Fritton
Fritton lies on the
A143 approximately five miles south west of
Great Yarmouth. (There
is another village in Norfolk called Fritton - close to
Long Stratton.)
Fritton is probably best known for Fritton Lake -
through which the Norfolk-Suffolk border now runs.
Reedbeds at Fritton
(Photo by Stephen Mole)
The novelist James Blyth (1864-1933) lived in the
village - and its marshes and reed beds by the
River Waveney provided
the backdrop for most of his books. Here is a
description from The Smallholder (1908) :
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'The vast flat land stretched its marsh and dykes to the
horizon. The spirits of the marsh were awakening, their
influence was hovering in the reek and murk of the
coming night. The cries of lapwings wailed aloft.' |
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He was originally educated at the
Norwich School by Augustus Jessopp
(see Scarning) and at Cambridge
University. He then worked as a solicitor in London
until 1898, when he suddenly changed his name by deed
poll (he was originally Henry Clabburn) and returned to
rural Norfolk.
He was a somewhat eccentric character - but managed to
eke out a meagre living from his writing. His first
novel was entitled Juicy Joe: A Romance of the
Norfolk Marshlands and was published in 1903. He went on
to write many more - completing 22 novels between 1906
and 1909. However, the quality of his work was somewhat
variable. Here is a good descriptive passage from
Rubina (1908) where he talks about hob-o'-lanterns -
or will-o'-the wisps as they are sometimes known.
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'The dam wound its silver way along the deep shadow of
the pollard willows. Beyond this border of obscurity the
mighty marsh stretched vast, brilliant, but whispering
and mystic. The dykes shone beneath the moon, but under
the cover of their walls lurked shadows where the
spirits of the marsh might lay in wait for the unwary,
and where hob-o'-lanterns might nestle till his time
came to flash out in dancing radiance to the terror of
more superstitious countryfolk.' |
He also toyed with the idea of becoming a photographer
but became so poor at one point that he had to
sell his camera. However, his eye for
landscape was put to good use in his writing - where he
succeeded in capturing
the bleak beauty of Norfolk's marshlands.
Links:
More Fritton Photographs
Photographs by Stephen Mole
Fritton Church
Somerleyton Hall |
Supported
by Norfolk Tourism