NHER 13581 (Monument record) - Route of Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (Great Yarmouth to Sutton Bridge)
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Summary
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway link between Great Yarmouth and Sutton Bridge was opened in sections. The section between King's Lynn and Sutton Bridge had stations at South Lynn, Clenchwarton and Terrington and Walpole, and was opened by the Lynn & Sutton Bridge Railway in 1864. The section between King's Lynn and Great Yarmouth had twenty-two intermediate stations and opened under the Yarmouth & North Norfolk Railway from 1877 to 1881, the Lynn & Fakenham Railway between 1879 and 1882, and by the Eastern & Midlands in 1883. The whole system was closed on 2 March 1959, although some sections survive as paths. A number of stations, signal boxes, goods sheds and concrete mileposts remain.
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Location
| Map sheet | TG01NW |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | WALPOLE, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | WALPOLE CROSS KEYS, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | AYLSHAM, BROADLAND, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | BLICKLING, BROADLAND, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | CAWSTON, BROADLAND, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | HEYDON, BROADLAND, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | OULTON, BROADLAND, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | BURGH AND TUTTINGTON, BROADLAND, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | CAISTER ON SEA, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | GREAT YARMOUTH, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | HEMSBY, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | MARTHAM, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | ORMESBY ST MARGARET WITH SCRATBY, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | REPPS WITH BASTWICK, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | BRININGHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | BRISTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | BRUMSTEAD, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | CATFIELD, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | COLBY, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | CORPUSTY AND SAXTHORPE, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | DILHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | DUNTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | EAST RUSTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | FAKENHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | FELMINGHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | FULMODESTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | HELHOUGHTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | HEMPTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | HICKLING, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | HONING, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | KETTLESTONE, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | LUDHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | MELTON CONSTABLE, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | NORTH WALSHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | POTTER HEIGHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | PUDDING NORTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | STALHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | SUTTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | TATTERSETT, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | THURNING, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | THURSFORD, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | WORSTEAD, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | BAWSEY, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | CLENCHWARTON, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | CONGHAM, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | EAST RUDHAM, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | GRIMSTON, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | HARPLEY, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | HILLINGTON, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | KING’S LYNN, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | LITTLE MASSINGHAM, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | MIDDLETON, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | NORTH RUNCTON, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | ROYDON (NEAR LYNN), WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | TERRINGTON ST CLEMENT, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | TILNEY ALL SAINTS, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
| Civil Parish | WEST RUDHAM, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
Map
Full Description
Formerly Yarmouth and Stalham Light, Lynn and Fakenham, and Lynn and Sutton railways.
For full details see notes (S1) architectural plans (S2) and newspaper cuttings (S3) to (S22) in file.
2 August 1995. NLA aerial photography.
Section of dismantled line visible on aerial photographs taken in Honing parish.
S. Massey (NLA) 3 August 2001.
13 May 1999. NLA aerial photography.
Line of former railway now used as A149 is visible.
H. Clare (NLA) 13 December 2001.
19 September 2007.
Stations on the King's Lynn to Sutton Bridge Line were South Lynn, Clenchwarton, Terrington, and Walpole.
Stations on the King's Lynn to Great Yarmouth line were South Lynn, Gayton Road, Grimston Road, Hillingdon, Massingham, East Rudham, Raynham Park, Fakenham West, Thursford, Melton Constable, Corpusty and Saxthorpe, Aylsham, Felmingham, North Walsham, Honing (NHER 60561), Stalham, Catfield, Potter Heigham, Martham, Hemsby, Great Ormesby, and Caister-on-Sea.
Information from (S23).
Ruth Fillery-Travis (NLA), 19 September 2007.
September 2012-February 2013. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of new housing development at former Beach Coach Park, Great Yarmouth. This work took place immediately to the south of Sandown Road, close to where the line had terminated at Beach Station. A surviving section of an early 20th-century turntable was recorded but it appears little else had survived the closure of the station in 1959 and the subsequent clearance of the site.
See (S24) and NHER 64665 for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 11 March 2021.
Associated Sources (33)
- --- SNF49749 Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1995. TG 3227K - P.
- --- SNF50359 Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). 1999. TG 4118K - P; TG 4019A - B; TG 3921C - D.
- --- SNF11820 Aerial Photograph: Edwards, D.A. (NLA). TF 9129AJ.
- --- SNF97838 Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
- --- SNF97607 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1998. Fuel dump gave us wartime close shave. 16 June.
- --- SNF3225 Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1992. The forgotten Lynn station. 21 August.
- --- SNF8857 Photograph: BDD 5.
- --- SNF57722 Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
- --- SNF57204 Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TF 82 NE 24; TG 41 NW 9.
- --- SNF8804 Secondary File: Secondary File.
- --- SNF61753 Serial: 1965. Railway News. Railway News. November.
- --- SNF65232 Unpublished Contractor Report: Network Archaeology. 2002. Bacton to Kings Lynn Proposed Gas Pipeline. Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment. Network Archaeology. 179.
- <S1> SNF63233 Unpublished Document: Rose, E.. 1984. Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.
- <S11> SNF61763 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1996. Station buildings to be pulled down. 1 February.
