Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

on the north coast of the

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer, and the largest town is North Walsham. The district also includes the towns of Fakenham, Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Shering ...

district of the 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 ...

, England. It is north 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 ...

, northwest of

North Walsham North Walsham is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. The town is located south of Cromer and Norwich is south. Demography The civil parish has an area of ...

and east of

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is a seaside town and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District ...

on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

coastline. The local government authorities are

District Council, whose headquarters is on Holt Road in the town, and

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for Norfolk, England. Below it there are seven second-tier district councils: Breckland District, Breckland, Broadland, Borough of Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmo ...

, based in Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and at the 2011 census had a population of 7,683. The town is notable as a traditional tourist resort and for the Cromer crab, which forms the major source of income for local fishermen. The motto ''Gem of the Norfolk Coast'' is highlighted on the town's road signs.

History

The town has given its name to the '' Cromerian Stage'' or ''Cromerian Complex'', also called the ''Cromerian'', a stage in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

glacial history of north-western Europe. Cromer is not mentioned in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'' of 1086. The place-name 'Cromer' is first found in a will of 1262 and could mean 'Crows' mere or lake'. There are other contenders for the derivation, a north-country word 'cromer' meaning 'a gap in the cliffs' or less likely a direct transfer from a Danish placename. It is reasonable to assume that the present site of Cromer, around the parish church of Saints Peter and Paul, is what was in 1337 called Shipden-juxta-Felbrigg, and by the end of the 14th century known as Cromer. A reference to a place called Crowemere Shipden can be seen in a legal record, dated 1422, (1 Henry VI), the home of John Gees. The other Shipden is now about a quarter of a mile to the north east of the end of Cromer Pier, under the sea. Its site is marked by Church Rock, now no longer visible, even at a low spring tide. In 1888 a small pleasure steamer called ''Victoria'' struck the remains of the church tower, and the rock was subsequently blown up for safety. In the present day, members of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

sub-aqua club dived at the site, and salvaged artefacts from both the medieval church and the wreck of ''Victoria.'' Cromer became a resort in the early 19th century, with some of the rich Norwich banking families making it their summer home. Visitors included the future King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

, who played golf here. The resort's facilities included the late- Victorian Cromer Pier, which is home to the Pavilion Theatre. In 1883 the London journalist Clement Scott went to Cromer and began to write about the area. He named the stretch of coastline, particularly the Overstrand and

Sidestrand Sidestrand is a village and a civil parish on the coast of the England, English county of Norfolk. The village is north of Norwich, south east of Cromer and north-east of London. The nearest railway station is at North Walsham railway stati ...

area, "Poppyland", and the combination of the railway and his writing in the national press brought many visitors. The name "Poppyland" referred to the numerous poppies which grew (and still grow) at the roadside and in meadows. Cromer suffered several bombing raids during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Shortly after one raid, Cromer featured as the location for an episode of ''An American In England'', written by

Norman Corwin Norman Lewis Corwin (May 3, 1910 – October 18, 2011) was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing. His earliest and biggest successes were in the writing and directing of radio drama during th ...

with the narrator staying in the ''Red Lion Hotel'' and retelling several local accounts of life in the town at wartime. The radio play first aired in the United States on 1 December 1942 on the CBS/Columbia Workshop programme starring Joe Julian. The account mentions some of the effects of the war on local people and businesses and the fact that the town adopted a , . On 5 December 2013 the town was affected by a

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 ...

which caused significant damage to the town's pier and seafront. In 2016, the Cromer shoal chalk beds, thought to be Europe's largest chalk

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

, were officially designated as a

Marine Conservation Zone A Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is a type of marine nature reserve in United Kingdom, UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to prot ...

Economy

Traditionally, Cromer was a fishing town. It grew as a fishing station over the centuries, and was a year-round fishery into the 20th century, with crabs and lobsters in the summer, drifting for longshore herring in the autumn and long-lining, primarily for cod, in the winter. The pattern of fishing has changed since the 1980s, and it is now almost completely focused on crabs and lobsters. The town is famous for the Cromer

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

, which is now the major source of income for the local fishermen. In 2016, about ten boats plied their trade from the foot of the gangway on the east beach, with shops in the town selling fresh crab, whenever the boats go to sea. By 2018, experienced crabmen were having difficulty attracting young people to the business, perhaps because of the long working hours required during the season. Lobster trapping was also continuing. Tourism developed in the town during the Victorian period and is now an important part of the local economy.Market Towns Survey, 2013

