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Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Record Details

NHER Number:	2889
Type of record:	Place
Name:	Dereham Market Place

Summary

The market place includes Quebec Street and part of Church Street. This was the new location of the town centre after the fire of 1581. It was mostly rebuilt around 1756 after a second fire in 1679. This was the location of a cattle market, town gaol and an obelisk made from a gate post from Melton Constable Hall. These have all now been destroyed. The Corn Hall and Assembly Rooms still survive now converted into a cinema and council offices. Other buildings around the Market Place are mostly Georgian, some around earlier 17th century cores.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:	TF 9886 1339
Map Sheet:	TF91SE
Parish:	DEREHAM, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Dereham Market Place
The area includes Quebec Street and part of Church Street. This was the new location of the town centre after the fire of 1581. It was mostly rebuilt around 1756 after a second fire in 1679. The market place consists of several buildings that are described individually here. Events at each building are described chronologically within each entry.

North side of Market Place. Old cattle market.
Iron railings made by Cooper Bros on edge of raised pavement remain from the old cattle market.
See (S2).
The rest of the old market area is now grass with a war memorial imitating the Cenotaph; formerly here was what old maps call an 'obelisk'. This was a redundant 17th century gate pillar from Melton Constable Hall used as a signpost, a twin to the one in Holt that survives. The one from Dereham was used to fill in a well.
See (S4) and (S11).

East side of Market Place. Site of King's Arms.
Modern shop now on site of the King's Arms hotel. The old building had a porch and façade dated to 1820. The main building was 17th century with two fireplaces. There was an 18th century staircase.
See (S8).

South side of Market Place.
Seems to be a later incursion into the central space. It partly obscures the corn hall (cinema), though this is as late as 1857 and the south side is meant to be 1815. Did the Market Place formerly go through to Church Street?

West side of Market Place.
Certainly an encroachment, probably of the 1756 rebuilding, the square formerly going through to Quebec Street. Red Lion Street, an unnamed street and an alley now connect the two. Georgian shops and modern buildings.
North end of west side of Market Place. North of Assembly Rooms.

Against the north side of the Assembly Rooms is a pilastered 18th century façade of what is now a shop, then two tall and narrow 17th century timber framed gables looking towards the George Hotel.

1990. North end of west side of Market Place. North of Assembly Rooms.
The western of these two houses was stripped down around 1990 and is all of later brickwork despite its timber framed appearance.

Former west side of Market Place. Quebec Street.
Mostly simple Georgian buildings, some on 17th century cores.

Former west side Market Place. Conservative Club. Quebec Street.
More ornate with brick pilasters and impressive Georgian façade on rear of 'island' to Market Place.

Former west side Market Place. Becclesgate House.
(S3) shows photograph of Becclesgate House, built in 1892, now the site of post office. Five bays, three storeys with grand pedimented central door. 18th century former residence of Dr Donne.

Monument Types

EXCHANGE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
MARKET (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---	Aerial Photograph: TF9813W (AAF), C, Y, Z, AA, AC-AG, AZ.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1995. TF9813/ACN - ACQ.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1995. TF 9813ACB, ACD - ACM.
---	Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1998. TF 9813ACC, ACR - ACS; TF 9913ABD - ADG.
---	Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1987-1992. [Photographs of Becclesgate House and the post office which now occupies the site].
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1989. Plea for landmark studio fails. 18 April.
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1993-1994. [Photographs of Dereham Market Place].
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1993. Chance find linked Michael with his childhood. 25 June.
---	Newspaper Article: Dereham and Fakenham Times. 1984. Dereham of yesteryear and its lost treasures. 4 May.
---	Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. The lingering questions about a hushed-up air raid. 30 August.
---	Photograph: 1960's late. Photograph of Dereham Market Place, Dereham. Black & white.
---	Secondary File: Secondary File.
---	Photograph: EQL 11, BLV, HBM 7-9.
---	Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
<S1>	Illustration: Various. Various. Architectural plans.
<S2>	Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1077084.
<S3>	Monograph: Cook, M.. 1984. Looking Back at Dereham..
<S5>	Documentary Source: Martin, T. c. 1700-1799. Collections of Church Notes. Norfolk Records Office. 1740.
<S6>	Monograph: Hepworth, P.. 1972. Victorian and Edwardian Norfolk from old photographs..
<S7>	Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, W. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. pp 287-294.
<S8>	Unpublished Document: Black, D. W. (RCHB) and McDowall, R. W. (RCHB). 1962. Kings Arms Hotel. 31 July.
<S9>	Article in Serial: Hollis, D. W. 1977. A Mid-Seventeenth Century View of East Dereham Manor. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XXXVI Pt IV pp 342-354. pp 344-345.
<S10>	Publication: Armstrong, H. B. J (ed). 1949. A Norfolk Diary. Passages from the Diary of The Rev. Benjamin John Armstrong.
<S11>	Photograph: Dereham Obelisk.

Related records

46272	Parent of: 11 to 13 (consecutive) Market Place (Building)
46172	Parent of: 12 and 14 Quebec Street (Building)
46725	Parent of: 14 Market Place (Building)
46541	Parent of: 15 Market Place (Building)
46184	Parent of: 17 Market Place (Building)
46764	Parent of: 18th century milestone marking Watton 10 miles and London 100 miles, in front of George Hotel, Dereham (Structure)
46181	Parent of: 2 Market Place (Building)
46540	Parent of: 21 to 23 (consecutive) Market Place (Building)
46186	Parent of: 24 Market Place (Building)
46275	Parent of: 29 to 31 (consecutive) Market Place (Building)
46182	Parent of: 3 and 4 Market Place (Building)
46190	Parent of: 32, 32A, 33 and 34 Market Place (National Westminster Bank and Barclays Bank) (Building)
46277	Parent of: 35 Market Place (incorporating 36) (Building)
46727	Parent of: 41 Market Place (Building)
46724	Parent of: 5 to 8 (consecutive) Market Place (Building)
46183	Parent of: Assembly Room (Building)
46273	Parent of: Canterbury House (Building)
46270	Parent of: Cinema, Market Place (former Corn Exchange, former Exchange Theatre) (Building)
46191	Parent of: Congregational Church, also known as Cowper Memorial Church (Building)
46539	Parent of: Dereham Labour Party Headquarters, Market Place (Building)
46538	Parent of: Hill House and attached boundary wall (Building)
46537	Parent of: Lloyds Bank (Building)
46722	Parent of: Premises on Church Street adjoining 3 Market Place (Building)
46187	Parent of: Rails of former cattle stalls on south side of footway in front of 20 to 24 Market Place (Building)
46726	Parent of: South part of Barclays Bank (Building)
46185	Parent of: The George Hotel, 19 Market Place (Building)
46195	Parent of: The Priory (Building)
46188	Parent of: The Twin Brothers (formerly The Eagle Inn) (Building)