Fakenham and District Community Archive

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Fakenham and District Community Archive Based in Fakenham Norfolk, we are an enthusiastic group of volunteers who are dedicated to building

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - November 2026Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Co...
30/10/2026

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - November 2026
Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’ articles which have appeared each month since December 2011. For those who may not receive a printed edition there is an opportunity to view the current article, as well as those from previous editions on our website. https://fakenhamcommunityarchive.weebly.com/local-history-corner.html

I wonder how many of us remember the years of industrial unrest in the 1970s, caused by the dreaded ‘stagflation’? Stagflation is the painful economic condition combining stagnant economic growth, high unemployment and rapidly rising prices all at the same time. In the 70s it was caused by huge increases in the cost of oil from the Middle East, causing inflation to peak at a staggering 24.2%.

The effect locally can be seen in our photo, showing what happened when the workers in our national bakeries went on strike in 1977, demanding a 66% increase in wages to keep up with inflation. So while there was no Mothers Pride on the supermarket shelves the small independent local bakeries did a roaring trade, working flat out to meet local demand, but still having to ration customers to one loaf per family. Despite this, the queue shown here at Oglesby’s bakery in Bridge Street in 1977 seem quite cheerful! (And the national bakery workers eventually returned to work, accepting a modest 14% increase in their wages.
Another result of the bread strike was that many people learned to make their own bread at home and found they enjoyed bread made with different grains instead of eating the sliced white that had been standard fare at that time.

If you enjoy looking back at how we lived in the past, do come along to our monthly public session in Fakenham Parish Church, held on the last Tuesday of every month, when you can bring in photos to be added to the archive or browse the whole collection in scrapbooks and laptops.

Our next public session will be in the church on Tuesday 17th November from 2.00 - 4.00 pm, a week earlier than usual because of the Christmas Tree Festival. This is where you can learn more about the history of our town and surrounding villages and share your own memories. A donation of £3 includes tea and delicious home-made cake and helps to cover our expenses.
We look forward to seeing you!
Chris Chalk
Secretary, Fakenham and District Community Archive
Photo kindly donated from the Austin Gill collection

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - October 2026Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Cor...
01/10/2026

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - October 2026
Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’ articles which have appeared each month since December 2011. For those who may not receive a printed edition there is an opportunity to view the current article, as well as those from previous editions on our website. https://fakenhamcommunityarchive.weebly.com/local-history-corner.html

Millers Walk was built in the centre of Fakenham in March 1988. To mark the occasion Fakenham Local History Society, under the chairmanship of local historian Jim Baldwin, invited TV person-ality Dick Joice to bury a time capsule at the end of the shopping arcade, near what is currently Papworths butchers. The capsule contains 100 items: a sealed copy of The Times newspaper, business cards, photographs, coins, an old Barclaycard, details about house prices, holiday brochures, Post Office savings books and other information about Fakenham that was current in 1988.

A plaque on the wall above Greggs bakery still marks the location - see our photo. This will help people in the future find the capsule and wonder over its contents if the mall is ever redeveloped.

Dick Joice (1921-1999) - who is shown in the other photo with Jim Baldwin and Dick’s dog, Honey - was bom in Great Ryburgh, a Norfolk farmer and pioneering Anglia Television presenter, best known for hosting the regional nostalgia show Bygones and the farming series Farming Diary. He took over his father’s tenant farm on the Townshend estate in East Raynham.

Launched in 1967, Bygones became a massive regional hit. Joice showcased traditional crafts, local history and odd rural implements, famously asking viewers, “Does anyone know what this was used for?"

The programme ran for two decades under his helm, capturing the hearts of East Anglian viewers, who voted it Anglia Television’s favourite show of all time. He also served as a director and head of local programmes for the station during its early years.

You can see many more local photos of everyday life over the years on this website or by coming along to one of our monthly public session in Fakenham Parish Church, held on the last Tuesday of every month, when you can bring in photos to be added to the archive or browse the whole collection.

Our next public session will be in the church on Tuesday 27th October from 2.00 - 4.00 pm. This is where you can learn more about the history of our town and surrounding villages and share your own memories.

A donation of £3 includes tea and cake and helps to cover our expenses. We look forward to seeing you!

Chris Chalk
Secretary, Fakenham & District Community Archive

Photos kindly donated by Denise Jennings and Archant Newspapers

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - September 2026Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History C...
31/08/2026

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - September 2026
Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’ articles which have appeared each month since December 2011. For those who may not receive a printed edition there is an opportunity to view the current article, as well as those from previous editions on our website. https://fakenhamcommunityarchive.weebly.com/local-history-corner.html

This photo, taken in an unknown location, is one of many we have in our archive showing the team work needed to bring the harvest home on our local farms every autumn. It was a matter of getting every able-bodied person on the farm – man, woman or child – involved in the task while the weather held. In this case, we notice there’s also the local policeman and a dog posing for the photographer!

You can see many more local photos of everyday life over the years on our website; You could also come along to our monthly public session in Fakenham Parish Church, held on the last Tuesday of every month, when you can bring in photos to be added to the archive or browse the whole collection on our laptops and in old scrapbooks.

Our next public session will be in the church on Tuesday 29th September from 2.00 - 4.00 pm. This is where you can learn more about the history of our town and surrounding villages and share your own memories. A donation of £3 includes tea and cake and helps to cover our expenses. We look forward to seeing you!

