The Lumber Room: Sherlockian Sojourns #72: ‘The Glory and Prosperity of Old East Anglia’ [DANC]

DAY ONE: ‘Going Begging’

After two previous extended sojourns to Norfolk, it was time to revisit the area. Catching a train from London Kings Cross, less than two hours later, I was alighting at my first point of call, Kings Lynn, which provided locations for Granada’s dramatisation of ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’.

A ten minute walk brought me to King's Staithe Lane, which was used as the location for Upper Swandam Lane, home to the Bar of Gold Inn and Opium den, visited by Watson (Edward Hardwicke) where he comes across a disguised Holmes (Jeremy Brett).

Two minutes further on was King’s Lynn Town Hall. Originally home to the Trinity Guild, this building has been at the centre of life in the town for over eight centuries and it is still at the heart of civic life, with the Borough Mayor being based here. This location with its instantly recognisable stone and flint chequer was used at the beginning of the episode where we saw many suited gentlemen walking past Hugh Boone (Clive Francis).

Part of the building is now ‘Stories of Lynn’, an interactive exhibition telling the stories of the seafarers, explorers, merchants, mayors, magistrates and miscreants who have shaped King’s Lynn. Paying the entrance fee, I went into the first of three collections – ‘800 Years of King’s Lynn’, a timeline of objects which immersed me into the history of King’s Lynn. Next up was ‘The Treasury’, including the King John Cup, a 14th-century drinking vessel, lavishly decorated in gilt and enamel. Finally, (and of most interest to myself), was ‘The Old Gaol House’, the part of the building which was formerly a medieval prison with just four cells in 1571, then became a House of Correction, or Bridewell, housing petty criminals and debtors, in 1615. At its peak as a Victorian gaol, it held up to 50 prisoners. When the gaol closed, the building became a police lockup, and was in use as recently as the 1950s.

Making my way back to the town centre, I wandered around the shops for around an hour before catching a bus from the Transport Interchange, for a non-Sherlockian location visit. Just under an hour later and I was alighting in Mundford, a small village eight miles outside Thetford. A half hour walk towards and then into nearby woodland brought me to Lynford Hall Hotel, whose courtyard appeared as Nouvion Town Square in the 1980s British sitcom ‘’Allo, ‘Allo!’ (which featured Francesca Gonshaw [who appeared in the Ian Richardson HOUND] and Granada guest star, Kenneth Connor [who would also have played Watson in a proposed ‘Carry on Sherlock’] in regular parts). The hotel was currently closed, but I managed to get some photos through gaps in the fencing.

Retracing my steps, I caught a bus into Thetford, where I passed the Arthur Lowe statue and a Private Pike mural) (‘Dad’s Army’ was filmed in the town) on my way to the station, where I caught a train to my base for the next few days, Norwich.

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DAY TWO: ‘Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside’

The next morning I made my way to Norwich Station via ‘The Television and Movie Store’, which had no new ‘Sherlock’ merchandise (but I did buy a ‘Doctor Who’ T-Shirt), catching a train to Cromer, known a traditional tourist resort and for the Cromer crab, which forms the major source of income for local fishermen.

A twenty minute walk brought me to the Esplanade, and Cromer Pier (Pier of the Year 2024), which dominates the sea front and is 151 metres (495 ft) long. It features the Pavilion Theatre and dates from 1901. The pier featured in ‘Murder Rooms: The Photographer’s Chair’, with filming taking place both on the pier and on the shore underneath it.

A short walk along the Esplanade brought me to The Gangway, which also features in ‘The Photographer’s Chair’, with Dr Joseph Bell (Ian Richardson) and Arthur Conan Doyle (Charles Edwards) being filmed walking up it.

Continuing up The Gangway, I made my way to the nearby Overstand Road, where after a walk of around a mile, I reached Royal Cromer Golf Club, which was the location for a very important discussion. In March 1901, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had returned from South Africa suffering from enteric fever, and to recuperate he decided to take a golfing holiday in North Norfolk with his friend Bertram Fletcher Robinson. They stayed in the Royal Links Hotel, which previously adjoined the course here. [ACD also stayed there in 1897]. Unfortunately, the hotel was sadly demolished after a fire in 1949.

However, Conan Doyle and Fletcher Robinson certainly played on the course, and it is said that it was either on the course or in the hotel that the idea of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ was first discussed, inspired by the Norfolk legend of ‘Black Shuck’.

The course has been extended and developed since Conan Doyle’s time. Also, the original clubhouse (formerly a re-sited butcher’s shop!) that he would have known has been replaced. Not being a member, I had to make do with some photos of the current clubhouse and a few nearby greens.

Retracing my steps, I stopped halfway back, to sit on a bench by the local Cricket Club to eat my lunch. Reaching the town centre, I walked back towards the station, stopping at Cabell Road (named for the former owners of my next stop), then taking the road opposite. A short walk along here brought me to Cromer Hall, the home of the Cabbell Manners family. The original Hall was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt in 1829 in a Gothic Revival style, by Norfolk architect William John Donthorne. Henry Baring, of the Baring banking family, acquired the estate around this time. Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer was born at the hall in 1841. During their visit to Cromer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Bertram Fletcher Robinson had dinner with Benjamin Cabbell at Cromer Hall. During dinner Cabbell told them about his ancestor, Richard Cabbell resident of Devon, who had been killed by a devilish dog, and probably became the model for the evil Hugo Baskerville.

