There are just some buildings that have an effect on you, I have always liked Wenns Hotel in Kings Lynn, Norfolk.  Not that we ever visited for a drink, in fact until the day that I took these photographs, we had never been over the threshold.  It is the exterior that held the fascination for me, a very Dickensian…

Engraved brass gravestone of Adam de Walsoken 1349 and 1st wife Margaret once had an elaborate screen flic.kr/p/YaWjAF 'Qui iacet Adam de Walsoken quondam Burgens Lenn qui obiit quinto die mensis iunii anno Dni millesimo tridentesimo quadragesimo nono Margareta uxor eius Cleves nata quorum anime per Dei misericordiam in pave requiescant Amen'; (Here lies Adam de Walsoken once mayor of Lynn, who died 5th day of the month of June Anno Dni 1349, & Margaret his wife a native of Cleves, on whose souls may God have mercy Amen) Another inscription at the feet of the figures reads "cum faex cum limus cum resuilissima sumus unde superbimus ad terram terra redimus' (From mud and sediment we came, we are happy to return to the earth) He is wearing a plain loose coat with sleeves and hood, she is in a beautifully embroidered gown. Both have dogs at their feet. They stand under ornamental arches, both at prayer.. Above are arcaded panels showing Christ holding their souls with 4 angels above each head. Around them are angels with musical instruments and the apostles all in canopied niches. Below are 2 panels with pastoral scenes, the gathering of apples, and a man riding with a sack of corn on his back towards a postmill / windmill, in the doorway of which stands a little man. A person which could be Adam is shown being carried in a litter over a stream following the man on horseback. At least 100 figures and foliage fill the spaces. Walsoken was a village 10 miles to the southwest of Lynn. Whether it was Adam or a descendant who emigrated to Lynn is unknown; the family name is not much in evidence in Lynn and the Geoffrey de Walsoken who held a tenement in Briggegate in the late 13c need not have been an ancestor, although Adam is found with property in the same street. If we may trust the evidence of the national taxation of 1332, Adam was the wealthiest man in Lynn at that time; owning a great number of properties in the town. The assessment of his goods – £20 – was the highest in the town (the average being £2.19s.1d). He was a merchant who dealt in wool and who served as collector of a royal tax in wool in 1338 and collector of national wool customs briefly in 1340. Like most other merchants he also dealt in other goods and in 1333/34 the community bought 2 barrels of sturgeon from him. His beginnings may have been more humble, if he was the cobbler who became a freeman of Lynn in 1302, although the valuation of his goods for purposes of a local tax in 1305 (£13.6s8d) indicates he was already fairly prosperous. In 1309 he was amerced by the leet court for using non-standard measures to sell goods. He lived in a house in Damgate, probably at the northwest corner; 5 adjacent shops were part of this property. He also held other property in the same street, in Finneslane (later Tower Street) with a quay on the Purfleet, on both corners of Wingate where it ran into Briggegate, shops on the Stone Bridge (where Briggegate crossed the Purfleet), and a concentration of property at the north end of Briggegate where it entered the Tuesday Market – including 11 shops and tenements in Cook Row, Jews Lane and Gresmarket. Possibly he also acquired a messuage in Norwich (St. Mary Coslany parish) in 1333. Adam served on the town council of jurats in 1325/26 and frequently as one of the ward constables between then and 1341 – Jewslane ward was where he lived. By that time he had already been elected as mayor of Lynn (1335/36) and was so again in 1343/44; during the 1340s he was one of the leading jurats. He would certainly have known Robert Braunch d1364 whose brass is now next to his www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/91Z27r , as they were both on the town council at the same time. The Black Death brought an end to his life at the beginning of the summer of 1349, survived by his second wife Margaret possibly the daughter of John de Merlowe (a former mayor). and daughter Joan. No sons are mentioned in his testament (although this is not unusual); a Walter Walsoken who was jurat in the 1370s might perhaps have been an underage son, although this is unlikely given Adam's advanced age at his death (at least 60). Thomas atte Bek of Cley-next-sea, another recipient of property in the testament and one of Adam's executors, may have been a son-in-law; he moved to Lynn in the 1350s. users.trytel.com/tristan/towns/m_title.html#walsoken - church of St Margaret of Antioch. Kings Lynn Norfolk

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Photos of Kings Lynn, the town and docks. What to do when visiting and a map of Kings Lynn

PLB was commissioned to design the redevelopment of the Grade I Listed King’s Lynn Town Hall and Gaol House, as part of a successful NLHF bid. Central to the project was the need to present the archives and collections of the Borough, to reveal the town’s history from its origins and first charter to today’s […]

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Part of the Aerofilms collection found on the Britain from Above site.

Norfolk is a very special place. It is an important historical county as well as a wildlife haven and it is very easy to enjoy both. It's known for its flat land and iconic 'Big Sky'. Familiar pictures of windmills and marshland. You can easily lose track of time and feel as if you are…

MASON, Frank H RI. Lot 82

You could be forgiven in thinking this was one of my favourite subjects....a church.  It is one of my favourite buildings in Kings Lynn, our local town in Norfolk, but its not a church...it's the public library. The Library stands on the corner of quite a busy road and to get photos with out cars…

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4.9 out of 5 stars - Shop Old Postcard - Kings Lynn, Norfolk created by gregoryolney2. Personalize it with photos & text or purchase as is!

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