author
A. D. Bayne
A 19th-century English local historian, antiquarian, and compiler of richly detailed regional history. Best known for writing A Comprehensive History of Norwich, he gathered civic, political, religious, and architectural material into a single sweeping account of the city’s past.
1 Audiobook
A Comprehensive History of Norwich
by A. D. Bayne
About the author
Working in the 19th century, A. D. Bayne is remembered for A Comprehensive History of Norwich, first published in 1869. The book set out to bring together a full narrative of Norwich’s history, drawing on earlier manuscripts, civic records, and a wide range of historical sources.
His writing shows the interests of a local historian and antiquarian: churches, public buildings, municipal life, trade, religion, and the stories of notable people all have a place in his work. Bayne’s approach was broad and practical, aiming to make a large body of local knowledge accessible in one volume.
Firmly documented biographical details about Bayne himself are hard to confirm from the sources I found, so his books remain the clearest guide to his life’s work. For listeners interested in English regional history, his writing offers a vivid window into Norwich and the wider East Anglian past.