East of England
The East of England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999, it includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region, its population at the 2011 census was 5,847,000. Bedford, Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, Ipswich, Colchester and Cambridge are the region's most populous towns; the southern part of the region lies in the London commuter belt. The region has the lowest elevation range in the UK. North Cambridgeshire and the Essex Coast have most of the around 5% of the region, below 10 metres above sea level; the Fens are in North Cambridgeshire, notable for the lowest point in the country in the land of the village of Holme 2.75 metres below mean sea level, once Whittlesey Mere. The highest point is at Clipper Down at 817 ft, in the far south-western corner of the region in the Ivinghoe Hills. Basildon and Harlow, with Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead, were main New Towns in the 1950s and 1960s, with much industry located there.
In the late 1960s, the Roskill Commission considered Thurleigh in Bedfordshire, Nuthampstead in Hertfordshire and Foulness in Essex as a possible third airport for London. The East of England succeeded the standard statistical region East Anglia; the East of England civil defence region was identical to today's region. England between the Wash and just south of the town of Colchester has since post-Roman times been and continues to be known as East Anglia, including the county traversing the west of this line, Cambridgeshire; the inclusion of Essex as part of East Anglia is open to debate, notably because it was a Saxon kingdom, separate from the kingdom of the East Angles. Essex, despite meaning East-Saxons formed part of the South East England, as did Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, a mixture of definite and debatable Home Counties; the earliest use of the term is from 1695. Charles Davenant, in An essay upon ways and means of supplying the war, wrote, "The Eleven Home Counties, which are thought in Land Taxes to pay more than their proportion..." cited a list including these four.
The term does not appear to have been used in taxation since the 18th century. East Anglia is one of the driest parts of the United Kingdom with average rainfall ranging from 450 mm to 750 mm; this is because low pressure systems and weather fronts from the Atlantic have lost a lot of their moisture over land by the time they reach Eastern England. However the Fens in Cambridgeshire are prone to flooding. Winter is cool but non-prevailing cold easterly winds can affect the area from the continent, these can bring heavy snowfall if the winds interact with a low pressure system over the Atlantic or France. Northerly winds can be cold but are not as cold as easterly winds. Westerly winds bring milder and wetter weather. Southerly winds bring mild air but chill if coming from further east than Spain. Spring is a transitional season that can be chilly to start with but is warm by late-April/May; the weather at this time is changeable and showery. Summer is warm and continental air from mainland Europe or the Azores High leads to at least a few weeks of hot, balmy weather with prolonged warm to hot weather.
The number of summer storms from the Atlantic, such as the remnants of a tropical storm coincides with the location of the jet stream. The East tends to receive much less of their rain than the other regions. Autumn is mild with some days being unsettled and rainy and others warm. At least part of September and early October in the East have warm and settled weather but only in rare years is there an Indian summer where fine weather marks the entire traditional harvest season; the most deprived districts, according to the Indices of deprivation 2007 in the region are, in descending order, Great Yarmouth, Luton and Ipswich. At county level, after Luton and Peterborough, which have a similar level of deprivation, in descending order there is Southend-on-Sea Thurrock; the least deprived districts, in descending order, are South Cambridgeshire, Mid Bedfordshire, East Hertfordshire, St Albans, Rochford, Huntingdonshire, Mid Suffolk, North Hertfordshire, Three Rivers, South Norfolk, East Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Coastal.
