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55-540: Wellington Pier is located in Great Yarmouth in the county of Norfolk , England. The pier was opened on 31 October 1853 and the 210-metre (690 ft) wooden structure cost £6,776 to build. The pier was designed by P. Ashcroft. In its first year of opening the pier was a huge success and made an impressive profit for the time of £581. Five years later a second pier was built close to the Wellington which had

110-470: A grammar school founded and the great hall of the old hospital was appropriated for its use. The school was closed from 1757 to 1860 but re-established by charity trustees and settled in new buildings in 1872. In 1552, Edward VI granted a charter of admiralty jurisdiction, later confirmed and extended by James I . Elizabeth I came to Great Yarmouth in July 1578. In 1668 a charter from Charles II extended

165-561: A courtyard, it served as a naval psychiatric hospital , then as a barracks. The barrack-master was Captain George Manby , during his time in post he invented the Manby mortar . The premises was transferred to the NHS in 1958. After its closure in 1993, the buildings were turned into private residences. The town was the site of a bridge disaster and drowning tragedy on 2 May 1845, when

220-628: A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund of £1.7m and the labour of volunteers, the flowerbeds have been restored with 20,000 plants, and the 1920s cafe has been restored. That and the boat hire are being run by a social enterprise. The South Denes area is home to the Grade I listed Norfolk Naval Pillar, known locally as the Britannia Monument or Nelson's Monument. This tribute to Nelson was completed in 1819, 24 years before

275-576: A main tourist sector on the seafront. It is linked to Gorleston , Cobholm and Southtown by Haven Bridge and to the A47 and A149 by Breydon Bridge . The urban area covers 8.3 sq mi (21 km ) and according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2002 had a population of 47,288. It is the main town in the Borough of Great Yarmouth . The ONS identifies a Great Yarmouth urban area as having

330-491: A mile [800 m] together, they go cross the stream with their bolsprits over the land, their bowes, or heads, touching the very wharf; so that one may walk from ship to ship as on a floating bridge, all along by the shore-side: The key reaching from the drawbridge almost to the south-gate, is so spacious and wide, that in some places 'tis near one hundred yards from the houses to the wharf. In this pleasant and agreeable range of houses are some very magnificent buildings, and among

385-552: A number of murals in the town as part of his set A Great British Spraycation . There are two tiers of local government covering Great Yarmouth, at district and county level : Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council , based in Norwich. The borough council meets at Great Yarmouth Town Hall in Hall Plain, which is a Grade II* listed building . Great Yarmouth was an ancient borough . The original borough

440-647: A pair of roadside lodges (which originally housed senior officers) frame the entrance to the site, which contains a sizeable armoury of 1806, a small barracks block and other ancillary buildings. Originally the depot extended down to a wharf on the River Yare and was flanked by a pair of storehouses, but these and other buildings were destroyed in The Blitz . A grander survival is the former Royal Naval Hospital designed by William Pilkington , begun in 1806 and opened in 1811. Consisting of four colonnaded blocks around

495-427: A population of 68,317, which includes the sub-areas of Caister-on-Sea (population 8,756) and Great Yarmouth (population 58,032). The wider Great Yarmouth borough had a population of around 92,500, which increased to 97,277 at the 2011 United Kingdom census . Ethnically, Great Yarmouth was 92.8 per cent White British , with the next biggest ethnic demographic being Other White at 3.5 per cent – Eastern Europeans in

550-567: A sail-rigged Q-ship , off the coast of Great Yarmouth. It was bombarded by the German Navy on 24 April 1916. The town suffered from bombing raids by the German Luftwaffe during World War II , as the last significant place Germans could drop bombs before returning home, but much is left of the old town, including the original 2,000-metre (1.2 mi) protective medieval wall, of which two-thirds has survived, and eleven of

605-912: A single pane of glass. Over the years, it has been used as ballroom , roller skating rink and beer garden . In the 1990s it was converted into a nightclub by Jim Davidson and has since been used as a family leisure venue. It is currently closed. In the meantime it has been named by the Victorian Society as a heritage building at risk of disrepair. Great Yarmouth's seafront, known as "The Golden Mile" attracts millions of visitors each year to its sandy beaches, indoor and outdoor attractions and amusement arcades. Great Yarmouth's Marine Parade has twelve Amusement Arcades within 2 square miles (5.2 km ), including: Atlantis, The Flamingo, Circus Circus, The Golden Nugget, The Mint, Leisureland, The Majestic, The Silver Slipper, The Showboat, Magic City, Quicksilver and The Gold Rush, opened in 2007. In addition to

