Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (/ˈjɑːrməθ/ YAR-məth), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located 20 miles (32 km) east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, mainly for herring, shrank after the mid-20th century and has all but ended. North Sea oil from the 1960s supplied an oil-rig industry that services offshore natural gas rigs; more recently, offshore wind power and other renewable energy industries have ensued.
| Great Yarmouth | |
|---|---|
Clockwise from top left: Great Yarmouth Town Hall, Britannia Monument, Old Vicarage with the tower of the minster church in background, Church Plain, Empire Theatre and Marine Parade, Anna Sewell’s House, Camperdown | |
Great Yarmouth Location within Norfolk | |
| Area | 3.89 sq mi (10.1 km2) |
| Population | 99,745 (Borough, 2021) 28,985 (Built-up area, 2021) |
| OS grid reference | TG5207 |
| District | |
| Shire county |
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| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GREAT YARMOUTH |
| Postcode district | NR30 |
| Dialling code | 01493 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | |
Yarmouth has been a resort since 1760 and a gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the North Sea. Holiday-making rose when a railway opened in 1844, bringing easier, cheaper access and some new settlement. Wellington Pier opened in 1854 and Britannia Pier in 1858. Through the 20th century, Yarmouth boomed as a resort, with a promenade, pubs, trams, fish-and-chip shops, theatres, the Pleasure Beach, the Sea Life Centre, the Hippodrome Circus, the Time and Tide Museum and a Victorian seaside Winter Garden in cast iron and glass.