At county level, the least deprived areas in the region, in descending order, are Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire, with all three having a similar level of deprivation Essex. The region has the lowest proportion of jobless households in the UK – 0.5%. In March 2011 the region's unemployment claimant count was 3.0%. Inside the region, the highest rate is Great Yarmouth with 6.2%, followed by Peterborough and Southend-on-Sea on 4.7%. In the 2015 general election, there was an overall swing of 0.25% from the Conservatives to Labour, the Liberal Democrats lost 16% of its vote. All of Hertfordshire and Suffolk is now Conservative; the region's electorate voted 49% Conservative, 22% Labour, 16% UKIP, 8% Liberal Democrat and 4% Green. Like other regions, the division of seats favours th
Ham-class minesweeper
The Ham class was a class of inshore minesweepers, known as the Type 1, of the British Royal Navy. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of estuaries. All of the ships in the class are named for British place names that end with -"ham"; the parent firm, responsible for supervising construction was Samuel White of Cowes, Isle of Wight. Unlike traditional minesweepers, they were not equipped for sweeping magnetic mines, their work was to neutralise them. This was a then-new role, the class was configured for working in the shallow water of rivers and shipping channels; the class consisted of 93 ships, launched between 1954 and 1959. HMS Inglesham was the first, they were built in three different sub-groups, the first sub-group, the 26-group, is distinguished by pennant numbers 26xx, the second and third sub-groups, the 27-group, are distinguished by pennant numbers 27xx. The 26-group was of wood and non-ferrous metal composite construction and the 27-group was of all-wood construction.
The third sub-group is distinguished by a prominent rubbing strake around the hull and larger dimensions. The vessels displaced 164 long tons laden and were armed with one 40 mm Bofors or 20 mm Oerlikon gun, they were 32.5 metres long overall with a 6.4-metre beam. The construction was of wood to minimise the magnetic signature; the crew complement was 15. The engines of this class were Paxman diesels, some of which were built under licence by Ruston and Hornsby of Lincoln; each vessel had: two 12YHAXM for main propulsion, rated at 550 bhp at 1,000 rpm, plus one 12YHAZ for pulse generation. Maximum speed was 14 knots dropping to 9 knots; the class shared the same basic hull as the Ley-class minehunter and the Echo-class inshore survey craft. In 1964 Ten of the vessels were allocated to the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Warships of the Royal Navy, Captain John. E. Moore RN, Jane's Publishing, 1979
Edmund the Martyr
Edmund the Martyr was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death. Nothing is known about Edmund, he is thought to have been of East Anglian origin and was first mentioned in an annal of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written some years after his death. The kingdom of East Anglia was devastated by the Vikings, who destroyed any contemporary evidence of his reign. Writers produced fictitious accounts of his life, asserting that he was born in 841, the son of Æthelweard, an obscure East Anglian king, whom it was said Edmund succeeded when he was fourteen. Versions of Edmund's life relate that he was crowned on 25 December 855 at Burna, which at that time functioned as the royal capital, that he became a model king. In 869, the Great Heathen Army killed Edmund, he may have been slain by the Danes in battle, but by tradition he met his death at an unidentified place known as Haegelisdun, after he refused the Danes' demand that he renounce Christ: the Danes beat him, shot him with arrows and beheaded him, on the orders of Ivar the Boneless and his brother Ubba.
According to one legend, his head was thrown into the forest, but was found safe by searchers after following the cries of an ethereal wolf, calling, in Latin, "Hic, Hic" – "Here, Here". A coinage commemorating Edmund was minted from around the time East Anglia was absorbed by the kingdom of Wessex and a popular cult emerged. In about 986, Abbo of Fleury wrote of his martyrdom; the saint's remains were temporarily moved from Bury St Edmunds to London for safekeeping in 1010. His shrine at Bury was visited by many kings, including Canute, responsible for rebuilding the abbey: the stone church was rebuilt again in 1095. During the Middle Ages, when Edmund was regarded as the patron saint of England and its magnificent abbey grew wealthy, but during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, his shrine was destroyed. Medieval manuscripts and works of art relating to Edmund include Abbo's Passio Sancti Eadmundi, John Lydgate's 14th-century Life, the Wilton Diptych and a number of church wall paintings.
