On Tuesday 8th September, 1741, a violent storm swept in from the east and battered the medieval town of King’s Lynn. Within a matter of minutes, the 193-foot spire of St Margaret’s church (main image) crashed down into the nave. Across town the spire of St Nicholas toppled over and buried much of itself in the churchyard. The damage in the area was severe and must have been a terrifying shock to the populace.
Less dramatic, but no less damaging, was the ‘redevelopment’ of the centre of the town in the 1950s and 60s. No doubt much of the intention was good, but medieval streets were replaced by soulless, faceless pedestrian streets and shopping centres. This is the Lynn I first saw on moving to Norfolk twenty years ago and the initial comments by some people didn’t do much to change my mind.
How wrong I was! Much remains of medieval Lynn alongside many stunning Georgian edifices and wandering around the quiet streets is as joyful and rewarding as anywhere in the country. Every twist and turn reveals a building tied to the rich history of the town. From the exquisite Customs House described by Pevsner as ‘one of the most perfect buildings ever constructed’, to the last remaining Hanse House in England that has sat alongside the river Great Ouse for over 500 years.
The list of must-sees is too long to detail here, but among them is the vast open space of Tuesday Market Place that seems to transport you to a Flemish or German Hanseatic town. Nearby is the stunning St Nicholas Chapel, the largest chapel-of-ease in England with its ornate porch, incredible timber roof and a replacement spire by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Sitting in the corner of the churchyard is the suitably spooky-looking Exorcist’s House and the atmospheric Pilot Street, once at the heart of the old fishing community, known as the North End.
There has been a settlement here for over a thousand years, the old Saxon name of Lun or Lenn is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. In 1101, Herbert de Losinga, first Bishop of Norwich, founded a priory and parish church in its current position in Saturday Market Place, the heart of medieval Lynn. The stunning, chequerboard Trinity Guildhall was built across the Place in the 15th century. The large foundation of Bishop Losinga is now The Minster (granted that status in 2011) and the dedication is to St Margaret of Antioch, St Mary Magdalene, and all the Virgin Saints, St Margaret’s for short.
The splendour of St Margaret’s reflects the stature and wealth of the town known as Bishop’s Lynn in the medieval period. The current name of King’s Lynn came during the Reformation and the Royal Charter of 1537. The position of the port was the perfect location for trade with the Baltic Hanseatic ports and the burgeoning business with the east coast and inland ports. It was also a very popular gateway for pilgrims on their way to the shrine at Walsingham, one of medieval Europe’s most venerated pilgrimage sites. The unique Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount in The Walks was built for these pious souls.
As with most medieval churches, The Minster is a story of structural change and development over many hundreds of years. The original Norman Priory church was built in 1101 and little remains. As the wealth of the town grew in the 12th century the two huge towers were begun at the west end. In the 13th century the body of the church was largely rebuilt and in the 15th century the north-west tower was rebuilt due to subsidence into the soft silty ground and both towers were topped with steeples. A lantern, much like that at Ely, was added to the crossing tower. The church had reached the apogee of its power and grace.
After the Reformation and the dissolution of the Priory, St Margaret’s continued life as a parish church until the fateful storm of 1741 brought the steeple and much of the north-west tower crashing down into the nave. It took five years to replace the ruined nave, the building undertaken by Matthew Brettingham, the architect of Holkham Hall. The final large internal alterations were carried out in the 19th century by Sir George Gilbert Scott and the aptly named Ewen Christian and gives the interior of the church a strong Victorian feel without taking away from the majesty of the building.
Approaching the western front, you immediately notice the last remaining Norman stonework low down in the south-west tower, changing to Early English as the tower climbs. High up is the intriguing clock showing the time of the high tides. The height of the most damaging of these tides in the 19th and 20th centuries are marked on the wall as you enter the great west door. On entering, the sheer size and space of this huge church is breathtaking. At a total length of 235ft, it is second only to St Nicholas at Great Yarmouth, England’s largest parish church.
The interior is full of beautiful furnishings from across the centuries. The Hanse Chest from the early 15th century is thought to originate from Gdansk, Poland and one can only imagine the immense wealth it once contained. In the chancel are a range of perfect misericords with carvings of green men, The Black Prince and the fighting Bishop Despenser. Looking up, the clerestory with a walkway within it dates from the 13th century and shows how the original building may have had these processional routes all around. Bodley’s reredos of 1899 is a dazzling gold backdrop to the altar.
In the south aisle of the chancel are two huge, highly decorated brasses, the largest in the county. They depict the former mayors, Adam of Walsoken and Robert Braunche, and they are of Flemish origin reflecting Lynn’s ancient maritime links. The 1754 Sneltzler organ with 3549 pipes was reset in the north transept and towers above a remarkable 1584 dark wooden screen.
Two features in particular bring the church into the modern era. A modest ‘warrior-Christ’ cross by the pulpit asks us to remember those who suffered so terribly as Japanese POWs in the Second World War. At the west end of the nave is an aluminium sculpture, ‘A Woman in Motion’, by artist Rosemary Goodenough, unveiled in 2023. This statue marks the birth of the extraordinary Margery Kempe.
A mystic, visionary and author, Margery was born in about 1373 in Bishop’s Lynn and is one of the best-known women of the medieval era. She married and had 14 children, but after the first birth she seemed to have had some sort of event that led her to have visions of devils and demons but also conversations with God and the saints. She was struck with bouts of uncontrollable weeping and lamentation and travelled all over Christendom on pilgrimage. She was regularly accused of heresy, but never convicted, and eventually had her life story written down in her own words, the first autobiography in the English language. Margery’s Book has captivated readers since the discovery of the only surviving manuscript in 1934.
Norwich was recently voted the best place to live in the UK by The Sunday Times, and indeed Norwich is ‘A Fine City’. But King’s Lynn is a very, very fine town and I cannot urge you enough to take time to visit and wander its historical streets.
Rob Gladstone April 2026
