Great Yarmouth History

Great Yarmouth and the Church

The church which stands at the northern end of the Market Place was started in 1119 and is dedicated to St Nicholas the patron saint of mariners. In time this church grew in size and by the 19th century is was thought to be the largest parish church in England. Medieval Great Yarmouth's prominence is confrmed by the number of religious houses it supported. A Benedictine Priory was attached to St Nicolas's church in the 12th century. Part of this priory survives in the grounds of the nearby Hospital School. The Dominican Blackfriars, Franciscian Greyfriars, Carmelites or Whitefriars and Augustines all had monastries in the town. Apart from some remnants, just off South Quay, of the Francisician Greyfriars monastery nothing remains of these religious orders who were at one time so prominent in the life of Great Yarmouth.

Ruins Greyfriars Monastery - South Quay