Cromer
Holiday House
The History of Cromer
This page has been compiled by the website creator and owner of Cromer Holiday house using resouces referenced at the bottom of the page.
This has been written we the interest of visitors in mind and recommends some of Cromers most historical places to visit during your trip.
Norfolks Lost 'Atlantis'-rediscovered!
Martin Warren, left, and David Pope, dived to the ruins of Shipden, in Cromer, in 1986. Nobody knows when settlers first came to Shipden but it is mentioned in the Doomsday book nearly 1000 years ago.
The Coast was consistently eroding and in 1336 part of Shipden's graveyard fell into the sea, with the church following in 1400. By the 14th Century most of Shipden had been lost to the sea's murky clutches, and most of the townsfolk moved further inland to Cromer.
It is said many townsfolk of the lost Shipden,used to sleep on the shoreline and wait for low tide and dive down and pillage things left in the lost Shipden. The Steeple of the church used to peak out among the waves and was declared a risk to all ships and sunk a few over the years including the ship which ferried people to and from Cromer -Sheringham
Henry Bloggs
Henry Bloggs is the most decorated lifeboatman in RNLI History and served for over 53 years on the Cromer lifeboat.
With the help of his crew he rescued 873 lives from the North sea. His courageous acts are known worldwide and in Cromer is is often reffered to as 'the greatest of lifeboat men'
Cromer has dedicated a museum in his honour which tells the tales of his daring rescues and it has some of his equipment which he used throughout his service before retiring in 1947.
The Henry Bloggs Museum in Cromer is definitly worth checking out whilst visiting, there is a memorial of Bloggs looking out to sea on the cliff top just above the museum
Famous Visitors
Winston Churchill
Churchill had visited regularly as a child and is famously quoted “I am not enjoying myself very much” in 1888.
In 1914, his wife insited the children needed a holiday and they came to Overstrand. On Sunday 26th July 1914, Churchill spoke on the telephone to Prince Louis of Battenberg (the First Sea Lord) and decided that events demanded his presence.
He left Overstrand for the last time and returned to London on the admiralty yacht HMS Enchantress.
A few days later at eleven o’clock on the night of 4th August, Great Britain was at war with Germany.
Mamouth Tusk found in West Runton
In 2017 a Mamouth tibia was found on a beach in West Runton, the Tibia is over 2 million years old.
West Runton beach is believed to be an area of significance as they have found the most complete skeleton of a Mamouth.
Other interesting finds made included pieces of what is believed to be a steppe bison, rhino and hippo.
The coast is known for its fossils, this find was significant due to how preserved it was.
Often storms and coastal erosion reveals new fossils as the earth is shifted.
Storm of 2017
In Early January 2017 Cromer was hit by a horrendous storm and escaped flooding, however, Cromer Seawall was breached and took substantial damage.
In addition many beach huts we destroyed, with their contents strewn across the beach.
The most significant area of damage was the 116 year old famous Pier. The storm had been so strong it smashed through the decking of the Pier and had to be closed temporaily to the public due to safety concerns.
North Norfolk District Council over the next year invested considerable amounts of money into the repairs and reestablishing the sea defences which protect Cromer.
Museums in Cromer
There are several museums in Cromer due to its historic background.
The Cromer Museum
This museum is on the highstreet, so a short walk from the house and actually contains the mamouth bones found in West Runton. along with other fascinating artefacts from history.
Henry Bloggs RNLI Lifeboat Museum
This is dedicated to Henry BLoggs as mentioned above, it contains a full sized Lifeboat inside and many artefacts from Bloggs time as a lifeboatman
It is a very fascinating story and has been portrayed in an interactive way perfect for all ages.