great-yarmouth-heritage-pass-nelson-museum

Great Yarmouth’s New Heritage Pass

Great Yarmouth’s heritage attractions have combined to offer visitors a special discount pass, saving a minimum of £7 on adult entry to seven museums and English Heritage properties in the town. The package also includes the opportunity to go on one of the regular Guided Heritage Walks.

Visit the UK’s oldest gaol; find out about Admiral Horatio Nelson, the Norfolk hero; explore an atmospheric pottery built into Yarmouth’s medieval walls; experience life in traditional Row houses; discover the town’s fishing, maritime and tourism heritage and much more.

Valid for eight days, the pass features David Howkins Museum of Memories, The Elizabethan House Museum, Great Yarmouth Potteries & Smokehouse, Great Yarmouth Row Houses, The Nelson Museum, Time and Tide Museum of Great Yarmouth Life and The Tolhouse Museum and Gaol.

The pass costs: adults £22.75, concessions £20.95, child £13.30 (discounts for English Heritage and National Trust members). It is on sale until 21 September at Great Yarmouth Tourist Information Centre, Marine Parade (opposite The Marina Centre), t. 01493 846346, www.great-yarmouth.co.uk.

Cllr Michael Jeal, Great Yarmouth Borough Council portfolio holder for tourism said: “Uniting Great Yarmouth’s museums and heritage offer together under a heritage pass to be sold in the Tourist Information Centre is a superb initiative and creates a positive critical mass of heritage venues for tourists to visit over a week’s holiday in our beautiful seaside resort.”

James Steward, Eastern Area Manager, Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service said: “We are pleased to be part of this opportunity to further develop Great Yarmouth’s heritage tourism offer. The heritage pass could make a significant difference to influencing the choices people make whilst visiting the town and, of course, offers great value to families in a competitive seasonal market.”

Simon Tansley, Site Manager, English Heritage, Great Yarmouth said: “The value of the new Great Yarmouth Heritage Pass cannot be underestimated. It not only provides visitors to the town with a clear snapshot of the heritage attractions, but also gives them a great discount too and encourages them to visit as many sites as possible. The English Heritage sites are hidden gems that are tucked away down Rows 111 and 117. This new pass highlights the location of our sites perfectly. We expect holiday makers will find the passes a great way to see all the heritage sites included on the pass, whilst enjoying great discounts too.”

 

Heritage Pass Participants

Great Yarmouth Guided Heritage Walks – busy programme of walks starting from the Fisherman’s Hospital Gates in the Market Place. Themes are Great Georgian Yarmouth, the Medieval Town Walls and Rows, Fishwives & Body Snatchers. Full details at www.heritage-walks.co.uk, or pick up a leaflet at the Tourist Information Centre.

The David Howkins Museum of Memories purpose built in 1912, has hundreds of items on display including Royal memorabilia, Great Yarmouth souvenirs, toys, dolls and teddies, needlework tapestries of Yarmouth’s historic buildings and the story of the Elephant Man (Joseph Merrick).

The Elizabethan House Museum (owned by The National Trust, but run by Norfolk Museums’ Service). Experience the lives of families who lived here from Tudor to Victorian times.  Discover Victorian life ‘upstairs and downstairs’. There are also links with the Civil War and the death of King Charles I.

Great Yarmouth Row Houses (English Heritage). These beautifully presented houses depict life in Yarmouth’s traditional Rows in 1870 and 1942 (just before the incendiary bombing); also explore the nearby Greyfriars Cloisters – the remains of an early Tudor friary church.

Great Yarmouth Potteries and Smokehouse is a fully working pottery, built into the 700 year-old town walls. There’s also a herring smoking museum, and a gallery of nautical oil paintings, carvings and sculptures.

The Nelson Museum housing the Ben Burgess collection, tells the story of Horatio Nelson’s life, from Norfolk childhood through to his famous battles and his heroic death. There’s also a special exhibition ‘Nelson’s Women: Philanderer or Family Man?’ about Nelson’s personal life.

Time & Tide Museum of Great Yarmouth Life is housed in a converted Victorian herring curing works. Follow Great Yarmouth’s transformation from a sandbank to the present day, through times of boom and bust and war and peace. Wander through a Victorian Row and see inside a fisherman’s home. Experience the heady atmosphere of a 1950s quayside, take the wheel of a coastal Drifter and hear tales of wreck and rescue on the high seas.

Tolhouse Museum and Gaol is the UK’s oldest gaol, dating back to the 12th century. See the cells and find out about the thieves, smugglers, witches, pirates and murderers who were confined here.