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Great Yarmouth

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Great
Britain

          There are other places named Yarmouth.

                   Great Yarmouth

   Image:dot4gb.svg
                     Statistics
   Population:          47,288
                  Ordnance Survey
   OS grid reference:   TG5207
                   Administration
   District:            Great Yarmouth
   Shire county:        Norfolk
   Region:              East of England
   Constituent country: England
   Sovereign state:     United Kingdom
                       Other
   Ceremonial county:   Norfolk
   Historic county:     Norfolk
                      Services
   Police force:        Norfolk Constabulary
   Fire and rescue:     {{{Fire}}}
   Ambulance:           East of England
             Post office and telephone
   Post town:           GREAT YARMOUTH
   Postal district:     NR30 (north), NR31 (south)
   Dialling code:       01493
                      Politics
   UK Parliament:       Great Yarmouth
   European Parliament: East of England

   Great Yarmouth, often known to locals simply as Yarmouth, is an English
   coastal town in the county of Norfolk. It is situated at the mouth of
   the River Yare, some 30km east of the city of Norwich and 18 km north
   of the Suffolk town of Lowestoft.

   Great Yarmouth has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway
   from the Norfolk Broads to the sea. For hundreds of years it has been a
   fishing port dependent on the herring fishery, and today it services
   the offshore oil rigs. The town has a popular beach and two promenades
   popular with locals and tourists.

   The town itself is actually located on a thin spit of land sandwiched
   between the North Sea and River Yare. It is home to the historic rows
   and the main tourist sector on the seafront. The area is linked to
   Gorleston, Cobholm and Southtown by Haven Bridge and to the A47 and A12
   by the Breydon Bridge.

   The unparished urban area that makes up the town of Great Yarmouth has
   an area of 26.54 km² and according to the Office for National
   Statistics 2002 had a population of 47,288. It is the main town in the
   larger Borough of Great Yarmouth. The ONS identify a Great Yarmouth
   Urban Area, which has a population of 66,788, including the sub-areas
   of Caister-on-Sea (8,756) and Great Yarmouth (58,032). The wider
   borough of Great Yarmouth has a population of around 92,500.

   Great Yarmouth is the fifth most deprived area in the country, in terms
   of social, economic, education, and safety.

History

   Yarmouth (Gernemwa, Yernemuth) lies near the site of the Roman camp of
   Gariannonum at the mouth of the river Yare, the convenience of its
   situation having attracted many fishermen from the Cinque Ports, a
   permanent settlement was made, and the town numbered 70 burgesses
   before the Norman Conquest. Henry I placed it under the rule of a
   reeve. The charter of King John ( 1208), which gave his burgesses of
   Yarmouth general liberties according to the customs of Oxford, a gild
   merchant and weekly hustings, was amplified by several later charters
   asserting the rights of the borough against Little Yarmouth and
   Gorleston. In 1552 Elizabeth granted a charter of admiralty
   jurisdiction, afterwards confirmed and extended by James I. In 1668
   Charles II incorporated Little Yarmouth in the borough by a charter
   which with one brief exception remained in force until 1703, when Anne
   replaced the two bailiffs by a mayor.

   A grammar school was founded in 1551, when the great hall of the old
   hospital, founded in the reign of Edward I by Thomas Fastolfe, was
   appropriated to its use. It was closed from 1757 to 1860, was
   re-established by the charity trustees, and settled in new buildings in
   1872.

   From 1808 to 1814 the Admiralty in London could communicate with its
   naval ships in the port of Great Yarmouth by means of a shutter
   telegraph chain.
   Great Yarmouth's Town Hall on Hall Quay
   Enlarge
   Great Yarmouth's Town Hall on Hall Quay

   The town was the site of a drowning tragedy on May 2, 1845 when a
   suspension bridge crowded with children collapsed under the weight
   killing 79 people. They had gathered to watch a clown in a barrel being
   pulled by geese down the river. As he passed under the bridge the
   weight shifted, causing the chains on the south side to snap, tipping
   over the bridge deck. The town suffered from bombing during World War
   II, but much is left of the old town, including the original over 2000
   metre long protective mediaeval wall, of which about two-thirds has
   survived. Of the 18 towers, 11 are left. On the South Quay, there is a
   17th century Merchant's House, as well as Tudor, Georgian and Victorian
   buildings. Behind South Quay, there is a maze of alleys and lanes known
   as "The Rows". Originally there were 145 rows. Despite war damage,
   several have remained.

   The northern section of the two-mile £19m A47 Great Yarmouth Western
   Bypass opened in March 1986, and the southern section opened in May
   1985. It is now the A12.

Sights

   Britannia Pier.
   Enlarge
   Britannia Pier.