Edmund is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle annal for 870, compiled twenty years after his death. By tradition, Edmund is thought to have been born in 841 and to have acceded to the East Anglian throne in around 855. Nothing is known of his life or reign, as no contemporary East Anglian documents from this period have survived; the devastation in East Anglia, caused by the Vikings destroyed any books or charters that may have referred to Edmund and a lack of contemporary evidence means that it is not known for certain when his reign began, or his age when he became king. Medieval chroniclers have provided dubious accounts of his life, in the absence of any real details; the most credible theory for Edmund’s parentage suggests Ealhhere, brother-in-law to King Æthelstan of Kent, as Edmund’s father and Edith as Edmund’s mother. Edmund cannot be placed within any ruling dynasty. Numismatic evidence suggests. According to the historian Susan Ridyard, Abbo of Fleury's statement that Edmund was'ex antiquorum Saxonum nobili prosapia oriundus' can be taken to mean that he was descended from a noble and ancient race.
It is known. The letters AN, standing for'Anglia', only appear on the coins of Edmund and Æthelstan of East Anglia: they appear on Edmund's coins as part of the phrase + EADMUND REX AN. Specimens read + EADMUND REX and so it is possible for his coins to be divided chronologically. Otherwise, no chronology for his coins has been confirmed; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which described few matters relating to the East Angles and their rulers, is the only source for a description of the events for the year 869 that led to the defeat of Edmund's army at the hands of the Danes. It relates that "Her rad se here ofer wiñt setl namon. Æt Đeodforda. And þy wint' Eadmund cying him wiþ feaht. and þa Deniscan sige naman þone cyning ofslogon. and þæt lond all ge eodon." –'here the army rode across Mercia into East Anglia, took winter-quarters at Thetford. By tradition the leaders who slew the king were his brother Ubba; the Great Heathen Army went on to invade Wessex in late 870, where they were confronted by King Ethelred and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great.
Edmund's body was buried in a wooden chapel near to where he was killed, but was transferred to Beadoriceworth, where in 925 Athelstan founded a community devoted to a newly-developing cult. Thirty years after Edmund's death, he was venerated by the Vikings of East Anglia, who produced a coinage to commemorate him, it was minted from around 895 to 915 and was based on the design of coins produced during Edmund's reign. All the pennies and half-pennies that were produced read SCE EADMVND REX—'O St Edmund the king!'. Some of them have a legend that provides evidence that the Vikings experimented with their initial design; the St. Edmund memorial coins were minted in great quantities by a group of more than 70 moneyers, many of whom appear to have originated from continental Europe: over 1800 specimens were found when the great Cuerdale Hoard was discovered in Lancashire in 1840; the memorial coins were used wi
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom provide emergency care to people with acute illness or injury and are predominantly provided free at the point of use by the four National Health Services of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Emergency care including ambulance and emergency department treatment is free to everyone, regardless of immigration or visitor status; the NHS commissions most emergency medical services through the 14 NHS organisations with ambulance responsibility across the UK. As with other emergency services, the public access emergency medical services through one of the valid emergency telephone numbers. In addition to ambulance services provided by NHS organisations, there are some private and volunteer emergency medical services arrangements in place in the UK, the use of private or volunteer ambulances at public events or large private sites, as part of community provision of services such as community first responders. Air ambulance services in the UK are not part of the NHS and are funded through charitable donations.
Paramedics are seconded from a local NHS ambulance service, with the exception of Great North Air Ambulance Service who employ their own paramedics. Doctors are provided by their home hospital and spend no more than 40% of their time with an air ambulance service. Public ambulance services across the UK are required by law to respond to four types of requests for care, which are: Emergency calls Doctor's urgent admission requests High dependency and urgent inter-hospital transfers Major incidentsAmbulance trusts and services may undertake non-urgent patient transport services on a commercial arrangement with their local hospital trusts or health boards, or in some cases on directly funded government contracts, although these contracts are fulfilled by private and voluntary providers; the National Health Service Act 1946 gave county and borough councils a statutory responsibility to provide an emergency ambulance service, although they could contract a voluntary ambulance service to provide this, with many contracting the British Red Cross, St John Ambulance or another local provider.