, 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2015. The town is a popular resort and acts as a touring base for the surrounding area. The coastal location means that beach holidays and fishing are important, with the beach and pier being major draws. Visitor attractions within the town include Cromer Pier and the Pavilion Theatre on the pier. Close to the town's pier the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

Henry Blogg Museum is housed inside the early 21st century Rocket House. The museum has the Cromer Lifeboat ''H F Bailey III'' (ON 777) as its centrepiece and illustrates the history of the town's lifeboats and lifeboatman Henry Blogg's most famous rescues. The

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n themed Amazona zoo park opened to the public in 2006 and is to the south of the town. The park covers of former brick kilns and woodland on the outskirts of the town and includes animals including

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

and puma.

Culture and community

For one week in August the town celebrates its Carnival Week. Attractions include the crowning of a 'royal family' including carnival queen, a street parade and a fancy dress competition. The event's 50th anniversary was held in 2019. Cromer is twinned with Nidda,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and Crest,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The town has an

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

Squadron and an

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence and the Bri ...

Platoon, based at Cromer High School. The town has a Friday market and a number of independent retailers in its centre. Cromer Hospital provides services across the North Norfolk area. It includes a minor injuries unit and is run by the

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Foundation Trust which runs Cromer Hospital and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, both in Norfolk, England. The trust was first established on 8 February 1994 as the ...

. Cromer Museum opened in 1978 and is housed in former fishermen's cottages adjacent to the parish church on Church Street. The museum managed by

contain items relating to the history of Cromer, including paintings and

Poppyland Overstrand is a village (population 1,030) on the north coast of Norfolk in England, two miles east of Cromer. It was once a modest fishing station, with all or part of the fishing station being known as Beck Hythe. In the latter part of the 19 ...

china. It has two permanent galleries on the pioneering photographer, Olive Edis - Britain's first female war photographer. A mock-up of a Victorian cottage and galleries containing geology and fossil remnants of the area which include part of the West Runton Mammoth.

Landmarks

Cromer stands between stretches of coastal cliffs which, to the east, are up to high. According to palaeontologist Dr James Neenan, from the

Oxford University Museum of Natural History The Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It also contains a lecture theatre which is used by the univers ...

, the cliffs are part of a Norfolk coastline area rich in

fossils. In 2017 a prehistoric rhino was found in West Runton, dating back 700,000 years to the Cromerian Interglacial. Cromer Pier dominates the sea front and is long. It features the Pavilion Theatre and dates from 1901. Cromer Lighthouse stands on the cliffs to the east of the town. The tower is tall. and stands above sea level. The light has a range of . Cromer Church 23rd Oct 2007

The Church of St Peter and St Paul dates from the 14th century and is in the centre of the town. After falling into disrepair it was rebuilt in the late 19th century by architect, Arthur Blomfield. At the

Bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

is the highest in the county. Also, of note are the vast

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows which commemorate various members of the lifeboat crew and other features of the resort. The Hotel de Paris was originally built in 1820 as a coastal residence for Lord Suffield. In 1830 the building was converted into a hotel by Pierre le Francois. Norfolk-born architect George Skipper extensively remodelled the building between 1895 and 1896. Today, the hotel which occupies an elevated location overlooking the town's pier still provides accommodation to visitors. Other notable hotels include the 17th century Red Lion Hotel, the Victorian Sandcliff Hotel and the Edwardian Cliftonville Hotel. Cromer Hall is located to the south of the town in Hall Road. The original hall was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt in 1829 in a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, by Norfolk architect William John Donthorne. Henry Baring, of the Baring banking family, acquired the estate around this time.

Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, (; 26 February 1841 – 29 January 1917) was a British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as the British controller-general in Egypt during 1879, part of the international control whic ...

was born at the hall in 1841. In 2010 the building was the home of the Cabbell Manners family. In 1901, author

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

was a guest at the hall. After hearing the legend of the

Black Shuck In English folklore, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly Black dog (ghost), black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia, one of many such black dogs recorded in folklore ...

, a ghostly black dog, he is thought to have been inspired to write the classic novel ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four Detective fiction, crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serial (literature), serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from ...

''. The Old Town hall, which was once the main public events venue in the town, was completed in 1890.

