A Bull in a China Shop

This week, my landlords (the lovely owners of East Ruston Vicarage Gardens) brought to my attention a snippet of news from the Mirror of 25 October 1933 relating to my premises which used to be part of a department store:

“BULL IN A CHINA SHOP

Queen Mary’s Adventure Near Sandringham

While the Queen, accompanied by the Princess Royal (Princess Mary), was shopping in Fakenham, whither she had driven from Sandringham, a bullock, frightened by the traffic, entered the china department near where the Queen was standing. Assistants hastily intercepted the animal and drove it away before any damage was done. The Queen, much amused, remarked to the proprietor: “I have heard of a bull in a china shop, but I had never seen one before”. “

I love it! People often comment on the size of the shop and it is true that a bull would be able to run around it without touching the sides, although I would not be terribly pleased if it did. I was not born and bred in Fakenham unlike many of the shop owners here, and I am afraid to say I do not even live in the town, but, as so many incomers are, I am interested in its history and thought I might share some of that with you here.

To begin with, Fakenham is very old. It is mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086, and was granted a Charter Market in 1250. The market is still here every Thursday, busier in the summer than the winter, but still a source of lovely food and other delights. John of Gaunt, the first Duke of Lancaster, was given the Manor of Fakenham in 1377 for which reason Fakenham’s official name is Fakenham Lancaster (although I have never heard it called that). In common with many towns in Norfolk, Fakenham was an important agricultural centre with a cattle market and a corn exchange. It flourished in the 19th century as it was on a coaching road and even had two inns opposite each other, the Crown and the Lion, both still there, serving the coaches. I like to imagine the hot competition there must have been between the two in the Golden Age of coaching. When that ended, the town was among the first to benefit from the railway, which arrived here in 1849 and linked Fakenham with Norwich and Kings Lynn. Sadly the line was closed by Dr Beeching, and the town lost its immediate connection with its neighbours, although there are good bus routes now.

By the 19th and early 20th centuries, Fakenham’s biggest industry was the printing of books and the printworks, in the end known as Fakenham Press, was a big employer in the town, finally closing in 1982. Nowadays there is still a lot of light industry here, in the industrial estates on the outskirts, including a variety of businesses – chemical manufacturers, a chocolate factory, Linda McCartney’s food business and Langham Glass to name but a few. I mention Langham Glass in particular because you can visit the factory and even try glass blowing yourself, which is definitely on my wish list. There is a racecourse (jumps only) which brings business to the town and we are supposed to be getting a swimming pool back at some time. In addition to the market on Thursdays, there is also James Beck’s Auction House, which holds its auctions on Thursdays and where you can find some extremely reasonably priced things. Becks also own the flea market which is held in the neighbouring car park on Thursday mornings. It is a source of sadness to me that I am too busy running the shop to spend time there on Thursdays, but no doubt it is better for my bank balance. There is an excellent and very comfortable cinema in the centre of town and we are surrounded by the usual supermarkets.

Despite all this, it sometimes feels as if there are too many empty shops here, and most of the banks, with the exception of Lloyds and Nationwide, closed their branches here last year, having a horrible effect on footfall. But there is a strong local community in Fakenham with an enormous will to improve the situation one way or another. The Town Council is on the case, the local District Councillors are very busy and concerned. Active Fakenham organises regular events such as cycle races and duck races, and there is an Events team who put on various one off events over the year, such as Christmas Light Switch On. There is a Christmas Tree Festival in December, classic car rallies throughout the year and all sorts of other things going on. And I know of at least 3 businesses that are opening in the town centre in the next few months which is hopeful. I certainly love having my shop in these gorgeous premises, although I will not be welcoming any bullocks here at any time.