Once the capital of a
Danish kingdom ruled first by King Sweyne and
then Canute, Thetford later became a Norman
stronghold with a powerful castle. All that
remains of the 12th century castle
is a large mound, while the remains of a
Cluniac priory founded in 1103 by the
aptly-named Roger Bigod, first Earl of
Norfolk, stand on the banks of the Little
Ouse, one of two rivers that meander through
the town.
The Ancient House Museum
is a timber-framed Tudor building with fine
carved beam ceilings. Thetford was the
birthplace in 1737 of the radical philosopher
Thomas Paine, author of ‘Rights of Man’ and
‘Age of Reason’ and a statue of him stands
outside the Elizabethan Bell Hotel.
