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Gorleston-on-Sea

Coordinates: 52°34′33″N 1°43′25″E / 52.5757°N 1.7235°E / 52.5757; 1.7235
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Gorleston-on-Sea
Town
The Pavilion Theatre
Gorleston-on-Sea is located in Norfolk
Gorleston-on-Sea
Gorleston-on-Sea
Location within Norfolk
Population24,470 (Built up area, 2021)[1]
OS grid referenceTG520040
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGREAT YARMOUTH
Postcode districtNR31
Dialling code01493
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°34′33″N 1°43′25″E / 52.5757°N 1.7235°E / 52.5757; 1.7235

Gorleston-on-Sea (/ˈɡɔːrlstən/), historically and colloquially known as Gorleston, is a seaside town[2][3] in the borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England. It lies to the south of Great Yarmouth, on the opposite side of the mouth of the River Yare. Historically in Suffolk, it was a port town at the time of the Domesday Book. It was incorporated into Great Yarmouth in 1836. Gorleston's port became a centre of fishing for herring along with salt pans used for the production of salt to preserve the fish. In Edwardian times the fishing industry rapidly declined and the town's role changed to that of a seaside resort.

History

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St Andrew's Church, Gorleston

The place-name 'Gorleston' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Gorlestuna. It appears as Gurlestona in the Pipe Rolls of 1130. The first element may be related to the word 'girl', and is probably a personal name. The name could mean "girls' town or settlement", or a variant thereof, similar to Girlington in West Yorkshire.[4]

Historically the town was in the county of Suffolk. In the Middle Ages it had two manors, and a small manor called Bacons. The medieval church of St. Andrew stands in the town and by historical association gives its name to the Gorleston Psalter, an important example of 14th century East Anglian illuminated art. At the northern tip of the parish an area known as Southtown (also known as South Town or Little Yarmouth) grew as a suburb to Great Yarmouth, facing it across the Yare.[5]

Gorleston Barracks were established in 1853.[6] There were to be three railway stations in the town on the Yarmouth-Lowestoft Line. The stations on the line were Gorleston-on-Sea, Gorleston North and Gorleston Links which all closed between 1942 and 1970. The closest railway stations are now Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

Its main attraction is its sandy "Edwardian Beach." It has traditional seaside gardens and model boat pond. It also has a theatre opposite the pier called the Pavilion. The main shopping centre is on High Street. It has its own golf club. There is also the hospital and a library. There is a lighthouse, lifeboat station and coastwatch station on Riverside Road.[7] In 2023 the beach was voted the best in Britain, and the 12th best in Europe, by Tripadvisor reviewers.[8]

St Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, built in 1938–39, was Eric Gill's only complete work of architecture.

In the Great Storm of 1987, Gorleston-on-Sea experienced the highest wind speed recorded in the UK on that day, which was 122 mph (196 km/h).

The town is meticulously described in the novel Gorleston by Henry Sutton (Sceptre, 1995) and in Philip Leslie's novels The History of Us (Legend Press, 2009) and What Remains (December House, 2013). Both Sutton and Leslie employ the actual names of roads and retail outlets in their work.

Gorleston-on-Sea's Pier Hotel and beach feature as a key location in Danny Boyle's 2019 film Yesterday.[9]

Administrative history

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Gorleston was an ancient parish in Suffolk. Southtown was brought within Great Yarmouth's borough boundaries in 1668, whilst remaining part of the parish of Gorleston.[5] The rest of the parish was added to the constituency of Great Yarmouth in 1832 under the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832.[10] Great Yarmouth's municipal borough boundaries were adjusted to match the constituency from 1 January 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, since when Gorleston has been administered as part of Great Yarmouth.[11][12] The borough of Great Yarmouth straddled Norfolk and Suffolk between 1668 and 1891, with the original town north of the Yare being in Norfolk and Gorleston south of the Yare being in Suffolk. The borough was placed entirely in Norfolk in 1891, although as a county borough Great Yarmouth provided its own county-level services, independent from Norfolk County Council.[13]

Gorleston continued to form a civil parish within the borough of Great Yarmouth until 1974, although as an urban parish it had no separate parish council. In 1951 the parish had a population of 24,984.[14] On 1 April 1974 the civil parish was abolished.[15]

Education

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There are a number of primary schools in the area serving Gorleston and the wider locality. Secondary schools include Cliff Park Ormiston Academy, Lynn Grove Academy and Ormiston Venture Academy.

