Thetford
Encyclopedia
Thetford is a market town
and civil parish in the Breckland
district of Norfolk
, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich
and London, just south of Thetford Forest
. The civil parish, covering an area of 29.55 km² (11.4 sq mi), has a population of 21,588.
Queen of the Iceni
. The Iceni were a Celtic tribe living in Norfolk and parts of Cambridgeshire. Archaeological evidence suggests that Thetford was an important tribal centre during the late Iron Age and early Roman period. A ceremonial 'grove' was uncovered there during excavations. In 1979, a hoard of Romano-British metalwork, known as the Thetford treasure
was located just outside of Thetford. Dating from the mid-4th Century AD, this hoard is a collection of thirty three inscribed spoons, twenty gold finger rings, four pendants, several necklaces and a 2" gold buckle depicting a dancing satyr
. They are currently on display and under curation at the British Museum.
Thetford, an important crossing of the Little Ouse River, draws its name from the Anglo-Saxon Theodford or peoples ford. The nearby River Thet
was later named after the town.
In the Anglo-Saxon period, Thetford was the home of the monarchs of East Anglia
and was seat of a bishopric
. The Domesday Book
lists William of Bello Fargo as the Bishop of Thetford in 1085.
Castle Hill
, to the south-east of the town centre, is the highest Norman motte in England though no trace remains of the castle which once surmounted it. The mound (motte) is open to the public, and provides excellent views of the town from its summit and extensive earthworks. It is situated in a public park, near the Three Nuns Bridges and close to the town centre overlooking the rivers. It is said that a network of chalk tunnels is buried deep within Castle Hill
, which once acted as an escape route for Monks during a time of civil strife. Rumour has it that one of the entrances to these tunnels can be found in the basement of a house along Old Market Street.
Thetford also contains the ruins of a 12th century Cluniac priory. The Priory
, open to the public, was closed during the Reformation
. Both the Priory and the Bell Inn, also in Thetford, were featured for their alleged hauntings on the television series Ghosthunters
, after stories of one of the Bell Inn's staff members being curiously locked into one of the bedrooms she was cleaning.
The British Trust for Ornithology
moved its headquarters into the former Nunnery, south of the town centre, in 1991.
Thetford was the birthplace of Thomas Paine
and a statue of Paine stands on King Street, holding a quill and his book Rights of Man
, upside down. Paine attended Thetford Grammar School
. Born in Thetford on February 9, 1737, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 in time to participate in the American Revolution. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely read pamphlet Common Sense
(1776), advocating colonial America's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain
, and The American Crisis
(1776–1783), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series.
Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns
, born in Inagua
, the Bahamas, Mayor of Thetford in 1904, was the first black man to become a mayor in Britain.
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
and other early Tudor dynasty
officials were once buried in Thetford before removal to Framlingham
.
Today, the surrounding Breckland
has been largely replaced by the Thetford Forest
though Thetford Chase remains. The town has become known for its Portuguese
and East European shops and cafes.
. The festival has featured Patrick Moore
of The Sky at Night
. Thetford is also the site for the UK's Star Party, as it is centrally located in a rural area with dark night skies. An annual concert, STORM, also takes place in Thetford.
The local football club, Thetford Town
, plays in the Eastern Counties League
. The Thetford & District Sunday Football League, now known as the Breckland & District Sunday Football League, encompasses teams from within a 20 miles (32.2 km) radius of Thetford. Thetford Cricket Club play their home games next to the football club on Mundford Road. They currently have 3 men's teams, 2 that play on Saturdays and 1 on Sundays, and an ever growing youth training scheme. The club are represented in the Norfolk Cricket Alliance Division 3 and Division 6 and the Mid-Norfolk Sunday Cricket League Division 3. In summer, Castle Park is the Sunday meeting place of the non-professional and informal Castle Park Football Club.
