View source for Downham Market

{{short description|Market town in Norfolk, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name = UK DownhamMarket (ClockTower).jpg
| static_image_caption = Clock Tower in Downham Market
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|52.60|0.39|display=inline,title}}
| official_name = Downham Market
| population = 9,994
| population_ref = ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122796&c=Downham+Market&d=16&e=62&g=6449109&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1440609817916&enc=1|title=Town population 2011|access-date=26 August 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205411/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122796&c=Downham+Market&d=16&e=62&g=6449109&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1440609817916&enc=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 5.20
| shire_district = [[King's Lynn and West Norfolk]]
| shire_county = [[Norfolk]]
| region = East of England
| constituency_westminster = [[South West Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|South West Norfolk]]
| post_town = DOWNHAM MARKET
| postcode_district = PE38
| postcode_area = PE
| dial_code = 01366
| os_grid_reference = TF611032
| type = [[Market town]]
}}
'''Downham Market''', sometimes simply referred to as '''Downham''', is a [[market town]] and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in [[Norfolk]], [[England]]. It lies on the edge of [[the Fens]], on the [[River Great Ouse]], approximately 11 miles south of [[King's Lynn]], 39 miles west of [[Norwich]] and 30 miles north of [[Cambridge]].<ref>Ordnance Survey (1999). ''OS Explorer Map 236 – King's Lynn, Downham Market & Swaffham''. {{ISBN|0-319-21867-8}}.</ref>

The civil parish has an area of [[1 E6 m²|5.2 km²]] and in the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] had a population of 9,994 in 4,637 households.<ref>Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20170211032229/https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/ncc017867.xls Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes]''. Retrieved 2 December 2005.</ref>
[[File:Fire Station, Downham Market. - geograph.org.uk - 170876.jpg|thumb|Fire Station in 2006, now a heritage centre]]
It was an agricultural centre, developing as a market for the produce of the Fens with a bridge across the Ouse. During the Middle Ages, it was famed for its [[butter]] market and also hosted a notable horse fair. The market is now held Fridays and Saturdays.

Notable buildings in the town include its [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[parish church]], dedicated to [[Edmund the Martyr|St Edmund]], and the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[clock tower]], constructed in 1878. The town is also known as the place where [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] hid after the [[Battle of Naseby]]. In 2004 the town completed a regeneration project on the Market Place, moving the market to the town hall car park. The decorative [[Village sign|town sign]] depicts the crown and arrows of St Edmund with horses to show the importance of the horse fairs in the town's history.

A heritage centre, Discover Downham, opened in a former fire station in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bale|first1=David|title=West Norfolk town finally gets its own heritage centre|url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/west_norfolk_town_finally_gets_its_own_heritage_centre_1_4473691|access-date=20 January 2017|date=29 March 2016}}</ref> The town is twinned with [[Civray, Vienne]], France.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://asklily.org.uk/kb5/westnorfolk/cd/service.page?id=XlZOm51XZsg|title = Downham Market Twinning Club &#124; LILY}}</ref>

== Toponymy ==
The towns name means "Hill homestead/village" with a market. The town is situated on a terrace overlooking the [[Great Ouse]].

==Governance==
For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the [[Non-metropolitan district|district]] of [[King's Lynn and West Norfolk]]. The [[Norfolk County Council]] [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral division]] of Downham Market covers a lesser area than that of the parish; the population of this division taken at the 2011 Census was 7,988.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=550807&c=Downham+Market&d=14&e=15&g=470491&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1440668247666&enc=1|title=Ward population 2011|access-date=27 August 2015}}</ref> In February 2022, eight town councillors, including the mayor Jenny Groom, resigned over claims of bullying.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2022-02-16|title=Eight Downham Market councillors resign over bullying claims|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-60395669|access-date=2022-02-16}}</ref> The town is part of [[South West Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|South West Norfolk parliamentary constituency]].

== Economy ==
Historically, Downham Market was an important market centre for the surrounding agricultural area. It incorporated a famous horse fair and weekly livestock and butter markets. There were several maltings in the town supplying the brewing trade in the town at a time when beer was often safer to drink than well water.

Before the arrival of the railway in 1846, the riverside was largely agricultural with warehousing for river transport centred on the Great Ouse at Downham West. With the coming of the railway, there was a rapid industrial and residential development into Downham Market.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Working Life|url=http://www.discoverdownham.org.uk/working-life/|access-date=2020-08-10|website=www.discoverdownham.org.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Jacob Mason Bird built his steam mill by the railway. The mill, now run by Heygates, is still known as Bird’s Mill.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Heygates flours and grains|url=http://www.heygates.co.uk/general/history/|access-date=2020-08-10|website=www.heygates.co.uk}}</ref> Other industries grew as the railway became the focus for warehousing, the loading of cattle and products, and the building of railway housing.

