Located in the East Anglian county of Norfolk, and roughly equidistant between Cambridge and Norwich, is the town of Thetford.
In Saxon times Thetford was the capital of East Anglia. It had its own mint in the 10th century, and by 1086 the Domesday Survey recorded it as being the sixth largest town in the country with 4,000 to 4,500 people living here.
By the 12th century Thetford had become an important religious centre, with 22 churches around the town, as well as Thetford Priory, founded in 1103. The priory was left to ruin in the 16th century along with the town's religious houses when Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries. This brought about a decline in the area. However, in the 1570s Thetford received a boost when Elizabeth I granted a town charter leading to redevelopment in the main streets.
In 1819 plans were made to turn Thetford into a spa town for tourists, similar to Bath Cheltenham, Leamington and Harrogate. The meadows between the rivers Thet and Little Ouse contained a spring of mineral rich water. A pump room was constructed, but later closed in 1838.
In 1848 Thetford became a producer of steam engines courtesy of Charles Burrell & Sons Ltd who were based in the town. At its height the factory employed over 350 people, with workers moving in from London, the Midlands and Yorkshire until its closure in 1928.
After the Second World War Thetford became an overspill town, providing housing for those from the cities whose homes had been destroyed in the Blitz, leading to a surge in population during the second half of the 20th century.
During the walk we see two statues. The first appears at the very beginning and is of Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was exiled to Great Britain aged 15 following on from the Anglo Sikh Wars. There he befriended Queen Victoria and bought a country estate close to Thetford in 1863.
The second statue is of Thomas Paine. Born in Thetford, Paine was a political writer who travelled to Philadelpia in 1774 with a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. In 1776 he wrote a pamphlet arguing the case for American independence, predating the Declaration of Independence itself. Later on, Paine travelled to France where he advocated for the French Revolution. He is also believed to have met Napoleon Bonaparte in the late 1790s to discuss a potential invasion of England. So basically turning up everywhere of historical significance, like an 18th century Forrest Gump. Napoleon allegedly stated that "a statue of gold should be erected to [Thomas Paine] in every city in the universe". The statue we see is made of bronze and dates back to 1964 where it was initially gilded. Having lost its golden appearance, it was then re-gilded in November of 2020, making it quite hard to miss!
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Filmed: 6th May 2021
Link to the walk on Google Maps: goo.gl/maps/ErNkX8zCcLKoevVp8 (Google forces you around the northeastern bank of the Little Ouse River, but otherwise accurate)
Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Maharaja Duleep Singh Memorial Statue
0:14 Little Ouse River
3:24 School Lane
4:47 Tanner Street
4:58 Raymond Street
7:21 Guildhall Street
8:50 Market Place
9:23 The Guildhall
9:30 Market Place
10:02 Well Street
10:23 King Street
12:44 Thomas Paine Statue
13:00 King Street
13:34 Whitehart Street
13:38 St Peter's Church (built 14th century, currently disused)
13:46 Whitehart Street