Fakenham
| Fakenham | |
|---|---|
Jul2006.jpg) War memorial, Fakenham |
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 Fakenham
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| Fakenham shown within Norfolk | |
| Area | 9.04 km2 (3.49 sq mi) |
| Population | 7,617 (2011 census) |
| • Density | 843/km2 (2,180/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TF918296 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FAKENHAM |
| Postcode district | NR21 |
| Dialling code | 01328 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, some 19 mi (31 km) north east of King's Lynn, 19 mi (31 km) south west of Cromer, and 25 mi (40 km) north west of Norwich.
The civil parish has an area of 3.49 sq mi (9.0 km2) and in the 2001 census had a population of 7,357 in 3,292 households, the population increasing to 7,617 at the 2011 census. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.
The name Fakenham is Saxon, possibly meaning Fair Place/Place on a Fair River, or Hamlet (Ham) on the river (Ken) Fa/Fair (Fa).
In 1086 (Domesday Book) Fakenham had only 150 residents. Hempton, on the opposite side of the river, was the larger community and had an abbey that played host to pilgrims on their way to Walsingham. Fakenham became the dominant centre when the abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII. It has been a market town since 1250, when it was given a charter. The stalls probably occupied space around the parish church of St. Peter & St. Paul. Fakenham's modern-day Thursday market is still situated very close to its original positioning and around the market place.
Its major industry in the 19th and 20th centuries was printing, but the major printworks (Cox and Wyman) closed in the 1970s. Nevertheless, there are still more than ten small printing firms in industrial premises around and near the town. A large number of printing blocks have been set into the surface of the market place as a memorial to this lost industry.
In the late 1990s the town was listed by contributor Robert Woods to The Knowhere Guide as "the most boring place on Earth". The contribution was specifically referring to Wednesday afternoon which is 'early closing' day in Fakenham. This comment, made by Woods, was taken and quoted out of context as 'voted' the most boring place on Earth" and very rapidly the story was running in national newspapers with the town council defending the town and spending considerable time, money and effort trying to prove that this was not the case. Fakenham was recently voted the seventh best place to live in Britain in Country Life's quality of life survey.
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Wikipedia