Today, Downham Market has seen rapid residential development and has become commuter town for [[Cambridge]]. The town has a market on Fridays and Saturdays.

== Landmarks ==

=== Town clock ===
The Town Clock, erected by William Cunliffe in 1878, is a [[Grade II listed]] structure. Made of cast iron, the clock was originally bronzed and relieved on the prominent parts with gold. Later the clock was painted bottle green, and its current black-and-white finish was applied during the 2004 restoration.<ref>{{Cite web|title=All about our clock|url=https://www.downhamweb.co.uk/features/all-about-our-clock/|access-date=2020-08-05|website=downhamweb|language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== War memorial ===
The town's [[war memorial]] stands at the junction of London Road and Church Road. It was dedicated in October 1921 to the dead of [[World War I]]. It was paid for by public subscription and built by H. J. Long, a local stonemason. The memorial originally commemorated 73 local servicemen who fell in the First World War with the names of the dead of [[World War II]] added later. In 2005, Evelyn Irene Murrell, who died in 1918,<ref>{{Cite web|title=In Memory of Evelyn Irene Murrell|url=http://ww1norfolk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Murrell-Evelyn-Irene.pdf}}</ref> a member of the [[Women's Royal Air Force (World War I)|WRAF]] was belatedly added to the list of names. The memorial bears the crown-and-arrows symbol of the town and of the martyred King [[Edmund the Martyr|St Edmund of East Anglia]] to whom the church is dedicated.

=== Notable buildings ===
[[File:The Town Hall in Downham Market, Norfolk (geograph 5103895).jpg|thumb|[[Downham Market Town Hall]]]]
[[File:Downham Market - Castle Hotel - 20220613110926.jpg|thumb|Castle Hotel in 2022]]
Downham Market is sometimes known as the "Gingerbread Town" because of the characteristic local [[carrstone]] used for buildings since medieval times.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} 

St Edmund's Church is a good example of this and is Downham's only [[Grade I listed]] building. It stands in a prominent position overlooking the flat Fenlands to the west. The church, like the town, was probably an [[Anglo-Saxon]] foundation but rebuilt in the 13th-century ([[English Gothic architecture|Early English period]]) and extensively altered in the 15th and 16th centuries ([[Perpendicular architecture|Perpendicular]] and [[Tudor architecture|Tudor]] periods).<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Church of St Edmund|num=1342608| access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref>

The Old Court House, located on London Road, was where the magistrates dispensed justice in the Clackclose Hundred from 1861.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Magistrates Court Complex|num= 1342624|access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/gallery/2017/jul/24/a-former-courthouse-downham-market-in-pictures|title=A former courthouse – in pictures|date=24 July 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref>

The Castle Hotel is Grade II listed and features a distinctive battlemented parapet. It is a mainly 18th-century building, but the core is probably earlier.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1170776|desc=Castle Hotel|grade=II}}</ref> In the past, visitors stayed here for hunting, shooting and fishing in the local area. The hotel had its own transport to and from railway station, and out on shooting parties. The building closed as a hotel and restaurant in 2020 and is set to be redeveloped into flats.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bishop|first=Chris|date=2020-02-25|title=Historic hotel set to close and be turned into flats|url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/lifestyle/heritage/castle-hotel-downham-market-closing-1520712|access-date=2021-05-03|website=Eastern Daily Press|language=en-UK}}</ref>

[[Downham Market Town Hall]], on the west side of the old Market Hill, was built by public subscription in 1887/8.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Town Hall|num=1342634|access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref>

Opposite the Town Hall is a coaching inn, the Crown Hotel. Just inside the arched entrance are steps leading to a [[mounting block]] for horsemen. Before the Court House was built, magistrates met here. In May 1816 it was the scene of [[Ely and Littleport riots of 1816|riots]] when the magistrates were besieged by angry, starving agricultural labourers demanding a living wage of two shillings a day and the release of poachers. Two of the Downham rioters, Daniel Harwood and Thomas Thody, were hanged on 31 August 1816.<ref>{{cite book|page=93|last=Peacock|first=A J|title=Bread Or Blood A study of the agrarian riots in East Anglia: 1816|year=1965|publisher=Victor Gollancz|location=London}}</ref>

The 18th-century Dial House, located on Station Road, was once a private school for gentlemen in the 1860s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dial House {{!}} West Norfolk {{!}} Bed and Breakfasts {{!}} Go See Norfolk|url=http://www.goseenorfolk.com/accommodation-in-norfolk/1031-dial-house|access-date=2020-08-05|website=www.goseenorfolk.com}}</ref> Its name is derived from the sundial painted high on the wall. Today the building is a bed and breakfast.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dial House Bed and Breakfast Bed & Breakfast Accommodation|url=https://www.uktourismonline.co.uk/entry.php?id=3426&type=2|access-date=2021-05-03|website=www.uktourismonline.co.uk|language=en}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Downhammarkets.jpg|thumb|[[Downham Market railway station]]]]

=== Rail ===
The town is served by [[Downham Market railway station]], which is on the [[Fen Line]] between London and King's Lynn. It opened in 1846. The station has hourly services to [[London King's Cross railway station|London Kings Cross]] and {{rws|King's Lynn}} operated by [[Govia Thameslink Railway|Great Northern]].

