"I've had enough of Norfolk" – Hudson [GLOR]
Following a previous Sojourn to Norfolk, and the sites of ‘The Dancing Men’, it was time for a return trip. Therefore, a three-day excursion was planned.
Day 1 – ‘The Eagle’s Nest’
Catching a bus and then two tubes, I made my way to Liverpool Street Station (from where Watson & Josiah Amberley travelled in ‘The Retired Colourman’), catching an 11am train to Ipswich.
On arrival, I made my way over the road to a bus stop, where after a ten-minute wait, the #97 bus to Shotley arrived. After a half-hour’s journey, I alighted in Erwarton, a small village nine miles south of Ipswich. It was in search of Holmes’ last recorded adversary, Von Bork’s home, the location for Holmes’ ‘last bow’ in the story of the same name.
The posthumous son of a Rittmeister of Uhlans killed at Sedan, Von Bork traced his ancestry back to a Pomeranian mercenary in the service of King Gustavus Aldophus during the Thirty Years War. After brief military service, he began polishing his daring, chameleon-like gifts in diplomatic skulduggery and undercover work for Prussian Military Intelligence in the salons and on the playing-fields of Europe. Around 1910, the German government sent Von Bork to England as a spy. Over the next four years, he became the controller of an English network, and had painstakingly built up the perfect stage from which to undermine Prussia’s enemies, while playing his ‘good old sport’ role to the full. He took up residence in a mansion on the East Coast, not far from Harwich, and it was here that his activities were brought to an end by Holmes, assisted one final time by the reliable Watson.
The account published as ‘His Last Bow’ indicates that the house was situated near the edge of a high cliff, looking down upon a beach, from which the ‘lights of Harwich’ could be seen. It had no entrance drive, and is located on a minor road, described as a ‘country lane’. Whilst several scholars have cited Walton-on-the-Naze as the location of Von Bork’s mansion, only Bernard Davies’ proposal of the appropriately named ‘Highcliff’ holds any water. However, this building was demolished in 1981-2. Therefore, the one building still remaining that could have been Von Bork’s mansion is the Old Rectory in Ewarton, Suffolk.
This property was first proposed by Surgeon-Captain Harald Curjel in ‘The Sherlock Holmes Journal’ in 1972. However, it is actually in a village street right beside the parish church, and also has a long driveway so that cars could be driven up right to the door. It was last occupied by a Rector of Erwarton in 1905.
On alighting from the bus, I initially started walking the wrong way, realising when I reached The Rose Public House (where I like to think Holmes and Watson met to agree the final details of their plan).
Retracing my steps and striding off in the other direction, following a winding road, I finally reached St. Mary The Virgin’s Church, beside which was the Old Rectory. Building work was going on when I visited, so I quickly popped down the drive, taking a few photos before returning to the churchyard.
‘The two famous Germans stood beside the stone parapet of the garden walk, with the long, low, heavily gabled house behind them, and they looked down upon the broad sweep of the beach at the foot of the great chalk cliff in which Von Bork, like some wandering eagle, had perched himself four years before’. [LAST]
The view out over the sea was not visible from the part of the house that I was able to access (as was the famous terrace where Holmes gave his ‘east wind coming’ speech), so I was reliant on taking a few photos from the churchyard of the view towards the shipyards of Harwich.
Returning to the main village, I was just in time for my bus back into Ipswich. Having some time to waste before catching my train to my base for the three days – Norwich – I browsed the shops and spotted ‘The Big Hoot Ipswich’ Owl sculptures dotted around the town, many with punning names, eg. ‘Discowl’, ‘Nocturnowl’, ‘Feeling Hoot, Hoot, Hoot’, and my favourite – ‘Hoot-An-Khamun’.
Catching my train to Norwich, I made my way to my accommodation on the outskirts of the city, passing my first GoGo Dinosaurs sculpture of the trip– ‘Doctasaurus’. (The aim of the sculptures is to bring creativity, colour and fun to Norwich in 2022 for everyone to enjoy while raising vital funds for Break, a children’s care charity)
The evening was spent in watching TV on my tablet, and popping out to pick up a takeaway pizza.