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660-478: A thriving herring port, was vividly and admiringly described several times in Daniel Defoe 's travel journals, in part as follows: Yarmouth is an ancient town, much older than Norwich; and at present, tho' not standing on so much ground, yet better built; much more compleat; for number of inhabitants, not much inferior; and for wealth, trade, and advantage of its situation, infinitely superior to Norwich. It

715-403: A very large financial effect on the profitability of the pier. By 1899 Great Yarmouth Corporation bailed out the failing business for the sum of £1,250 and had plans to improve the entertainment and amusement of the pier. On 13 July 1903 a new Pavilion was opened and a failed Winter gardens was bought from Torquay and was incorporated into the design of the pier. In the early 1970s, the pier

770-923: Is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Its current MP, starting 5 July 2024, is Rupert Lowe of the Reform UK . The Yarmouth area provides habitats for a number of rare and unusual species. The area between the piers is home to one of the largest roosts of Mediterranean gulls in the UK. Breydon Water , just behind the town, is a major wader and waterfowl site, with winter roosts of over 100,000 birds. Grey seal and common seal are frequently seen offshore, as are seabirds such as gannet , little auk , common scoter , razorbill , Gull and guillemot . This and

825-424: Is a new building. The ten-lane full-size bowling alley takes up most of the space in what was the old auditorium and stage space. An 80-foot-long stained-glass picture was found during the removal of the original Wellington pier theatre structure; it has been restored and will be the centrepiece of the entrance to the new complex. It depicts ships sailing into the port of Great Yarmouth. Great Yarmouth This

880-596: Is a renowned temporary roost for spring and autumn migrants. Common redstart and pied flycatcher are often seen during their migration . It has also recorded the first sightings of a number of rare insects blown in from the continent. The main local football club is Great Yarmouth Town , known as the Bloaters, which plays in the Eastern Counties League . Its ground is at Wellesley Recreation Ground, named after Sir Arthur Wellesley , later to become

935-557: Is an accepted version of this page Great Yarmouth ( / ˈ j ɑːr m ə θ / YAR -məth ), often called Yarmouth , is a seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk , England; it straddles the River Yare and is located 20 miles (32 km) east of Norwich . Its fishing industry, mainly for herring , shrank after the mid-20th century and has all but ended. North Sea oil from

990-872: Is owned by the British company Merlin Entertainments . Some of the aquariums now called Sea Life predate this rebrand and existed under different designations prior to their consolidation. The original named attraction was Sea Life Centre in Oban , Scotland, which opened in 1979. By 1992, nine other Sea Life units were opened. In November 2015, Merlin Entertainments announced that over the next 10 years it would invest £50 million in India, some of which will be used to open Sea Life centres. In January 2017, Merlin Entertainments Indian subsidiary stated that it

1045-675: Is plac'd on a peninsula between the River Yare and the sea; the two last lying parallel to one another, and the town in the middle: The river lies on the west-side of the town, and being grown very large and deep, by a conflux of all the rivers on this side the county, forms the haven; and the town facing to the west also, and open to the river, makes the finest key in England, if not in Europe, not inferior even to that of Marseilles itself. The ships ride here so close, and as it were, keeping up one another, with their head-fasts on shore, that for half

1100-634: Is the terminus of the Wherry Lines from Norwich. Before the Beeching Axe , the town had a number of stations and a direct link to London down the east coast. The only remaining signs of these is a coach park, where Beach Station once was, and the A12 relief road, which follows the route of the railway down into the embankment from Breydon Bridge. Yarmouth has two piers : Britannia Pier (Grade II listed) ) and Wellington Pier . The theatre building on

1155-474: Is within sight of the seafront, with its giant wind generators. Also visible are grey seals during their breeding season. The country's only full-time circus, Hippodrome Circus , is just off the seafront. The Grade II listed Winter Gardens building sits next to the Wellington Pier . The cast iron , framed glass structure was shipped by barge from Torquay in 1903, ostensibly without the loss of