- <S12> SNF61765 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1996. Village acres 'coming home'. 23 November.
- <S14> SNF61766 Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1997. [Photograph of the West Lynn rail bridge taken in 1959]. 4 March.
- <S15> SNF61767 Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1999. Last train from South Lynn. 26 February.
- <S16> SNF61768 Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1999. Trains, station? Where, when?. 8 June.
- <S17> SNF61769 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1999. [Article and a letter to the editor on the Langor Bridge signal box].
- <S19> SNF61771 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2000. [Article on history of the Potter Heigham railway bridge]. 30 June.
- <S2> SNF49212 Drawing: Various. Various. Architectural plans.
- <S20> SNF61772 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2001. A bit of railway history. 26 January.
- <S21> SNF61773 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2001. Holiday begagn at Norfolk rail halts. 21 November.
- <S22> SNF61774 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2001-2002. [Articles on the move of a station building from Stalham to Holt].
- <S23> SNF68520 Monograph: Anderson, R. & Saunders. D.. 1999. Rediscovering Railways: Norfolk Past and Present.. March.
- <S24> SNF101010 Unpublished Contractor Report: Hickling, S. 2013. Archaeological Watching Brief at the former Beach Coach Station, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. NPS Archaeology. 2871.
- <S3> SNF61754 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1977. [Articles on the dismantling of the railway bridge near Yarmouth].
- <S4> SNF61755 Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1989. [Photograph of Clenchwarton Station]. 31 October.
- <S5> SNF61756 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1977. Memory lane railway 'trip'. 8 August.
- <S6> SNF61757 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1982. [Photograph of swing bridge across Breydon Water in Bygones]. 23 November.
- <S7> SNF61758 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1987. Memories of the first train to pull out of station. 10 August.
- <S8> SNF61759 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1989. [Photograph of Melton Constable railway station]. 2 October.
- <S9> SNF61761 Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1990. [Photograph of Roydon's railway station taken in the 1950s]. 6 November.
Site and Feature Types and Periods (6)
- GOODS SHED (19th Century to 21st Century - 1865 AD to 2100 AD)
- MILEPOST (19th Century to 21st Century - 1865 AD to 2100 AD)
- RAILWAY (19th Century to 21st Century - 1865 AD? to 2100 AD)
- RAILWAY STATION (19th Century to 21st Century - 1865 AD to 2100 AD)
- RAILWAY TRANSPORT SITE (19th Century to 21st Century - 1865 AD? to 2100 AD)
- SIGNAL BOX (19th Century to 21st Century - 1865 AD to 2100 AD)
Object Types (0)
Related NHER Records (7)
- Geographical: NHER 16713 - Parent of: Honing Railway Bridge, Midland and Great Northern Line (Building)
- Geographical: NHER 60561 - Parent of: Site of Honing Railway Station (Monument)
- Geographical: NHER 27412 - Parent of: Site of World War Two rail block (Monument)
- Geographical: NHER 64665 - Parent of: Site with no evidence for archaeologically-significant remains (Negative evidence)
- Geographical: NHER 39999 - Parent of: World War Two rail block at Briggate (Monument)
- All Groups: NHER 55397 - Related to: Railway Bridge (Structure)
- All Groups: NHER 13582 - Related to: Route of Leziate Quarry Tramway (Monument)
Find out more...(45)
- Bawsey (Parish Summary)
- Blickling (Parish Summary)
- Briningham (Parish Summary)
- Briston (Parish Summary)
- Brumstead (Parish Summary)
- Burgh and Tuttington (Parish Summary)
- Cawston (Parish Summary)
- Clenchwarton (Parish Summary)
- Corpusty (Parish Summary)
- Dilham (Parish Summary)
- East Ruston (Parish Summary)
- Grimston (Parish Summary)
- Helhoughton (Parish Summary)
- Hempton (Parish Summary)
- Heydon (Parish Summary)
- Hillington (Parish Summary)
- Honing (Parish Summary)
- Kettlestone (Parish Summary)
- King's Lynn (Parish Summary)
- Little Massingham (Parish Summary)
- Little Massingham (Parish Summary)
- Ludham (Parish Summary)
- Martham (Parish Summary)
- Melton Constable (Parish Summary)
- Middleton (Parish Summary)
- North Runcton (Parish Summary)
- North Walsham (Parish Summary)
- Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby (Parish Summary)
- Oulton (Parish Summary)
- Potter Heigham (Parish Summary)
- Pudding Norton (Parish Summary)
- Repps with Bastwick (Parish Summary)
- Roydon (near Lynn) (Parish Summary)
- Stalham (Parish Summary)
- Sutton (Parish Summary)
- Tattersett (Parish Summary)
- Terrington St Clement (Parish Summary)
- Thurning (Parish Summary)
- Thursford (Parish Summary)
- Tilney All Saints (Parish Summary)
- Walpole (Parish Summary)
- Walpole Cross Keys (Parish Summary)
- West Rudham (Parish Summary)
- Worstead (Parish Summary)
- Worstead (Parish Summary)
Record last edited
Oct 24 2025 8:05AM