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Moving House to Dereham with Hamiltons Removals
Dereham is known as the ‘Heart of Norfolk’ because it’s located at the exact centre of the county. It’s also typical of many of the county’s market towns and is one of the most convenient and desirable places to live. Here Hamiltons Removals, who can help if you are considering moving house to Dereham, look at the history of the town and what it has to offer.
The History and Heritage
Its name means ‘enclosure for deer’, which is what the area was until about the 7th century AD. Dereham has also been known as East Dereham to avoid confusion with the village of West Dereham, which is located about 25 miles away.
However, there is evidence of a settlement in the area long before. Flints and axe heads from the Neolithic Bronze Age area were discovered in fields surrounding the town in 1986. Other ancient artefacts (notably Roman coins) have also been discovered in the years since.
The town was the site of a monastery, founded by St Withburga in the 7th century. Sadly, the only part that still remains is the holy well, which lies at the western end of the town’s parish church, St Nicholas.
The economic driver for the town was the market, which is still held in the Market Place twice a week (on Tuesdays and Fridays). A variety of industries have been based in Dereham over the years, including haulage, clocks, furniture, tools (for model kits), and the town has a mix of independent and High Street chains (the Tesco car park is alleged to be the exact centre of Norfolk). Most of the big chains are now based in a new development, Wright’s Walk.
The Transport Connections
Dereham used to have a mainline rail station, which went on through Wymondham and up to the coast at Wells-next-the-Sea. However this, like so many others, was closed in the 1960s. The line to Wymondham remained, however, and the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust operates a heritage line (pictured above) between the two towns and Dereham has a ticket office and a museum (as well as a free car park). Check out their website to find out when trains are running. There have also been moves made to restore Dereham as a mainline station although nothing has come of this yet.
The A47 road from London to Birmingham ran straight through the town until 1978 when the route was altered so it bypassed the town. The A1075 connects the town to Watton and Thetford to the south, while the B1146 is the main route north, to Fakenham.
There are regular bus services from the town to Norwich, and less frequent ones to nearby villages. Dereham doesn’t have a dedicated bus station, but most services stop in the Market Place.
The Main Attractions
Aside from the church, there are a number of other historic buildings in the town which are well worth a look. Bishop Bonner’s Cottage, a thatched cottage which is named after Bishop Edmund Bonner, who became the Bishop of London in the mid-16th century, houses a museum and is the oldest building in the town. There’s also a fully restored Grade II listed windmill, and the town’s Corn Exchange houses one of the smallest cinemas in the county.
The House Prices
Property website Rightmove says that, on average, properties in Dereham have sold for just over £280,000 in the last 12 months. Detached houses are the most expensive, selling for an average of around £385,000. However, there are plenty of other options such as flats and terraced houses, which help to bring the average figure down somewhat.
Moving House to Dereham with Hamiltons Removals
If you are interested in removals to Dereham, then Hamiltons Removals, as a leading Norfolk removals company, can help get you there.
We can offer a fully comprehensive package, which includes doing all the packing and unpacking for you. If you’d rather do this yourself, then we have a shop at our Harleston base that stocks high-quality packing materials, which you can also order online by clicking here.
Whether you are looking to move to Dereham, elsewhere in Norfolk or further afield, you can start the process at Hamiltons with either an online quotation or a video survey. Alternatively, you can also call directly us on 01379 855203.
Image: GEOGRAPH.ORG.UK/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS