Photographs of King’s Lynn Buildings – 1950 and Present Day

I use a recent acquisition to showcase some of the more iconic buildings in King’s Lynn.

This is the first post I am creating that is inspired by lot 526 at James and Sons’ May auction. This item, a 1950 Temporary Guide to King’s Lynn was knocked down to me for £5. In the post that follows I will be showing each of the images I produced when photographing the item for auction and then producing pictures of the buildings concerned taken by me in 2024.

FRONT COVER AND MAP

The first two images are of the front cover and the map. These have no present day equivalents.

The Map…

COMPARISON PICTURES

The first image that offers modern comparisons from my own stock of pictures is this one…

There are four landmarks in this image – The Red Mount Chapel and The Archway in Broad Walk, or as it is correctly known Guanock Gate, on the left side as you look, the South Gate Approach (no direct equivalent, but I have got the gate itself) and Leziate Golf Course (no equivalent).

My pictures for comparison are presented as a gallery – to see a larger version of an image just click on it.

Front on view of the chapel.
Close up of the upper door to the chapel.
Close up of the name plaque
A more side on view of the chapel.
The Guanock Gate town side
The Guanock Gate out of town side.
The South Gate looking towards the town.

Here is the next image from the booklet…

On the left is Greyfriars Tower and on the right what was then St Margarets Church and is now King’s Lynn Minster.

2024 versions…

This was the next image I produced for auction…

This is the iconic Guildhall of the Holy Trinity, also known as King’s Lynn Town Hall.
2024 images of the building (six pics – click to view at a full size).

The next image I produced for auction was this:

The Custom House, the most iconic building in the town.

The Custom House is the official dividing point between the two medieval towns that together form King’s Lynn. Here are some 2024 pictures…

The next and final image in the gallery for auction was this one…

The South Porch of St Nicholas Chapel.

This is what this looks like in 2024…

There has recently been restoration work done on this chapel (witness the scaffolding in the top left corner of this picture.

Author: Thomas

I am a founder member and currently secretary of the West Norfolk Autism Group and am autistic myself. I am a very keen photographer and almost every blog post I produce will feature some of my own photographs. I am an avidly keen cricket fan and often post about that sport.

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