Sorry but we haven't got a guide for your area. If you would like one creating please contact us.
Holt
General informationChamber of commercePlaces to visitLocal events
Download the town guide
General information
The name Holt is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word for woodland and Holt is located on wooded high ground of the Cromer ridge at the crossing point of two ancient by-ways and as such was a natural point for a settlement to grow. The town has a mention in the great survey of 1086 known as the Domesday Book. In the survey it is described as a market town and a port with the nearby port of Cley next the Sea being described as Holt’s port. It also had five watermills and twelve plough teams and as such was seen as a busy thriving viable settlement then. The first Lord of the Manor was Walter Giffard; it passed to Hugh, Earl of Chester, who then left it to the De Vaux family. By this time Holt had a well-established market and two annual fairs which were held on the 25th of April and the 25th of November. Over the years Holt grew as a local place of trade and commerce. Unfortunately the weekly market was stopped in 1960.
The Fire of 1708
On 1 May 1708 the town of Holt was devastated by a fire which destroyed most of the medieval town in the matter of three hours. The fire started at Shirehall plain and quickly spread through the mainly timber-framed houses of the town. The church was also badly damaged with its thatched chancel destroyed and the lead melted from the windows with the flames spreading up the steeple. Local reports of the time state that the fire spread so swiftly that the butchers did not have time to rescue their meat from their stalls on the market. The damage to the town was estimated to be in the region of £11,000 which was a massive amount of money at that time. After the fire the town received many donations from all over the country and the task of reconstruction began.
Georgian Holt
With most of the medieval buildings destroyed in the fire the townsfolk set about rebuilding the town. The rebuilding made Holt notable for its abundance of Georgian buildings, that being the style of the day at the time when the town centre was rebuilt. However, the town repaired and retains its Norman parish church, which is dedicated to St Andrew.
Education
Holt is best known in the rest of England for being the seat of Gresham’s School, a long-established public school founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham, originally for boys only but co-educational since 1971.
The school’s alumni include Benjamin Britten, W. H. Auden, Lord Reith, Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, President Erskine Childers, Sir Christopher Cockerell, Donald Maclean, Sir Lennox Berkeley, Sir Stephen Spender, Tom Wintringham, Sir James Dyson, Stephen Fry,[8] Ralph Firman, Sir Peter Brook, Sebastian Shaw, Sienna Guillory and Michael Cummings.
Railways
Holt railway station, opened in 1887, was served by the Midland and Great Northern Railway. Most of this network was closed by British Railways in 1959 but the short section from Melton Constable railway station via Holt to Sheringham (services continuing on to Cromer and Norwich) escaped closure for a few more years - finally succumbing in 1964 when the branch was cut back to Sheringham (now the nearest national rail-head, served by frequent services to Norwich along the ‘Bittern line’). In 1965, within a year of the closure of this line, the North Norfolk Railway was formed to restore part of the line as an independent heritage steam railway. Initially it operated between Sheringham and Weybourne; later it was extended to the eastern edge of Holt. Until a few years ago, a horse-bus service, the “Holt Flyer”, ran between the Railway Tavern in the town centre and the new railway station, timed to connect with trains. The horse-bus has now been replaced by a Routemaster bus. There are now plans to extend the railway back towards the town centre.
Chamber of commerce
The Chamber of Trade and Commerce represents the business interests of Holt & District and provides a forum for the exchange of views. It is an independent organisation open to all the businesses in the town and surrounding area. We seek to support business interests through representation to the Town Council, North Norfolk District Council and the County Council on issues of concern. The Chamber also seeks to promote the town to the public through publicity and by supporting events and activities, both social and charitable, such as the Christmas Lights, Summer Flowers and a Summer Party.
The Chamber’s aims are:
* To create a strong collaborative voice for business
* Provide a single portal through which businesses can communicate with local Council and politicians
* Generate more business and income for local businesses
* Provide an information network
For more information or to join the Holt Chamber of Trade and Commerce, visit http://www.holtchamber-of-trade.org
© media8 2007