The town [[signal box]] is one of five rare examples across the region to have been granted Grade II listed status in 2013. The [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]] listed 26 signal boxes across the country as part of a joint project between [[Network Rail]] and [[English Heritage]] to secure the nation's railway signalling heritage. Downham's signal box was built in 1881 for the [[Great Eastern Railway]].<ref name="Church">{{NHLE|num=1414022|desc=Downham Market Signal Box|access-date=20 January 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, the station was renovated to commemorate former [[British Rail]] division [[Network SouthEast]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bishop|first=Chris|date=2017-04-28|title=Makeover for Downham Market station|url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/red-white-and-blue-makeover-for-downham-market-railway-station-1021082|access-date=2021-07-22|website=Eastern Daily Press|language=en-UK}}</ref>

=== Bus ===
The town is served on Mondays - Saturdays by [[Lynx (bus company)|Lynx]] route 37 to [[Southery]] and [[King's Lynn]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=37 {{!}} Lynx|url=https://www.lynxbus.co.uk/bus-routes/37/|access-date=2020-08-04|website=www.lynxbus.co.uk}}</ref> and by less regular "Go to town" services 47, 60 and 61 to [[Fincham]], [[Three Holes]], [[Swaffham]] and King's Lynn.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gtt-online.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Services-60-61-62-47.pdf|title=WISBECH – DOWNHAM MKT – SWAFFHAM via Outwell & Three Hole WELNEY – DOWNHAM MARKET via Outwell, Three Holes 60,61 & 62 {{!}} DOWNHAM MARKET – KING'S LYNN via Stowbridge and Magdalen 47}}</ref> There are no buses serving the town on Sundays.

=== Road ===
Downham Market is on the north–south [[A10 road (England)|A10]] road from London to King's Lynn. The east-west A1122 from [[Outwell]] to [[Swaffham]] runs south of the town.

=== River ===
The [[River Great Ouse]] and Great Ouse Relief Channel flows through the western boundary of the town. 

The [[Great Ouse Relief Channel]] was made navigable in 2001, when the [[Environment Agency]] constructed a lock at Denver to provide access. Moorings are located next to the Station Road bridge.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-11-24|title=The River Great Ouse & Cam|url=http://www.jonesboatyard.co.uk/river-great-ouse/|access-date=2020-08-05|website=Jones Boatyard|language=en-GB}}</ref> The river is a popular spot for boating and swimming.

==Education==
There are two [[primary school]]s in Downham Market: Hillcrest Primary School and Nelson Academy.

Nelson Academy, situated on Nursery Road, was originally named Clackclose Community Primary School after Clackclose [[Hundreds of Norfolk|Hundred]]. The school opened in 1873 on Snape Lane. It was the first primary education academy sponsored by the [[CWA Academy Trust]], founded by the [[College of West Anglia]], in 2014. It is named after [[Lord Nelson]] who, according to local [[folklore]], attended his first school in Downham Market.<ref>[http://nelsonacademy.co.uk/about-us/ "About Us"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702080339/http://nelsonacademy.co.uk/about-us/ |date=2 July 2017 }}, Nelson Academy. Retrieved 6 September 2014.</ref>

Hillcrest Primary School is on Bexwell Road, and was opened in 1980 as Hillcrest First and Middle School. It is named after Hillcrest, the road connecting Bexwell Road and Civray Avenue. In 2018, the school began work on a new £4.5m nine classroom building.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hussain|first=Sarah|date=2019-11-04|title=One of Norfolk's biggest primary schools celebrates 40 years since opening|url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/hillcrest-primary-school-in-downham-market-celebrates-its-40th-anniversary-1472778|access-date=2021-07-22|website=Eastern Daily Press|language=en-UK}}</ref>

[[Downham Market Academy]], formerly Downham Market GM High School, is a [[secondary school]] and [[sixth form]] with [[Academy (English school)|academy status]], The academy was launched on 1 July 2013, sponsored by the [[CWA Academy Trust]] founded by the [[College of West Anglia]]. Teaching is shared between two sites, with the main Bexwell campus housing pupils years 7–11 (ages 11–16) and the Downham Market Academy Sixth Form (formerly Downham Market College) campus offering A-levels to sixth form pupils years 12–13 (ages 16–18).

