North Walsham: Woolly Walk
North Walsham lies at the centre of what we can call 'Paston Country', and the town has an important role throughout the 350-year history of the Paston family.
Follow our short walk around the market town and learn more about the Pastons' use of the land and relationship with the wool trade.
Good for:
Families, youth groups
Wellbeing activities
Heritage lovers
North Walsham walk details
LENGTH: full walk is 1.5 miles (2.4km) - around 60 mins.
TERRAIN: town streets, a few steps and open country.
PARKING: Marketplace, town centre, public parking
BUS: nearest stop at XXX. Bus numbers XXXX.
FACILITIES: pub and cafes in town
Follow the walk overview below on your phone. Walk map coming soon.
Enhance your walk experience
North Walsham walk overview
1. Start at the Millennium stone in the east end of the churchyard
This is a sandstone erratic that is 30,000 years old was left here by the last Ice Age, placed here at the turn of the millennium, where it had previously been a mounting block in a nearby yard.
The stone indicates that the glaciers retreat left Norfolk with flat, fertile land, which was ideal for growing crops and the pastures necessary for raising flocks of sheep. If you look towards the buildings, to the east, you will notice a gable end in the shape of a Dutch Gable typical of the Dutch and this shows the influence of the Dutch and Flemish weavers who came to North Walsham in the 16th century and in centuries before that, and they bought their immense weaving skills to enable this area to become one of the most important in the country for the production of cloth.
2. Walk back into the marketplace and through an alleyway opposite to the Black Swan pub
In the Black Swan gardens, we can see a mural which depicts the history of the town which is around a central motif of a weaving loom, a weaving roll of cloth which spreads out across the mural and depicts episodes from the town's history with cloth at the centre
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3. Walk back into the marketplace and turn left, walking down the side of the marketplace until you reach the gates to Paston College
As you walk down, admire the Georgian houses on either side of the market, which were built over the original footprint of the medieval market.
Paston College was founded in 1606 by Sir William Paston. The Paston family grew rich through their holdings of land and the school was endowed in the years after the fire that destroyed North Walsham and 1600.
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4. Walk back to the marketplace and make your way to the impressive market cross
The market cross was used for the barter and exchange of goods and where records were kept and payments made. As the fine weavers of North Walsham required wool from Lincolnshire, the wool 'broggers' would have bought the wool across from Lincolnshire and bartered the sale of it in the marketplace here.
At the market cross, look around the marketplace to see how it has been built to allow for animals to be herded into the market easily and corralled there, as it only has three main exits and entrances.
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5. Walk through the alleyway next to Costa Coffee back into the churchyard
At the end of the alley you will find a sign which explains about William Paston and the Paston family of North Walsham. And on the board you will see a quotation from the famous Paston Letters which describes the purchase of a piece of worsted cloth for a garment for William Paston to protect him from the cold weather. Walsham cloth was actually of a thinner variety than the worsted cloth and more suited for the summer.
6. Walk to your left away from the church towards Shambles cafe
The shambles area was where animals were butchered in medieval times. If we look down the main street, we can see the large building facing us that used to be the Angel Hotel. It was here in 1906 that the first Agricultural Workers Union was founded by George Edwards.
Through the arch next to the Shambles restaurant, if we look up we can see sets of windows on either side of the upper rooms, which indicates that it was once a weaver's barn.
7. Returning back towards the churchyard, walk back into the churchyard
To the left you will find a pair of sculptures by local artist Berni Marfleet with some supporting information boards. If you look closely you will see a pair of wool shears.
Walk now towards the main entrance to the church. Look up and see the great tower which collapsed in the 18th century, as an indication of how mighty this church would have been. To the left of the tower is part of the tower of the original 11th century Saxon Church. The main church was built at the end of the 14th century.
8. Walk into the main entrance of the church and pause in the porch
The South porch main entrance to the church displays the heraldic shields of John of Gaunt and Edward III and also and St Benet's Abbey. These three great benefactors are responsible partly for the creation of such a great church on this site.
In the 1381 Peasants Revolt, the great last battle of the revolt was fought at North Walsham. The rebels, many of them were weavers, were unhappy at having to pay extra taxes.The revolt was put down by Bishop Despenser and it is possible that some of the rebels were executed in this porch.
8. Go into the church
Go into the church and we noticed immediately it's great size which is an indication of the great wealth at the town, the wool which bought great wealth, which would have led to the building of such a large church. It is also thought that it had it not been for the Black Death in the 14th century, the church would have been much larger.
If you look inside the church, there are one or two symbols to locate - see if you can find in the windows representation of the Good Shepherd. Of course as the main theme of the Christian faith, which is so important to the local area, the idea of Jesus Christ as a shepherd is important. Similarly, the Agnes Dei (Lamb of God), or the sacrificial sheep was also visible in one of the stained glass windows. Near the entrance to church by the south door, you will find a memorial tomb slab for a mercer -a merchant of cloth. The great tomb beside that alta belongs to Sir William Paston (who founded the school). The tomb shows many of the marriages they made represented in the heraldic shields which adorn the monument.
When you have completed your look around the church,please visit the Heritage Centre to the south side of the church, and much more information about the town and its origins and the history of the woollen industry and other industries can be seen in the displays there.
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Activities for children and adults
Watch a 3.5 minute animation
about North Walsham's medieval marketplace.
Click here for KS2 home learning activity sheets on Medieval shopping.
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Things to do nearby
North Walsham Information & heritage Centre
Paston Footprints has donated an interactive touchscreen, where you can view Paston animations and videos. Explore the rest of the town's heritage with 1000 North Walsham archive videos, photos and audio recollections. Includes quizzes. The centre is in the town centre, near the church.
Acorn Play Park
En route of our trail, just after the Church, off Bacton Road. This is a small open greenspace with play area. The Children’s area includes a zip wire, climbing frame and swings.
North Walsham & Dilham Canal Boat Tours
Enjoy a guided boat tour following a scenic stretch of the restored North Walsham and Dilham Canal.
Norfolk Motorcycle Museum
Over 150 motorcycles from the 1900s to 1980s. Over 100 motorcycles from the 1900s to 1980s.
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This walk is kindly supported by North Walsham's Heritage Action Zone Cultural Programme - North Norfolk District Council and Historic England.
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Paston Footprints is a collaboration between the University of East Anglia, the Paston Heritage Society and Collisions Theatre. Directors are Dr Rob Knee and Dr Karen Smyth. Kindly supported by the NHLF and the UEA PVC Impact Fund. The routes have been created with Norfolk County Council's Environment Team and are maintained by the NCC. See T&C's page for more details and how we use and store your data. This website has been created and is curated by Emily Parker and Karen Smyth. Visit About Us for the full team and to contact us.
