Uncovering the Rich History of Norwich our ‘Fine City’ – by Paul Dickson.
I have been a tour guide in Norwich for the last nine years, after training as an official City of Norwich tourist guide. I grabbed the opportunity to train as a tourist guide, as it is something that I had always wanted to do. I loved history from an early age, ‘devouring’ Ladybird books, went on to study Modern History at Durham University and worked for The National Trust for 15 years. Being a tour guide allows me to be continuously immersed in both local and national history, adding to my knowledge all the time.
I initially led tours for the Tourist Information Centre, but gradually began developing my own programme. The big change came with the publication of a Tombland by CJ Sansom, towards the end of 2018. I had been doing PR work for the Maids Head Hotel for a number of years and showed CJ Sansom round the hotel when he was researching Tombland. I read the book as soon as it came out and agreed with the Maids Head that I would produce a Matthew Shardlake tour (the key character in Tombland), starting and finishing at the hotel (where he stays in the book).
Shardlake's Norwich
Shardlake’s Norwich was launched in February 2019. The tour takes people up to Kett’s Heights with its fabulous view across the city, as well as discussing the story of Kett’s Rebellion, which is at the heart of Tombland. I have been delighted with the interest in the tour, with visitors from all over Britain exploring Shardlake’s Norwich.
At the same time as the Shardlake development, I became involved in the English National Parks Experience Collection, which expanded my offer into the Norfolk Broads. The project, which had funding from VisitEngland, provided business and marketing advice for participating experience providers, along with photographs and video of experiences in action. There was a national PR and marketing campaign to launch the Experiences Collection and the Broads Authority has continued to work with and promote the local experiences. My first tour in the Broads was Rails, Trails and Sails – a rail trip from Norwich to Reedham and a walk in the Reedham area. I now also offer two tours from Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden.
Black History Month
Involvement in Norfolk Black History Month led to me researching a Norwich black history tour, looking at the evidence for African in Norfolk over the centuries and also considering the county’s role in the abolition movement. One of my favourite stories is about Pablo Fanque, Britain’s first black circus entrepreneur, who grew up in very humble circumstances in Norwich, before becoming a much-loved circus proprietor in the middle decades of the 19th century. Pablo Fanque, was famously given a modern publicity boost by John Lennon, who, inspired by a Pablo Fanque circus poster, wrote For the Benefit of Mr Kite, and name-checked our Norwich circus star in the song.
I currently offer 14 walking tours in Norwich, as well as a guided coach tour for groups visiting the city. New tours under development include George Skipper’s Cromer, looking at the role of the great late Victorian and Edwardian architect in the building of Cromer. This tour will go alongside my Boardman and Skipper tour in Norwich. I am also hoping to be able to offer tours of City Hall, Norwich later this year.
It was a pleasure to be involved in Pathmakers’ Walk Norfolk festival last year . I am looking forward to being involved again, running three tours in Walk Norfolk 2023, this October: Shardlake’s Norwich, Norwich: A Black History and Norwich Riverside Walk.
To find out more about my tours see www.pauldicksontours.co.uk. You can also find me on Twitter @nch_tourguide, Facebook at www.facebook.com/pauldicksontours and Instagram at pauldickson50.
