Event update: Parish Magazines
Magna Carta 800
13 & 14 June
Tuesday Market Place and Lynn Museum, 10 – 4 pm
Free
King’s Lynn will mark the 800th anniversary of the granting of Magna Carta by King John in a two-day event. The Tuesday Market Place will be transformed into a hive of medieval activity with falconry displays, craft demonstrations and historical characters including an archer, storyteller and of course King John and his barons, as well as the opportunity to make a King John Penny and search For King John’s treasure. Includes free entry to Lynn Museum.
Activities take place throughout both days (10 am – 4 pm)
Tuesday Market Place
- Falconry display
- Fire breathing
- Knights' Tournament
- Craft demonstrations – pottery, spinning, net making
- Historical characters – including King John, an archer and fanfare minstrel
- King John will make his proclamation about the freedoms contained within the Magna Carta
Town Centre
Search for King John’s lost treasure! Trail available from 23 May until 14 June
Pick up a treasure map from Lynn Museum or the Tourist Information Office (maps available from 23 May).
Lynn Museum
- Free admission
- Make your own King John Penny and use it to pay the storyteller in Baxter’s Plain
- Explore activities and displays about King John
- Make your own Magna Carta – what’s rights and freedoms would you demand?
Baxter’s Plain
Medieval storyteller
Pay the storyteller a King John Penny and he’ll tell you a tale!
This event is part of the Stories of Lynn project (click for more information about this project), which has received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Saturday 18 July, Freedom of the Borough
King Staithe Square, from 12 noon
Free
On 18 July 42 F King’s Lynn Squadron Air Training Corps will exercise their Freedom of the Borough for the first time. The squadron will parade along South Quay to King Staithe square at 12 noon, before a flypast by a Grace Spitfire at 1pm. The squadron has organised a trail of model Spitfires for people to explore.
Sunday 19 July,Forties Lynn: Life on the Home Front
Tuesday Market Place, Lynn Museum, King’s Lynn Town Hall and Baxter’s Plain, 10- 4 pm
Free to attend
Tuesday Market Place, Lynn Museum, King’s Lynn Town Hall and Baxter’s Plain,
Events run throughout the day, 10 am - 4 pm
Step back in time to the 1940s and discover what life was like on the home front during the Second World War with this free family event.
Tuesday Market Place
- Explore the air raid shelter beneath the Tuesday Market Place
- Meet British and American wartime characters, including Winston Churchill
- Take a look at the display of military and civilian vehicles from the era
- Pick up a period style gem at the Vintage Market
- Enjoy music performances by Timescape
King’s Lynn Town Hall, Saturday Market Place
- 1940s tea dance – take a dance lesson Esther and David (Cactus Promotions), then take a turn at the tea dance in the Assembly Hall
- Learn about the role the town hall played in King’s Lynn’s response to the war, including being the collection point for gas masks
- Test out a replica Morrison shelter
- Speak to enactors including a Billeting Officer, an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden and get a glimpse of black market dealings from ‘Sid the Spiv’
- Get tips about surviving on rations and pick up your sweet ration card
Lynn Museum, King’s Lynn bus station
- Free admission to Lynn Museum on 19 July. 10am – 4 pm.
There will be a variety of wartime-themed activities and displays and a chance to redeem sweet ration cards issued at King’s Lynn Town Hall.
Baxter’s Plain (Vancouver Quarter shopping centre)
- Jones’ Butcher’s Van – See the original vehicle from the celebrated television series Dad’s Army and meet the team from the Dad’s Army Museum, Thetford.
Sunday 9 August,Mods and Rockers, Scooter and Motorbike Meet
Tuesday Market Place, 10 – 4 pm
Free
Celebrating the best of the two-wheeled motoring world, the Mods and Rockers, Scooter and Motorbike Meet is a free family event and a must for all bike and ‘60s enthusiasts. Alongside the scooters and motorbikes on display, there will be trade stalls to explore and entertainment courtesy of rock bands, The Yesterdays and Mind the Gap. For more information and to register to show your scooter or motorbike, please visit
The Mods and Rockers, Scooter and Motorbike Meethas been kindly sponsored by Bikesure insurance. On the day there will be a collection for SERV blood bikes.
Sunday 23 August, Fairy tales and fables,
Vancouver Quarter, Tuesday Market Place, King’s Lynn Corn Exchange and King’s Lynn Arts Centre
Free
Prince Charming will take to the streets of King’s Lynn in search of a princess. Young adventurers can follow a treasure trail around the town and if they can crack the clues, they’ll be able to claim their own bag of treasure. During the day there will be a host of fun activities at King’s Lynn Art Centre and King’s Lynn Corn Exchange will be transformed into an enchanted forest inhabited by Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Children can try their hand at archery, listen to the storyteller and take part in fun arts and crafts as well as making their very own hand-print leaf to decorate the theatre’s walls ahead of this year’s pantomime. Keep an eye on for more details.
Classic Car Day, September 13 Tuesday Market Place
Free, pre-booked exhibitors only
The Classic Car Day will make a welcome return to the Tuesday Market Place on Sunday 13 September, once again coinciding with Heritage Open Day, organised by King's Lynn Civic Society. Last year the Classic Car Day attracted over 200 exhibitors and saw iconic vehicles like a Model T Ford, e-type Jaguar and Ford Mustang on display alongside the Cooper Car – the only surviving example of six cars made at the Cooper factory in King’s Lynn in the early 1900s. This year is set to be even better and an absolute must for motor enthusiasts. Registration information will soon be available at