File:Reflections in the River Nar - geograph.org.uk - 1638918.jpg

English: Reflections in the River Nar. The maltings, reflected on the slightly rippled surface of the River Nar as the low winter sun begins to set on a late December afternoon, bathing the tall buildings in a golden glow for a short while. In the foreground the river re-converges with the mill stream which once powered Narborough Mill > 1637733.

The maltings > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1638893 are situated west of Main Road and north of the River Nar. They were once owned by the Marriott Family, Lords of the Manor from 1857-1875, who also owned the navigation and the wharf. Presently The Maltings is the address of a number of businesses, ranging from a saddlery, a furniture upholstery, kitchen designers and a photo studio to a doctor's surgery.

The River Nar is a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises near Litcham > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/504461 and flows 15 miles west through the villages of Castle Acre > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/686490 and Narborough > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1637659. When in the mid 18th century the Industrial Revolution gathered pace the River Nar was already a major navigation. At that time it was owned by the Marriott family, Lords of the Manor from 1857 - 1875, and used to bring in timber, coal, grain, malt and bones from Kings Lynn by horse drawn lighters or barges, carrying up to 10 tons. Return cargoes included sand and gravel from Pentney pits and bonemeal fertilizer from Narborough Bone Mill > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/630814. The river was canalised to connect the village of Narborough to King's Lynn and beyond: the Nar system included one pound-lock, and ten staunches were built in the five miles below the village. Navigation to Narborough ended in 1884, although steam tugs and barges still used the lowest reaches of the river until well into the 20th century, notably those of the West Norfolk Farmers Manure Company which brought ammonia-rich gas water to their factory from Cambridge gasworks until 1932.