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It
is appropriate that one of the earliest historical records of Watton, Norfolk
concerns its Market. In 1202 King John granted a Market Charter but this
was challenged as being prejudicial to one in the adjoining parish of Saham
Toney, then a Royal Manor and of greater importance than Watton.
None-the-less, Watton's market won the day but resentment was rife. There
was an outbreak of violence in 1375 and grudges continued for hundreds of years,
some say even to this day. The main trade of the town was in wool and cloth,
then came butter and agriculture. Part of the town's insignia consists of a
'hare' and a 'tun', as was depicted on the original market cross in the market
square, most of which is now occupied by trade premises built between Middle
Street and the High Street in Victorian times.
The hare (wat) and the
barrel (tun) motif
 can
now be seen both on Clock Tower and atop it as the weather vane. The Watton
Clock Tower was built in 1679 by a mercer called Christopher Hey, supposedly to
house a fire warning bell after the great fire of Watton in the 1670's.
Originally
built in brick, and thought to be of a rare quality and design, the tower was
cement rendered when a new clock, the present one, was installed in 1827.
The tower has had several uses including, reputedly, as a lock up for local
miscreants.
 In
recent times, it was used as a rubbish store until being internally refurbished
as a very compact Tourist Information Center. On display inside is a
example of Watton's only known trade token, issued by Christopher Hey, and an
early photograph showing the Town Pump in front of the tower where now stands
the 'Babes in the Wood' town sign. The origins of this sign are steeped in
folk lore related to an incident at nearby Griston Hall and Wayland Wood in the
mid 16th. century.
Nowadays,
however, Watton is a busy, bustling, market town with most of its business being
done on the main high street. The market is on a Wednesday, and now also
there is a Farmer's market on the first Saturday every month, bringing shoppers
in from all over the countryside and boosting the trade in the town center
shops. There are shops of all kinds here from your local
friendly newsagent or bakery to the larger shops and supermarket. |
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Watton is a little
market town without a market square, and it serves the villages on the
edge of a large battle area. Market is along the main street on
Wednesdays, and then it is congested and almost impassable. The street
markets are a typical feature in most Saxon villages and towns.
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Watton has some 7000 inhabitants (including some surrounding
villages), and it is the centre of an area known as Wayland. There is a
Chamber of Trade and Commerce based here, which maintains a website.
On the former airbase there is the Wartime Watton Museum (open Sunday
afternoons in the summer).
It is twinned with the German town of
Weeze (pronounced vay-tzuh) on the lower Rhine. Why not visit their
website?
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St Mary's church is
peculiar, as it is wider than long, due to the addition of side sections
to accommodate the growing community. On the graveyard there are several
graves of crew members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, who died in a
crash near Watton during WW II. Visit
St Mary's webpage.
There are two
characters which should be reported about.
The Poorbox Man
(pictured on the left) is on a pillar of the west wall inside the
parish church, a carved wooden figure with the words 'Remember the Poore
1639' carved across his chest.
For hundreds of years
parishioners placed their offerings in a slot in his upturned hand, from
where the couinds slid into a box. Unfortunately, church vandals broke
into the box so often that is no longer used.
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Just north of the town centre, Loch
Neaton is a quiet recluse, popular for fishing.
Watton derives its name from the
Saxon Wadetuna, homestead of Wade. In the nearby Wayland Wood,
legend has it, the 'Babes in the Wood' were abandoned. The town sign in
front of the clock tower (shown at the top of the page), the only
building older than the great fire and today housing the tourist
information, shows the two babes, and the rabbit jumping over the barrel
reflects the town name: wat being the local dialect word for rabbit, and
ton for barrel.
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The former RAF
base at Watton, which was closed a few years ago, has been in part sold.
Some of the quarters have been made available on the local housing
market, and the airfield is being used for various events, such as the
annual Breckland Family Fair. |
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