The last St John Division, to be so contracted is reputed to have been at Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, where the two-bay ambulance garage can still be seen at the branch headquarters. The Regional Ambulance Officers’ Committee reported in 1979 that “There was considerable local variation in the quality of the service provided in relation to vehicles and equipment. Most Services were administered by Local Authorities through their Medical Officer of Health and his Ambulance Officer, a few were under the aegis of the Fire Service, whilst others relied upon agency methods for the provision of part or all of their services.” The 142 existing ambulance services were transferred by the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 from local authority to central government control in 1974, consolidated into 53 services under regional or area health authorities. This led to the formation of predominantly county based ambulance services, which merged up and changed responsibilities until 2006, when there were 31 NHS ambulance trusts in England.
The June 2005 report "Taking healthcare to the Patient", authored by Peter Bradley, Chief Executive of the London Ambulance Service, for the Department of Health led to the merging of the 31 trusts into 13 organisations in England, plus one organisation each in Wales and Northern Ireland. Following further changes as part of the NHS foundation trust pathway, this has further reduced to 10 ambulance service trusts in England, plus the Isle of Wight which has its own provision. Following the passage of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, commissioning of the ambulance services in each area passed from central government control into the hands of regional clinical commissioning groups; the commissioners in each region are responsible for contracting with a suitable organisation to provide ambulance services within their geographical territory. The primary provider for each area is held by a public NHS body, of which there are 11 in England, 1 each in the other three countries. In England there are now ten NHS ambulance trusts, as well as an ambulance service on the Isle of Wight, run directly by Isle of Wight NHS Trust, with boundaries following those of the former regional government offices.
The ten trusts are: East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust London Ambulance Service NHS Trust North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS TrustThe English ambulance trusts are represented by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, with the Scottish and Northern Irish providers all associate members. On the 14 November 2018 West Midlands Ambulance Service became the UK's first university-ambulance trust; the service was operated before reorganisation in 1974 by the St Andrews’ Ambulance Association under contract to the Secretary of State for Scotland. The Scottish Ambulance Service is a Special Health Board that provides ambulance services throughout whole of Scotland, on behalf of the Health and Social Care Directorates of the Scottish Government.
Due to the remote nature of many areas of Scotland compared to the other Home Nations, the Scottish Ambulance Service has Britain's only publi
Lowestoft
Lowestoft is an English town and civil parish in the county of Suffolk. The town, on the North Sea coast, is the most easterly settlement of the United Kingdom, it is 110 miles north-east of London, 38 miles north-east of Ipswich and 22 miles south-east of Norwich. It lies on the edge of The Broads system and is the major settlement in the district of East Suffolk, with a population of 71,010 in 2011; some of the earliest evidence of settlement in Britain has been found here. As a port town it developed out as a traditional seaside resort, it has two piers and other attractions. While its fisheries have declined and gas exploitation in the southern North Sea in the 1960s added to its development, as a base for the industry alongside nearby Great Yarmouth; this role has declined, but the town has begun to develop as an Eastern England centre of the renewable energy industry. Following the discovery of flint tools in the cliffs at Pakefield in south Lowestoft in 2005, the human habitation of the Lowestoft area can be traced back 700,000 years.
This establishes Lowestoft as one of the earliest known sites for human habitation in Britain. The area was settled during the Neolithic and Iron Ages and during the Roman and Saxon periods, with a Saxon cemetery producing a number of finds at Bloodmoor Hill in south Lowestoft; the settlement's name is derived from the Viking personal name Hlothver and toft, a Viking word for homestead. The town's name has been spelled variously: Lothnwistoft, Laistoe and Laystoft. In the 1086 Domesday Book the village was known as Lothuwistoft and was small, with a population of about 16 households, comprising three families, ten smallholders and three slaves; the manor formed part of the king's holding within the Hundred of Lothingland and was worth about four geld in tax income. Roger Bigod was the tenant in chief of the village; the village of Akethorpe may have been located close to Lowestoft. In the Middle Ages Lowestoft became an important fishing town; the industry grew and the town grew to challenge its neighbour Great Yarmouth.
