Earlham
Earlham lies on the western side of
Norwich.
Earlham Hall was mainly built during the seventeenth
century and later became the home of the Gurney family
who were influential Norwich Quakers. (Many members of
the Gurney family are buried in the Gildencroft Cemetery
off St. Augustine's Street.)
Earlham Hall Today
Today the hall houses the
University of East Anglia's Law School. This is how
George Borrow described Earlham Hall in his
autobiographical novel Lavengro:
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'On the right side is a green level, a smiling meadow,
grass of the richest decks the side of the slope; mighty
trees also adorn it, giant elms, the nearest of which,
when the sun is nigh its meridian, fling a broad shadow
upon the face of the ancient brick of an old English
Hall. It has a stately look, that old building,
indistinctly seen, as it is, among the umbrageous
trees.' |
Percy Lubbock (1879--1965) - the critic and
biographer - grew up at Earlham Hall and Earlham
(1922) is an account of his
childhood. Here is the opening paragraph:
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'The slightest turn of memory takes me back at any time
to Earlham, to the big sunny hall where we used to
assemble for morning prayers. The shallow staircase
descended on one side by the great front-door. Opposite
to it another door opened to the garden, and through two
wide windows, tangled with roses and vines, the
sun-shine welled into the house.' |
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The River Yare at
Earlham Park
In Earlham there is also a nice
description of the River Yare:
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'The river at Earlham was simply the river; I never
thought of its possessing a name upon the county-map. It
does possess one, however, and a name not
undistinguished among the waters of East Anglia - the
river Yare. Early in its course it reaches Earlham; it
twinkles over gravel and water-cress to the brick
archway of the bridge, turns suddenly black and silent
in the fishing-pool, and winds idly away through the
Earlham meadows, a full-fed stream, deep enough to carry
us in our broad-beamed old boat.' |
Links:
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Supported
by Norfolk Tourism