The UK has plenty of stunning market towns that anyone would love to live in – but many of them have steep house prices due to demand and location.
However, there is one historic and beautiful place that not only has affordable housing but also a surprising royal connection.
Downham Market, in Norfolk, has medieval roots, Victorian architecture, and a rich past that includes sheltering King Charles I after his defeat in the English Civil War.
The town is located on the edge of the Fens and was once an important market hub. It is also one of Norfolk’s oldest market towns and became known for its butter market and horse fairs during the Middle Ages.
What’s more, it has a unique nickname – the “Gingerbread Town” – because of the distinctive carrstone used in many of its buildings.
As far as the royal connection is concerned, on May Day 1646, Charles I hid in what is now The Swan Inn while disguised as a clergyman.
He had suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Naseby and was trying to evade capture. While in Downham Market, the king had his hair trimmed as part of his disguise. A local barber is said to have commented that it looked like it had been cut with a knife.
After changing his appearance in Downham Market, King Charles I continued his desperate attempts to evade capture. He was trying to negotiate with the Scottish army, hoping they would offer him protection from the Parliamentarians.
He eventually made his way to Newark, where he surrendered to the Scots on May 5, 1646. However, instead of offering him safety, the Scots handed him over to Parliament in exchange for £100,000.
Charles was imprisoned for nearly three years while Parliament debated his fate. In 1647, he briefly escaped captivity on the Isle of Wight but was quickly recaptured.
After failed negotiations and a second civil war, he was put on trial for high treason in 1649. The trial ended with a death sentence, and on January 30, 1649, he was executed outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London.
But Downham Market’s history stretches back much further than the 17th century. It goes back over 2,000 years – and the town still has many historical landmarks.
The black and white clock tower, built in 1878, stands in the market square, while the town hall was completed in the late 19th century.
The area’s medieval parish church, St Edmund’s, also overlooks the town and has been a key feature for centuries.
House prices in Downham Market remain relatively affordable compared with many parts of the UK. According to Rightmove, the average price of a property in the town over the last year was £262,952. Detached homes sold for an average of £316,392, while semi-detached properties fetched £223,712. Terraced houses had an average price of £213,711.
The town’s location, about 30 miles north of Cambridge and 11 miles south of King’s Lynn, makes it a popular choice for commuters.
It has good transport links, including a railway station on the Fen Line with direct services to London. The town also has a market that continues to run on Fridays and Saturdays.
Local historian Kathleen Wiseman told the BBC: “Our dear town may have been in the background, but it has been touched by so many events in history.”
