Lynn and the German Hanse

Dr Paul Richards, whose knowledge of Lynn's history is encyclopaedic (see 800 glorious years of King's Lynn history, a Lynn News special publication to mark the 800th anniversary of the town's royal charter, 2005)very kindly showed us some of the town's wonders including the Kontor, a combined warehouse and dormitory constructed by the merchants of the German Hanse in 1475 following the Treaty of Utrecht, February 28, 1474. Edward IV was prepared to make concessions to the Hanse because he intended to invade France and needed to settle disputes with the Hanse arising from his failure to honour the promises he had made to secure their help in regaining the kingdom in 1471. (see Charles Ross, Edward IV, Yale University Press, 1997, 211-212. For the importance of Lynn in trade with the Hanse see T H Lloyd, England and the German Hanse, Cambridge University Press, 2002)