Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

Town defences, walls and gates, etc. Mostly 17th century on medieval sites, but including medieval work.
Not all scheduled, see description.
See full details in file.
E. Rose (NAU), 11 March 1981.

Ordnance Survey description from (S1):
The earliest defence at King's Lynn consisted of a sea defence enclosing an area south of the Purfleet. This was built up into a defensive bank and ditch, with four wooden towers opr bretasks to control entry points, having a tentative date of 1250-1337.
The town extended north in the 12th century and a masonry wall with inner rampart and outer ditch was built to defend the extension. A date from 12th-14th century is suggested for the wall by (S2) but (S3) includes a schematic map of Lynn around 1250 which shows the wall. It stood to its full height in the 18th century and still remains in part.
There were two main gateways in the defences, the South Gate still standing (NHER 64061) and four posterns, of which only North Guanock Gate (NHER 64059) still stands. There were also two towers, the site of the White Tower only (NHER 64058) being known.
The defences were extended in 1587 against the threat of the Armada and again 1642-3 during the Civil War. Apart from the extensions the Civil War earthwork tends to follow the medieval line of defence.
The earth rampart and ditch forming the Town defence between South Gate and the Purfleet originated as a pre-Norman sea bank which was reinforced as a town boundary (S3), but was never more than an earthwork except for short stretches of wall at the two postern gates. The bank used to be called 'Clay Wlls' and the ditch 'Cockle Dyke'. In Guanock Terrace the bank has been destroyed and built over and the ditch outside it obliterated, except perhaps for a small portion of the Middleton Stop Drain which runs parallel to the bank. North of Guanock Terrace and up to the Purfleet the Bank is to some extent preserved and the ditch intermittent. As a town defence the work probably dates to the 13th century, when it no doubt had a wooden palisade.
Information from (S1) dated 1979, added by R.J. Rickett (NAU), 26 March 1990, amended A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 13 March 2020.

1996. Restoration of the extant walls.
See specifications (S3) and (S4) in file.
E. Rose (NLA).

February 2001. Trial Trenching adjacent to King's Lynn railway station.
This work sought to examine the 13th century and Civil war defences and any surviving evidence for medieval occupation.
Trenches to the west of the site revealed a massive ditch 3.4m wide which was interpreted as a moat containing the diverted River Gaywood. However, dating evidence from this feature was minimal. Further to the east deep deposits containing 18th century material were thought to be infilled Civil War defences.
See NHER 64064 and report (S6) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S7).
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the King's Lynn Museum (KILLM : 2003.43).
D. Gurney (NLA), 12 December 2001. Amended A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 13 March 2020.

29 September 2005.
Scheduled monument consent granted concerning the planting of semi-mature trees, repairs to masonry and advance excavation on a number of tree planting pits for investigative purposes.
See (S8) and (S9) for further information
H. White (NLA), 6 March 2009

13 May 2008.
Scheduled monument consent granted concerning the removal of organic growth and consolidation of any loose material on top of the wall.
See (S9) for further information.
H. White (NLA) 9 January 2009.

J. Alban (NRO) believes that before the Civil War defences were made, the Town Wall from the South Gates westward ran along the north bank of the Friars' Fleet. At the time of the 1386 Commission in the face of the French invasion, the terms of reference were "All of Lynn and that part of South Lynn lying within the walls", suggesting that parts of South Lynn did not. Guns were mouted on the Common Quay and a springall on the North Tower. In 1388 when the threat was over they were returned to the Guildhall.
Information from (S13).
E. Rose (NLA).

October-November 2010. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of new Public Transport Route between Boal Quay and Wisbech Road.
This work was focused on the two locations where the new transport route would intersect with the postulated line of the town’s Civil War defences (TF 6181 1929 and TF 6191 1915). In the event no evidence for these earthworks was identified at either location. This negative result was however probably at least in part due to the relatively shallow formation level of the development.
See report (S10) and NHER 37297 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 9 April 2018.

February-April 2012. Watching Brief at 17 Littleport Street.
Monitoring and recording confirmed the line of a section of the medieval town wall and identified deposits relating to its demolition.
See report (S11) and NHER 64068 for further details.
E. Bales (HES), 27 August 2012. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 16 May 2019 and A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 13 March 2020.

May 2015. Excavation at St John's Walk, Blackfriars Road.
This work revealed a substantial north-to-south aligned linear feature believed to have been a robber trench associated with the medieval town wall - a now demolished section of which is known to have passed through this site. This probable trench was cut through a raised clay silt deposit that was interpreted as the remains of the earthen bank that served as the town's defences prior to the construction of the wall between the 13th and 15th centuries.
See report (S12) and NHER 62653 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 13 April 2018.

May 2019. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of two sites adjacent to Nar Bridge undertaken as part of the King’s Lynn Under Siege English Civil War Archaeological Project.
This survey sought to identify traces of the civil war defences erected at this location following the capture of Lynn by Parliamentarian forces in 1643. The focus was the section of the defences known to have extended northwards from a bastion at c. TF 6178 1915. Desk-based research undertaken for the project suggests that this part of the defences may have actually followed a slightly different line to that recorded by the Ordnance Survey, perhaps accounting for why they had hadn’t been picked up by previous archaeological work in the area.
Two areas were examined, one to the south of the Nar Bridge, at TF 61748 19309 and one to the north, at TF 61801 19402. Unfortunately the survey failed to produce any useful data due to the amount of background magnetic disturbance – most likely caused by debris associated with post-medieval and modern activity at this location.
See Investigation Proposals (S14), report (S15) and NHER 37297 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 11 April 2023.

March 2024, Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site at Kettlewell House.
Although one of the trenches were positioned to coincide with a demolished section of the town defences at TF 6231 2051 no associated remains were identified. It should though be noted that this trench had to be significantly shortened due to the presence of modern services and had not necessarily straddled the line of the defences as originally intended.
No finds were recovered
Information from draft report. See NHER 64057 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 4 February 2024.

The individual components of the wall are recorded in numerous separate 'child' records which provide more detail about the town defences at specific locations.
A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 13 March 2020.

Monument Types

• SEA DEFENCES (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
• BANK (EARTHWORK) (Medieval to 16th Century - 1200 AD to 1539 AD)
• BASTION (Medieval to 16th Century - 1200 AD to 1539 AD)
• CANAL (Medieval to 16th Century - 1200 AD to 1539 AD)
• DITCH (Medieval to 16th Century - 1200 AD to 1539 AD)
• MOAT (Medieval to 16th Century - 1200 AD? to 1539 AD)
• PALISADE (Medieval - 1200 AD to 1299 AD)
• TOWER (Medieval to 16th Century - 1200 AD? to 1539 AD)
• TOWN DEFENCES (Medieval to 21st Century - 1200 AD to 2050 AD)
• TOWN GATE (Medieval to 21st Century - 1200 AD? to 2050 AD)
• TOWN WALL (Medieval to 16th Century - 1200 AD to 1539 AD)
• DITCH (17th Century - 1642 AD to 1651 AD)
• SIEGEWORK (17th Century - 1642 AD to 1651 AD)

Associated Finds

• HERALDIC DEVICE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• VESSEL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument
• Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

Related records

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: King's Lynn (Parish Summary)
• Water Towers in Norfolk (Article)