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Publishers for local authorities throughout Great Britain. View more Official Guides at www.officialguides.co.uk

Bell Hotel

This historical inn dates back to the 15th century although its hey day was during the coaching era of the 18th and 19th centuries. Remains of an Elizabethan wall painting survive in one room and the building is reputedly haunted by a hooded monk and a previous landlady, Betty Radcliffe.

St Peter’s Church

Opposite the Bell is another iconic Thetford building. Mentioned in Domesday, the present building dates from the 14th century but was greatly rebuilt in 18th and 19th centuries. The tower was rebuilt between 1789-91.

Ford Place

Once the home of the Fison family in the 19th century, the building is close to the site of what was once an Augustinian Friary. The house was built in the early 1790’s at the east end of the former medieval market place. Today it is a nursing home with idyllic views across the River Thet to Ford Meadow.

Dolphin Pub

The date of 1694 is shown on the outside of the pub, however there is reference to an inn of the same name in the 15th century. The area from the Dolphin to the Gaol served as the town’s market place until it was moved close to its current site by the Guildhall in 1786.

Old Gaol

This stands on the site of the medieval gaol but was rebuilt in the 18th century and enlarged in the early 19th century. An 1820 description mentioned 17 people held in the dungeon measuring 18 feet by 9, with a stench so great the gaoler ran away after opening the door!

Grammar School

The former boys’ school on the west side of Bridge Street lays claim to be one of the oldest seats of learning in the country, with a headmaster’s roll going back to 1174 and the original founding some 500 years earlier. Situated on the site of the Norman Cathedral of St Mary the Great it has the ruins of the Dominican Friary in its grounds.

The Guildhall

The present building dates from 1902 but a plaque on the wall notes an earlier hall was built on the site in 1337 and it is thought that another preceded that. The Guildhall has been at the centre of civic affairs for centuries and was used as a court house until the latter half of the twentieth century.