Gorleston-on-Sea (), known colloquially as Gorleston, is a town in the Borough of Great Yarmouth, in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, to the south of Great Yarmouth. Situated at the mouth of the

River Yare The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches it is one of the principal navigable waterways of The Broads and connects with the rest of the network. The river rises south of Dereham to the west to the vil ...

it was a

port town A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

at the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

. The port then became a centre of fishing for herring along with salt pans used for the production of salt to preserve the fish. In

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

times the fishing industry rapidly declined and the town's role changed to that of a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

History

The place-name 'Gorleston' is first attested in the

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 Girlington is an area in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Girlington is located to the west of Bradford city centre. The majority population of Girlington are of South Asian origin in particular Pakistani, Afghan and Bangladeshi. History ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

the town was in the county of Suffolk. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

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 The Gorleston Psalter (British Library Add MS 49622) is a 14th-century manuscript notable for containing early music instruction and for its humorous marginalia. It is named for the town of Gorleston in Norfolk. Description The Gorleston ...

, an important example of 14th century

East Anglian East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

illuminated art. In 1832 the town became a part of Great Yarmouth for electoral purposes. Finally in 1835 it merged with the town and became part of Great Yarmouth in the county of

Gorleston Barracks Gorleston Barracks is a military installation in Gorleston in Norfolk. History The site was originally occupied by a Board of Ordnance store designed by James Wyatt and built in 1806 to supply Royal Navy ships anchored off Great Yarmouth durin ...

were established in 1853. 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-on-Sea (), known colloquially as Gorleston, is a town in the Borough of Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England, to the south of Great Yarmouth. Situated at the mouth of the River Yare it was a port town at the time of the Domesday Book. ...

, 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 In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

. The main

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

is on High Street. It has its own golf club. There is also the hospital and a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. There is a lighthouse,

lifeboat station A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crew and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine. Lifeboats may be rigid, inflatable or rigid-inf ...

and coastwatch station on Riverside Road.RNLI history of Great Yarmouth & Gorleston lifeboat station
. St Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, built in 1938–39, was

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

'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 . 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 Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...

's 2019 film '' Yesterday''.

Education

There are a number of

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s 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 In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

provider in Norfolk, attracting students from a wide area.

East Anglian School for Deaf and Blind Children

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. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the school was evacuated to

Aberpergwm House Aberpergwm House ( cy, Aberpergwm) is an abandoned and ruinous country house located in Glynneath, Wales. Within the grounds of the house sits the church of St. Cadoc, which is possibly of late medieval origin. Newman, J., ‘The Buildings of W ...

Glynneath Glynneath ( cy, Glyn-nedd "valley of the River Neath"), also spelt ''Glyn-neath'' and ''Glyn Neath'', is a small town, community and electoral ward lying on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It was formerly in th ...

, Wales. The headmaster's house in Gorleston was severely damaged by bombing in 1941.

Notable people

* William Adams (1864–1913) highly decorated lifesaver and swimming instructor * Jessica-Jane Applegate (born 1996) Paralympic swimmer and gold medalist * Rowland Fisher (1885–1969) painter, mainly known for his seascapes * William Fleming GC (1865–1954) highly decorated

lifeboatman A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crew and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine. Lifeboats may be rigid, inflatable or rigid-inf ...

Ralph Jones Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American high school and college football and basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1930 ...

GC (1900–1944) Gorleston born Australian soldier who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for gallantry * Paul Derek Gibbs (born 1972) former footballer, approx. 200 club caps * Peter Green (1946-2020) English blues rock guitarist and the founder of Fleetwood Mac. Green lived in Gorleston for a period in the early 1990's. *

Maurice Kaufmann Maurice Harington Kaufmann (29 June 1927 – 21 September 1997) was a British actor of stage, film and television, who specialised in whodunits and horror films, from 1954 to 1981, when he retired. Personal life He was married to Honor Blackm ...

(1927–1997) actor on stage, film and TV, married to

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...

1961-1975 *

Myleene Klass Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is a British musician, singer, presenter, model and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...

(born 1978) TV presenter, musician, former member of pop group

Hear'say Hear'Say were a British pop group. They were created through the ITV reality TV show '' Popstars'' in February 2001, the first UK series of the international '' Popstars'' franchise. The group, who were signed to Polydor Records, originally ...

Gregg Lowe Gregg Lowe is a British actor born in 1986. Lowe is from Gorleston-On-Sea, Norfolk, and was educated at Cliff Park High School. In 2015, Lowe collapsed at the finish line after running the Toronto Marathon, he was dead for 3 minutes before bei ...

(born 1986) actor * Sammy Morgan (born 1946) former pro. footballer, making over 260 appearances * Kip Sabian (born 1992) professional wrestler, currently signed by American promotion,

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...

Peter Simpson Peter Simpson may refer to: *Peter Simpson (film producer) (1943–2007), often credited as Peter R. Simpson, a British-Canadian film producer and advertiser *Peter Simpson (Scottish footballer) (1904/05–1974), Scottish football striker who playe ...

(born 1945) former footballer, 370 pro appearances for Arsenal F.C. *

Hannah Spearritt Hannah Louise Spearritt (born 1 April 1981)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 478 is an English actress and singer. She is an original member of the pop group S Club 7. Spearritt is also known fo ...

(born 1981) actress and former member of pop group

S Club 7 S Club 7 were a British pop group from London, created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller and consisting of members Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O'Meara, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens and Tina Barrett. The gro ...

, grew up in Gorleston * Henry Edward Sutton (born 1963) Senior LecturerHenry Sutton, Biography, University of East Anglia
retrieved January 2018 in Creative Writing at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

and award-winning crime novelist

References

Sources

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

External links

, Blue Plaques in Gorleston

Great Yarmouth - The Golden Mile
{{authority control Borough of Great Yarmouth Towns in Norfolk Populated coastal places in Norfolk Seaside resorts in England Tourism in the United Kingdom Ports and harbours of Norfolk Port cities and towns of the North Sea Marinas in England Staple ports Trading posts of the Hanseatic League