In 1086 (Domesday Book) Fakenham had only 150 residents. Hempton, on the opposite side of the river, was the larger community and had an abbey that played host to pilgrims on their way to Walsingham. Fakenham became the dominant centre when the abbey was abolished by Henry VIII. It has been a market town since 1250, when it was given a Charter. The stalls probably occupied space around the parish church of St Peter & St Paul. Fakenham's modern-day Thursday market is still situated very close to its original positioning and around the market place.
Its major industry in the 19th and 20th centuries was printing, but the major printworks (Cox and Wyman) closed in the 1970s. Nevertheless, there are still more than ten small printing firms in industrial premises around and near the town. A large number of printing blocks have been set into the surface of the market place as a memorial to this lost industry.
In the late 1990s the town was listed by a contributor to the knowhere guide as "the most boring place on Earth". The contribution was specifically referring to Wednesday afternoon which is 'early closing' in Fakenham. This comment, made by an individual, was taken and quoted out of context as "voted the most boring place on Earth" and very rapidly the story was running in national newspapers with the town council defending the town and spending considerable time, money and effort trying to prove that this was not the case.
Recent investment in Fakenham has seen the town centre being renovated and pedestrianised. It now enjoys a popular farmers' market on the morning of the 4th Saturday of each month.
The town was the base for North Norfolk's very first independent commercial radio station (albeit temporary) in August 1997 (Fakenham Town Radio). Other temporary services followed, between November 1998 and May 2001, including FCR 107.2 and Central Norfolk Radio.
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