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Day 2: Dinosaurs and Railways
The first order of business the next day was more GoGo Dinosaurs (in particular two of Sherlockian interest). Walking back into the centre of Norwich, I passed St. Andrew’s Hall (now combined with Blackfriars Hall as ‘The Halls’), the UK's most complete surviving medieval friary complex now an Arts and Meeting Centre. It was here in 1922 that Watson’s literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lectured about his belief in Spiritualism, making a startling claim about an unnamed Norfolk soldier.
I then walked a short distance to Elm Hill, the most complete medieval street in the city. A major fire destroyed almost everything in 1507 but the properties were rebuilt and now we can enjoy a beautiful cobbled street with merchant’s houses, thatching, individual homes, speciality shops and small cafes. It was on this street, outside ‘Stoned & Hammered‘ Jewellery Shop that the Sherlockian dinosaur sculpture, ‘Lost Holmes’, designed by artist, Sally Adams, was located. I managed to take many photos, but struggled to get one with myself and the sculpture in the same shot.
Elm Hill was also converted into the magical land of Stormhold for Matthew Vaughn's 2007 fantasy adventure film, ‘Stardust’, based on the Neil Gaiman book, about a man who falls in love with a fallen star. Even the local 14th century pub ‘The Briton’s Arms’ was given a Hollywood makeover with the addition of a thatched awning and some paintwork to turn into ‘The Slaughtered Prince.’ It was also where Monty Python filmed the Beethoven sketch for 1971’s ‘And Now for Something Completely Different’.
A short distance away (passing another dinosaur) was Jarrold Department Store, which featured a GoGo Dinosaurs store. However, unlike their GoGo Dragons event in 2015 there was not a guide, instead a sticker book, which I decided to forego as it would be have been unlikely that I would have got the stickers that I wanted without buying many packets. I did however purchase an Official Trail Map, and took photos of two further dinosaurs.
Another brief walk brought me to The Television And Movie Store, (past another 4 dinosaurs) where I purchased a ‘I Am SHERLOCKED’ t-shirt and a figurine of The Borad from ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘Timelash’.
I then made my way to Norwich Station (past 3 dinosaurs) to check on trains due to a rail strike being in place that day. This confirmed that no trains were running to my proposed destination Sheringham. Exiting the station, I got a taxi to the outskirts of Norwich, and Whitlingham Country Park. Here was the companion piece to ‘Lost Holmes’, namely ‘Lost Watson’, again created by Sally Adams. This was part of the ‘County Trail’ which featured mammoths rather than dinosaurs.
It was then a 45 minute walk back into Norwich, and the Bus Station, where I waited for the X44 bus to Sheringham. The bus was around 15 minutes late from its inward leg, and once it set off it became clear why, when the bus became stuck in a contraflow due to gas works. The journey took me through what I’m fairly sure was an anti-matter universe (or it could have been Cromer !). Alighting the bus at Sheringham, I found myself outside one of the terminuses of the North Norfolk Railway.
Sheringham Station appears in ‘Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes’. However, I have been unable to identify exactly which episode. The opening sequence of ‘Mr Holmes’ in which a train is seen making its way along the south coast of England, is also the North Norfolk Railway, looking in the direction of Sheringham. However, the next scene when it arrives at a station, was filmed on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.
Although trains were usually pulled by steam locomotives, due to the recent very dry and hot weather, the majority were being pulled by diesel locomotives to prevent line fires. I was just in time for the 2.05pm train, and initially had a carriage to myself before being joined by a family. Twenty-five minutes later and I was at the other terminus, Holt. Here was the William Marriott Museum, telling the story of the line. I also purchased two postcards of the line.
Getting back onto the train, I rode back to the middle station, Weybourne, which has appeared as a location in several David Croft sitcoms (‘Dad’s Army’, ‘Allo Allo !’ and ‘Hi-De-Hi !’). It also features a replica World War II allotment and Anderson Shelter.
