Kings Lynn Town Wall
Has been described as a Certain Urban Defence
There are masonry ruins/remnants remains
Name | Kings Lynn Town Wall |
Alternative Names | |
Historic Country | Norfolk |
Modern Authority | Norfolk |
1974 Authority | Norfolk |
Civil Parish | Kings Lynn |
The town defences are based on a series of earthwork banks that were formed in the saltmarsh that once surrounded the town, and the line of the defences to the east follows the line of an old sea bank. Stone walls were constructed in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The walls were strengthened in the 16th century, and St Ann's Fort was constructed in 1570. Only a few fragmentary remains of the fort survive. The defences were replanned during the Civil War but construction was interrupted by a siege laid by Parliamentary troops and the earthworks were left unfinished until 1645. The line of the defences can be followed in modern streets and property boundaries, and the Civil War defences were closely based on the line of the medieval defences. In the 18th century several sections of the walls were demolished, but some stretches of wall are still standing, as well as the town gates, including the well-known South Gate. (Norfolk HER)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law
Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid Reference | TF621191 |
Latitude | 52.7457084655762 |
Longitude | 0.401439994573593 |
Eastings | 562190 |
Northings | 319150 |