We have a rich agricultural heritage in East Anglia - but did you know Norfolk was a trailblazer in sugar production?

The Cantley sugar factory, next to the River Yare, was one of the first beet sugar factories to be built after earlier ventures in the 19th century in Suffolk and Essex failed.

But the facility faced its own challenges during its early years.

After Dutch interests raised investment funds in 1911, the half-built plant was destroyed by the 1912 flood and it eventually closed in 1915.

The main reasons for the failure were a shortage of beet and the reluctance of farmers to grow the crop.

At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Britain imported three-quarters of its sugar from Europe, mostly from Germany.

The war had a tremendous impact on shipping and this forced the Government to consider a domestic industry and measures to encourage food security.

The English Beet Sugar Corporation was founded and in 1920 the factory at Cantley was reopened.

By 1922, the Anglo-Dutch Sugar Company was close to bankruptcy, but misfortune elsewhere in the country worked in its favour.

A Nottinghamshire factory at Kelham went out of business. The beet went to Cantley and it kept its head above water - just.

In 1925, sugar beet production was subsidised and in 1936 the British Sugar Corporation was formed. With its creation, all existing sugar beet companies were effectively nationalised.

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