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Aylsham

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A taste of riverside life

Aylsham’s position on the River Bure gives it a quiet, water‑front charm that many visitors overlook. Early mornings, when the mist lifts off the water, the riverbanks become a natural gallery: swans glide past historic timber bridges while anglers test the currents for trout. Local cafés line the towpath, offering pastries beside the water’s edge, and a short walk upstream leads to a series of restored mill buildings now housing artisan workshops. For cyclists, the Norfolk Broads Cycleway follows the Bure, stitching Aylsham into a scenic route that connects the town with the Broads National Park without the traffic of larger towns.

Beyond the market – a craft heritage trail

While Aylsham’s market history is well documented, its contemporary craft scene is a quieter narrative. The town hosts a cluster of small‑scale producers – from hand‑blown glass to bespoke wooden furniture – most of which operate out of former agricultural outbuildings. A self‑guided trail, marked by subtle plaques, invites visitors to pop into studios, watch a master potter at the wheel, or join an afternoon wood‑turning demonstration. These workshops often collaborate with the nearby historic estates, supplying period‑appropriate furnishings for restoration projects, creating a living link between the town’s past and its present creative economy.

Seasonal rhythms for the discerning traveller

Aylsham’s calendar is punctuated by subtle, locally rooted events that reveal the town’s seasonal pulse. In late summer, the Bure hosts a modest but well‑attended regatta, where traditional flat‑bottomed boats race past the historic stone bridge. Autumn brings a harvest fair that showcases Norfolk apples, cheese, and ciders from nearby farms, often paired with folk music in the town square. Winter, rather than being a quiet lull, sees the town hall transformed into a venue for a modest light festival, highlighting the region’s amber starlight and the soft glow of lanterns reflected on the river. Timing a visit to any of these moments offers an authentic sense of community rhythm.

Introduction

Town in Norfolk, England This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Aylsham" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Human settlement in EnglandAylshamThe town centre, just off Market PlaceAylshamLocation within NorfolkArea4,329 km2 (1,671 sq mi)Population8,817 (2021)• Density2/km2 (5.2/sq mi)Civil parishAylshamDistrictBroadlandShire countyNorfolkRegionEastCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townNORWICHPostcode districtNR11Dialling code01263PoliceNorfolkFireNorfolkAmbulanceEast of England UK ParliamentBroadland and Fakenham List of places UK England Norfolk 52°47′24″N 1°15′22″E / 52.79°N 1.256°E / 52.79; 1.256 Aylsham is a historic market town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. It lies on the river Bure, nearly 9 mi (14 km) north of Norwich. The town is close to Blickling, Felbrigg, Mannington and Wolterton, which are important tourist attractions. The civil parish had a population of 5,504 in the 2001 census, which increased to 6,016 in 2011. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Broadland.

History

[edit] An Aylsham town sign that depicts John of Gaunt, lord of the manor from 1372 Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the town of Aylsham has been occupied since prehistoric times. The town lies just over 2 miles (3.2 km) from a Roman settlement at Brampton. The settlement was linked to Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund, south of Norwich, by a Roman road which can still be traced in places. The site had maritime links to the rest of the Roman Empire. Excavations during the 1970s provided evidence of several kilns, showing that this was an industrial centre, pottery and metal items being the main items manufactured there. Aylsham is thought to have been founded around 500 AD by an Anglo Saxon thegn called Aegel, Aegel's Ham, meaning "Aegel's settlement". The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) as Elesham and Ailesham, and as having a population of about 1,000. Until the 15th century, the production of linen and worsted was important. Aylsham webb or 'cloth of Aylsham' was supplied to the royal palaces of Edward II and III. John of Gaunt was lord of the manor from 1372, although he probably never came to Aylsham. As the principal local town of the Duchy of Lancaster; as a result, the townspeople enjoyed privileges, including exemption from jury service outside the manor and from payment of certain taxes. In 1519, Henry VIII granted the town a regular Saturday market and an annual fair to be held on 12 March, the eve of the feast of St Gregory. Aylsham market has remained an important feature of the town, as businesses developed to meet the needs of the town and the farming lands around it. Besides weekly markets there were cattle fairs twice a year and a hiring fair in October. Black Boys Inn The Black Boys Inn is one of Aylsham's oldest surviving buildings. It has been on the same site since the 1650s, although the present frontage dates to between 1710 and 1720. There is a frieze of small black boys on the cornice. The inn was a stop for the post coach from Norwich to Cromer; it had stabling for 40 horses, employing three ostlers and four postboys. A thatched waterpump was built in 1911 at Carr's Corner in memory of John Soame. It pumped water from a 170 feet (52 m) deep artesian well. The canopy is thatched in Norfolk reed. As with other market towns in Norfolk, the weaving of local cloth brought prosperity to the town in medieval times. Until the 15th century, it was the manufacture of linen which was the more important, and Aylsham linens and Aylsham canvases were nationally known. From the 16th century linen manufacture declined and wool became more important, a situation that continued until the coming of the Industrial Revolution. Thereafter the principal trade of the town for the 19th century was grain and timber, together with the range of trades to be found in a town which supported local agriculture. Annual horse fairs would bring many other traders to the town and the weekly market would be the occasion for more local trade. The rights of the stallholders in the market place today date back to the rights established in medieval times. Aylsham was once noted for its spa, situated south of the town; it comprised a chalybeate spring, formerly used by those suffering from asthma and other chronic conditions. Aylsham came fourth in the world in an international competition celebrating liveable communities, winning a silver award in category A (towns with a population up to 20,000) of the International Awards for Liveable Communities held in 2005.

