Sherlock Holmes: Early adventures set in Norfolk, research suggests
When most people think of Sherlock Holmes, they picture the foggy streets of Victorian London. But in a short story called The Gloria Scott, the young Holmes was inspired to pursue a career as a super sleuth in a fictional Norfolk village named Donnithorpe.
Research undertaken by the Sherlock Holmes Society of London (SHSL) in the 1980s, but never previously published, argues that Donnithorpe was based on the village of Rollesby on the Trinity Broads.
The research was undertaken by the late Bernard Davies, a member of the society.
It was during a visit to Norfolk in 1984 that Davies looked into where The Gloria Scott could have taken place.
Society member Roger Johnson said: "Davies was a genius at finding real places that must be the ones that are described in stories under fictional names… what he called 'literary topographical detection'."
Not many residents in the village are aware of the Holmes connections.
John Stanforth is the owner of the house which stands on the site of the old Rollesby Hall.
He said: "I must admit it was news to me.
"But I've read some of the research and it does sound all very plausible. I'm amazed at how much time people will spend developing a thesis like that. We could have a blue plaque no doubt."
The Gloria Scott, first published in 1893, explores how Holmes became involved in his first case at a university friend's Norfolk home .
Mr Johnson, editor of the society's journal, said the the book was "not one of the best stories but an important story in the Sherlock Holmes canon".
He said: "It gives us our only real glimpse of the young Sherlock Holmes.
"It's a memory, a tale that Holmes tells Watson of how he first decided that what up until then 'had been the merest hobby' could become a profession."
Mr Johnson said Davies analysed details in the story to pinpoint the location.
He said: "By relating the Broads to the railway system as it was, to the approximate speed at which a horse and buggy could go, and most importantly the times of sunset… by these and the descriptions of Donnithorpe with its view over the Broads, it narrows down to one place and one place only, and that's Rollesby Hall."
Conan Doyle's literary creation has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in recent years, due in part to the success of the BBC drama series Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
When Sherlock returns for its third series on BBC One later this year, few viewers will have any idea that the super-sleuth's career may have begun in a small, quiet, village on the Norfolk Broads.
Far From the Fogs, the story of Sherlock Holmes in Norfolk, is on BBC Radio Norfolk on 26 August at 12:00 BST and available on the BBC iPlayer for seven days afterwards.