King's Lynn, Norfolk | |
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From upper left: statue of George Vancouver (foreground) and the Custom House (background), Majestic Cinema, South Gate, St Margaret's Church, Vancouver Quarter |
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King's Lynn, Norfolk shown within Norfolk | |
Population | 42,800 (2007) |
• London | 97 miles (156 km) |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | KING'S LYNN |
Postcode district | PE30 |
Dialling code | 01553 |
Police | Norfolk |
Fire | Norfolk |
Ambulance | East of England |
EU Parliament | East of England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | www.west-norfolk.gov.uk |
King's Lynn /ˌkɪŋz ˈlɪn/, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn, is a seaport and market town in Norfolk, England, 97 miles (156 km) north of London and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800.
The town has two theatres, museums and other cultural and sporting venues. There are three secondary schools and one college. The service sector, information and communication technologies and creative industries, provide employment for the population of King's Lynn and the surrounding area.
1101
The Bishop of Norwich gives the people of Lynn the right to hold weekly markets and annual fairs
The etymology of King's Lynn is uncertain. The name Lynn is said to be derived from the body of water near the town: the Celtic word Llyn, means a lake; but the name is plausibly of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the word Lean, implying a tenure in fee or farm. As the Domesday Book mentions many saltings at Lena (Lynn), an area of partitioned pools or small lakes may have existed here at that time (1085). The salt may even have contributed to Herbert de Losinga's interest in this modest parish.
For a time it was named Len Episcopi (Bishop's Lynn) while under the jurisdiction, both temporal and spiritual, of the Bishop of Norwich; but during the reign of Henry VIII it was surrendered to the crown, and it then assumed the name of Lenne Regis, or King's Lynn.