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Five Unusual Facts about the Norfolk Coast

Say ‘Norfolk’ and many things come to mind – the Broads, the Royal estate at Sandringham, or the famous people who have connections to the county, from Lord Nelson to Stephen Fry.

But Norfolk, and its coastline in particular, has plenty of hidden gems and unusual claims to fame. Hamiltons Removals, who are based in Norfolk and offer removals to all parts of the county, including north Norfolk and Norwich, have compiled these five coastal curiosities.

Albert Einstein Once Stayed Here

The famous Jewish scientist best-known for his theory of relativity was worried about persecution by the Nazis. He stayed in a small hut in Roughton Heath, near Cromer, for around six weeks in 1933 thanks to Oliver Locker-Sampson, an anti-fascist MP with business interests in the resort.

The scientist, who was well-guarded during his time in north Norfolk, soon moved to the USA. However, his stay in the county has been commemorated by a blue plaque at the New Inn in Roughton, and by a sculpture which has been on display at various museums in the UK and abroad.

It Boasts the World’s Oldest Football Stand…

Great Yarmouth Town play at the Wellesley Road recreation ground and play in the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League Premier Division. Not very interesting, perhaps – but did you know the club boasts what is thought to be the world’s oldest football stand still in use today?

The club’s grandstand was first opened in 1892, only shutting during the 1990s for health and safety reasons. It reopened in 2010 and is now Grade II listed because it is of special architectural and historic interest.

…and the Oldest Human Settlement in Britain

A man who was talking his dog for a walk by the sea at Happisburgh, near North Walsham, spotted a hand axe lying on the mud. He rang Norwich Castle Museum – where it is now on display – to tell them of his find. Since the initial find, which was uncovered in the year 2000, archaeologists have found many more similar tools there.

The collection is believed to be around 700,000 years old, meaning that humans had been present in Britain at least 200,000 years earlier than previous estimates.

Hats Off to Holkham Hall

Gamekeepers on the Holkham Hall estate kept getting their top hats knocked off by low-hanging branches while out horse riding and looking for poachers. The estate, on the north Norfolk coast between Blakeney and Burnham Market, was then owned by the Earl of Leicester and is still in the family today.

A relation of the Earl’s commissioned his hat-makers, James Lock to come up with something sturdier. The company’s chief hatter Thomas Bowler got the job and in 1849 invented the headgear which still bears his name today. Legend has it that the prototype was jumped on several times to assess its durability. It passed the test with flying colours.

Fish Fingers Were Invented Here

Fish fingers were first produced in this country at the Bird’s Eye factory in Great Yarmouth. Developed in 1955 by Mr HAJ Scott, the first ones were sold for 1s 8d. Apparently, they were originally going to be called battered cod pieces, until the term fish finger – voted for by female employees – was used instead.

Some of the initial fish fingers contained herring rather than cod. Production at Great Yarmouth stopped in 1986 and was moved to the company’s factory in Lowestoft, just over the border in Suffolk.

North Norfolk Removals from Hamiltons

Hamiltons Removals can help with commercial or domestic removals to all parts of East Anglia, including North Norfolk, Norwich, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. We also have two self-storage sites in south Norfolk – at Harleston and Aldeby – if you ever need to store some possessions away during house moves.

If you would like to talk to any of our friendly, professional members of staff then call us on 01379 854810, or follow this link and fill in the form to receive an online quote.