However, it was also here that the other point of Sherlockian interest was, namely diesel locomotive 20227, the last Class 20 built, which was used extensively on the London Underground network. In the mid-2000s it was painted in Metropolitan maroon livery and named “Sir John Betjeman” by the Class 20 Locomotive Society as acknowledgement of this work. It was then repainted in a special ‘modern taste’ LUL-based livery, to mark the London Underground 150 celebrations but was then repainted, again into Metropolitan maroon, but this time renamed “Sherlock Holmes”. It carries a ‘221B’ shed-plate. The souvenir guide indicated that it was currently undergoing repairs, but I had noticed it in a siding just before Weybourne, on the journey up.
I therefore attempted to take a photo of it from the end of the platform, before finding that on the opposite platform was a gate to a footpath running alongside the line. Having crossed using the footbridge, I walked along until I was level with the locomotive, where luckily the deep hedge came to an end, allowing me to take multiple photos from the path.
Back at the station, I rode the one stop back to Sheringham (on a steam-pulled train), where I joined a long queue for the bus back to Norwich. A few more dinosaur photos and I was making my way back to my lodgings to prepare for the final day of the expedition.
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Day 3: ‘Donnithorpe’
Having checked out of my accommodation, I walked to the station, getting my 20th and 21st dinosaurs. The trains were back to normal, and I caught one to Great Yarmouth, where after a few wrong turns, I managed to catch the #1 Coastal Clipper to Somerton. From here it was just over a half-hour’s walk to Horsey Windpump.
Walking on for another ten minutes, I reached All Saints Church, Horsey,. However, it was a nearby building, Horsey Hall, that I was interested in. This was a possible location of Squire Trevor’s home of ‘Donnithorpe’ in ‘The Gloria Scott’. Thorpes abound in Norfolk, being the Danish version of the Saxon suffix “-ton”, but there are no Donnithorpes nor Donni-anything else in the county. Taking Langmere,as the starting point for investigation, finding the suffix ‘mere’ is very unusual, save the remote piece of water just inland from the coast named Horsey Mere. Horsey has obvious parallels with Langmere, being in the heart of the wild-duck shooting land which Holmes describes to Watson, and, like Donnithorpe, the village of Horsey lies to the north of the Mere.
Margaret Bird in the Winter 1983 ‘Sherlock Holmes Journal’ identifies that Horsey Hall has many of Donnithorpe’s features. It is a very large, fertile estate (and “old Trevor was . . . a man of some wealth and consideration and a landed proprietor”). Holmes also comments on the library and the “remarkably good fishing”, and a directory published for Norfolk during the 19th century indicates: ‘Horsey Hall is a handsome residence, which….contains a large library….’ (White’s Norfolk Directory 1864)
The gate to the property indicated that that there was no public access, and so I took several photos from the public side of the gate.
‘Donnithorpe is a little hamlet just to the north of Langmere, in the country of the Broads. The house was an old-fashioned, wide-spread, oak-beamed brick building, with a fine lime-lined avenue leading up to it. There was excellent wild-duck shooting in the fens, remarkably good fishing, a small but select library, taken over, as I understood, from a former occupant, and a tolerable cook, so that he would be a fastidious man who could not put in a pleasant month there’. [GLOR]
I then made my way back to the Windpump, following steps 7 to 10 of the National Trust’s Estate Walk. Having had a quick drink at the onsite café, I strode off back to Somerton, arriving in time for the next Coastal Clipper back to Great Yarmouth.
Unfortunately, due to the time, a possible trip to Burgh Castle, one of several Roman forts constructed to hold troops as a defence against Saxon raids up the rivers of the east and south coasts of southern Britain (the Saxon Shore), and the nearby Burgh Flats, which appeared as the part of the River Thames where Jonathan Small runs aground in the Granada dramatisation of ‘The Sign of the Four’, had to be cancelled. I therefore took the opportunity to visit the Market, buying a Clara Oswald Bobblehead, at a bargain price, and also managing to get a shot of another mammoth – YUUKI - before returning to the station.
I then made my way back to Norwich, managing to snag two more dinosaurs (making a total of 23 dinosaurs [out of 55] and 2 mammoths [out of 24]), before catching the train back to London, managing to cunningly avoid the influx of Millwall fans, whose team was playing Norwich City that evening.
On arrival at Liverpool Street Station, a strike by Transport for London meant that no Underground lines were running, and a limited bus service was in operation. I therefore slowly wended my tired way back home, arriving far later than originally planned.
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