A swimming team called the Thetford Dolphins is based at Breckland Leisure Centre's Waterworld swimming pools. World champion triathlete Chrissie Wellington
is a former member of this swimming club.
Thetford's baseball team the BlueSox was once a powerhouse in the LBSEQ, winning championships in 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1971.
High Lodge Forest Centre in Thetford Forest attracts thousands of visitors every year. Events are held throughout the year including summer concerts and the Hallowe'en 'terror trail'.
(28 miles (45.1 km)) and London
(86 miles (138.4 km)). The A11 previously ran through the town but a bypass
was constructed in the 1990s.
It is served by Thetford railway station
, with National Express East Anglia running services between Norwich and Cambridge
, and East Midlands Trains from Norwich to Liverpool
(via Sheffield
and Manchester
). From Cambridge, regular services run to London King's Cross.
A branch line to Bury St Edmunds was closed in the 1960s under the Beeching Axe
. The remnants of Thetford Bridge railway station
on the southern side of the town can still be seen.
The National Cycle Route 13 links Thetford to Gately, near Fakenham
.
, beef and pork
. The factory opened its doors in 1966 and was one of the biggest bacon production factories in the UK. In 2007 the factory ceased production of fresh bacon, beef and pork with the loss of 350 jobs, although cooked bacon and fried products continued to be made until all production ceased in February 2009.
descent in the town. Around 6,000 people in the area have Portuguese as a mother tongue.
TV series Dad's Army
were filmed in and around the town with Thetford's flint
buildings doubling for Walmington-on-Sea
. In December 2007 it was announced that a statue of Arthur Lowe
who played the leading character Captain George Mainwaring
would be erected in the town.. The statue was unveiled next to the Little Ouse river in the town at 12:00pm. The statue depicts Captain Mainwaring sitting on a park bench. This was preceded by a stage show re-enacting several Dad's Army episodes which was shown over the course of several nights, including "The Godiva Affair".
council, the Thetford Skate Committee has finally acquired a plot of land from Breckland council for a concrete skatepark. An estimated quarter of a million pounds has been raised to build the skatepark, which will be situated next to Thetford Town
. Building is suggested to commence in 2011.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish in the Breckland
Breckland (district)
Breckland District is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in East Dereham.Breckland District derives its name from the Breckland landscape region, a gorse covered sandy heath of south Norfolk and north Suffolk...
district of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and London, just south of Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain, Thetford Forest Park is located in a region straddling the north of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk in England...
. The civil parish, covering an area of 29.55 km² (11.4 sq mi), has a population of 21,588.
History
Thetford is traditionally thought of as the royal residence of BoudicaBoudica
Boudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....
Queen of the Iceni
Iceni
The Iceni or Eceni were a British tribe who inhabited an area of East Anglia corresponding roughly to the modern-day county of Norfolk between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD...
. The Iceni were a Celtic tribe living in Norfolk and parts of Cambridgeshire. Archaeological evidence suggests that Thetford was an important tribal centre during the late Iron Age and early Roman period. A ceremonial 'grove' was uncovered there during excavations. In 1979, a hoard of Romano-British metalwork, known as the Thetford treasure
Thetford treasure
The Thetford Hoard is a hoard of Romano-British metalwork found at Gallows Hill, near Thetford in Norfolk, England, in November 1979, and now in the British Museum...
was located just outside of Thetford. Dating from the mid-4th Century AD, this hoard is a collection of thirty three inscribed spoons, twenty gold finger rings, four pendants, several necklaces and a 2" gold buckle depicting a dancing satyr
Satyr
In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....
. They are currently on display and under curation at the British Museum.
Thetford, an important crossing of the Little Ouse River, draws its name from the Anglo-Saxon Theodford or peoples ford. The nearby River Thet
River Thet
The River Thet is a river in Norfolk, England and is a tributary of the River Little Ouse.It rises in The Fens around Rockland All Saints and joins the Little Ouse in Thetford....
was later named after the town.
