Martham
Martham is a large village in the county of Norfolk, England and lies within the Broads National Park. It is situated some 15 km north-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and 30 km north-east of the city of Norwich. Martham has become increasingly popular over the years due to its nearby location from Acle and Stalham, two richly diverse market towns.
It was the Saxons that settled in Martham around AD600 who gave the village its name 'the ham of the martens', the home of the polecats. These cream coloured ferret-like animals were once found wild in Broadland marshes up until a century ago. They also named Martham the capital of the Fleggs, which were once a group of islands around the area with Fleggborough Village remaining a few miles away. In AD800, Danish colonists settled densely in the Fleggs, giving their names to many of the villages that ended in 'by' - for example, Hemsby, Filby, Ormesby, Oby etc. It would seem that Martham was large enough a village to absorb these newcomers and at the same time retain its Saxon name.
Martham was a thriving village in the year AD1300 with a population of around 1000. After the Black Death, which was extremely severe in the area, Martham was still wealthy enough to build the large parish church St Mary which has been dubbed the 'Cathedral of the Fleggs.' Unequivocally so, because it is the biggest and grandest church for miles around, offering spectacular views from the tower. St Mary's most magnificent treasure is the collection of medieval glass in the east windows of the south and north aisles. These consist of a series of more than twenty panels of individual Saints and scenes, and it would seem part of a much larger sequence originally. Much of it is good glass of the 15th century Norwich school.
Just over a mile to the north of Martham is Martham Broad a 140 acre nature reserve that is managed by the Norfolk Naturalist Trust. The broad is very shallow and boats are limited to a narrow marked channel. The broad is less polluted than others and so is extremely rich in aquatic life. Birds of all types can be spotted and during the months of June and July the Swallowtail butterfly may be seen near its favourite food, Milk Parsley. Just a few miles away are the nature reserves of Hickling and Horsey where the Bittern, one of England's rarest and most secretive of birds can be seen.
Despite being a relatively large village by Norfolk standards, Martham still retains its traditional charm with its large village green surrounded by attractive Georgian houses, with many of Martham's cottages thatched with Norfolk reed from the nearby marshes. Located a short distance away the popular Norfolk Broads offers boating, beautiful scenery and wildlife. The charming sea-side village of Winterton-on-Sea is less than three miles away, however, a livelier resort is that of Gt.Yarmouth with its bright lights, funfair and evening entertainment.
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