King's Lynn Stadium

King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a seaport and market town in Norfolk, England, 98 miles (158 km) north of London, 36 miles (58 km) north-east of Peterborough, 44 miles (71 km) north-north-east of Cambridge and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich. The population is 42,800.

History

Toponymy

The etymology of King's Lynn is uncertain. The name Lynn may signify a body of water near the town – the Welsh word llyn means a lake; but the name is plausibly of Anglo-Saxon origin, from lean meaning a tenure in fee or farm. As the 1085 Domesday Book mentions saltings at Lena (Lynn), an area of partitioned pools may have existed there at the time. The presence of salt, which was relatively rare and expensive in the early Medieval period, may have added to the interest of Herbert de Losinga and other prominent Normans in the modest parish.

The town was named Len Episcopi (Bishop's Lynn) while under the temporal and spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of Norwich; but in the reign of Henry VIII it was surrendered to the crown and took the name of Lenne Regis or King's Lynn. Domesday records it as Lun and Lenn, and ascribes it to the Bishop of Elmham and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The town is generally known locally as Lynn. The city of Lynn, Massachusetts, north of Boston, was named in 1637 in honour of its first official minister of religion, Samuel Whiting, who arrived there from Lynn, Norfolk.

Middle Ages

Lynn originated on a constricted site south of where the River Great Ouse now discharges into the Wash. Development began in the early 10th century, but the place was not recorded until the early 11th century. Until the early 13th century, the Great Ouse emptied via the Wellstream at Wisbech. After its redirection, Lynn and its port gained significance and prosperity.

In 1101, Bishop Herbert de Losinga of Thetford began to build the first