Norfolk - The American Connection

The links between America and Norfolk began in the 17th Century, with the early settlers leaving Norfolk to find a new life in America. Four hundred years later, this flow of people reversed, as the young airmen of the USAAF 8th Air Force came to the county to help the allied war effort. In 2007 the county marked the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English colony in the New World and one where a high number of the first settlers originated from Norfolk.

Early Links

Burnham Market

Burnham Rectory was the reputed birthplace of Admiral Lord Nelson. The original building, now demolished, was certainly his childhood home, and yew cuttings and lavender seedlings from here grow in United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Great Yarmouth

A number of "New World" settlers had their roots in Great Yarmouth. It was the birthplace of:

William Gooch who became Governor of Virginia. He negotiated the Treaty of Lancaster, which insured protection from the Indian tribes to the north and west of the colony, and was buried in Great Yarmouth. The town of Staunton, Virginia is named after his wife, Rebecca Staunton.

Thomas Willet, the first Mayor of New York was the grandson of a Yarmouth man.

William Towne from Great Yarmouth settled in Salem, and two of his daughters were accused of witchcraft during the famous witchcraft trials.

Heacham

In 1585, John Rolfe was baptised in the font, still in use in the church. He left for America, and fell in love with the native American Princess, Pocahontas, when she was held hostage in Jamestown. Their marriage ensured peace between the Indians and settlers for several years. In 1616 they returned to England and Pocahontas was presented at Court. Unfortunately, the following year, just before their return to America she felt sick, died and was buried at Gravesend in Kent. Thomas Rolfe, the son of John and Pocahontas was brought up at Heacham Hall (little of the original building is left) by his uncle Henry. He left for Virginia aged 25, and his granddaughter married Robert Bolling, from which match several Virginian families claim descent.

Hethersett

Temperence Flowerdew left Hethersett to sail to Virginia in 1609, marrying George Yardley, later Sir George Yardley, and the Governor of Virginia. Temperence therefore became the first titled lady of America.

Hingham

In the early 1630's a number of the inhabitants and their Parson, Robert Peck, sought religious freedom in America, giving the name of their former home to Hingham, Massachusetts.

Samuel Lincoln was baptised at Hingham church, and later became apprenticed to a Norwich weaver. In the spring of 1638 he and his master sailed from Great Yarmouth
to arrive in Salem at the end of June. The Lincoln family moved from Hingham, Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, then to Virginia, eventually settling in Kentucky, where Abraham Lincoln was born.

King's Lynn

Samuel Cresswell returned to King's Lynn after a five-year voyage of exploration, during which he became the first man to traverse the North-West passage.

New Hampshire was founded by John Mason, born in Lynn in 1586. In addition to later becoming Governor of Newfoundland, he published the first reliable maps of the area and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Captain John Smith, a Lincolnshire man by birth, left his apprenticeship in Lynn and signed on as an Adventurer on a Virginia bound voyage. He was chosen to serve on the Colonies governing Council, but was disliked and accused of mutiny. Once in Jamestown, the onslaught of disease and starvation led to Smith being asked to trade with the Indians. He was captured by them but saved from death by Pocahontas. He returned to England in 1609.

The Rector of St Margaret's Samuel Whiting emigrated to New England in 1636 and Lynn, Massachusetts is named in his honour.

George Vancouver was born at 23 Conduit Street and baptised at St Margaret's in 1761. He served under Captain Cook and between 1792 and 1794 surveyed the Pacific coast of America from California to Vancouver Island.

Swanton Morley

Robert Lincoln, the first known ancestor of Abraham Lincoln was churchwarden here from 1599 to 1620. His former home is now "The Angel" Inn. He later moved to Hingham, dying in 1643. Three of his four sons emigrated to America.

Thetford

Thomas Paine, the key political thinker during America's revolutionary struggle with Britain, was born in the ancient Norfolk market town of Thetford. He moved to London in 1757, writing a series of books and leaflets advocating social and political change. He then emigrated to America in 1774. His pamphlet "Common Sense" (1776) was a key contributor to American popular opinion changing to favour independence. Thomas Paine is commemorated with a statue outside Thetford town hall and a self-guided trail that interprets the Thetford of his youth.

Thompson

John Pory left Thompson to emigrate on the "Third Supply", a fleet of 9 ships carrying stores and immigrants. He became the First Secretary of the Council of Virginia.

The Eighth USAAF

The United States Army Eighth Air Force (USSAF) arrived in Norfolk in 1942. The three quarters of a million airmen of the USAAF 8th and 9th Air Forces who were based in Britain were the largest air strike force ever to be committed to battle in terms of men and machines, and the associated airfield building programme was the largest civil engineering project in this country to be carried out at that time. Their arrival had an immediate effect of the East Anglian scene and this was known as the "friendly invasion".

The majority of the 18 airfields in Norfolk were in the southern half of the county and all had similar layout. Each of these airfields was designed to be home for approximately 3,000 USAAF airmen, and their machines. The planes used by the Bombardment Groups were the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator, both of which carried nine or ten crew.

At the end of the Second World War, the USAAF was reduced to a peace time level. Today, some of the wartime sites remain unchanged and some have disappeared completely. However, traces of many airfields still exist and some are still operational, for example Horsham St Faith is now Norwich International airport. On others, abandoned long ago, an old Nissen hut or control tower, overgrown sections of runway or perimeter track still exist. It may not be much to look at but the importance of the role they played and their effect on the lives of the local inhabitants should not be forgotten.

The 18 USAAF airfields in Norfolk were: Attlebridge, Bodney, Deopham Green, East Wretham, Fersfield, Hardwick, Hethel, Horsham St Faith, North Pickenham, Old Buckenham, Rackheath, Seething, Shipdham, Snetterton Heath, Thorpe Abbots, Tibenham, >Watton, Wendling and Ketteringham Hall

Before attempting to find any of these airfields, we strongly recommend contacting the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library in Norwich, the local Tourist Information Centre or East of England Tourism to check whether access is permitted.

Download the USAAF Airfields Guide and Map (PDF)

The present day

Jamestown

Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent colony in the "New World", established in 1607, some 13 years before the Pilgrims founded Plymouth, Massachusetts. East Anglia has very strong links with Virginia since a high number of the first settlers in America originated from Norfolk and Suffolk. Celebrations to mark Jamestown's 400th anniversary took place in 2007.

Vancouver 250th Anniversary

King's Lynn celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of the great explorer Captain George Vancouver, with a week of events in June 2007.

Other Areas of Interest

The Walsingham Pilgrimage

The beautiful village of Walsingham in the heart of the North Norfolk countryside has been a Christian pilgrimage centre since the 11th century. According to legend Richeldis de Faverches, a lady of Walsingham, felt that Mary the mother of Jesus, "took her spirit to Nazareth, and requested that a replica of the Holy House at Nazareth be built at Walsingham". This becomes "England's Nazareth", a place of prayer and reconciliation and one of Europe's four great pilgrim places in the Middle Ages. The pilgrimage season at Walsingham runs from Easter to the end of October.