Wymondham
There is also a Wymondham, LeicestershireWymondham (
pronounced ) is a historic
market town and
civil parish in the
English county of
Norfolk. It lies
9 miles (14 km) to the south west of the city of
Norwich, on the
A11 road to
Thetford and
Cambridge.
[Ordnance Survey (1999). OS Explorer Map 237 - Norwich. ISBN 0319218686.]Before The Great Fire
Wymondham's most famous inhabitant was
Robert Kett (or Ket), who in 1549 led a rebellion of peasants and small farmers who were protesting about the
enclosure of common land. He took a force of almost unarmed men, and fought for and held the City of Norwich for six weeks until defeated by the King's forces. He was hanged from
Norwich Castle. Kett's Oak, said to be the rallying point for the rebellion, may still be seen today on the road between Wymondham and
Hethersett.
The Great Fire of Wymondham 1615
The Great Fire of Wymondham broke out on Sunday
11 June 1615. Two areas of the town were affected implying there were two separate fires. One area was in Vicar Street and Middleton Street and the other in the Market Place, including Bridewell Street and Fairland Street. About 300 properties were destroyed in the fire.
Important buildings destroyed included the Market Cross, dating from 1286; the vicarage in Vicar Street; the 'Town Hall' on the corner of Middleton Street and Vicar Street; and the schoolhouse. However many buildings such as the Green Dragon pub did survive and many of the houses in Damgate Street date back to 1400, although this is now masked by later brickwork.
The fire was started by three gypsies, William Flodder, John Flodder and Ellen Pendleton (Flodder) and a local person, Margaret Bix (Elvyn). The register of St Andrew's Church in Norwich records that John Flodder and others were executed on
2 December 1615 for the burning of Wymondham.
Rebuilding of the destroyed buildings was quick in some cases and slower in others. A new Market Cross, the one we see today, was started and completed by 1617. However by 1621 there were still about 15 properties not yet rebuilt. Economic conditions in the
1620s could have been a contributory factor to the delay in rebuilding.
After the Great Fire
In 1785 a
prison was built using the ideas of
John Howard, the prison reformer. It was the first prison to be built in this country with separate cells for the prisoners, and was widely copied both in the
United Kingdom and the
United States of America.
The collapse of the woollen industry in the mid-nineteenth century led to great poverty in Wymondham. In 1836 there were 600
hand looms, but by 1845 only 60. During
Victorian times the town was a backwater, escaping large-scale development, and the town centre remains very much as it must have been in the mid-seventeenth century, when the houses were rebuilt after a great fire. These newer houses, and those which survived the Great Fire, still surround shoppers and visitors as they pass through Wymondham's narrow Mediaeval streets.
Governance
The civil parish of Wymondham has an area of
44.31 km² and in the
2001 census had a population of 12,539 in 5,477 households. This relatively large parish includes one nearby village,
Spooner Row.
Wymondham is governed by a town council of 15 councillors. The town is split into five
wards each of which returns three members. Since the last election (2003) eleven councillors are members of the
Conservative Party, two are from the
Liberal Democrats and one from
Labour. There is one independent. The current mayor is
Joe Mooney[
1], originally of
Ballindine,
Mayo, now a long time resident of the town with his wife Catherine, and four children.
For the purposes of local government, Wymondham civil parish falls within the
district of
South Norfolk returning five district councillors, one for each ward.
[Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved December 2, 2005.] The town as a whole returns one county councillor,
Daniel Cox to
Norfolk County Council.
Buildings
In the town centre there is a
market cross, which is now used as a Tourist Information Centre.
Wymondham Abbey is the
Church of England parish church.
The award-winning
Wymondham railway station, which is often, though wrongly, believed to have been used in the classic film
Brief Encounter, has been lovingly restored by David Turner, and now houses a museum and themed restaurant. The station was however featured, along with
Weybourne station on the
North Norfolk Railway, as the "Warmington-on-Sea" station in the popular BBC comedy series "
Dad's Army". Wymondham station is the junction for the
Mid-Norfolk Railway, although their trains, running
11.5 miles (19 km) north to
Dereham operate from the separate
Wymondham Abbey station.
*
Bill Bryson, anecdotalist and writer, lives at
Wramplingham, a village near Wymondham.
*
George Szirtes, prize winning poet, lives on Damgate Street.
*
John Ottaway,
commonwealth gold meddalist bowls player is a long term member of the Wymondham Dell Bowls Club.
*
Oliver Winterbottom, one of Britain's best known car designers, lives off Barnham Broom Road.
*
Kett's Rebellion*
Mid-Norfolk Railway*
Wymondham Website*
Wymondham - A guided tour in pictures.*
Wymondham Young Farmers Club Website*
Information from Genuki Norfolk on Wymondham.
*
Wymondham Forum - Discussion Forum about Wymondham, Norfolk.
*
wyomodibo Wymondham inspired photo and art blog.
*
Joe Mooney Joe Mooney's personal website.
