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King's Lynn was once called Bishops Lynn because it belonged to a bishop. The word Lynn means pool and probably refers to a tidal pool on the Ouse. By the end of the 11th century a littly trading settlement grew up there. It was part of an estate owned by Bishop De Losinga. In 1095 he founded a Benedictine priory (a small abbey) there.
So the little town of Bishops Lynn was founded. Its boundaries were a stream called the Purfleet in the North and another called the Millfleet in the South. (Fleet is an old word for stream. Purfleet was the pure fleet but both these streams are now covered over).
In the middle of the 12th century Bishop Turbus extended the town to the area called Newland north of the Purfleet. This area was, at first, legally separate from the town of Bishops Lynn and it had its own market called the Tuesday Market. Bishop Turbus also built the church of St Nicholas. (The patron saint of sailors).
Bishops Lynn also had a 'suburb' south of the Millfleet, outside the boundaries of the town. So Bishops Lynn was for administrative purposes 3 towns.
Bishops Lynn was a big success. By the 14th century it probably had a population of 5,500-6,000. It would seem small to us but by the standards of the time it was a large and important town. In 1204 King John gave Bishops Lynn a charter (a document granting the townspeople certain rights).
In Bishops Lynn salt was boiled in huge copper pans. It was then exported. Another important export was wool. Large amounts of grain were also exported from Bishops Lynn. Imports included timber from Scandinavia, pitch (a tar like substance), fish and iron. However Bishops Lynn was never a manufacturing centre only a port.
In the 12th century Bishops Lynn was probably protected by a ditch and earth rampart at first, perhaps with a wooden palisade on top. By the end of the 13th century it had stone walls.
In 1331 Bishops Lynn suffered a severe fire. In the Middle Ages most buildings were of wood with thatched roofs so fire was a constant danger.
Bishops Lynn also suffered severely when the black death reached England in 1348-49. Perhaps half the town's population died.
In the Middle Ages merchants in north Germany and the Baltic were organised into the Hanseatic League. The Hanseatic merchants did much trade with Bishops Lynn and in 1475 the Hanseatic Warehouse was built for them.
In the 13th century the friars came to Kings Lynn. The friars were like monks but instead of withdrawing from the world they went out to preach and help the poor. In Kings Lynn there were Dominican friars (known as black friars because of their black costumes), Augustinian or Austin friars and Carmelites or white friars.
St Georges Guildhall was built in King Street in 1406 (In the 20th century it was converted into a theatre). The Guildhall in Queen Street was built in 1421. In the Middle Ages people went on journeys called pilgrimages. Red Mount Chapel was built about 1485 as a chapel for pilgrims travelling to Walsingham.
KINGS LYNN 1500-1800
Thoresby
College was
built in 1500-1510 to house priests of a religious guild. In the Middle
Ages merchants and craftsmen joined together to protect their own
interests but there were also relgious guilds. These provided charity
for the poor and often them employed priests to pray and say masses for
the souls of dead members.
Thoresby
College was built by a man named Thomas Thoresby to house
priests of the Guild of The Holy Trinity in Kings Lynn.
At
the end of the Middle Ages exports of wool, which had been the mainstay
of Kings Lynn for centuries declined sharply. By the 16th century it
was no longer significant. In the 16th and 17th centuries the main
export was grain. In general Kings Lynn ceased to be a major
international port although some iron, timber and pitch were still
imported. Like other ports on the East Coast Kings
Lynn suffered from the discovery of the
Americas, which obviously benefited ports on the west coast. It was also affected by the growth of
London which tended to 'suck in' trade.
However in the late 17th century imports of wine from
Spain,
Portugal and
France
into Kings Lynn boomed. Furthermore there was still an important
coastal trade. (In those days it was much cheaper to transport goods by
water than by road and so many goods were shipped around the coast from
one port to another). Large quantities of coal were imported into Kings
Lynn from North East England.
In
the mid 17th century the fens were drained and turned into farmland.
Vast amounts of farm produce were exported from Kings Lynn to the
growing market in
London. Furthermore Kings Lynn was still an important fishing port. Greenland Fishery House in
Bridge Street
was built in 1605. By the late 17th century shipbuilding had become an
important industry in Kings Lynn. A glass making industry also began in
the late 17th century.
In
1683 an architect named Henry Bell, who was once mayor of Kings Lynn,
built the Custom House. The same man built the Dukes Head Inn.
In
1524 Kings Lynn was given a mayor and corporation. In 1537 the king
took control of the town from the bishop. From then on it was called
Kings Lynn. However in the 16th century the town's two annual fairs were
reduced to one. In 1534 a grammar school was founded in Kings Lynn.
However in 1538 Henry VIII closed the Benedictine priory. He also closed
the three friaries.
During
the 16th century a piped water supply was created in Kings Lynn (for
those who could afford to be connected). Elm pipes carried water under
the streets.
Like
all towns at that time Kings Lynn suffered from outbreaks of plague.
There were severe outbreaks in 1516, 1587, 1597, 1636 and 1665. But the
1665 outbreak proved to be the last.
Fire was another hazard in Kings Lynn. In 1572 thatched roofs were banned to reduce the risk of fire.
In
1642 came civil war between king and parliament. At first Kings Lynn
supported parliament but in August 1643 after a change in government the
town changed sides. Parliament lost no time in sending an army to
capture the town. Kings Lynn was besieged for 3 weeks before it
surrendered.
In
the early 18th century Daniel Defoe said Kings Lynn was: 'Beautiful,
well built and well situated'. In the 18th century shipbuilding
continued to thrive in Kings Lynn. So did associated industries such as
sail making and rope making. Glass making continued to prosper. Brewing
was another important industry in Kings Lynn. The first bank in Kings
Lynn opened in 1784.
KING'S LYNN IN THE 19th CENTURY
In
1801 the population of Kings Lynn was 10,096. It grew rapidly to about
20,000 in 1851. Then the population actually fell to around 17,000 in
1871. Thereafter the population of Kings Lynn grew very slowly.
There
were a number of improvements to Kings Lynn in the 19th century. In
1803 and 1806 acts of parliament formed a body of men with powers to
pave, clean and light the streets. In 1813 a dispensary was founded
where the poor could obtain free medicines. The
Lynn and
West Norfolk hospital opened in 1835.
Like
all towns in the 19th century Kings Lynn was dirty and unhealthy. There
were outbreaks of cholera in 1832, 1848 and 1854. Then in the later
19th century a network of sewers and a proper public water supply was
created. The stream called Millfleet was covered in 1897.
A
Corn Exchange (where grain could be bought and sold) was built in 1854.
Public Baths were built in 1856. The County Court was built in 1861.
A Technical school opened in Kings Lynn in 1893.
The railway reached Kings Lynn in 1847.
The
port continued to thrive. Alexandra Dock was built in 1869. Bentinck
Dock was built in 1883. In the 19th century grain was no longer exported
it was imported as Britain could no longer feed itself and had to
import food. Glassmaking ended in the 19th century (though it was
revived in the 20th century). But new industries grew up. These included
making farm machinery, boilers and after 1894 mechanical diggers.
When
World War II began it was assumed that Kings Lynn would be safe from
bombing and many evacuees were sent there from
London. However Kings Lynn was not completely
safe and suffered several air raids. Most of the evacuees soon returned
home.