Heacham Railway Station |
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Heacham in Days Gone By
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OVERVIEW
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The
village once had its own brick yard but the coming
of the railway in 1862 brought in a much cheaper,
though poorer, brick. This form of transport opened
the door to a positive flood of visitors who came
for the sea and to enjoy the beauty of the village
and so caravan
holidays began. The village became popular
with holidaymakers and many of these decided to
relocate to Heacham to enjoy their later years.
As a result new
housing estates took many of our open spaces. Many
little shops have closed over the years and some traditional
village traders are unfortunately no more.
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THE POCAHONTAS
STORY
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The
story of the Red Indian Princess, Pocahontas, and
connection to Heacham via her romantic marriage to the son of the Lord of the
Manor, John Rolfe is well known. In the Church
of St Mary the Virgin at Heacham you will find a
memorial to Pocahontas carved by a pupil of Rodin. She is dressed in a stylish
Jacobean trilby hat and a great neck ruff, which
was the fashion of the period. Her
husband, John Rolfe is buried in the churchyard.
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Daughter of Chief Powhatan of
the Algonquinn Red Indians, Pocahontas has
been immortalised by Walt Disney.
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As the story goes .... Matoaka Rebucka Pocahontas
saved the life of a Captain John Smith, by
laying her head over his, when her father
ordered Smith to be clubbed to death. She was
then but 12 years old.
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John Rolfe of Heacham Hall
had left the family home for America to seek his
fortune, but was shipwrecked off the Bermudas
where he met Pocahontas. He was capitvated by her looks, her bravery and her
gentle manner. John Smith returned to England where he fell
critically ill, and Pocahontas hearing no
further word from him believed he had died from
his sickness.
Photo supplied by Maurice
Gibbons
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Pocahontas was aged 18 when she met John Rolfe of
Heacham, whom
she married in 1613. Against her Father's wishes
she converted to Christianity and was christened
Rebecca. They settled in Virginia where Rolfe introduced tobacco as a crop. A son
was born, whom they christened
Thomas. Keen to show off not only his lovely
wife but his son and heir, John Rolfe returned
with wife and son to Jacobean England and
Heacham Hall.
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Presented at Court Pocahontas was an instant
success with her dark exotic beauty.
At Court she met her first love, John Smith,
again. However, Pocahontas pined for
America and decided to return to Virginia.
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Unfortunately, whilst waiting for her ship at
Gravesend she contracted Smallpox and died.
She was only 22. Broken-hearted, her
husband returned to Virginia alone, leaving his
son in England. Only to be killed at the
Massacreof Henrico in 1622.
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Their son Thomas eventually returned to America
where he has been claimed as the ancestor of
many a famous family.
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Heacham Hall was, unfortunately, destroyed by
fire during the Second World War.
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NORFOLK LAVENDER
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When Norfolk Lavender
Ltd was founded at Caley Mill in 1932, Lynn Chilvers
supplied the plants and the labour and Francis
Dusgate of Fring Hall provided the land. It
has since grown to establish itself as one of the
key tourist attractions in Norfolk. In 1997 it
saw the opening of the new Fragrant Meadow Garden on
what used to be a derelict field.
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THE
BEACHES
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Heacham Beach was
once wild and unspoilt, visited only by local
residents who had to cross the Heacham River by a
wooden footbridge to gain access. In 1887, as
a result of over-subscriptions from parishioners in
celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, a
new bridge was built. It marked the beginning
of the development of the beaches and a recreation
and holiday area. The area in front of the
bridge became the centre of the beach with that to
the right as one faces the sea, North Beach and to
the left, South Beach.
The disastrous east coast storm of 1953
devastated the area but it was eventually
restored and in 1990 to try and avoid a
repetition, thousands of tonnes of sand and
shingle were brought by barge and pumped
ashore in order to raise the profile of the
beach. This task was
repeated in 2005 and details of the works involved may be
found by
clicking here.
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THE 1953 FLOOD
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Below is an extract from a booklet called
'Heacham Alive' printed by Witley Press
Hunstanton sold in aid of Heacham Parish
Church available from the 'Card Cabin' in
the village.
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The flood waters of 1953.
This series of photos shows what happened.
Here the water is at the gates of the
railway station,
which was about half a mile from North
Beach.
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Railway staff at the signal box
to
assess
the situation.
In the background the beach huts have been washed from the beach
over half a mile away.
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Here you see the railway crossing house
in the distance.
Again a beach hut has moved over half a
mile.
This time from South Beach.
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In this photo you can see how the floods
created havoc
with the local holiday camp which was
located
half a mile from North Beach.
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If you have
more questions than we have answered on this site to
date
then please contact us and ask. We may be
able to help.
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