Friars Quay (Norwich) the River Wensum itself. The immediate history however relates to the use of the site as a timber yard until it was made available for development. Jewsons Timber Yard was established by John Wilson Jewson who shipped in timbers by wherries from Great Yarmouth. In 1868 George Jewson purchased a 17th-century house in Colegate which was used as the headquarters of the business. His son Richard (1867 to 1949) established Jewsons as the largest timber merchants between the Thames and the Humber. Richard became Lord Mayor of Norwich in 1917. The land was purchased by Norwich City Council in 1970.
Norwich feeder to KLM's Schiphol hub. FlyBe, Eastern Airways all serve Norwich. Through Bristow Helicopters Norwich airport serves the offshore oil and gas industry. There is a strong holiday charter flight business. The airport was originally the airfield of RAF Horsham St Faith. One of the old RAF hangars was once the home of Air UK, which grew out of Air Anglia and was then absorbed by the Dutch airline KLM. National Cycle Route 1 passes through Norwich, linking Beccles and Fakenham (and eventually Dover and the Shetland Islands). The River Yare is navigable from the sea at Great Yarmouth up