In the Anglo-Saxon period, Thetford was the home of the monarchs of East Anglia
Kingdom of the East Angles
The Kingdom of East Anglia, also known as the Kingdom of the East Angles , was a small independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom that comprised what are now the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and perhaps the eastern part of the Fens...
and was seat of a bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
. The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
lists William of Bello Fargo as the Bishop of Thetford in 1085.
Castle Hill
Castle Hill, Thetford
Castle Hill is the site of a fortified earthwork in the town of Thetford, Norfolk, in the United Kingdom. Located to the southeast of the town centre, it has been a fortification since the Iron Age...
, to the south-east of the town centre, is the highest Norman motte in England though no trace remains of the castle which once surmounted it. The mound (motte) is open to the public, and provides excellent views of the town from its summit and extensive earthworks. It is situated in a public park, near the Three Nuns Bridges and close to the town centre overlooking the rivers. It is said that a network of chalk tunnels is buried deep within Castle Hill
Castle Hill, Thetford
Castle Hill is the site of a fortified earthwork in the town of Thetford, Norfolk, in the United Kingdom. Located to the southeast of the town centre, it has been a fortification since the Iron Age...
, which once acted as an escape route for Monks during a time of civil strife. Rumour has it that one of the entrances to these tunnels can be found in the basement of a house along Old Market Street.
Thetford also contains the ruins of a 12th century Cluniac priory. The Priory
Thetford Priory
Thetford Priory is a Cluniac Priory located at Thetford, Norfolk, England.One of the most important East Anglian monasteries, it was founded in 1103 by Roger Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk and dedicated to Our Lady....
, open to the public, was closed during the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. Both the Priory and the Bell Inn, also in Thetford, were featured for their alleged hauntings on the television series Ghosthunters
Ghosthunters
Ghosthunters was a British paranormal documentary television series that originally aired from 1996 to 1997 on the Discovery Channel. The four-season program was produced by Inca Productions of Covent Garden, London , hosted by Ian Cashmore, and narrated by William Woollard...
, after stories of one of the Bell Inn's staff members being curiously locked into one of the bedrooms she was cleaning.
The British Trust for Ornithology
British Trust for Ornithology
The British Trust for Ornithology is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles.-Activities:The BTO carries out research into the lives of birds, chiefly by conducting population and breeding surveys and by bird ringing, largely carried out by a large number of...
moved its headquarters into the former Nunnery, south of the town centre, in 1991.
Thetford was the birthplace of Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
and a statue of Paine stands on King Street, holding a quill and his book Rights of Man
Rights of Man
Rights of Man , a book by Thomas Paine, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard its people, their natural rights, and their national interests. Using these points as a base it defends the French Revolution against Edmund Burke's attack in...
, upside down. Paine attended Thetford Grammar School
Thetford Grammar School
Thetford Grammar School is an independent co-educational school in Thetford, Norfolk, England. The school traces its origins back to 631, and through its Roll of Headmasters to 1114, though it appears to have ceased from around 1496 until its refoundation from the will of Sir Richard Fulmerston in...
. Born in Thetford on February 9, 1737, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 in time to participate in the American Revolution. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely read pamphlet Common Sense
Common sense
Common sense is defined by Merriam-Webster as, "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts." Thus, "common sense" equates to the knowledge and experience which most people already have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have...
(1776), advocating colonial America's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, and The American Crisis
The American Crisis
The American Crisis was a series of pamphlets published from 1776 to 1783 during the American Revolution by 18th century Enlightenment philosopher and author Thomas Paine. The first volume begins with the famous words "These are the times that try men's souls". There were sixteen pamphlets in total...
(1776–1783), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series.
Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns
Allan Glaisyer Minns
Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns was the first Black man to become a mayor in Britain. He was elected Mayor of Thetford, Norfolk in 1904.John Archer, elected Mayor of Battersea in 1913, had been thought to be the first Black man to hold this title...
