DISS - the town and its Mere
Although I have been through Diss several times, I had never been into the town centre and was unaware of the Mere. So a visit today to rectify this! Diss acquired its name from the Saxon word 'Dic' or 'Disce' meaning a 'ditch of standing water' which I assume refers to what in now the mere. One of it`s famous residents was Sir John Betjeman, who loved Diss above all East Anglian towns, and often said he was more proud of being president of the Diss Society than he was of being Poet Laureate - some complement. So here follows some of the thing seen as I meandered around. The Diss sign is topped with a shield bearing the town’s coat of arms, two sets of blue and white wavy lines. The sign (below) is two sided, with both sides depicting stories related to royalty – though the stories are separated by nearly 300 years. “John Skelton Rector of Diss (1505-1529) Poet Laureate and tutor to the young Prince Henry (Later Henry VIII) give instruction to the prince and hi...