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1210-499: The Local Government Act 1972 . The area became part of the larger Borough of Great Yarmouth , a lower-tier non-metropolitan district , with Norfolk County Council providing county-level services to the town for the first time. No successor parish was created for the area of the former county borough, which therefore became an unparished area , directly administered by Great Yarmouth Borough Council. Great Yarmouth

1265-534: The Yarmouth suspension bridge crowded with children collapsed under the weight killing 79. They had gathered to watch a clown in a barrel being pulled by geese down the river. As he passed under the bridge the weight shifted, causing the chains on the south side to snap, tipping over the bridge deck. Great Yarmouth had an electric tramway system from 1902 to 1933. From the 1880s until the First World War,

1320-744: The roadstead to the Battle of Copenhagen . From 1808 to 1814, the Admiralty in London could communicate with its ships in Yarmouth by a shutter telegraph chain . Ships were routinely anchored offshore during the Napoleonic Wars and the town served as a supply base for the Royal Navy . Part of an Ordnance Yard survives from this period on Southtown Road, probably designed by James Wyatt :

1375-461: The 17th-century timber-framed house where Anna Sewell (1820–1878), author of Black Beauty , was born. The market place, one of England's largest, has functioned since the 13th century. It is also home to the town's shopping sector and the famous Yarmouth chip stalls. The smaller area south of the market is used as a performance area for community events and for access to the town's shopping centre, Market Gates . Great Yarmouth railway station

1430-680: The 18 original turrets still standing. Other museums in the town include the National Trust's Elizabethan House, the Great Yarmouth Row Houses, managed by English Heritage , and the privately owned Blitz and Pieces , based on the Home Front during World War II . The Maritime Heritage East partnership, based at the award-winning Time and Tide Museum aims to raise the profile of maritime heritage and museum collections. In October 2021, street artist Banksy created

1485-449: The 1903 structure awaits its fate. By September 2008 the old theatre at the end of the pier had been converted to become a large bowling alley and bars. The original steel and ironwork has been restored and returned to the new building. The 100-year-old original girders are now visible, having been originally hidden in the theatre roof space. The newer building is so similar to the (demolished) old theatre that many visitors do not realise it

1540-562: The 1960s supplied an oil rig industry that services offshore natural gas rigs; more recently, offshore wind power and other renewable energy industries have ensued. Yarmouth has been a resort since 1760 and a gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the North Sea . Holidaymaking rose when a railway opened in 1844, bringing easier, cheaper access and some new settlement. Wellington Pier opened in 1854 and Britannia Pier in 1858. Through

1595-687: The 20th century, Yarmouth boomed as a resort, with a promenade , pubs, trams, fish-and-chip shops, theatres, the Pleasure Beach , the Sea Life Centre , the Hippodrome Circus , the Time and Tide Museum and a Victorian seaside Winter Garden in cast iron and glass. Great Yarmouth is located on a 3.1-mile (5.0 km) spit of land between the North Sea and River Yare . It features historic rows of houses in narrow streets and

1650-676: The Duke of Wellington. There is strong East Anglian rivalry with Gorleston . Local football clubs are served by the Great Yarmouth and District League. Great Yarmouth has a horse racecourse that features a chute allowing races of one mile (1.6 km) on the straight. Speedway racing was staged before and after the Second World War . The meetings were held at the greyhound stadium in Caister Road. The post-war team

1705-735: The borough boundaries to also include Little Yarmouth (also known as Southtown), which lay on the opposite bank of the Yare in the parish of Gorleston in Suffolk . In 1703 a new charter from Queen Anne replaced the two bailiffs by a mayor . In 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War , the Zealand Expedition was assembled in the town. In 1702 the Fishermen's Hospital was founded. In the early 18th century, Yarmouth, as

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1760-705: The central library. Major sections of the medieval town walls survive around the parish cemetery and in parts of the old town. Great Yarmouth Minster (the Minster Church of St Nicholas, founded in the 12th century as an act of penance) stands in Church Plain, just off the market place. It is the third largest parish church in England, after Beverley Minster in the East Riding of Yorkshire and Christchurch Priory in Dorset . Neighbouring Church Plain has

