New book looks back at changing Norfolk town

Quarrying under way at Bawsey Pits in 1960 Picture: Bob Booth (Image: Bob Booth)

Historian Bob Booth has dedicated much of his time over the last 15 years or so to documenting his beloved King’s Lynn.

His latest book of pictures charts the changes which took place in the latter half of the 20th Century.

King’s Lynn, A Scrapbook of the 1950s to the 1990s, contains a wealth of memories.

Flooding in South Lynn in 1968 Picture: EDP (Image: Archant)

There are long-gone terraced streets demolished in the name of slum clearance, new estates built for the London overspill and forgotten pubs and corner shops.

Aerial views show the way the town has grown and evolved. Lynn’s once extensive railways, which served the docks and its industries have now declined.

Anglia Canners once stood opposite Lynn Docks, whilst Lin-Can dominated the opposite side of the river.

The miniature railway which ran along the pier at Hunstanton Picture: Bill Graver (Image: Bill Graver)

Mr Booth can remember sneaking onto the quarries which are now Bawsey Pits as a lad at weekends when the sand workers had downed tools.

Youngsters would go joy riding on empty wagons from the narrow-gauge railway which hauled sand off to the main line. Up the coast, Hunstanton once had two railways. As well as the line to Lynn, which closed in 1969, there was also a miniature train which ran along the pier.

Mr Booth grew up in a long gone part of the town called Lower Canada.

An aerial view of the Lincan factory in 1950 Picture: Lincan (Image: Archant)

The 81-year-old retired record store owner has published 11 books of historic pictures sourced from the EDP, Lynn News and private collections.

“When I retired, I wanted something to do,” he said. “I’d gone to evening classes because I wanted to learn about computers.

“I had no idea how the damned things worked so I thought I’d better get started.”

New homes built for the London overspill in 1963, some of 3,500 new dwellings built in Lynn after an agreement with London County Council to accept an extra population of 10,000 over 10 years Picture: Dick Goodchild (Image: Archant)

Since his first book about Lynn in the 1930s was published, he has been donating the proceeds to charities and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, with the total to date standing at around £60,000.

King’s Lynn, A Scrapbook of the 1950s to the 1990s, can be obtained from WH Smith and Watersones in Lynn, priced £12.99 or online at www.trickysampublishing.co.uk.

Ice floes on the River Ouse in KIng's Lynn during the bitterly cold winter of 1963 Picture: Bill Graver (Image: BIll Graver)

A goods train arrives under the Tennyson Avenue footbridge in King's Lynn in the 1960s Picture; Bill Graver (Image: Archant)

Lynn-based historian and author Bob Booth Picture: Matthew Usher. (Image: © ARCHANT NORFOLK 2015)

Bob Booth's latest book - King's Lynn A Scrapbook of the 1950s to the 1990s Picture: Archant (Image: Archant)