Thetford

Scrumdown · Thetford

Has anyone else done the tour of the outside scenes in Thetford?

We went there last year while on a short break to Bury St Edmunds and thought the place needed a large dollop of TLC. Such a shame - I imagined the place to be quite quaint, even nowadays, but there were some rather interesting characters hanging around, and this was at around 9am on a Sunday morning.

There's a church there which, although not in any of the outside bits, is derelict and boarded up. The tombstones outside painted with graffiti and vandalised by the locals. I'm an athiest myself, but I do find it sad to see stuff like that.

Thetford Guildhall which doubled as W-O-S's Town Hall looks a lot smaller in real life than it did on screen, but Nether Row and the road Jones walks up trailed by the Polish officer in Face On The Poster hasn't changed a bit, except the addition of lots of cars.

Overall, I thought Thetford a sad, forgotten place and I doubt I'll return. Wonder what the cast would think if they could see it now.

Anyone else been? What did you think?

Bramleyman

Living just 12 miles from there years ago, I worked in Thetford and even then it wasn't anything exceptionally special to me. The Dad's Army Museum has as far as I know, now opened near the Town Hall.
As for BSE, that has absolutely no appeal to me, compared to Thetford and where I would rather visit out of the two.

Scrumdown

Strange, I found BSE far more welcoming that Thetford, which I found to be run down, grubby and a bit of a disappointment. Junkies, weirdos, vandalism and boarded up shops etc I didn't expect to see.

Didn't see a museum which is a shame. Is it perhaps a recent development?

Bramleyman

Hello Scrumdown, yes the Museum has only been opened a couple of months. Re BSE, perhaps it's because my brother spoils the look of the place by living there?
Laughing

wrighty · Thetford

The Dad's Army Museum opened in December 2007 and has limited opening times as it is run by volunteers. To date we have had over 3,500 through the doors opening on the last Saturday of the month plus selected other dates.
To find out more about the Museum, opening times, souvenirs and the town location tours visit www.dadsarmythetford.org.uk
In July we had our 40th anniversary Dad's Army celebrations and raising money for the proposed Mainwaring statue in the town.

wrighty · Thetford

Thetford has not had the investment it should have over the years but there is still plenty to see. The Priory, the burial place of the Dukes of Norfolk, Castle Hill the country's tallest medieval earthwork sitting amongst the Iron Age ramparts of the Iceni's fort. The Burrell Museum celebrating the mighty Traction Engines built in the town and the Ancient House Museum currently displaying the Thetford Treasure on loan from the British Museum.
No to mention the statues of Thomas Paine & Duleep Singh.

Bramleyman