The Walls of Great Yarmouth

The townsfolk of Great Yarmouth were in a very exposed location, being within easy reach of the sea, and in 1261 Henry III gave orders for the town to be enclosed by a wall and moat to defend the town of possible invasion, but work was not to start on the project until 24 years later.

The materials for these walls came from pebbles found lying on the beaches and local flint, due to the shortage of building stone in the area. The construction of square towers was out of the question, (except for one tower built for King Henry), as this would have involved using stone for the corners, and so the rest of the towers were built round.

Great Yarmouth's Walls

The walls were 23 feet high and 2200 yards long and enclosed an area of 133 acres. It seems likely that King Henry’s Tower in St. Nicholas Churchyard was the first tower built and that wall, broken by no fewer than eight gates, was continued in a southerly direction as far as Black Friars Tower, and at this point it turned through a right angle to the river bank. Between Blackfriars Tower and the river the principal entrance to the town, the South Gate, was erected.

The South Gate

The coming of the Black death in 1349, caused work on the wall to be stopped, but its effect had passed off, and work began again. This time the walls were extended from King Henry’s Tower across the northern boundary of the churchyard and across the road leading to Caister. Here another main entrance to the town, the imposing North Gate, was erected, and there is reason for believing that its two lofty square towers and central portal were built at the expense of those who had become rich bury the dead during the plague.

The North Gate

The walls then extended to the River Bure and terminated with the Northwest Tower. When the wall was finished a moat was dug all around it and Yarmouth was as strongly a fortified town as one would expect to meet in the Middle Ages.

As the town was developing quite rapidly, some townsfolk decided to build up against the town wall, due to the shelter that they provided, and in 1545 the Duke of Norfolk, instructed by Henry VIII, ordered the immediate destruction of these dwellings, as they compromised the defences of the town and looked an eyesore.

The rumour of a Spanish Armada spread, and Elizabeth (the current monarch) was so convinced of the importance of a fortified Yarmouth that she compelled Norwich, Norfolk, and Suffolk to pay large sums of money towards the repair of the walls, whilst she herself despatched supplies of gunpowder and arms. Several cannon were strategically placed on a mound of earth higher than the wall itself, which was raised to the West of the South Gate, from this position the river could be commanded.

Once peace was declared, Charles I ordered an inspection to be made of the defences in 1625, and to his astonishment found that the walls were in a very bad state. He then asked for the walls to be strengthened once again, with an additional thirty cannon.

When the civil war began the town declared for parliament and those suspected of royalist activities were locked in the towers. The town gates were kept locked, drawbridges were raised, the moats deepened and a watch kept from the walls.

The defences were being manned, however, for the last time, and when the war was over they were allowed to fall into decay - this time forever.