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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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King's Lynn
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(41,000 in 1991) Town in Norfolk, on the Great Ouse about 5km/3m from its entry to the Wash, of importance from medieval times both as port and market town. The market places are still the two main squares. Saturday Market is flanked by the 12–14C church of St Margaret (containing two spectacular 14C *brasses) and by the early 15C Guildhall of the Holy Trinity, with a chequerboard façade of flint and stone. Facing Tuesday Market is St George's Guildhall, also early 15C, the largest surviving medieval guildhall in the country.
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The town's continuing prosperity is revealed in a great many excellent houses of the 17–18C, chief among them the Customs House of 1683, designed by a local architect who was also mayor, Henry Bell (1647–1711). The town is more often referred to locally as Lynn, the royal addition being granted only in a charter of 1537 from Henry VIII.
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