It is also claimed that the house itself also gave Conan Doyle ideas for some of the features of Baskerville Hall. Until 1987 it possessed a yew tree alley as does Baskerville Hall. The coachman who drove Conan Doyle to Cromer Hall was also apparently called Baskerville. I managed to take photographs of the Hall from the road.

Moving back into the town centre, I played in the local amusements, had an ice cream overlooking the sea, and picked up a book called ‘East Anglia Tales of Mystery & Murder’ in a secondhand bookshop, which included a chapter on ‘Black Shuck’.

Returning to the station, I made my way back to Norwich.

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DAY THREE: ‘A Shore Thing’

Having checked-out of my room, I again made my way to Norwich Station, this time travelling to Great Yarmouth, from where I caught a bus to Burgh Castle, the site of 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).

The fort is roughly rectangular, approximately 205 m (673 ft) by 100 m (330 ft), with three of the tall massively built walls still extant; the fourth has fallen into what was once an estuary but is now a marsh, Breydon Water. The site is owned by the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, with the walls in the care of English Heritage. However, the site is freely open to the public and has a major access and interpretation scheme created by the Trust, with funding and collaboration from Natural England and English Heritage.

It was for the filming of the Granada dramatisation of ‘The Sign of Four’ that I was visiting. However. Despite the story featuring a fort, it was not the Great Fort of Agra that was filmed here (that was filmed in Malta). Instead Burgh Castle and the nearby Burgh Flats were used for the climactic boat chase. Specifically the Castle was used for the scene where Jonathan Small (John Thaw) struggles to escape through the mud.

Making my way to the fort, I initially thought that I would not be able to get close to the Flats, as walking towards them there seemed to be no path through. However, walking along a wooden walkway, this suddenly turned at right angles and brought me to a small pontoon extending into the Flats, from which I could take my photos.

Retracing my steps to the bus stop, I caught the next bus back into Great Yarmouth. Here I got some lunch before making my way to The Elizabethan House Museum, a Sixteenth-Century quayside home, set out to reflect domestic life from Tudor to Victorian times, managed by Norfolk Museums Service and the National Trust. The house is famous for its connections with Oliver Cromwell who is said to have frequently visited his friend, John Carter, a prominent local merchant who purchased the house from Benjamin Cowper in 1635. The premises became a regular meeting place for Parliamentarians during the Civil War, and it is here, allegedly, in November 1648 that the fate of Charles I was decided.

Back outside, I took photos of the Town Hall, opened on 31 May 1882 by the then Prince of Wales - later to become Edward VII. On the river was the floating museum Lydia Eva, the world's last surviving steam-powered herring drifter. Built in 1930 and based in Great Yarmouth, she fished along the East Coast and North Sea for nine years before the RAF brought her in 1939, using her until 1969. (It also appeared in ‘Wonka’ 2023) A short distance along South Quay was Greyfriar's Cloisters, a ruin that is all that remains of Great Yarmouth's 13th-century Franciscan Friary. Inside, there are two stone-vaulted cloisters, two tomb recesses and some 14th-century wall paintings discovered in the 1960s. The friary thrived, even surviving an outbreak of the Black Death, until the dissolution of the monasteries. The cloisters are now in the care of English Heritage, but when I visited were in the process of being renovated, so were not fully accessible.

Continuing along the riverside road a short way, I turned left onto Nottingham Way to look over Row 111 and the Old Merchant's House. These are rare remnants of Great Yarmouth's original distinctive 'Rows', which were a network of narrow alleyways linking its three main thoroughfares. Many ‘Row Houses’ were damaged by Second World War bombing or demolished during post-war clearances, but two surviving properties show what these dwellings looked like at various stages in their history. However, they are not currently open to the public.

Next up was Tolhouse Street, and The Tolhouse Gaol, a Grade I listed building which was built around 1150, and is believed to have been built by merchants. It is the oldest civic building in Great Yarmouth, and has been used as a jail and a courthouse and is currently a museum. Unfortunately, the museum is only open in school holidays.

Turning down Blackfriars Road, I crossed the road to the Time and Tide Museum of Great Yarmouth Life, which had just closed for the day. Crossing back over the road, I took a look at the Historic Smokehouse at Great Yarmouth Potteries.

Making my way back into central Great Yarmouth, I walked to my final stops of the trip. Firstly, I visited Great Yarmouth Minster, the largest parish church in the country. In 1942 the church was completely gutted during a German air raid leaving only the Norman tower and the walls standing. The church was rebuilt by the architect – Stephen Dykes Bower, who created a wonderful light building. It has a beautiful set of stained glass windows depicting Christ's life from the Annunciation to the Ascension by Brian Thomas.

Just outside the churchyard was the birthplace of Anna Sewell, author of beloved novel ‘Black Beauty’, in 1820, and a striking life-size fibreglass horse statue, celebrating Great Yarmouth’s special connection to Sewell. This statue was painted live in the marketplace in September 2024 by Loïs Cordelia reimagining historical photos, equine portraits, and scenes from the novel.