1815-466: The completion of Nelson's Column in London. The monument, designed by William Wilkins , shows Britannia standing atop a globe holding an olive branch in her right hand and a trident in her left. There is a popular assumption in the town that the statue of Britannia was supposed to face out to sea but now faces inland due to a mistake during construction, although it is thought she is meant to face Nelson's birthplace at Burnham Thorpe . The monument

1870-476: The eigteen towers remain. On the South Quay is a 17th-century Merchant's House, as well as Tudor , Georgian and Victorian buildings. Behind South Quay is a maze of alleys and lanes known as "The Rows" . Originally there were 145. Despite war damage, several have remained. The town was badly affected by the North Sea flood of 1953 . More recent flooding has also been a problem, with four floods in 2006,

1925-413: The first Bishop of Norwich, and consecrated in 1119. This was to be the first of several priories founded in what was a wealthy trading centre of considerable importance. In 1208, King John granted a charter to Great Yarmouth. The charter gave his burgesses of Yarmouth general liberties according to the customs of Oxford , a gild merchant and weekly hustings, amplified by several later charters asserting

1980-614: The latter was demolished in 2005 and reopened in 2008 as a family entertainment centre, including a ten-pin bowling alley overlooking the beach. Britannia Pier holds the Britannia Theatre, which during the summer has featured acts such as Jim Davidson , Jethro , Basil Brush , Cannon and Ball , Chubby Brown , the Chuckle Brothers , and The Searchers . It is one of the few end-of-the pier theatres surviving in England. The Scroby Sands Wind Farm of thirty generators

2035-659: The main. Great Yarmouth (Gernemwa, Yernemuth) lies near the site of the Roman fort camp of Gariannonum at the mouth of the River Yare. Its situation having attracted fishermen from the Cinque Ports , a permanent settlement was made, and the town numbered 70 burgesses before the Norman Conquest . Henry I placed it under the rule of a reeve . In 1101 the Church of St Nicholas was founded by Herbert de Losinga ,

2090-616: The northern section opened in March 1986. The bypass was re-numbered as part of the A12 , until it returned to being part of the A47 in February 2017. In February 2023, there was an explosion on River Yare when disposal of unexploded ordnance from World War II resulted in accidental detonation. The Tollhouse with dungeons , dating from the late 13th century, is one of Britain's oldest former gaols and oldest civic buildings. It backs onto

2145-475: The pier has been totally re-developed as an amusement arcade. Between 2005 and 2010 shows were held at the theatre starring Jim Davidson and Bradley Walsh and featured support vocalists such as Tracy Dean. Since taking over the lease from Davidson, Family Amusements now run the entire Wellington and Wintergardens complex, along with the Britannia Pier further north on the seafront. The Winter Gardens

2200-410: The rest, the custom-house and town-hall, and some merchants houses, which look like little palaces, rather than the dwelling-houses of private men. The greatest defect of this beautiful town, seems to be, that tho' it is very rich and encreasing in wealth and trade, and consequently in people, there is not room to enlarge the town by building; which would be certainly done much more than it is, but that

2255-505: The rights of the borough against Little Yarmouth and Gorleston. The town is bound to send to the sheriffs of Norwich every year one hundred herrings, baked in twenty four pasties , which the sheriffs are to deliver to the lord of the manor of East Carlton who is then to convey them to the King. A hospital was founded in Great Yarmouth during the reign of Edward I by Thomas Fastolfe, father of Thomas Fastolf , Bishop of St David's . In 1551,

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2310-666: The river on the land-side prescribes them, except at the north end without the gate.... In 1797, during the French Revolutionary Wars , the town was the main supply base for the North Sea Fleet. The fleet collected at the Yarmouth Roads , from whence it sailed to the decisive Battle of Camperdown against the Dutch fleet. Again in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars , the collected fleet sailed from

2365-535: The surrounding Halvergate Marshes are environmentally protected. Most of the area is now managed by conservation organisations, principally the RSPB . The North Denes area of the beach is an SSSI due to its dune plants, and supports many skylarks and meadow pipits , along with one of the largest little tern colonies in the UK each summer, and a small colony of grayling butterflies. Other butterflies found include small copper and common blue . The nearby cemetery