The trade fishing for herring, continued to act as the town's main identity into the 20th century. In June 1665 the Battle of Lowestoft, the first battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, took place 40 miles off the coast of the town; the battle resulted in a significant victory for the English fleet over the Dutch. The Lowestoft Porcelain Factory, active from 1757 to 1802, was in production for longer than any English soft-paste porcelain manufacturer other than Royal Worcester and Royal Crown Derby, producing domestic wares such as pots and jugs; the factory, built on the site of an existing pottery or brick kiln, was used as a brewery and malt kiln. Most of its remaining buildings were demolished in 1955. In the 19th century, Sir Samuel Morton Peto's arrival to Lowestoft, brought about a change in the town's fortunes that included improving the fishing industry; as a railway contractor, Peto was given the task of building a railway line by the Lowestoft Railway & Harbour Company, connecting the town with Reedham and the city of Norwich, to help stimulate further development in the fishing industry, which had begun to take advantage of the Port of Lowestoft since its construction in the 1830s.
Its completion had a profound impact on the town's industrial development – not only could its fishing fleets sell its product to markets further inland, it helped to assist in the development of other industries such as engineering, allowed others to take advantage of the port's boosted trade with the continent. Peto's railway was key in establishing Lowestoft as a flourishing seaside holiday resort. During World War I, Lowestoft was bombarded by the German Navy on 24 April 1916 in conjunction with the Easter Rising; the port was a significant naval base during the war, including for armed trawlers such as Ethel & Millie and Nelson which were used to combat German U-boat actions in the North Sea such as the action of 15 August 1917. In World War II, the town was targeted for bombing by the Luftwaffe due to its engineering industry and role as a naval base, it is sometimes claimed that it became one of the most bombed towns per head of population in the UK. The Royal Naval Patrol Service, formed from trawlermen and fishermen from the Royal Naval Reserve, was mobilised at Lowestoft in August 1939.
The service had its central depot HMS Europa known as Sparrow's Nest, in the town. Lowestoft is the major settlement in the East Suffolk district, it is a former municipal borough, having lost this status in 1974, although it retains a ceremonial mayor elected by its councillors annually. Suffolk County Council is the county authority. A civil parish was created on 1 April 2017; the town is part of the Waveney parliamentary constituency, represented at Westminster by Conservative Peter Aldous. Former MPs include Bob Blizzard, David Porter and Jim Prior, a cabinet minister and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the Thatcher governments, who represented the former constituency of Lowestoft. For European Union elections Lowestoft forms part of the East of England constituency. Prior to 1 April 2019, as part of Waveney District Council, Lowestoft was divided into ten electoral wards, with Carlton Colville treated as a separate electoral area. Harbour, Normanston, Pakefield, St Margarets and Whitton wards elected three councillors each, Carlton and Corton, Oulton and Oulton Broad wards each two.
Of the 48 council seats in the district, 26 represented wards within Lowestoft, three more represented Carlton Colville. In 2010 the council changed to a Whole Council process, with all seats on the council electe
The Broads
The Broads is a network of navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The lakes, known as broads, were formed by the flooding of peat workings; the Broads, some surrounding land, were constituted as a special area with a level of protection similar to a national park by the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988. The Broads Authority, a special statutory authority responsible for managing the area, became operational in 1989; the area is 303 square kilometres, most of, in Norfolk, with over 200 kilometres of navigable waterways. There are seven rivers and 63 broads less than 4 metres deep. Thirteen broads are open to navigation, with a further three having navigable channels; some broads have navigation restrictions imposed on them in autumn and winter, although the legality of the restrictions is questionable. Although the terms Norfolk Broads and Suffolk Broads are used to identify specific areas within the two counties the whole area is referred to as the "Norfolk Broads".