Chris Chalk
Secretary, Fakenham and District Community Archive
Photo kindly donated by John Holliday

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - August 2026Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corn...
01/08/2026

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - August 2026
Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’ articles which have appeared each month since December 2011. For those who may not receive a printed edition there is an opportunity to view the current article, as well as those from previous editions on our website. https://fakenhamcommunityarchive.weebly.com/local-history-corner.html

This month's photo from the archive shows people enjoying the Whitsun Fair held on Hempton Green in May 1910. On the left hand side of the photo we can see people enjoying the swingboats, and opposite them a row of fairground stalls. Standing in the background is the old windmill, demolished during the Second World War in order to remove a landmark that could have been used by German bombers. (This is now the site of Mill Court.) And of course everyone is wearing a hat or cap of some kind, even the young boys. It seems no one in Edwardian times felt they were properly dressed unless they wore a hat!

You can see many more photos of Hempton over the years on this website: We hold a public session in Fakenham Parish Church on the last Tuesday of every month, when you can watch a slideshow, bring in photos to be added to the archive or browse the whole collection on our laptops and in old scrapbooks.

Our next public session will be in the church on Tuesday 25th August from 2.00 - 4.00 pm. Here you can learn more about the history of our town and surrounding villages and share your own memories. A donation of £3 includes tea and cake and helps to cover our expenses. We look forward to seeing you!

Chris Chalk
Secretary, Fakenham and; District Community Archive

This morning we were delighted to share a couple of hours with the lovely people at the Wensum Dementia Cafe in Hempton....
10/07/2026

This morning we were delighted to share a couple of hours with the lovely people at the Wensum Dementia Cafe in Hempton. Our slideshow of pictures from Fakenham past brought back so many happy memories for all.

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - July 2026Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner...
01/07/2026

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - July 2026
Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’ articles which have appeared each month since December 2011. For those who may not receive a printed edition there is an opportunity to view the current article, as well as those from previous editions on our website. https://fakenhamcommunityarchive.weebly.com/local-history-corner.html

In April 1970 a charity football match was held on Fakenham’s Queens Road playing field (now the Millennium Park between two teams, all employees at Fakenham’s Cox & Wyman print works. The women’s team were the ‘The Red Ravers’, and the men’s team dressed themselves in women’s clothes. As you can see from the photos, the players didn’t take themselves too seriously, and we believe the final score was declared a draw at 0-0. Proceeds were in aid of the extension of Wells Cottage Hospital.

We have the names of all the women who took part but only two of the men. Can anyone identify the missing men? If so, please contact us on 01328 863377 or email us via the ‘contact us’ section of this website.

We hold a public session in Fakenham Parish Church on the last Tuesday of every month, when you can bring in photos to be added to the archive or browse the whole archive on our laptops and in old scrapbooks.
Our next public session will be in the church on Tuesday 28th July from 2.00 - 4.00 pm.

Here you can learn about the history of our town and surrounding villages and share your own memories.
A donation of £3 includes tea and cake and helps to cover our expenses. We look forward to seeing you!

Chris Chalk
Secretary, Fakenham & District Community Archive

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - June 2026Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner...
31/05/2026

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - June 2026
Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’ articles which have appeared each month since December 2011. For those who may not receive a printed edition there is an opportunity to view the current article, as well as those from previous editions on our website. https://fakenhamcommunityarchive.weebly.com/local-history-corner.html

This month’s photo was taken nearly 50 years ago, on the 24th June 1977, the day of the Annual Small School Sports. The winner was the team from West Raynham, as noted by the Headmistress, Mrs Carr, in her log book; ‘The Annual Small School Sports were held today at Syderstone School. For the first time a cup was presented to the school with most points – and that school was West Raynham! The children were over the moon!!’
Names of the children taking part are shown in the photograph, but we are puzzled as to exactly where the event was held, as Syderstone School closed in 1961, when it became the Amy Robsart village hall.
Can anyone remember this event and help us to identify where it was held? You can contact us on 01328 863377 or email us via the ‘contact us’ section of our website

We hold a public session in Fakenham Parish Church on the last Tuesday of every month, when you can bring in photos to be added to the archive or browse the archive on our laptops and in old scrapbooks. Our next public session will be in the church on Tuesday 30th June between 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm. Here you can learn a lot about the history of our town and surrounding villages and share your own memories. A voluntary donation of £3 includes tea and cake and helps to cover our expenses.

Chris Chalk
Secretary, Fakenham & District Community Archive

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - May 2026Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’...
01/05/2026

LOCAL HISTORY CORNER - May 2026
Readers of the Wensum Advertiser will be familiar with our regular ‘Local History Corner’ articles which have appeared each month since December 2011. For those who may not receive a printed edition there is an opportunity to view the current article, as well as those from previous editions on our website. https://fakenhamcommunityarchive.weebly.com/local-history-corner.html

Back in March 2014, James Howes, whose father Bob was the full-time youth leader at Fakenham Youth & Community Centre (now the Council Offices), kindly allowed us to digitally preserve his father’s scrapbook of priceless memories, enabling us to create a whole page on our community archive website devoted to the many activities of Fakenham Youth Club.

More recently Michael Smith, contacted us with this photograph of the club, showing some of the members and his mother Joyce, who was a volunteer helper there during the late 1950s and early 60s.

If you attended the youth club in Fakenham during the 1950s, 60s or 70s and recognise anyone in this photo or have your own photos or memories of Fakenham Youth Club that you'd like to share with us we’d love to hear from you. You can contact us on 01328 863377 or email us via the ‘contact’ section of this website.

We hold a public session in Fakenham Parish Church on the last Tuesday of every month, when you can bring in photos to be added to our records of local life, also browse the whole archive on our laptops and in old scrapbooks.

Our next public session will be in the church on Tuesday 26th May between 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm. At this sociable afternoon you can learn a lot about the history of our town and surrounding villages and share your own memories. A voluntary donation of £3 includes refreshments and helps to cover our expenses. We hope to see you there!

Chris Chalk
Secretary, Fakenham & District Community

Photo kindly donated by Michael Smith.

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