 The name of the route originates from the chief engineer and manager of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR), William Marriott, who held the position for 41 years.The path uses the trackbeds of two former railway lines, from Norwich to Themelthorpe and from Themelthorpe to Aylsham.The Themelthorpe to Norwich line was built in 1882 by the Lynn and Fakenham Railway Company which was taken over by the M&GNJR in 1893, as part of a line that ran to Melton Constable.