Grimston, West Norfolk

The Parish of Grimston is a few miles east of King’s Lynn, stretching from the Eastern by-pass nearly to Massingham. The valley is viewed as one of the most important landscapes in West Norfolk, and can be seen while passing around the Knights Hill Roundabout and heading towards Fakenham, and also when coming from the Gayton Road (B1145) and over Annie Green’s Hill.  Grimston was the main village with the hamlet of Pott Row to the west (Pott Row is now the larger half of the parish). The population is around c. 2,000 (c. 2,500 with our sister parishes of Roydon & Congham).

The archaeology of Grimston reveals pottery which was made in Grimston/Pott Row and known throughout Europe.   Grimston pots have been found in Trondheim and Bergen, Norway where around 30% of the pots that have been found of that era were made in Grimston.   Other places of export include Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Iceland, as well as throughout East Anglia.  Typically they were inscribed with a cartoon face.  One of these has been copied onto a recently carved misericord in the church. The potters flourished particularly from 1200-1350, beginning in the area south of the church, though later moving West to what is now called Pott Row, although the best seam of clay runs in a narrow strip north to south, near the spring line, which the present B1153 follows.