Thetford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thetford |
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 King Street, Thetford |
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 Thetford
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| Area | 29.55 km2 (11.41 sq mi) |
| Population | 24,340 (2011 Census) |
| • Density | 824/km2 (2,130/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TL8783 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | THETFORD |
| Postcode district | IP24 |
| Dialling code | 01842 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament |
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| Website | thetfordtowncouncil.gov.uk |
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of 29.55 km2 (11.41 sq mi), in 2015 had a population of 24,340.
There has been a settlement at Thetford since the Iron Age, and parts of the town predate the Norman Conquest; Thetford Castle was established shortly thereafter. Roger Bigod founded the Cluniac Priory of St Mary in 1104, which became the largest and most important religious institution in Thetford. The town was badly hit by the dissolution of the monasteries, including the castle's destruction, but was rebuilt in 1574 when Elizabeth I established a town charter. After World War II, Thetford became an "overspill town", taking people from London, as a result of which its population increased substantially. Thetford was the headquarters of Tulip International, large-scale manufacturers of bacon, beef and pork until its closure in 2010.
Thetford railway station is served by the Breckland line and is one of the best surviving pieces of 19th century railway architecture in East Anglia.
Contents
History
The Iceni were a Celtic tribe living in Norfolk and parts of Cambridgeshire. Archaeological evidence suggests that Thetford was an important tribal centre during the late Iron Age and early Roman period. A ceremonial 'grove' was uncovered there during excavations. In 1979, a hoard of Romano-British metalwork, known as the Thetford treasure was located just outside Thetford. Dating from the mid-4th century AD, this hoard is a collection of thirty three inscribed spoons, twenty gold finger rings, four pendants, several necklaces and a 2" gold buckle depicting a dancing satyr. They are currently on display and under curation at the British Museum.
Thetford, an important crossing of the River Little Ouse, draws its name from the Anglo-Saxon Theodford or peoples ford. The nearby River Thet was later named after the town.
On 20 November 869, Edmund the Martyr – the last native King of the East Angles – was killed in East Anglia by Vikings. For a time Edmund was England’s patron saint.
The Domesday Book lists William of Bello Fargo as the Bishop of Thetford in 1085.
Castle Hill, to the south-east of the town centre, is a Norman motte though no trace remains of the castle which once surmounted it. The mound (motte) is open to the public, and provides excellent views of the town from its summit and extensive earthworks. It is in a public park, near the Three Nuns Bridges and close to the town centre overlooking the rivers.
Thetford also contains the ruins of a 12th-century Cluniac priory. Thetford Priory, open to the public, was closed during the Reformation. Both the Priory and the Bell Inn, also in Thetford, were featured for their alleged hauntings on the television series Ghosthunters. The Black Horse public house dates from the mid 18th century, and is grade II listed.
The Norfolk Lent Assizes were held at Thetford from 1264 because there was only one Assize for both Norfolk and Suffolk. Thetford, being close to the border between the two, was convenient for both. However, after much pressure, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1832 to transfer them to Norwich. There had been pressure to do so for many years. In 1825 an MP, Mr John Buxton, told the House of Commons that prisoners had to be carried the 30 miles from Norwich Gaol in an open waggon and, on arrival at Thetford, were placed in a prison, which, "if he were to describe it, would shock and offend the House".
From the 1950s Thetford became a London overspill town. In 1953 the Thetford Borough Council approached the London County Council to become part of the town's expansion scheme. An agreement was signed in 1957 and work began on new housing estates to accommodate 5,000 Londoners. In 1960 another 5,000 Londoners moved to Thetford increasing the population to about 17,000 people. An additional 1,500 houses were built by 1965. Development then shifted to the Abbey Farm estate to the north of the river, construction of which started in 1967, with 1,000 houses, public open spaces and footpaths. By the late 1980s the population of Thetford had reached around 21,000 people, this enormous increase in population meant that Thetford grew faster than any other town in Norfolk, and indeed in the whole country.
The British Trust for Ornithology moved its headquarters into the former Nunnery, south of the town centre, in 1991.
Thetford was the birthplace of Thomas Paine and his statue stands on King Street, holding a quill and his book Rights of Man, upside down. Paine attended Thetford Grammar School. Born in Thetford on 9 February 1737, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 where he was to participate in the American Revolution. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), advocating colonial America's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and The American Crisis (1776–1783), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series.
Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns, born in Inagua, the Bahamas, Mayor of Thetford in 1904, was the first black man to become a mayor in Britain. His son Allan Noel Minns, also a doctor, was awarded the DSO and MC in the First World War.
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and other early Tudor dynasty officials were once buried in Thetford before removal to Framlingham. The Duke of Norfolk died on 21 May 1524. His funeral and burial on 22 June at Thetford Priory were said to have been 'spectacular and enormously expensive, costing over £1300 and including a procession of 400 hooded men bearing torches and an elaborate bier surmounted with 100 wax effigies and 700 candles', befitting the richest and most powerful peer in England. After the dissolution of Thetford Priory, the Howard tombs were moved to the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham.
The Ancient House Museum, situated on White Hart Street, is an oak-framed Tudor merchant's house. The museum holds replicas of the Thetford Treasure and has displays about flint knapping, rabbit warreners and wildlife in the brecks. You can also find out more about Thomas Paine and the Maharajah Duleep Singh. The Ancient House was gifted to the town by Prince Frederick Duleep Singh.
