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Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 24,340.〔()/〕 Thetford is noted as the birthplace of Thomas Paine; a statue of him stands on King Street. ==History== The Iceni were a Celtic tribe living in Norfolk and parts of Cambridgeshire. Archaeological evidence suggests that Thetford was an important tribal centre during the late Iron Age and early Roman period. A ceremonial 'grove' was uncovered there during excavations. In 1979, a hoard of Romano-British metalwork, known as the Thetford treasure was located just outside of Thetford. Dating from the mid-4th century AD, this hoard is a collection of thirty three inscribed spoons, twenty gold finger rings, four pendants, several necklaces and a 2" gold buckle depicting a dancing satyr. They are currently on display and under curation at the British Museum. Thetford, an important crossing of the River Little Ouse, draws its name from the Anglo-Saxon ''Theod''ford or ''peoples'' ford. The nearby River Thet was later named after the town. On 20 November 869, Edmund the Martyr – the last native King of the East Angles – was killed in East Anglia by Vikings. For a time Edmund was England’s patron saint. The ''Domesday Book'' lists William of Bello Fargo as the Bishop of Thetford〔(The Domesday Book Online - Landowners A-C )〕 in 1085. Castle Hill, to the south-east of the town centre, is a Norman motte though no trace remains of the castle which once surmounted it. The mound (motte) is open to the public, and provides excellent views of the town from its summit and extensive earthworks. It is in a public park, near the Three Nuns Bridges and close to the town centre overlooking the rivers. Thetford also contains the ruins of a 12th-century Cluniac priory. Thetford Priory, open to the public, was closed during the Reformation. Both the Priory and the Bell Inn, also in Thetford, were featured for their alleged hauntings on the television series Ghosthunters. The Black Horse public house dates from the mid 18th century, and is grade II listed. The British Trust for Ornithology moved its headquarters into the former Nunnery, south of the town centre, in 1991. Thetford was the birthplace of Thomas Paine and his statue stands on King Street, holding a quill and his book ''Rights of Man'', upside down. Paine attended Thetford Grammar School. Born in Thetford on 9 February 1737, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 where he was to participate in the American Revolution. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely read pamphlet ''Common Sense'' 〔Common Sense〕 (1776), advocating colonial America's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and ''The American Crisis'' 〔The American Crisis〕 (1776–1783), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series. Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns, born in Inagua, the Bahamas, Mayor of Thetford in 1904, was the first black man to become a mayor in Britain.〔(Norfolk Black History Month )〕 His son Allan Noel Minns, also a doctor, was awarded the DSO and MC in the First World War. Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and other early Tudor dynasty officials were once buried in Thetford before removal to Framlingham. The (Ancient House Museum ), situated on White Hart Street, is an oak-framed Tudor merchant's house. The museum holds replicas of the Thetford Treasure and has displays about flint knapping, rabbit warreners and wildlife in the brecks. You can also find out more about Thomas Paine and the Maharajah Duleep Singh. The Ancient House was gifted to the town by Prince Frederick Duleep Singh. In the 1960s the town grew considerably as one of the 'expanded towns' of the Government policy known as London overspill, which moved residents out of Greater London. The surrounding Breckland has been largely replaced by the Thetford Forest, though Thetford Chase remains. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thetford」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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