Weybourne

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Village of Weybourne
In North Norfolk
The village sign
Geography
Status:	Village
Government Region:	East of England
Administrative County:	Norfolk
Local Administration:	North Norfolk District Council
Admin. HQ:	NNDC Cromer
Grid reference:	TG 11 43
ONS code:	33UF
Demographics
Population:	518(2001 census)
Ethnicity:	No Figures
Politics
MP elected in the UK general election, 2005:	Norman Lamb
Party:	Liberal Democrat
Post Office and Telephone
Postcode:	NR 25
Dialling Code:	01263
Communications
Railway:	North Norfolk Railway(Poppy Line) Sheringham-Weybourne-Holt
Bus:	Coastliner
Road:	Situated on the A149 Coast road
The North Norfolk village of Weybourne

Weybourne is a fishing resort on the North Norfolk and has the Post code prefix of NR25. The village straddles the A149 coast road and is 3 miles west of Sheringham. Weybourne is mentioned in the Domesday book and in that survey it is called Wabrume. There are remains of an old Augustinian priory founded around 1200AD on the site of a simpler Saxon church by Sir Ralph de Meyngaren (Mainwearing). By 1494 only a Prior and three canons lived there. One canon complained that the priory was so poor it was unable to pay him his 20 shillings of annual pocket money. At another visitation in 1514 there was only a Prior and one canon and this remained until 1538 when King Henry VIII banned the Catholic religion and ordered the dissolution of the monasteries and priories. The village is surrounded by well ordered arable fields, woodland and heath land. The area is excellent for walking, enjoying the countryside and coast. There are brilliant opportunities to see wildlife and bird watching is very popular

Contents 1 Amenities 2 World War II 2.1 Defence 2.2 Weybourne Camp 2.3 The strange tale of the German spy ring at Weybourne windmill 3 The Mucklebough Collection at Weybourne Camp 4 The North Norfolk Steam Railway 5 The Coastline and Smuggling 6 Notable People 7 References 7.1 Notes 7.2 General references 8 Links

[edit] Amenities

There is a shop, ‘’Weybourne stores‘’, and hostelries include The Ship public house, which serves fine ales and hot food most lunchtimes and evenings. Also, just a few minutes walk away from the village centre is the Maltings Hotel which provides bar meals and a restaurant, as well as accommodation. There are also several holiday lets.

[edit] World War II

[edit] Defence

Weybourne has long been considered a possible site for invasion, one reason being the deep water offshore. "He who would all England win, should at Weybourne Hope begin" During the Second World War defences were constructed around Weybourne as a part of British anti-invasion preparations of World War II. The beaches were blocked by landmines and extensive scaffolding barriers; further inland there were pillboxes, barbed wire entanglements, a long anti-tank ditch and other defences.^[1]

[edit] Weybourne Camp

During the Second World War, Weybourne Camp was a highly secret site and was an Anti-Aircraft Artillery range. This, along with a complementary camp at Stiffkey, represented the main live firing training ranges for ACK-ACK Command in World War II. Here The Norfolk coastline became a controlled zone by the British forces. This controlled zone extended 10km deep into the North Sea around Norfolk. Weybourne Camp was a vital part of this zone.

Weybourne Camp was visited twice by Winston Churchill in 1941. These visits took place immediately after the Dunkirk evacuation when British defences were on high alert. During his first visit, a demonstration of projectile firing was carried out, but the result was most unsatisfactory. The Prime Minister gave the Commandant just 7 days to improve the standard. On the second visit, each demonstration repeatedly ended in failure until finally, a Queen Bee pilotless target aircraft was shot down and crashed close to the VIP enclosure. History has it that all the Senior Staff were replaced the following day.

[edit] The strange tale of the German spy ring at Weybourne windmill

There is also a fine example of a tower windmill that has been restored but not to its working condition. It was first built in 1850. Rumours surrounded the residance of the mill during the Second World War of spying for the Germans. Two local policeman were walking down the lane from the old coastguard cottages towards the mill at night when they both saw a light flashing from the top of the mill out towards the sea. Suspicions rose in the village about the man and his strange wife who lived at the mill.

The man living in the mill was a Mr. Dodds and his wife apparently had a strong foreign accent which locals described as "like German or Austrian". Apparently nothing was done (which seems odd, given the war time conditions and its closeness to Weybourne Camp.) but seemingly it bothered one of the Policeman and he went back out a couple of nights later and saw this again. The story goes that Mrs Dodds left her bicycle unattended outside the tennis court one day, and the bicycle fell over. A local picked the bicycle up and then the bag, which had fallen out of the basket. He took a look inside and found a radio transmitter! He told the police and a day or two later the authorities arrived and took the lady and her husband away.