The surrounding Breckland has been largely replaced by the Thetford Forest, though Thetford Chase remains.
Sport
The local football club, Thetford Town F.C., plays in the Eastern Counties Football League. Thetford Rugby Union Football Club is based on the Mundford Road just outside Thetford, with its first team playing in the Eastern Counties London 3.
Thetford Town Cricket Club have two adult teams competing in the Norfolk Cricket Alliance and one in the Norfolk Friendly Alliance. The club also boasts a thriving junior section.
A swimming team called the Thetford Dolphins is based at Breckland Leisure Centre's Waterworld swimming pools. World champion triathlete Chrissie Wellington is a former member of this swimming club.
Thetford Golf Club, to the northwest of the town in Thetford Forest Park, was established in 1912 with a course originally designed by Charles H. Mayo, with later alterations by James Braid and Philip Mackenzie Ross. The construction of the second Thetford bypass resulted in five of the course holes being lost and having to be re-fashioned by Cameron Sinclair and Donald Steel.
Transport
Thetford railway station sits on the Breckland line between Ely and Norwich, and opened in 1845. The station building was designed in a Neo-Jacobean style and constructed using local Breckland flint, and extended in 1889. It has one of the best preserved set of railway buildings in East Anglia, retaining nine separate buildings that have survived from the nineteenth century, and has been grade II listed since 1971. The Thetford to Bury St Edmunds line opened on 1 March 1876, and included a second station in the town, Thetford Bridge. The line closed to passengers in 1953 and goods in 1960.
The town sits on the historic turnpike road between London and Norwich, which later became the A11. The first bypass opened in 1968, followed by a second in 1987. A high speed dual carriageway link from Thetford towards London opened in December 2014, which removed the remaining 9 miles (14 km) of single carriageway via Elveden. The other main roads through the town are the A134 from Colchester to King's Lynn, and the A1066 towards Diss.
The National Cycle Route 13 links Thetford to Gateley, near Fakenham.
Demography
According to the 2001 UK Census, almost 22,000 people were residing in Thetford.
Climate
Thetford has a temperate marine climate, like much of the British Isles, with generally light precipitation throughout the year. The surrounding Breckland area is differentiated from much of Eastern England due to the presence of sandy soils. This results in average minimum temperatures typically being around 1 degree lower than in surrounding areas, and on cold clear nights up to 5 to 10 Celsius lower. to the NW
Dad's Army
The external scenes for the BBC1 TV series Dad's Army were filmed in and around the town with Thetford's flint buildings doubling for Walmington-on-Sea. The Dad's Army Museum is located in the town's Guildhall building. In December 2007 it was announced that a statue of Arthur Lowe who played the leading character Captain George Mainwaring would be erected in the town. The statue, depicting Captain Mainwaring sitting on a park bench, was unveiled next to the Little Ouse river on 19 June 2010. This was preceded by a stage show re-enacting several Dad's Army episodes which was shown over the course of several nights, including The Godiva Affair.
Jones' van which was used in the series is displayed at the nearby Charles Burrell Museum.
Twin towns
Thetford is twinned with the towns of:
- Hürth, near Cologne, Germany
- Skawina, near Kraków, Poland
- Nissewaard, near Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Les Ulis, near Paris, France
Economy and services
The Thetford Borough Police Force was established in 1836, and in 1857 the small force joined Norfolk County Constabulary. Thetford Fire Brigade was established in 1880.
The Thetford Gas Company, founded in 1838, proved very short-lived until Thetford Gasworks opened on Bury Road in 1845. In 1848, gas street lighting was set up in Thetford. From 1877 the town was provided with a clean water supply thanks to a new reservoir and steam engine on Gallows Hill to pump fresh water into the town. In 1929 the Anglian Electricity Supply Company began supplying electricity to the town, which was completed in 1933.
Thetford was the headquarters of Tulip International, large-scale manufacturers of bacon, beef and pork. In March 2007 the factory laid off three quarters of their workforce in Thetford with the loss of 350 jobs, and the factory later closed in 2010. In January 2018 it was announced that a new retail park and restaurant had been approved on the factory site with over 7,367 square metres (79,300 sq ft) of retail floor space. The development was initiated by Stapleford Thetford Ltd. as part of the Thetford-Cambridge-Norwich Technology Corridor. The market is held outside Thetford Guildhall in the town centre on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Notable people
- Theodosia Ann Dean (1819-1843), missionary; was born in the town
- Allan Glaisyer Minns (1858-1930), Doctor and the first black man to become a mayor in Britain, was mayor of Thetford
- Allan Noel Minns (1891-1921), latter's son, Doctor and one of first British Army officers of Afro-Caribbean descent to serve in World War I; buried in Thetford Cemetery.
- Thomas Paine (1737-1809), political radical, involved in both the American Revolution and the French Revolution, was born in the town.
- Duleep Singh (1838-1893), last Maharajah of the Punjab, lived part of his exile at nearby Elveden. An equestrian statue of the Maharaja was unveiled in 1999 at Butten Island in the town, which benefited from his and his sons' generosity.
Images for kids
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Deed of Surrender of Thetford Priory, 1540
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Bridge over the Little Ouse in Thetford
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See also
In Spanish: Thetford para niños