   The Tolhouse, complete with dungeons, dates from the late 13th century
   and is said to be the oldest civic building in Britain. It backs onto
   the town's central library which was recently rennovated.

   The Market place is one of the largest in England, and has been
   operating since the 13th century. It is also home to the town's
   shopping sector and the famous Yarmouth chip stalls. The smaller area
   south of the market has a big screen which is used for showing GYTV and
   access to the town's shopping centre, Market Gates.

   Great Yarmouth railway station, which serves the town, is the terminus
   of the Wherry Lines from Norwich. Before the Beeching Axe the town had
   a number of stations and a direct link to London down the east coast.
   The only remaining signs of these stations is the coach park where
   Beach Station once was and the A12 relief road which follows the route
   of the railway down into the embankment from Breydon Bridge.

   Yarmouth has two piers, Britannia Pier and Wellington Pier. The latter
   of the two was demolished in 2005 and is currently being rebuilt as a
   family entertainment centre. Britannia Pier is home to the Britannia
   Theatre and a fair at the end of the pier.
   Wellington Pier at night.
   Enlarge
   Wellington Pier at night.

   The Grade 1 listed Winter Gardens building sits next to the Wellington
   Pier. The cast iron framed glass structure was shipped by barge from
   Torquay in 1903. It is said this was done without the loss of a single
   pane of glass. Over the years, it has been used as ballroom, roller
   skating rink and beer garden. In the 1990s it was converted into a
   nightclub by comedian Jim Davidson. Today, Winter Gardens is under use
   as a family leisure venue, although its future is under threat due to
   repair costs off the aging framework. During the winter of 2005 there
   were worries of the collapse of the building and during high winds it
   was often closed.

   There a monument to Horatio Nelson, erected in 1819, 24 years before
   the completion of Nelson's Column in London, and now surrounded by
   factories. The monument, that of Britannia seated with shield and
   trident, faces away from the sea leading to the popular assumption of a
   mistake during construction. However it was actually built to face
   Nelson's Norfolk birthplace at Burnham Thorpe. The monument, known as
   the Britannia Monument is similar in form but about 2/3 the size of its
   Trafalgar Square counterpart, was originally planned to mark Nelson's
   victory at the Nile, but fundraising was not completed until after his
   death and it was instead dedicated to the "Lord Admiral".

   Charles Dickens used Yarmouth as a key location in his novel David
   Copperfield. Anna Sewell (1820-1878), the author of Black Beauty, was
   born in a 17th-century house in Church Plain. The house is currently up
   for sale.

   The Time and Tide museum on Blackfriars Road which is managed by
   Norfolk Museums Service was nominated in the UK Museums Awards in 2005.
   It was built as part of the regeneration of the south of the town in
   2003. Its location in an old herring smokery harks back to the towns
   status as a major fishing port. Sections of the historic town wall are
   located outside the museum.

Church of St Nicholas

   The church of St. Nicholas, often said to be the largest parish church
   in England, was founded in by Herbert Losinga, the first bishop of
   Norwich, and consecrated in 1119. It is cruciform, with a central
   tower, which perhaps preserves a part of the original structure, but by
   successive alterations the form of the church has been completely
   changed. The Transitional clerestoried nave, with columns alternately
   octagonal and circular, was rebuilt in the reign of King John. A
   portion of the chancel is of the same date. About fifty years later the
   aisles were widened, so that the nave is now the narrowest part of the
   building.

   A grand west front with towers and pinnacles was constructed in 1330-
   1338, but the building was interrupted by a visitation of the plague.
   In the 16th century the ornamental brasses were cast into weights and
   the gravestones cut into grindstones. Within the church there were at
   one time 18 chapels, maintained by guilds or private families, but
   these were demolished by the Reformers, who sold the valuable utensils
   of the building and applied the money to the widening of the channel of
   the harbour.

   During the Commonwealth the Independents appropriated the chancel, the
   Presbyterians the north aisle, and the Churchmen were allowed the
   remainder of the building. The brick walls erected at this time to
   separate the different portions of the building remained till 1847. In
   1864 the tower was restored, and the east end of the chancel rebuilt;
   in 1869- 1870 the south aisle was rebuilt; and in 1884 the south
   transept, the west end of the nave and the north aisle underwent
   restoration. The width of the nave is 26 ft, and the total length of
   the church is 236 ft.

   St. Nicholas was bombed and nearly destroyed by fire during World War
   II. It has been rebuilt.

Sports and leisure

   Yarmouth has an important horseracing track which features a chute
   allowing races of one mile on the straight.

   The local football team are Great Yarmouth Town F.C.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Yarmouth"
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