Quiz

Do you know your famous locals?

Our region has been blessed with some genuinely talented personalities over the years. Here’s a simple test of your local celebrity knowledge. Good luck!

The answers are at the bottom of the page.

 

1 Where was Sir James Dyson (of vacuum cleaner fame) born?

A Wisbech
B King’s Lynn
C Cromer
D Hunstanton

 

2 Which of these was NOT written by Lowestoft-born Benjamin Britten?

A Billy Budd
B Billy Elliot
C Peter Grimes
D The Turn of the Screw

 

3 Margaret Fountaine was born in Norfolk - what’s she famous for?

A Birds
B Flowers
C Toads
D Butterflies

 

4 What was the mother of Ipswich’s Cardinal Thomas Wolsey?

A A farmer
B A seamstress
C An actress
D A prostitute

 

5 What was the real name of Norfolk’s Singing Postman?

A Allan Smethurst
B Andrew Smedley
C Adrian Smithers
D Alistair Small

 

6 Which of these films doesn’t feature Suffolk-born actor Ralph Fiennes?

A The English Patient
B Red Dragon
C Schindler’s List
D The Talented Mr Ripley

 

7 Where was the first Prime Minister of Great Britain born?

A Somerleyton Hall, Suffolk
B Houghton Hall, Norfolk
C Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk
D Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire

 

8 Where was the famous painter Thomas Gainsborough born?

A Aldeburgh
B Stowmarket
C Sudbury
D Ipswich

 

9 What was the last race King’s Lynn’s Martin Brundle took part in?

A 1996 Japanese Grand Prix
B 1994 Canadian Grand Prix
C 1998 Italian Grand Prix
D 1997 British Grand Prix

 

10 What’s the claim to fame of Ampton-born Robert FitzRoy?

A He was the first Governor of Florida
B He was captain of the HMS Beagle
C He invented the Bunsen Burner
D He was the first Mayor of Ipswich

 

11 Where was cook (and football supporter) Delia Smith born?

A Yorkshire
B Berkshire
C Surrey
D Hampshire

 

12 Where did the Thetford-born revolutionary Thomas Paine die?

A New York
B Paris
C Thetford
D London

 

13 What was the name of Queen Boudica’s husband?

A Icinitakarus
B Spartacus
C Boudicantigus
D Prasutagus

 

14 What’s unusual about the paintings of Suffolk-born John Constable?

A All feature the painter somewhere
B None of them were signed
C More were sold in France than England
D All of them feature a dog

 

15 Where was Spooks star Matthew Macfadyen born?

A East Tuddenham
B Great Yarmouth
C Cromer
D King’s Lynn

 

16 Where was Saint Edmund born?

A Thetford
B Copenhagen
C Bury
D Nuremberg

 

17 Which playwright and poet was born at Stanton Hall in Norfolk?

A Ted Hughes
B James Finlayson
C Thomas Shadwell
D WH Auden

 

18 For what is Aldeburgh-born Millicent Garrett best known?

A Early feminism
B Early surrealist painting
C A series of cookery books
D Art Deco jewellery

 

19 Where was award-winning singer Beth Orton born?

A North Tuddenham
B West Winch
C East Dereham
D South Lopham

 

20 Which of these was Ipswich’s Brian Cant NOT involved with?

A Playschool
B Play Away
C Chigley
D Rainbow

 

Now add up your score (you get two points for a correct answer) and find out whether you need to brush up on your local figures.

 

ANSWERS:
1-C
2-B
3-D
4-D
5-A
6-D
7-B
8-C
9-A
10-B
11-C
12-A
13-D
14-C
15-B
16-D
17-C
18-A
19-C
20-D

So, how well did you do?

0-10 Come on admit it, you thought the Singing Postman was a fictional character didn’t you? Completely oblivious to number of important people born and bred in this region, you thought that fame was something rarely to visit East Anglia - at least not without a passport. Go home and brush up on your birthplaces, prime ministers and composers.

11-20 You didn’t get the worst score but only because this quiz is multiple choice! You knew the one about the Singing Postman, and also the films of Ralph Fiennes but only by guessing a few others did your score become passable. Memorize as much of this as possible for the next quiz down the local pub - it’s bound to impress.

21-30 To be fair, you’re already at pub quiz level and you’re kicking yourself about the few you got wrong. You think question 20 was especially unfair - how can one person be expected to know how children’s television as well as where famous poets and cardinals were born?

31-40 You’re probably the person who puts together the local pub quiz aren’t you? You’ve committed the works of Benjamin Britten to memory and were well aware that someone in Norfolk was famous for their work with butterflies. In fact you might well be in the middle of writing to Let’s Talk! to suggest other questions we could have used. Congratulations!