|
A visitors guide to the North Norfolk coastal
town of Wells-next-the-Sea. A fascinating jumble of buildings
many colour washed wind down to meet the harbour of this small
popular seaside town. Its quirky interesting history reflects
the salty character of its local people.
The picturesque quayside and waterfront is
still very much a working port with whelk and shrimp boats berthed
in this small harbour. For holiday accommodation in
Wells-next-the-Sea or closeby - self catering - bed and breakfast -
camping and caravan - hotel - inns - guest house look at our
accommodation pages.
The main shopping centre of Wells lies in Staithe street, a narrow
mostly pedestranised lane with surviving Victorian and Edwardian
shop fronts, that runs from the waters edge all the way back up into
the top part of the town. Here you will find a good range of
shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants.
At the quayside are stalls selling locally caught
mussels, dressed crabs, cockles and samphire. Or you can partake of
a portion of fish and chips whilst overlooking the harbour and
checking to see if any of the small children and lets be honest,
adults as well, have managed to catch any crabs on their baited
lines along the harbour wall.
Sailing is a popular pastime at Wells, especially during the long
summer months, with walking and bird watching providing all year
round interest. The beach is around a mile from the quay and can be
reached by road, or by a narrow gauge railway which runs from the
quay during the season. Or if you fancy a leg stretch
and a wonderful view, then you can walk along the causeway which
runs parallel to the main shipping channel to reach the beach,
giving you the opportunity to admire the many colourful boats. At
the beach there is a caravan park, which offers pitch and putt a
canoeing lake and also refreshments. The large sandy
beaches of Wells are flanked with colourful beach huts and
surrounded by a pine tree forest and nature reserve with miles of
winding sandy footpaths.
Back in the centre of the town is the Butlands a
large rectangular green lined with late Georgian and Victorian
houses as well as an inn and hotel. The Butlands is where
locals in medieval days used to practice their archery. Nowadays,
the green is traditionally where the towns fetes carnivals and
bonfires are held.
An old granary at the bottom of Staithe Street has been converted
into a community hall and theatre, which is administered by the
community association and used for many local events, such as
exhibitions and craft fayres. Holkham Hall with its 18th
century Palladian architecture and three thousand acre deer park is
just along the coastal road from the town.
In 1970 a Miss May Savidge moved from
Ware in Hertfordshire to Wells, which in itself may not sound that
extraordinary, particularly given the pretty location of Wells town.
However, Miss Savidge brought with her, her own house from Ware,
which she had dismantled brick by brick and then had reassembled in
its new location.
In the floods of 1953 and 1978 the
embankment was breached and the marshes flooded. You can see these
high tide marks on the wall opposite the harbour. In 1978 a heavy
tide deposited a large ship in the middle of the streets, much to
the embarrassment of its owners
Wells has now installed flood barriers which can be moved across the
road if extreme high tides ever threaten again.
The name of Wells is derived from the fact
that it used to tap the springs of fresh water held by the
underlying chalk on which Wells is built. The addition of
'next-the-Sea' was to distinguish the town from other places in
Norfolk of the same name. It was known as Wells-next-the-Sea in the
early 1800's but with the coming of the railway in 1857the name
'Wells-on -Sea' seems to have been used. The town council made the
decision in 1956 that the name 'Wells-next-the-Sea' be adopted, and
this has been used since then.
Notice how many streets and alleyways, whose
names end with 'Yard'
Between 1850 and
1880 there were some 40 public houses in the town but today
many of these have now been converted into private houses. |
