Aylsham

History

Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the town of Aylsham has been occupied since prehistoric times. The town lies just over from a Roman settlement at Brampton. The settlement was linked to Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund, south of Norwich, by a Roman road which can still be traced in places. The site had maritime links to the rest of the Roman Empire. Excavations during the 1970s provided evidence of several kilns, showing that this was an industrial centre, pottery and metal items being the main items manufactured there. Aylsham is thought to have been founded around 500 AD by an Anglo Saxon thegn called Aegel, Aegel's Ham, meaning "Aegel's settlement". The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) as Elesham and Ailesham, and as having a population of about 1,000. Until the 15th century, the production of linen and worsted was important. 'Aylsham webb' or 'cloth of Aylsham' was supplied to the royal palaces of Edward II and III. John of Gaunt was lord of the manor from 1372, although he probably never came to Aylsham. As the principal local town of the Duchy of Lancaster; as a result, the townspeople enjoyed privileges, including exemption from jury service outside the manor and from payment of certain taxes. In 1519, Henry VIII granted the town a regular Saturday market and an annual fair to be held on 12 March, the eve of the feast of St Gregory. Aylsham market has remained an important feature of the town, as businesses developed to meet the needs of the town and the farming lands around it. Besides weekly markets there were cattle fairs twice a year and a hiring fair in October. The Black Boys Inn is one of Aylsham's oldest surviving buildings. It has been on the same site since the 1650s, although the present frontage dates to between…