{"id":3782,"date":"2020-03-28T20:41:19","date_gmt":"2020-03-28T20:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=3782"},"modified":"2025-03-02T19:45:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T19:45:44","slug":"youth-hostel-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=3782","title":{"rendered":"The Former Martham Youth Hostel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Martham<\/strong> Youth Hostel<\/strong> – gone but not forgotten!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Martham had a Youth Hotel from 1969 to 1985.  It was at 66 Damgate Lane (TG 456191).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*The hostel was opened on 1st<\/sup>\nAugust 1969 after much delay caused through refused planning consent, which was\nfinally overturned. The first hope of opening had been in 1966 and later an\nopening day of 1st<\/sup> July 1968 was mooted but not achieved. In 1969\nthe Youth Hostel Association hand book gave brief details and expressed a hope\nthat it would be open soon. The hostel was planned as a centre for canoeing by\nits warden Arthur Cornford who had formerly been a warden at Goudhurst, Cranfield, Kent\nand Tanners Hatch Hostel in Dorking, Surrey.\nThe hostel was in two parts: a farmhouse called Orchard House which dates back\nto the 1870\u2019s and was the former home of a wherry skipper. It was previously occupied\nby Mr & Mrs Debbage. Behind it was the extension, a specially constructed\nbuilding to Arthur Cornford\u2019s own design to provide accommodation for canoeing\nactivities and store supplies for visitors.  The hostel extension was built by the Martham firm\nof Harriss Builders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nArthur, and his wife Barbara, used to provided guided walks for local people\nwhich would finish with a welcoming hot cup of chocolate or coffee in the\ncommunal kitchen at the hostel.  For many\nyears Barbara contributed to the Yarmouth Archaeological Society\u2019s activities\nand was the editor of the Norfolk Research Committee\u2019s Bulletin as well as\nbeing a teacher. She wrote a wonderful book called \u201cMedieval Flegg\u201d (IBSN 0 948400 98 6)  that provides a wealth of\ninformation on historical aspects of Martham. It is a must read for anyone\ninterested in the history of East & West Flegg from 1086 to 1500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cornfords retired in 1983\nand sold the hostel to Heather & John Johnson to continue as an\naccommodation hostel. It closed on 31st<\/sup> October 1985 at the end of\nthe holiday season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was actually a dwelling on the same site according to the 1842 Tithe Award list\/map and it was owned, along with two adjacent pastures, by John Dawson who farmed about 16 acres around Damgate<\/a><\/em>.
In 1911 it was occupied as a farm by William Grimson WARNES & his wife Elizabeth, nee Watson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*With grateful thanks to the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Buildings<\/span><\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Martham Youth Hostel – gone but not forgotten! Martham had a Youth Hotel from 1969 to 1985.  It was at 66 Damgate Lane (TG 456191). *The hostel was opened on 1st August 1969 after much delay caused through refused planning consent, which was finally overturned. The first hope of opening had been in 1966 and … Continue reading “The Former Martham Youth Hostel”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3782","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t