Local events and attractions

[edit] The Market Towns Initiative finished in 2004, but the partnership successfully bid for funding to take part in the Cittaslow pilot project and to sustain work on traffic management and heritage. As a result, Aylsham became one of the founding towns and the first in Norfolk, of the Cittaslow movement, an international organisation promoting the concept of 'Slow Towns'. It is claimed that Aylsham did not have to change to become a member, as it was already a clear example of the type of community advocated by the Cittaslow movement. Local entertainment in the town includes concerts by the Aylsham Band, the Aylsham Players host one or two productions a year, and Aylsham High School presents an annual school musical. The annual Aylsham Show features agricultural exhibits and takes place on August bank holiday Monday at nearby Blickling Park. The Aylsham Heritage Centre is located in a Victorian building within the grounds of St Michael's Church. Archives stored at the centre can be used to research the town's past.

Local government

[edit] Aylsham Town Hall In medieval times, the parish of Aylsham was established as four manors, the main manor of Lancaster, Vicarage manor, Sexton's manor and Bolwick manor. The ownership of the Lancaster manor changed hands many times, before James I assigned it to his son, the future Charles I. In the course of the events which led up to the English Civil War, Charles I had to raise as much money as possible and mortgaged Lancaster manor to the Corporation of the City of London. The Corporation eventually sold it to Sir John Hobart and, through him, it passed to the ownership of the Blickling Estate. The current lord of the manor is the National Trust. Formerly part of the South Erpingham Hundred, Aylsham was, for administrative purposes, absorbed into St Faith's and Aylsham Rural District in 1894 and became part of Broadland District in 1974. Local issues come under the jurisdiction of the town council, which is based at Aylsham Town Hall.

Parish church

[edit] The parish church of St Michael and All Angels The parket place and surrounding area is dominated by the tower of the Church of St Michael a fine example of Gothic architecture of the Decorated style. The small spire on top of the 98 feet (30 m) tower is also a landmark that can be seen for miles around. The nave, aisles and chancel were built in the 13th century. The tower and ground floor of the south porch were added in the 14th century. The north transept was built under the patronage of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster around 1380; an upper floor to the porch was added in 1488. The lower part of the rood screen survived the destruction visited by Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans, although some of the painted panels were disfigured.

Transport

[edit] Roads[edit] Aylsham was the principal coaching point on the Norwich-Cromer road and the meeting point for other roads. Each day, the coaches from Cromer and Holt would draw up at the Black Boys, the main inn in the market place. Coaching ended with the coming of the railways in the 1880s. The town is now located on the A140 road, a route which runs between Ipswich, Norwich and Cromer. Buses[edit] The town is served by the X41, 43 and X44 routes that are operated between Norwich, Cromer and Sheringham by Sanders Coaches. Other services link the town to surrounding villages and towns, including Wroxham, East Dereham, North Walsham and Felbrigg. Railways[edit] The Bure Valley Railway's western terminus at Aylsham South There were many different plans for railways, but eventually two lines served the town, with two railway stations, which were both closed in the 1950s: Aylsham North was a stop on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line between Melton Constable and Yarmouth Beach Aylsham South was on the Great Eastern line between County School, near North Elmham, and Wroxham. A third station, Aylsham was built on the site of the former Aylsham South in 1990. This is the northern terminus for the Bure Valley Railway, a 15 in (381 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway, which runs to Wroxham, 9 miles (14 km) away. Several long distance footpaths with a railway theme start or pass through the town: Bure Valley Path runs alongside the heritage railway line Marriott's Way follows the old trackbed from Aylsham South to Norwich, via the Themelthorpe Curve Weavers' Way, on the former railway line between Cromer and Great Yarmouth, which can be accessed at the former site of Aylsham North station; it passes Blickling Hall. Waterways[edit] The ancient but natural transport route for Aylsham would have been the river Bure, but it was not open to substantial navigation. There was a scheme in the 18th century to widen the navigation from Coltishall to Aylsham and, after many difficulties, trading wherries from Great Yarmouth were able to reach a staithe at Aylsham. The end for this scheme was the devastating flood of 1912.

Notable people

[edit] Thomas Hudson, a glover of Aylsham, is recorded as one of the Protestant martyrs condemned to death for his faith under the reign of Mary I of England, towards the end of her reign. He was burned at the stake at the Lollards Pit, outside Bishopsgate in Norwich, on 19 May 1558. Jerome Alexander (died 1670), a High Court judge in Ireland, who was noted for his exceptional severity, attended the local school in c. 1600. Christopher Layer (born 1683), was a militant Jacobite and supporter of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the 'Young Pretender'. He was tried for high treason and hanged at Tyburn in 1723, for his part in the Atterbury Plot. A commemorative plaque on the wall of the former Barclays Bank in Market Place commemorates this. Humphry Repton (1752-1818), the landscape gardener who lived at nearby Sustead, is buried in St Michael's Churchyard. His watercolour paintings provide a record of Market Place in the early 19th century. James Bulwer (1794-1879), collector, naturalist, artist and conchologist, was born in Aylsham. Joseph Thomas Clover (1825-1882), the father of modern anaesthetics, who was born above a shop in the town; a plaque marks this building. Clive Payne (b. 1950), former professional footballer for Norwich City and AFC Bournemouth was born in Aylsham. Nick Youngs (b. 1959) and his two sons, Ben and Tom, are former England national rugby union team players.