Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Thetford – Stocks

    The Thetford cage and stocks were located over the road on Cage Lane and were originally opened in 1581. The building was larger and it’s infuriating to know that the council demolished it in 1968, salvaging only the window arch and placing this in its current location over the road as part of a new public toilet complex.

    The cage remained in use until the nineteenth century and the council then decided it would flog off the stocks, which had long since fallen out of use, at the local market. Their whereabouts were unknown for some time, but it transpired that they Mr. Barclay’s Park in Norwich, and they were fortunately returned again to the cage.

  • Thetford – Thetford Mill

    Thetford Mill, located on the appropriately named Watermill Lane, which was used as a corn mill and closed in the late 1950s. It was originally built in the early nineteenth century on the site of a former pit mill. It’s also known as the Coffee Mill which most reliable sources suggest is just because of what was stored there, but some web-sites are saying that coffee was also ground here. Anyway, it’s one of those two options no doubt…..

    Although all of the machinery has now gone from within the building, the mill bridge structure still performs the role of regulating the flow of the River Thet.

  • Thetford – Church of the Holy Sepulchre

    This priory was founded in 1148 and it takes its name from the Augustinian order of the Holy Sepulchre, of which there are no other remains in the country. The order didn’t have the wealth of other religious establishments, such as St. Mary’s Priory, and failed to grow in size and power. They did own the comb of Thomas Becket though as one of their most holiest of relics.

    The Reformation inevitably wasn’t kind to the order  and the building was seized by the Crown and the order dissolved in 1536. The nave survived and was turned into a barn, but the structure of the building continued to decline.

    This entrance was built in the eighteenth century when the building was used as a barn, and then subsequently blocked off. Parts of the building were also used as ornamental gardens.

    There was a lot of structural work going on when I visited in 2018, with some of the information signs being inaccessible. The site is now managed by the English Heritage, with no charge being made for admission.

  • Thetford – Thetford Grammar School

    Thetford Grammar School is, as the plaque notes, one of the oldest schools in the country. It has been educating children for over 1,400 years, which is quite a claim for any educational establishment to have.

    The actual date of the school’s foundation is rather unclear, which is inevitable given the sort of periods of history that are being referred to. There are some who claim it was founded in 631AD as it’s known that Sigebert, the King of the Angles, wanted a school creating in his court.

    Some date the school to the late eleventh century and relate the school to being run by Herbert de Losinga. He is an important figure in Norfolk as he was the first Bishop of Norwich, but he had previously been the Bishop of Thetford. The Cathedral of Thetford, which is a strange concept to write, existed from 1072 to 1094 and Thetford Grammar School was built on the site of the building.

    The school had some turbulent times around the period of Reformation, but it continued in operation in its one room until the late eighteenth century. The facilities were improved at that point, in conjunction with the Victorian Girls’ Grammar School which was opposite, with the two schools later merging.

    Perhaps one of the most well-known of the school’s former students, and I’m sure many would disagree, is Thomas Paine. A controversial figure who went from a quiet upbringing in Thetford to being one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, before he upset lots of Americans with his religious views.

  • Thetford – Captain Mainwaring Statue

    This statue of Captain Mainwaring from Dad’s Army was unveiled in 2010 and it was located next to the Anchor Hotel in Thetford, where many of the actors stayed when filming. This was a wonderful (although admittedly a little run down) eighteenth century building which appeared in the opening scene of the first episode of Dad’s Army, so it was a very suitable location.

    There had been a hotel and pub on the site for 400 years, so Breckland District Council bought the site and knocked the hotel down. The site is now home to a bland Travelodge, but not to worry, they’ve put a plaque up in the hotel to note the area’s history. And at least the area is decently landscaped now.

    A close-up of the statue and visitors to the area can sit next to it on the bench. The statue was unveiled in the presence of Bill Pertwee, who sadly died in 2013, who played the ARP Warden Hodges in the series.

  • Dublin – Number of Irish Pubs

    A fascinating fact from the EPIC Irish Emigration museum in Dublin….. Which I incidentally think is confusing as there are around 7,000 pubs in Ireland, so this must mean the number of Irish pubs who have signed up to the Global Irish Pubs Directory. Which suggests the Global Irish Pubs Directory isn’t signing up very many Irish pubs in Ireland.

    So, more a confusing fact than a fascinating one perhaps…

  • Dublin – Red Squirrel on Tara Street

    I didn’t realise the concept behind this mural on a wall on Tara Street when I saw it, I just thought it was a spectacular piece of artwork. The concept is that it’s primarily made of rubbish, as in literally, which has been discarded in the city.

    The designer is Artur Bordalo and the reason for the image being a red squirrel is that they’re under threat because their habitation is changing and the grey squirrel is vastly outnumbering them. Bordalo is a Portuguese artist who says that “I create, recreate, assemble and develop ideas with end-of-life material and try to relate it to sustainability, ecological and social awareness.”

  • Dublin – Abbey Court Frontage

    I have nothing to say about this other than I like the effort made to decorate the frontage of the building (which is a youth hostel) and it certainly stands out. The artwork is apparently by Brutto, an artist from Rio de Janeiro who currently lives in Dublin.

  • Dublin – Ha’penny Bridge

    The city’s ha’penny bridge which was built over the River Liffey in Dublin in 1816. It was originally known as the Wellington Bridge, which the locals would be unlikely to entirely appreciate now. I say appreciate now, but it seems the locals didn’t even appreciate the name at the time, and it was rarely used. The Duke of Wellington was born in Dublin, but colonial links made that a difficult name to use after Irish independence and in 1922 the bridge was renamed the Liffey Bridge.

    The bridge was cast in Shropshire and is 43 metres long and 3.6 metres wide. The bridge takes its informal name from the ha’penny toll which was allowed to be charged for 100 years to enable the construction of the project to be paid for.

    The bridge from the other side…. The authorities have had problems with people placing love locks on the bridge which is causing problems with the structural integrity of the crossing, and any locks are removed. There has been a recent restoration of the bridge, although it’s estimated that around 85% of the metalwork is original.

    And a seagull.

  • Dublin – Fake Frontage at Ormond Quay

    I tried to find out the backstory to this frontage, but the only architectural web-site I could find mentioned that this area was new build and the building had a fake frontage to enable it to fit into the local area. Situated looking out onto the River Liffey it’s an intriguing sight with the pillars and empty windows. But, to be honest, I can’t entirely see the point in keeping a frontage if there’s no effort made to keep anything behind it.