Downham [[Preparatory school (United Kingdom)|Preparatory School]] and Montessori Nursery is a non-selective Independent Preparatory School for girls and boys aged three months to 13 years. The school was founded by its present (2021) owner, Elizabeth Laffeaty-Sharpe, in 1984 for children aged two to five years.

The Priory Centre holds the Downham Market Library.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/libraries-local-history-and-archives/libraries/your-local-library/locations-and-opening-times/downham-market|title = Downham Market Library - Norfolk County Council}}</ref>

==Media==
Local news and television programmes are provided by [[BBC East]] and [[ITV Anglia]]. Television signals are received from either the [[Tacolneston transmitting station|Tacolneston]] or [[Sandy Heath transmitting station|Sandy Heath]] TV transmitters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Tacolneston|title= Full Freeview on the Tacolneston (Norfolk, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=19 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Sandy_Heath|title=Full Freeview on the Sandy Heath (Central Bedfordshire, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=19 October 2023}}</ref> It is also possible to receive reception from the [[Belmont transmitting station|Belmont transmitter]] which broadcasts [[BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire]] and [[ITV Yorkshire]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Belmont|title=Belmont (Lincolnshire, England) Full Freeview transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=19 October 2023}}</ref> and the [[Waltham transmitting station|Waltham]] TV transmitter that broadcast [[BBC East Midlands]] and [[ITV Central]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Waltham|title= Full Freeview on the Waltham (Leicestershire, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=19 October 2023}}</ref> 

Local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Norfolk]], [[Heart East]], [[KL.FM 96.7|Greatest Hits Radio West Norfolk]], Radio West Norfolk<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.radiowestnorfolk.co.uk/ |title= Radio West Norfolk |access-date= 19 October 2023}}</ref> and KL1 Radio, which broadcast from [[Kings Lynn]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kl1radio.co.uk/ |title=KL1 Radio |access-date= 19 October 2023}}</ref>

Newspapers covering the town include the ''[[Lynn News]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/ |title=Lynn News |access-date= 19 October 2023}}</ref> ''Your Local Paper''<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.yourlocalpaper.co.uk/|title= Your Local Paper |access-date= 19 October 2023}}</ref> and the ''[[Eastern Daily Press]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-eang/east-anglian-daily-times/|title=Eastern Daily Press|date=23 June 2014|website=British Papers|accessdate=19 October 2023}}</ref>

==Sport and leisure==
The War Memorial Playing Fields includes a children's playground, tennis courts and a multi-purpose sports court. A [[non-league football]] club, [[Downham Town F.C.|Downham Town]], plays at the Memorial Field.

The Willows nature reserve was once one of the town's [[brickfield]]s.

The Jubilee Community Centre, located on Howdale Road, hosts local workshops, classes, childcare and community events. The Community Centre has a large field adjacent. 

The Downham Market Heritage Centre includes interactive displays focused on local history. The centre includes free Wi-Fi, an internet café and research facilities with small library.

==Notable residents==
* [[George William Manby]] (1765–1854), inventor of the [[Manby mortar]] and the first modern form of fire extinguisher, was educated in the town.
* [[George Henry Dashwood (antiquary)|George Henry Dashwood]] (1801–1869), antiquary, was born in the town.
* [[Golding Bird]] (1814–1854), Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, became an authority on kidney diseases.
* [[Oswald Baker]] (1915–2004), controversial Catholic priest, originally at [[St Dominic, Downham Market]] and later had his own chapel.
* [[Michael Carroll (lottery winner)|Michael Carroll]], lottery winner and self-proclaimed "King of Chavs" once lived in the town.
* [[Jim Russell (racing driver)|Jim Russell]] (1920–2019), former racing driver.
* [[Patrick Holman]] (1945–), [[cricket]]er, was born in the town.
* [[Richard Murphy (political economist)|Richard Murphy]] (1958–), political economist.
* [[Liz Truss]] (1975–), former Conservative MP for [[South West Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|South West Norfolk]] and former British Prime Minister.
{{clear}}

==See also==
*[[RAF Downham Market]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Downham%20Market Key to English Place-names]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.origins.org.uk/genuki/NFK/places/d/downham_market/ Information from Genuki Norfolk] on Downham Market.
*[http://www.downhammarkettowncouncil.org.uk/ Downham Market Town Council]
*[http://www.discoverdownham.org.uk/ Discover Downham: Downham Market Heritage Society]

{{Norfolk}}
{{River Great Ouse}}

{{Civil Parishes of King's Lynn and West Norfolk}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Downham Market| ]]
[[Category:Populated places on the River Great Ouse]]
[[Category:Market towns in Norfolk]]
[[Category:King's Lynn and West Norfolk]]
[[Category:Towns in Norfolk]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Norfolk]]