East Dereham
East Dereham photos (51 available)
East Dereham maps (2 available)
Map of Norfolk
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
East Dereham books (10 available)
- 6 photos on East Dereham appear in 4 Frith books - View photos of East Dereham
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on East Dereham and Norfolk
East Dereham memories
Read and share memories of East Dereham and Norfolk inspired by Frith photos
school days
First school London Road Infants, a short time in Scotland and then the Church Infants, each school day walking from Theatre Street (two doors up from 'The Cherry Tree') through the market place and down Church Street. I moved on to the primary at the top of Theatre Street and eventually Crown Road. While at Theatre Street I would occasionally return to the bottom of Church Street to the 'rag and bone' yard with rabbit skins to supplement my pocket money.
I remember some 10 years later when I rode my motorbike from Theatre Street to the chemists at the top end of Church Street, made my purchase then walked out thinking of other things. It ...read more here
Contributed by Iain Innes
My hometown
I was born in 1928 at Woodhill, Gressenhall and moved to Dereham at the age of 6yrs and left when I married some 20 years later. It was a happy childhood in spite of the war years, in fact it added to the excitement of those years, dashing out to crashed planes, collecting shrapnel, army badges etc and of course the generous handouts from the American troops of chocolate, gum, cigs plus the grub when we went on to the bases at Shipdham and Wendling, bearing in mind that our food was rationed.
Then the Evacuees came to Dereham. I was one of the helpers that walked the children to their new homes.
This influx of children meant that the schools ...read more here
Contributed by tony blades
Norfolk memories
school days
First school London Road Infants, a short time in Scotland and then the Church Infants, each school day walking from Theatre Street (two doors up from 'The Cherry Tree') through the market place and down Church Street. I moved on to the primary at the top of Theatre Street and eventually Crown Road. While at Theatre Street I would occasionally return to the bottom of Church Street to the 'rag and bone' yard with rabbit skins to supplement my pocket money.
I remember some 10 years later when I rode my motorbike from Theatre Street to the chemists at the top end of Church Street, made my purchase then walked out thinking of other things. It ...read more here
A memory of East Dereham contributed by Iain Innes
My hometown
I was born in 1928 at Woodhill, Gressenhall and moved to Dereham at the age of 6yrs and left when I married some 20 years later. It was a happy childhood in spite of the war years, in fact it added to the excitement of those years, dashing out to crashed planes, collecting shrapnel, army badges etc and of course the generous handouts from the American troops of chocolate, gum, cigs plus the grub when we went on to the bases at Shipdham and Wendling, bearing in mind that our food was rationed.
Then the Evacuees came to Dereham. I was one of the helpers that walked the children to their new homes.
This influx of children meant that the schools ...read more here
A memory of East Dereham contributed by tony blades
Extracts From East Dereham & Norfolk books
The town enjoys a prosperity founded on more than its market and agricultural traditions, for engineering works were established here in Victorian times; Dereham grew into one of the busiest centres of commerce in central Norfolk. This lovely street, fringed with cobbles, leads down to the White Lion Inn and the old church, where the poet William Cowper, ‘England’s sweetest and most pious bard’, was laid to rest. On the left is Kerrison the butcher’s ornamented shop front, with a refined iron balcony overhead.
An extract from from"East Anglia".
This lovely street, fringed with cobbles, leads down to the
White Lion Inn and the old church, where the poet William
Cowper, ‘England’s sweetest and most pious bard’, was laid
to rest. On the left is Mr Kerrison the butcher’s ornamented
shop front, with a refined iron balcony overhead.
An extract from from"Norfolk Pocket Album".
This is the most central town in Norfolk. This view shows the varied façades of the buildings fronting the market place. The building next to the King’s Arms Hotel on the right is a good example. Many of these ornate frontages were added by the Victorians especially to banks and hotels to give an improved image to customers. The Great Eastern Railway office (left) opened onto the market place near to the parcel receiving office. In the 16th century the town suffered two great fires, and the market place was greatly reduced in size following the rebuilding.
An extract from from"Norfolk - A Second Selection Photographic Memories".
A quiet lane on the fringes of the town. Washing dries in
the breeze in the gardens of plain, mellow cottages. In the
background are the two towers of St Nicholas’s church.
George Borrow, the ‘gentleman gypsy’, was lucky to have
been born in this pleasing old country town. It enjoys
a prosperity founded on more than its agricultural and
market traditions—engineering works were established
here in Victorian times and Dereham grew into one of
the busiest centres of commerce in central Norfolk.
An extract from from"Norfolk Pocket Album".
The town was fortunate to have a number of County Schools. The national school was attended by 200 boys and girls. The neat and commodious building was erected in 10 acres of land at a cost of £1,000, and received several endowments. When the railway reached East Dereham in 1882, the town’s population increased, and another County School was opened. This was not successful, and was bought by the Watts Naval Training Organisation; the little lads in their sailors uniform were familiar sight in the town at weekends.
An extract from from"Norfolk - A Second Selection Photographic Memories".