, born in Inagua
Inagua
Inagua is the southernmost district of the Bahamas comprising the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua.Great Inagua is the third largest island in The Bahamas at 596 sq mi and lies about 55 miles from the eastern tip of Cuba. The island is about 55 x 19 miles in extent, the highest point...
, the Bahamas, Mayor of Thetford in 1904, was the first black man to become a mayor in Britain.
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal , styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1514, was the only son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk by his first wife, Katherine Moleyns...
and other early Tudor dynasty
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
officials were once buried in Thetford before removal to Framlingham
Framlingham
Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal District of Suffolk, England. Commonly referred to as "Fram" by the locals, it is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has a population of 3,114 at the 2001 census...
.
Today, the surrounding Breckland
Breckland
The Breckland as a landscape region is an unusual natural habitat of England. It comprises the gorse-covered sandy heath that exists in the north of the county of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk. An area of considerable interest for its unusual flora and fauna, it lies to the south east of another...
has been largely replaced by the Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain, Thetford Forest Park is located in a region straddling the north of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk in England...
though Thetford Chase remains. The town has become known for its Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
and East European shops and cafes.
Events and sports
East Harling near Thetford hosts an annual Autumn Equinox Festival for astronomyAstronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
. The festival has featured Patrick Moore
Patrick Moore
Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...
of The Sky at Night
The Sky at Night
The Sky at Night is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show has had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24 April 1957, making it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.The...
. Thetford is also the site for the UK's Star Party, as it is centrally located in a rural area with dark night skies. An annual concert, STORM, also takes place in Thetford.
The local football club, Thetford Town
Thetford Town F.C.
Thetford Town F.C. is an English football club based in Thetford, Norfolk. The club are currently members of Eastern Counties League Division One and play at Mundford Road.The club is affiliated to the Norfolk County FA.-History:...
, plays in the Eastern Counties League
Eastern Counties Football League
The Eastern Counties Football League is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk, northern Essex and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is a feeder to the regional divisions of the Isthmian League and Southern...
. The Thetford & District Sunday Football League, now known as the Breckland & District Sunday Football League, encompasses teams from within a 20 miles (32.2 km) radius of Thetford. Thetford Cricket Club play their home games next to the football club on Mundford Road. They currently have 3 men's teams, 2 that play on Saturdays and 1 on Sundays, and an ever growing youth training scheme. The club are represented in the Norfolk Cricket Alliance Division 3 and Division 6 and the Mid-Norfolk Sunday Cricket League Division 3. In summer, Castle Park is the Sunday meeting place of the non-professional and informal Castle Park Football Club.
A swimming team called the Thetford Dolphins is based at Breckland Leisure Centre's Waterworld swimming pools. World champion triathlete Chrissie Wellington
Chrissie Wellington
Christine Ann Wellington MBE , known as Chrissie Wellington, is an English triathlete and the current Ironman Triathlon World Champion...
is a former member of this swimming club.
Thetford's baseball team the BlueSox was once a powerhouse in the LBSEQ, winning championships in 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1971.
High Lodge Forest Centre in Thetford Forest attracts thousands of visitors every year. Events are held throughout the year including summer concerts and the Hallowe'en 'terror trail'.
Transport
Thetford is just off the A11 road between NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
(28 miles (45.1 km)) and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(86 miles (138.4 km)). The A11 previously ran through the town but a bypass
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
was constructed in the 1990s.
It is served by Thetford railway station
Thetford railway station
Thetford railway station is a railway station serving the town of Thetford in the English county of Norfolk. It is served by local services operated by National Express East Anglia on the Breckland Line and Long distance East Midlands Trains services. It lies 49 km west of Norwich on the line to...
, with National Express East Anglia running services between Norwich and Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, and East Midlands Trains from Norwich to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
(via Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
). From Cambridge, regular services run to London King's Cross.
