Why Flegg Island?
When the Romans arrived at Caister 2000 years ago the Flegg area
was very different. It would have been possible to have walked
north from Caister to Winterton but then your progress northward
would have been halted by a large shallow estuary. The Hundred
Stream, which now flows south-west into the River Thurne, was
then flowing eastward into the North Sea. To the east was the
North Sea so you may well have turned west hoping to find somewhere
to cross. If you were not prepared to get your feet wet, after a
very long walk, you’d have arrived back at Caister.
One obvious feature of the Flegg area is that even now it is almost completely surrounded by water of one sort or another. To the north is the Hundred Stream which flows southwest into Somerton. It then joins the River Thurne which continues to flow in more or less the same direction until the River Thurne itself joins the River Bure. The River Bure then forms much of the western and southern boundery of the Flegg area.
Flegg Broads
At the very centre of Flegg are the Trinity Broads. The most
northerly of these is Rollesby Broad, the central one Ormesby
Broad and the most southerly, Filby Broad. There is a small
sailing club on Rollesby Broad and the Norfolk Schools’ Sailing
Association has the use of Filby Broad. The only other craft to
be found are rowing boats used either by anglers or those out
for a pleasant row. There’s not a single motor cruiser or yacht
to be seen. The broads drain into the River Bure via Fleggburgh
Muck Fleet. I have seen it referred to, incorrectly, as the Musk
Fleet. As a young lad I once fell in it and I can assure you
that ‘Muck’ describes it far more accurately than ‘Musk’!
Further north, in the village of Martham, is yet another broad which is fed, and drained, by the River Thurne. Martham Broad is quite different in origin, having been formed by the extraction of clay in the Middle Ages whilst the larger and much deeper Trinity Broads were formed by peat cutting in medieval times.
Village Place–names
The majority are Danish in origin with a few interesting
exceptions. The majority of village names end in ‘by’. Of these,
Filby is the only village whose name can be compared with an
existing village in Denmark, namely that of Fielby. There are
only three other villages elsewhere in Norfolk with the ‘by’
ending. Neither Winterton nor Somerton appear to be Danish but
in Lincolnshire there’s another area which also has a large
number of Danish place–names. Amongst these are two more
villages named Winterton and Somerton. Caister is of Roman
origin. Repps, Bastwick, Thurne and Martham are Old English
names. Flegg itself is probably Old Norse, meaning a place where
water plants or flags could be found. This just leaves the
hamlet of California. On May 11th, 1848 a quantity of sixteenth
century gold coins was found at the foot of the cliffs at
Scratby. A group of Winterton beachmen must have concluded that
the cliff above the site of the find would make a good site for
a new lookout. At the same time the California gold rush in
America was much in the news. The beachmen decided that their
new site needed a name – and California, Norfolk came into
being. By 1851 houses were being built there. By 1861 when the
next population census was taking place the population of this
new hamlet had risen to almost two hundred. By 1870 over forty
houses had been built, plus the original California Tavern. It
was in one of these houses, overlooking the sea, that my father
was born in 1900.
The two most populous villages are Caister and Martham. The village of Runham, one of the most southerly areas of Flegg, has lost its pub and school within the last thirty years or so.
Transport
The three most important roads are the B1159 coast road through
Caister, Ormesby, Hemsby and Winterton, the A1064 from Caister
through Filby and Fleggburgh which leads on to Acle and Norwich
and the A149 through Ormesby, Rollesby and Repps with Bastwick.
There are many more minor roads which traverse the countryside.
One interesting point is that Fadon’s map of Norfolk, dated 1797
shows many more roads which have now disappeared! Another
interesting point is that all three roads mentioned cross
bridges. You’ll have to look hard to notice the one over the
Hundred Stream but it’s there, nevertheless. The only way that
one can leave Flegg Island without crossing water is to walk
northwards along the beach or dunes from Winterton into the
parish of Horsey.
Rail transport first came to the Flegg area when the railway line between Great Yarmouth and Ormesby opened on 7th August, 1877. Hemsby railway station opened on 16th May, 1878 and on 15th July in the same year the railway line reached Martham. The line was to remain open until 2nd March, 1959.
Did You Know?
Centuries ago Scratby had its own parish church. It was
demolished in 1548 and the curacy transferred to Ormesby St.
Margaret which in that same year had the curacy of Ormesby St.
Michael transferred to it as well.
Although Flegg Island cannot boast the likes of Stonehenge, a polished flint axe-head has been found in Rollesby. It could have been manufactured any time between 2500 and 6000 years ago.
Flegg Island boasts its own castle whose history is well documented. It was built in Caister on the site of a former manor house. Building commenced on 6th January, 1433 and was finally completed in 1448. What makes the castle unique is that it was the first castle in England to be built of brick. It is open to the public.
The highest point on Flegg Island is 22m above sea level. It lies just north of Blood Hills in Somerton. Just south of Blood Hills lies Gibbet Hill.
And finally – Parish Records