The Broads has similar status to the national parks in Wales. Because of its navigation role the Broads Authority was established under its own legislation on 1 April 1989; the Broads Authority Act 2009, promoted through Parliament by the authority, is intended to improve public safety on the water. In January 2015 the Broads Authority approved a change in name of the area to the Broads National Park, to recognise that the status of the area is equivalent to the English National Parks, that the Broads Authority shares the same two first purposes as the English National Park Authorities, receives a National park grant; this followed a three-month consultation which resulted in support from 79% of consultees, including unanimous support from the 14 UK national parks and the Campaign for National Parks. Defra, the Government department responsible for the parks expressed it was content that the Authority would make its own decision on the matter; this is the subject of ongoing controversy among some Broads users who note that the Broads is not named in law as a National Park and claim the branding detracts from the Broads Authority's third purpose, to protect the interests of navigation.
In response to this the Broads Authority has stated that its three purposes will remain in equal balance and that the branding is for marketing the National Park qualities of the Broads. The Broads are administered by the Broads Authority. Special legislation gives the navigation of the waterways equal status with the conservation and public enjoyment of the area. Specific parts of the Broads have been awarded a variety of conservation designations, for instance: Special Protection Area status for an area named'Broadland' composed of 28 Sites of Special Scientific Interest Environmentally Sensitive Area status for parts of the Halvergate Marshes National nature reserve status for: Bure Marshes NNR Ant Broads & Marshes NNR Hickling Broad NNR Ludham - Potter Heigham NNR Redgrave and Lopham Fen Martham Broad NNR Calthorpe Broad NNR Mid-Yare NNRA specific project being considered under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan is re-introduction of the large copper butterfly, whose habitat has been reduced by reduction of fens.
The Broads, although administered by the Broads Authority, give their name to the Broadland local government district, while parts of the Broads lie within other council areas: North Norfolk, South Norfolk and Great Yarmouth and Waveney district in Suffolk. For many years the lakes known as broads were regarded as natural features of the landscape, it was only in the 1960s that Dr Joyce Lambert proved that they were artificial features—flooded medieval peat excavations. In the Middle Ages the local monasteries began to excavate the peatlands as a turbary business, selling fuel to Norwich and Great Yarmouth. Norwich Cathedral took 320,000 tonnes of peat a year; the sea levels began to rise, the pits began to flood. Despite the construction of windpumps and dykes, the flooding continued and resulted in the typical Broads landscape of today, with its reedbeds, grazing marshes and wet woodland. Various attempts were made to extend the navigable rivers; the longest-lasting was on the River Waveney, where an Act of Parliament passed on 17 March 1670 authorised improvements which included three locks, at Geldeston and Wainford.
The head of navigation became a new staithe at Bungay. The new section was a private navigation, not controlled by the Yarmouth Haven and Pier Commissioners, who had responsibility for the rest of the Broadland rivers, it remained in use until 1934 and, although the upper two locks have been replaced by sluices and Geldeston lock is derelict, the Environment Agency have negotiated with local landowners to allow use by canoes and unpowered vessels which can be portaged around the locks. The next attempt was to extend navigation on the River Bure from Coltishall to Aylsham, authorised by an Act of Parliament on 7 April 1773. Five locks were built, to bypass mills, at Coltishall, Oxnead Lamas, Oxnead and Aylsham. There were financial difficulties during construction, but the works were completed and opened in October 1779. At Aylsham, a 1-mile cut was made from the river to a terminal basin, where several warehouses were constructed. Despite the arrival of the railways in 1879, goods continued to be carried to Aylsham by wherries until 1912, when major flooding badly damaged the locks.
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Norwich
Norwich is a historic city in Norfolk, England. Situated on the River Wensum in East Anglia, it lies 100 miles north-east of London, it is the county town of Norfolk and is considered the capital of East Anglia, with a population of 141,300. From the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, one of the most important; the city is the most complete medieval city in the UK, including cobbled streets such as Elm Hill, Timber Hill and Tombland, ancient buildings such as St Andrew's Hall, half-timbered houses such as Dragon Hall, The Guildhall and Strangers' Hall, the Art Nouveau of the 1899 Royal Arcade, many medieval lanes and the winding River Wensum that flows through the city centre towards Norwich Castle. The city has two universities, the University of East Anglia and the Norwich University of the Arts, two cathedrals, Norwich Cathedral and St John the Baptist Cathedral. Norwich is the only city containing part of a National Park, the Norfolk Broads, it holds the largest permanent undercover market in Europe.