A branch line to Bury St Edmunds was closed in the 1960s under the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. The remnants of Thetford Bridge railway station
Thetford Bridge railway station
Thetford Bridge railway station served the eastern part of Thetford, Norfolk, England between 1875 and 1953.-History:The railway line between Bury St Edmunds and Thetford was proposed by the Bury St Edmunds and Thetford Railway and authorised on 5 July 1865; but the company had problems in raising...
on the southern side of the town can still be seen.
The National Cycle Route 13 links Thetford to Gately, near Fakenham
Fakenham
Fakenham is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, some north east of King's Lynn, south west of Cromer, and north west of Norwich....
.
Industry
Thetford was home to Tulip International, large-scale manufacturers of baconBacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
, beef and pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
. The factory opened its doors in 1966 and was one of the biggest bacon production factories in the UK. In 2007 the factory ceased production of fresh bacon, beef and pork with the loss of 350 jobs, although cooked bacon and fried products continued to be made until all production ceased in February 2009.
Demography
According to the 2001 UK Census, almost 22,000 people were residing in Thetford, with a 2004 study showing an unusually high percentage (almost 30% in fact) of people of PortuguesePortuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
descent in the town. Around 6,000 people in the area have Portuguese as a mother tongue.
Dad's Army
The external scenes for the BBC1BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
TV series Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
were filmed in and around the town with Thetford's flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
buildings doubling for Walmington-on-Sea
Walmington-on-Sea
Walmington-on-Sea is a fictional seaside resort where the BBC Television sitcom, BBC radio series and film Dad's Army was based.Located on the channel coast of England in the county of Kent, the national "front line" following the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk during...
. In December 2007 it was announced that a statue of Arthur Lowe
Arthur Lowe
Arthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:...
who played the leading character Captain George Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring
Captain George Mainwaring is the bank manager and Home Guard platoon commander portrayed by Arthur Lowe on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army, set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea during the Second World War...
would be erected in the town.. The statue was unveiled next to the Little Ouse river in the town at 12:00pm. The statue depicts Captain Mainwaring sitting on a park bench. This was preceded by a stage show re-enacting several Dad's Army episodes which was shown over the course of several nights, including "The Godiva Affair".
Skatepark
After years of meetings with both Thetford and BrecklandBreckland (district)
Breckland District is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in East Dereham.Breckland District derives its name from the Breckland landscape region, a gorse covered sandy heath of south Norfolk and north Suffolk...
council, the Thetford Skate Committee has finally acquired a plot of land from Breckland council for a concrete skatepark. An estimated quarter of a million pounds has been raised to build the skatepark, which will be situated next to Thetford Town
Thetford Town F.C.
Thetford Town F.C. is an English football club based in Thetford, Norfolk. The club are currently members of Eastern Counties League Division One and play at Mundford Road.The club is affiliated to the Norfolk County FA.-History:...
. Building is suggested to commence in 2011.
Twin towns
Thetford is twinned with the towns of:- HürthHürthHürth is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hürth shares borders with the city of Cologne.-Geography:Hürth is situated about 9 km to the southwest of Cologne city centre, at the northeastern slope of the natural preserve Kottenforst-Ville.The town, consisting of...
, near Cologne, Germany - SkawinaSkawinaSkawina is a town in southern Poland with 27,328 inhabitants .Situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship , previously in Kraków Voivodeship .- Twin Towns - Sister Cities :Skawina is twinned with:...
, near Kraków, Poland - SpijkenisseSpijkenisseSpijkenisse is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 74,482 in 2006, and covers an area of 30.23 km²...
, near Rotterdam, Netherlands - Les UlisLes UlisLes Ulis is a commune in the Essonne department located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the center of Paris.Inhabitants of Les Ulis are known as Ulissiens.- Location :...
, near Paris, France
External links
- Information from Genuki Norfolk on Thetford.
- Thetford Tourism website