File:18th century facade - geograph.org.uk - 618367.jpg

English: 18th century facade This 18th century building on Fish Hill now houses an antiques shop. Fish Hill links Market Place with Bull Street and was once the site of the fish market, which was destroyed by the fire in 1708. Holt is a rural Norfolk town with a market place, and a High Street lined by interesting Georgian houses and cottages, pubs and tearooms as well as unusual shops. Many of the former court yards and tradesmen's yards have been converted into shops or accommodation. In 1066 Holt already had a market and a port (the coastal village of Cley being named in the Domesday Book as the port of Holt), five water mills and twelve plough teams. The town survived the Plague of 1348, and by 1556 a school had been opened. The school (a public school since 1900) was founded by Sir John Gresham, and is described as one of the leading schools in the country. In 1708 the town was badly damaged by a fire, which destroyed most of the houses and left the church in the isolated position it occupies today. In Victorian times, Holt had a population of around 1700 and a daily coach service to Cromer, Norwich and London; the railway arrived in 1884.