The urban area of Norwich had a population of 213,166 according to the 2011 Census. The parliamentary seats cross over into adjacent local-government districts. A total of 132,512 people live in the City of Norwich and the population of the Norwich Travel to Work Area is 282,000. Norwich is the fourth most densely populated local-government district in the East of England, with 3,480 people per square kilometre. In May 2012, Norwich was designated England's first UNESCO City of Literature. One of the UK's most popular tourist destinations, it was voted by The Guardian in 2016 as the "happiest city to work in the UK" and in 2013 as one of the best small cities in the world by The Times Good University Guide. In 2018, Norwich was voted one of the "Best Places To Live" in the UK by The Sunday Times; the capital of the Iceni tribe was a settlement located near to the village of Caistor St. Edmund on the River Tas 8 kilometres to the south of modern-day Norwich. Following an uprising led by Boudica around AD 60 the Caistor area became the Roman capital of East Anglia named Venta Icenorum "the marketplace of the Iceni".
The Roman settlement fell into disuse around 450 and the Anglo-Saxons settled on the site of the modern city between the 5th and 7th centuries, founding the towns of Northwic and the secondary settlement at Thorpe. According to a local rhyme, the demise of Venta Icenorum led to the development of Norwich: "Caistor was a city when Norwich was none, Norwich was built of Caistor stone." There are two suggested models of development for Norwich. It is possible that three separate early Anglo-Saxon settlements, one on the north of the river and two either side on the south, joined together as they grew or that one Anglo-Saxon settlement, on the north of the river, emerged in the mid-7th century after the abandonment of the previous three; the ancient city was a thriving centre for trade and commerce in East Anglia in 1004 when it was raided and burnt by Swein Forkbeard the Viking king of Denmark. Mercian coins and shards of pottery from the Rhineland dating from the 8th century suggest that long-distance trade was happening long before this.
Between 924 and 939, Norwich became established as a town, with its own mint. The word Norvic appears on coins across Europe minted during this period, in the reign of King Athelstan; the Vikings were a strong cultural influence in Norwich for 40 to 50 years at the end of the 9th century, setting up an Anglo-Scandinavian district near the north end of present day King Street. At the time of the Norman Conquest the city was one of the largest in England; the Domesday Book states that it had 25 churches and a population of between 5,000 and 10,000. It records the site of an Anglo-Saxon church in Tombland, the site of the Saxon market place and the Norman cathedral. Norwich continued to be a major centre for trade, the River Wensum being a convenient export route to the River Yare and Great Yarmouth, which served as the port for Norwich. Quern stones and other artefacts from Scandinavia and the Rhineland have been found during excavations in Norwich city centre; these date from the 11th century onwards.
Norwich Castle was founded soon after the Norman Conquest. The Domesday Book records; the Normans established a new focus of settlement around the Castle and the area to the west of it: this became known as the "New" or "French" borough, centred on the Normans' own market place which survives to the present day as Norwich Market. In 1096, Herbert de Losinga, Bishop of Thetford, began construction of Norwich Cathedral; the chief building material for the Cathedral was limestone. To transport the building stone to the site, a canal was cut from the river, all the way up to the east wall. Herbert de Losinga moved his See there to what became the cathedral church for the Diocese of Norwich; the Bishop of Norwich still signs himself Norvic. Norwich received a royal charter from Henry II in 1158, another one from Richard the Lionheart in 1194. Following a riot in the city in 1274, Norwich has the distinction of being the only complete English city to be excommunicated by the Pope; the first recorded presence of Jews in Norwich is 1134.
In 1144, the Jews of Norwich were accused of ritual murder after a boy was found dead with stab wounds. William acquired the status of martyr
