King’s Lynn boasts many maritime connections with America. It is the birthplace of John Mason, one of the founders of New Hampshire, and Captain Vancouver, after whom the city of Vancouver is named. John Smith – of early Jamestown – was apprenticed in Lynn as a teenager before leaving England for adventures overseas. Samuel Cresswell, the first naval man to cross the North-West passage, was also born here. The town was also involved in slave trade and whaling industry.
Statue of Captain Vancouver outside The Custom House, King’s Lynn
Image courtesy of Elliott Simpson and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license
Norfolk's American Connections 