Great Yarmouth: The Genesis

In the beginning Great Yarmouth did not exist, as the soil on which it now stands was still beneath the sea. The part of the coast was one huge estuary many times longer than Breydon Water is today, stretching from Caister in the north, to Corton in the South, and it flowed into the rivers now known as the Waveney and Wensum.

When the Romans invaded Great Britain in around AD 43, one of the places which provided the best views of this large expanse of water was at Burgh Castle, where ships and land-based activities could be monitored from afar. The Romans realising this decided to set up a fort in AD 250, and after many years it was abandon in AD 400.

The Hutch Map

By this time a sand bank had formed at the mouth of the estuary, and slowly it became an island stretching for some 8 miles in a north-south direction. The waters of this mighty estuary surged through two main channels and joined the open sea at Caister and Corton. The northern channel known as "Grub’s Haven" soon became choked with sand, and the river followed the southern outlet to the sea. The peninsula formed now allowed Yarmouth to start its ascent as a settlement.

Because the seas off Yarmouth’s coast were teeming with herring, fishermen came from far afield, and set up small communities upon the sandbank, as it provided a good base to dry their nets and store the equipment. This then attracted traders and businessmen selling the necessities of life to the seafarers.

With many more people starting to move to the town to live permanently Great Yarmouth started to grow quite rapidly. This expansion was confined to the area around the harbour, as everyone who lived in the town had interests in the fish. The seamen did not care for the views of the sea, as they wanted to get away from the salt spray and the biting easterly winds, which they faced everyday, and so the buildings they constructed faced West.

Little else is known about Yarmouth’s growth as a settlement, but it was mentioned in the Domesday survey carried out in 1086, after William the Conqueror was anxious to find out the extent of his kingdoms riches which he now owned. From the survey Yarmouth had 70 burgesses, which was much less than Norwich with 665 burgesses, Ipswich with 110, or Thetford, one of the most important towns in the Kingdom, with 720.

Yarmouth was very different from other towns in the kingdom, as it was owned entirely by the king, and not by a lord of the manor. Nevertheless, the same medieval dues were demanded and each property owner paid to the king’s sheriff his share of the Royal Exchequer. Taxes were also paid before a son could inherit or a marriage take place. Tolls were paid before business could take place in the markets. Life was hard in Yarmouth, but it was much easier than in the neighbouring agricultural districts.

By 1209 King John granted a charter which declared Yarmouth a “free borough forever”, this was much to the relief of the townsfolk. Whilst other towns in the country had been prospering from a laissez faire agreement, Yarmouth wasn’t, due to the amount of taxes being paid and the law under which they lived.

The King, however, did not lose out from this action as he traded his rights in the town for an annual fee-farm rent of £55, whereas previously his income from the town had been approximately £40 per annum. The privileges which were bestowed upon Yarmouth were of inestimable value. The handicap under which her merchants laboured outside of the town were removed allowing them to sell there wares elsewhere, and she was able to control markets in Yarmouth through her merchants guild. The charter of 1209 not only allowed the town to be self-governing but by granting responsibilities as well as privileges, created a sense of unity. It was something of importance to be a Yarmouth man.