Cromer Pier is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed seaside

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

in the civil parish of

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local ...

on the north coast of the English county of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, due north of the city of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

in the United Kingdom. The pier is the home of the Cromer Lifeboat Station and the Pavilion Theatre.

History

There are records of a pier in Cromer back as far as 1391, although then it was in the form of a

jetty A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater (structure), breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French la ...

. In the year 1582,

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

, in a letter to the inhabitants of Cromer granted rights to export

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

and

malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

with the proceeds to be used for the maintenance and well-being of the pier and the town of Cromer. In 1822, a long jetty was built (of cast iron, made by Hase of Saxthorpe) but this structure lasted just 24 years before it was totally destroyed in a storm. This jetty was replaced by another wooden structure but this time it was a little longer being . This jetty soon became very popular for promenading. A keeper was employed to keep order; there were strict rules applied including no smoking, and ladies were required to retire from the jetty by 9 PM. The last wooden jetty survived until 1897, when it was damaged beyond repair after a coal boat smashed into it. It was dismantled and the timber sold for £40. For a period of time from this date Cromer was without a pier but to end this situation the "Pier Commissioners" planned to replace the old wood structure with a more fashionable structure. In 1901, the new pier was completed and opened to the public. This new pier was designed by Douglass and Arnott and the construction was carried out by Alfred Thorne. The new pier was long and had cost £17,000 to build. In the early years the pier consisted of glass-screened shelters and a

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

on the end of the pier. The shelters were roofed over in 1905 to form a pavilion; the bandstand was later replaced with a stage and proscenium arch. From 1907 this was used to accommodate the latest craze of roller-skating. The pier is owned and maintained by North Norfolk District Council which undertook responsibility for running and funding after the local government re-organisation of 1974. Since that time, the District Council have carried out a number of major repair and refurbishments, the most recent being completed in 2013. In March 2015, the pier was voted ''Pier of the Year 2015'' by the

National Piers Society The National Piers Society (NPS) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to promoting and sustaining interest in the preservation and continued enjoyment of seaside piers. It was founded in 1979, with Sir John Betjeman as the fi ...

. Owners

North Norfolk District Council North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

said it was "a fantastic reward" and they were "hugely proud of the pier".

Pier repairs

North Norfolk District Council began a £1.2 million repair scheme in June 2012, and the work was completed in October 2013, just before the tidal surge of December 2013. Repairs included replacement of the metal main trusses and cross braces. The pier was damaged during the

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

of 5 December 2013. However, the repair work just completed allowed the main structure to withstand the main force of the surge, although there was damage to parts of the walkway and other buildings. Decking boards were lifted with damage to the souvenir shop, the box office and the flooring of the Pavilion Theatre. The pier was closed to the public on safety grounds until repairs were completed, allowing the theatre to resume its Christmas show programme on 12 December 2013 and allowing public access to the pier, and the RNLI safe access to the lifeboat station at the pier-end. An initial assessment of the damage to the pier made indicated repair costs would be in the tens of thousands of pounds, but within nine days this figure had escalated to the hundreds of thousands. A temporary box office was erected at the pier-entrance while the permanent box office and souvenir shop were refurbished. As of July 2014, work was continuing, and the pier's supporting structure had been repaired. Another eight-week scheme of improvements was expected to start in September 2014, with a projected cost of a further £200,000.

In the media

*'' Our Miss Fred'' used the exterior of the pier's theatre in a 1972 film with Danny La Rue *The pier was used as a film location for the 1979 ITV television series, '' Danger UXB'', starring Anthony Andrews,Cromer history
Retrieved April 12, 2008 and in the 1993 ITV series ''September Song'' with

Russ Abbot Russell Allan Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts; 18 September 1947) is an English musician, actor and comedian. Born in Chester, he first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black A ...

. *'' The Flesh and Blood Show'' used the pier's theatre in a 1972 horror thriller film with Jenny Hanley and Ray Brooks. *The

Living TV Sky Witness is a British pay television tv channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts procedural dramas from the United States aimed at the 18–45 age demographic. Sky Ital ...

show '' Most Haunted'' visited the pier for investigation of any

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

activity in April 2009. *The 2011 film '' In Love with Alma Cogan'' was filmed on and around the pier. *The pier and the town was used as a location for the 2013 film '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'', *The BBC short fantasy ident, ''Wonderland'', one of the 'Oneness' idents, first aired 1 December 2018.

Awards

*2000

– Pier of the Year *2015

– Pier of the Year *2024

– Pier of the Year

Gallery

Image:Cromer Pier, Cromer, Norfolk, England-2Jan2012.jpg, Cromer Pier, January 2012 Image:Cromer Pier.jpg, Cromer Pier as seen from the Henry Blogg Museum Image:Cromer Pier Lifeboat Station.jpg, Cromer Lifeboat Station Image:Oldcromershed.jpg, Old Cromer Lifeboat shed now at

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth, Suffolk, River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths ...

Image:Cromer Pier Lifeboat Station2.jpg, RNLB ''Lester'' Cromer Pier, Cromer, Norfolk, England-2Jan2012 (2).jpg, View of the pier Image:CromerPier 01.JPG, Pier viewed from the west Image:Cromer pier may 2009.jpg, Cromer Pier, May 2009

References

External links

Images of Cromer Pier
{{Piers in the United Kingdom Piers in Norfolk Buildings and structures in Norfolk Cromer Grade II listed buildings in Norfolk Tourist attractions in Norfolk