5th Duke of Portland

One of the characters that stuck in my mind from John Vigar’s talk is William John Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, the 5th Duke of Portland.  He was a man who was a recluse who liked tunnelling, he even built a tunnel from his house, Welbeck Abbey, to the local railway station.  By all accounts he oversaw the digging of over twelve miles of tunnels in and around his home.  Here is an article if you would like to find out more about this strange man:  

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-duke-who-loved-tunnels-so-much-he-was-immortalized-as-a-literary-badger 

St Michael at Thorn

You may recall that St Michael at Thorn on Ber Street was badly damaged during the Baedeker Raids in 1942 and then taken down and replaced with a car park, well here are some pictures of what it would have looked like if it was still standing now:  

https://www.invisibleworks.co.uk/blitz-ghosts-st-michael-at-thorn/ 

St Mary - The Chapel In The Fields

I have just discovered the Invisible Works website and here is an interesting article from it.  Please take time to explore the website as there is a great deal of good stuff on it:  

https://www.invisibleworks.co.uk/hidden-city-chapelfield/ 

Famous Faces That Have Visited Norwich

Here is an article of some famous people who have visited Norwich.  Some visitors you will know of but others you may not.  From John Cleese to Margaret Thatcher they have come to Norwich, to find out more please select the attached link:

https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/23788943.john-cleese-thatcher---famous-faces-visit-norwich/

St Mary Magdalene Church Sandringham

I visited the above and also toured Sandringham House the other day.  I have lived in Norfolk for over forty years, although still regarded a foreigner by my wife and thought it about time I toured Sandringham House and St Mary Magdalene Church.  It was a lovely day and the tours were interesting, Sandringham House had lots of expensive crockery and tapestries that has been acquired by Alexandra, Edward VII's wife when they set up home there in the mid 19th century.  You can even see a jig saw that Queen Camilla has started and presumably will finish at Christmas!  Unfortunately you weren’t allowed to take any photos in the house but I am able to share some photos of the church with you.  There are lots of commemorations to the monarchs since Queen Victoria in the church but the only royal buried there is Prince John the son of George V and Queen Mary who died of epilepsy at a young age.  Anyway here are some of my pictures of the church and a link if you would like to read some more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary_Magdalene_Church,_Sandringham

Cromer During Second World War

I visited Cromer last week and found the information boards around the town very interesting.  There was a board on Cromer during the Second World War and I didn’t realise that it was bombed five times.  Bearing in mind that there were no military targets in or around Cromer that I am aware of, I assume that this was targeting the population of Cromer with the view of affecting morale.  Anyway here are some photos of the results of the bombings:

Narborough Bone Mill

I must admit I didn’t know what a Bone Mill was, so here is an interesting article about Narborough Bone Mill.  Where did they obtain the bone from and what was it used for?  They even imported human bone but where from?  The smell must have been gruesome which is why the mill was located in a very isolated position.  To find out more, please access the following link, also take time too explore this website that also has a huge amount of information on Norfolk windmills, watermills and steam pumps:

http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/narborough-bone-mill.html