thriving leisure industry of the late 19th century meant that Great Yarmouth became a destination for all, and not just the wealthy.

I like the way the bright sunlight in this photo is throwing the foreground into partial silhouette.

Our balcony on the Embassy Hotel, which was great value for money; if in need of a little tender loving care.  I described it as both decaying grandeur and shabby chic!

On a final note, this weird thing was on the bar (maybe it's a beer pump?) in the King's Wine Bar.  I just thought I'd include it as it's... different, rather like me...😆

I will return to the hotel, but until then...

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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