East Norfolk Sixth Form College is located in Gorleston. It is a major sixth form provider in Norfolk, attracting students from a wide area.

East Anglian School for Deaf and Blind Children

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The East Anglian School for Deaf and Blind Children (for deaf children and for blind children) was established in Gorleston in 1912 and based there until it closed in 1985.[16] During the Second World War the school was evacuated to Aberpergwm House in Glynneath, Wales.[17] The headmaster's house in Gorleston was severely damaged by bombing in 1941.[18]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021". Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  2. ^ "A-Z of Norfolk nostalgia: A history of Gorleston in pictures". Great Yarmouth Mercury. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Gorleston on Sea". Visit Norfolk. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ Eilert Ekwall, ' 'The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.201.
  5. ^ a b Suckling, Alfred (1846). The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk. Ipswich: W. S. Crowell. pp. 360–380.
  6. ^ Historic England. "Southtown Road Workshop Range (1245811)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  7. ^ RNLI history of Great Yarmouth & Gorleston lifeboat station Archived 8 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "Top 25 beaches - Europe". Tripadvisor. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Pier Hotel Gorleston". Retrieved 13 July 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 1832. p. 353. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  11. ^ The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. p. 459. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Relationships and changes Gorleston AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Local Government Board's Provisional Orders Confirmation (No. 13) Act 1890" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. p. 13. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Population statistics Gorleston AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Great Yarmouth Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  16. ^ "East Anglian School for the Deaf and Blind". Norfolk Deaf History. Archived from the original (GIF image) on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  17. ^ Gosse, Peter. "EAS moved to Wales During the War 1940-1945" (PDF). Norfolk Deaf History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  18. ^ Clapham, Lucy (10 December 2012). "Blue plaque marks the spot of important Gorleston landmark". East Anglian Daily Press. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  19. ^ "'This is beyond my wildest dreams' - family's pride as new Wetherspoon pub opens in Gorleston".
  20. ^ Hatfield Hines Galleries website, Rowland Fisher, 1885-1969 retrieved January 2018
  21. ^ Great Yarmouth Mercury, 14 October, 2017, Blue plaque to honour Gorleston lifeboat coxswain Archived 17 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018
  22. ^ "Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Political Peerages 2024". GOV.UK. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  24. ^ "LANGLEY SCHOOL (1960) LIMITED people". GOV.UK. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  25. ^ Grimmer, Dan (12 March 2024). "Gorleston gets a new peer... as council leader becomes a Lord". Great Yarmouth Mercury. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Introduction: Lord Fuller". Hansard. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Olympedia – Stanley Fuller". Olympedia – Main Page. 13 October 1907. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  28. ^ SoccerBase Database retrieved January 2018
  29. ^ Celmins, Martin (2022). Peter Green: Founder of Fleetwood Mac - Revised and Updated Edition. Omnibus Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-913172-54-1.
  30. ^ Gordon, Harry (1996). "Jones, Ralph (1900–1944)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  31. ^ IMDb Database retrieved January 2018
  32. ^ IMDb Database retrieved January 2018
  33. ^ Coates, Liz. "Clinically dead X-Men actor revived at end of marathon". greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  34. ^ IMDb Database retrieved January 2018
  35. ^ "Campbell Archibald Mellon (1876 - 1955) | Artist | Macconnal-Mason".
  36. ^ Gorleston F.C website, Previous managers retrieved January 2018
  37. ^ Adams, Stewart (2024). Kate Norgate (1853 to 1935) – Historian. Due for publication in Yarmouth Archaeology in October 2024. Yarmouth Archaeology is the annual publication of the Great Yarmouth Local History & Archaeological Society.
  38. ^ "Kip Sabian - World of Sport wrestling". World of Sport wrestling. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  39. ^ North American Soccer League Players, Peter Simpson retrieved January 2018
  40. ^ IMDb Database retrieved January 2018
  41. ^ Henry Sutton, Biography, University of East Anglia Archived 16 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 2018

Sources

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  • Norfolk Record Office Information Leaflet 33: Great Yarmouth, (Norwich: Norfolk Record Office, 2006)
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