2420-516: The town was a regular destination for Bass Excursions, when fifteen trains would take 8,000–9,000 employees of Bass's Burton brewery on an annual trip to the seaside. During World War I , Great Yarmouth suffered the first aerial bombardment in the UK, by Zeppelin L3 on 19 January 1915. That same year on 15 August, Ernest Martin Jehan became the first and only man to sink a steel submarine with

2475-764: The two piers, tourist attractions on Marine Parade include Joyland, Pirates Cove Adventure Golf, Castaway Island Adventure Golf, the Marina Centre, the Sea Life Centre, Merrivale Model Village and the Pleasure Beach and Gardens. In August 2019, the Venetian Waterways and gardens reopened. The waterways, running parallel to the main beach, were a feature constructed as a work-creation scheme in 1926–1928, consisting of canals and formal gardens, with rowing boats, pedalos and gondolas . These had been allowed to silt up, decay and become abandoned. With

2530-514: The worst being in September. Torrential rain caused drains to block and an Anglian Water pumping station to break down, which caused flash flooding in which 90 properties were flooded up to 5 ft (1.5 m). On 1 April 1974, the civil parish of Great Yarmouth was abolished. The southern section of the 2 mi (3.2 km) A47 Great Yarmouth Western Bypass opened in May 1985, with

2585-491: Was built as part of a regeneration of the south of the town in 2003. Its location in an old herring smokery harks back to the town's status as a major fishing port. Sections of the historic town wall stand opposite the museum, next to the Great Yarmouth Potteries, part of which is housed in another former smoke house. The town wall is among the most complete medieval town walls in the country, with 11 of

2640-462: Was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services and so it became a county borough , independent from Norfolk County Council. For ceremonial and judicial purposes the borough continued to straddle Norfolk and Suffolk until 1 April 1891 when the county boundary was adjusted to place the whole borough in Norfolk. The County Borough of Great Yarmouth was abolished in 1974 under

2695-552: Was entirely on the north side of the Yare, which formed the historic boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. After the borough was enlarged to include Southtown in 1668 the borough straddled the two counties. The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , at which point the boundaries were enlarged to include all of the parish of Gorleston. When elected county councils were created in 1889, Great Yarmouth

2750-610: Was known as the Yarmouth Bloaters , after the smoked fish . Banger and Stock car racing are also staged there. The main Marina leisure centre, built in 1981, has a large swimming pool and conference facilities ; it holds live entertainment, such as summer pantomime variety shows produced by local entertainers Hanton & Dean. The centre is run by the Great Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust. The Trust

2805-425: Was like for men who sailed under him. It closed in 2019. Charles Dickens used Yarmouth as a key location in his novel David Copperfield , and described the town as "the finest place in the universe". Dickens stayed at the Royal Hotel on the Marine Parade while writing the novel. The Time and Tide Museum in Blackfriars Road, managed by Norfolk Museums Service, was nominated in the UK Museums Awards in 2005. It

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2860-516: Was originally planned to mark Nelson's victory at the Battle of the Nile , but fundraising was not completed until after his death and it was instead dedicated to England's greatest naval hero. It is currently surrounded by an industrial estate but there are plans to improve the area. The Norfolk Nelson Museum on South Quay housed the Ben Burgess collection of Nelson memorabilia and was the only dedicated Nelson museum in England. Its several galleries looked at Nelson's life and personality, and at what life

2915-419: Was previously a large children's indoor play area, with cafe and bar. Oddly, the aluminium trussing installed by Jim Davidson as part of the Wintergardens nightclub has been retained - as it looks very futuristic, incorporating curves and other abstract shapes, However the Winter Gardens now stands empty having closed during 2008 due to concerns about structural integrity. The play equipment was removed in 2010 and

2970-408: Was set up in April 2006 to run the building as a charitable non-profit-making organisation. Sea Life Centres Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life -themed aquarium attractions . As of April 2017 there are 53 Sea Life attractions (including standalone Sea Life centres, mini Sea Life features within resort theme parks, and Legoland submarine rides) around the world. The chain

3025-402: Was substantially strengthened with major steelwork renovations. It was leased from the local council by entertainer Jim Davidson in 1996. He invested around £750,000 of his own money; this was spent on the inside, but the outside was left as neither the lottery nor local projects would fund it. The theatre stood empty until it was partially demolished in early 2005. By late 2005 the front part of

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