Weybourne also had a watermill which can still be found on beach road, see link to the website at the bottom of this page.

[edit] The Mucklebough Collection at Weybourne Camp

A popular attraction is the Muckleburgh Collection: the largest privately-owned collection of tanks, armoured cars and other military vehicles used in wars across the globe.

[edit] The North Norfolk Steam Railway

Another local attraction is the North Norfolk Railway which runs from Sheringham through Weybourne to Holt. Also known as the ‘’Poppy Line’’. This marvellously preserved steam railway cuts through the countryside to the east of Weybourne and passes through the delightfully preserved country station which also houses a locomotive shed together with a carriage maintenance and restoration centre. Weybourne station is about 1000 yards from the village centre. The station is signposted from the coast road, the turning is just opposite the church. The main station was built in 1900 although other structures, of the appropriate era, such as the Signal Box, Waiting Room and Footbridge have been 'imported' from other locations. (BR, on the closure of the line, raised the Station and track, apart from the main Station building). Its main claim to fame is as the location of the 'Dad's Army' episode, Royal Train, although it is frequently used by other film makers and artists. On the station there is a small Shop and Buffet selling sandwiches, soft drinks, coffee etc. You can enjoy a cup of tea from the Buffet and take advantage of the picnic area to watch the trains come and go. At weekends there is a bookshop selling a wide range of old railway books and magazines, together with Railway videos and some CDs commemorating times past. The Railway offers a 10.5 mile round trip by steam train (vintage diesel trains on some journeys) through a delightful area of North Norfolk designated as being of outstanding natural beauty

[edit] The Coastline and Smuggling

At Weybourne the coast has an unusually steep shingle beach which was regarded as a vulnerable spot during the threat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The village was also a well used location for smuggling such as over-proof gin and pressed bales of tobacco. The coast between Sheringham and Weybourne was popular for landing goods because ships could anchor closer to the shore than anywhere else in the area. There was also a convenient gap in the cliffs through which goods could be easily transported. Local folk law says that the miller at the local windmill would stop the mill's sails in the form of a cross to warn the smugglers that the customs or coastguards were on to them however if the coast was clear he would set the sails going once more. On Weybourne beach there was so little cover for the waiting land party that the men were reputed to bury themselves neck-deep in the shingle until the smuggling vessel appeared on the horizon. This story perhaps stretches the credulity to the limits, but the fact that it is also told of Suffolk locations adds at least a little weight:In the 1800's The owner of Weybourne Water mill and much of the inland areas at Weybourne (William J Bolding) reputedly turned a blind eye to goods landed on the beaches bordering his property, and was rewarded with Contraband left discretely on his doorstep. In February 1837, a Lieutenant George Howes and his men from Weybourne, intercepted a large gang of armed smugglers at nearby Kelling. Many shots were exchanged and the coastguard men recovered five horses with carts which carried 540 gallons of Brandy and around 4000 pounds of manufactured tobacco.

Volunteers manned the rocket house and saved many lives from the ships wrecked along the Weybourne coast. The crew of the coal ship 'Emily' however were not so lucky when it was lost. they all lost there lives except for the master who survived. In 1823 a brig from Naples, Italy carrying a cargo of olive oil broke up, but six of her crew were saved. When the Norwegian barque, called 'Ida' was wrecked, carrying pit-props to Cardiff, all the crew was rescued using a rocket line. The crew and some villagers salvaged some of the pit-props and it is said that many of these timbers survive in the barns and cottages around Weybourne to this day. In January 1915 the bodies of six sailors from the S.S. George Royal were washed up on Weybourne beach. There is a Tombstone in the churchyard sacred to their memory. The Rocket House mentioned early still stands but is now a private residence.

[edit] Notable People

Karen Alexander (born Karen Greatbatch), the artist, writer & photographer, lived here

The Rt Hon. Sir John Major, KG, CH Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997, is a local resident at certain times of the year, owning a holiday home in Weybourne

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

[edit] General references

• Foot, William (2006). Beaches, fields, streets, and hills ... the anti-invasion landscapes of England, 1940. Council for British Archaeology. ISBN 1-902771-53-2. 

[edit] Links

• WW2 Coastal Defences Salthouse, Kelling & Weybourne North Norfolk
• Weybourne Towermill
• North Norfolk Railway
• Weybourne Station Webcam
• The Muckleburgh Collection
• The Ship Inn
• The Maltings Hotel
• The Norfolk Green Coastliner Bus Service
• Weybourne Watermill
• Smuggling into Weybourne
• Home Farm Holiday Cottages, Weybourne

Coordinates: 52.94289° N 1.13882° E