Lifeboat station

The fishermen also crewed Cromer's two lifeboats. Most famous of the lifeboatmen was Henry Blogg, who received the RNLI gold medal for heroism three times, and the silver medal four times. Cromer Lifeboat Station was founded in 1804, the first in Norfolk. Rowing lifeboats were stationed there through the 19th century. In the 1920s a lifeboat station was built at the end of the pier, enabling a motor lifeboat to be launched beyond the breakers. A number of notable rescues carried out between 1917 and 1941 made the lifeboat and the town well known throughout the United Kingdom and further afield. The area covered by the station is large, as there is a long run of coastline with no harbour – Great Yarmouth is 40 miles (65 km) by sea to the south east and the restricted harbour of Wells next the Sea 25 miles (40 km) to the west. Today the offshore lifeboat on the pier performs about a dozen rescues a year, with about the same number for the inshore lifeboat stationed on the beach. The

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwa ...

officially named the town's new lifeboat, ''Lester'', in a ceremony on 8 September 2008.

Transport

Cromer railway station is a stop on the

Bittern Line The Bittern Line is a railway branch line in Norfolk, England, that links to . It passes through the Broads on its route to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the north Norfolk coast. It is named after the Eurasian bittern, bittern, a r ...

, which provides generally hourly services between and . Services are operated by Greater Anglia. The railway came to Cromer in 1877, with the opening of Cromer High station by the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

. Ten years later, a second station, ''Cromer Beach'', was opened by the

Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...

, bringing visitors in from the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...

; only this station remains today and it was renamed ''Cromer'' in 1969, following the closure of Cromer High station. Direct services were operated from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. The now-closed Cromer tunnel linked Beach station with the Mundesley line to the east; it was the only railway tunnel to be built in Norfolk. Bus services are provided by

Sanders Coaches Sanders Coaches is a bus and coach operator based in Holt, Norfolk, England. Its managing director is Charles Sanders. As of September 2021, it has approximately 115 employees. History Sanders Coaches was founded on 1 December 1975 by Norman ...

, which link the town with local destinations including Norwich, Sheringham, Holt, Wells-next-the-sea and

. The A140 links Cromer with Norwich, the A148 (direct) and A149 (coast road) to

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

, and the A149 to the

Norfolk Broads Norfolk ( ) is a 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 east, Cambridgeshire to the west, a ...

and

. The

B1159 The B1159 is a road in Norfolk, England, running for about between Cromer and Caister-on-Sea, parallel to and at a short distance from the northeastern coast of Norfolk. From north to south the road passes through: * Overstrand *Sidestrand * ...

is a coastal road out towards Mundesley. The nearest airport is

Norwich International Airport Norwich Airport is an international airport in Norfolk, England, north of the city of Norwich. In 2023, Norwich Airport was the 25th Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic, busiest airport in the UK and busiest in ...

. A private airfield, Northrepps Aerodrome, is located south-east of the town.

Education

Cromer Academy is the town's only secondary school. It educates children aged 11 to 16. For sixth-form education, children travel to

, Paston College in

, or

. The town also has a junior school educating children from 5 to 11 years of age, an infants school (Suffield Park infants) and an attached nursery.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and

ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

. Television signals are received from either one of the two local relay transmitters (Overstrand and West Runston). Local radio stations are BBC Radio Norfolk on 95.6 FM, Heart East on 102.4 FM, Greatest Hits Radio East (formerly North Norfolk Radio) on 103.2 FM, and Poppyland Community Radio, a community online based station which broadcast from the town. The town is served by the local newspapers, '' North Norfolk News'' and ''

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to ...

''.

Sport and leisure

Cromer has sports clubs and leisure facilities. Situated on the cliffs between the town and Overstrand to the east, the Royal Cromer Golf Club was founded in 1888 and given royal status by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, one of the founding members, in the same year.Royal Cromer Golf Club
Today's Golfer. Retrieved 17 October 2015. The course was originally designed by Old Tom MorrisRoyal Cromer, England
Top 100 golf courses. Retrieved 17 October 2015. and hosted the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship in 1905, before which an unofficial match was held between British and American ladies, the first international golf match to be played.McKinley. S.L, The vital weapons for the hunt, ''

The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 1961--5-08
available online
. Retrieved 17 October 2015.Mallon. B, Jerris. R
Historical Dictionary of Golf
p.xxvi. Retrieved 17 October 2015. The club, which is the second oldest in Norfolk, has hosted PGA events.Region’s stars are set for Royal Cromer Golf Club challenge
''

'', 24 May 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015. Cromer Cricket Club is an English amateur

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

club that is based on The Norton Warnes Cricket Ground on Overstrand Road. Cromer CC have 2 Saturday senior XI teams that compete in the Norfolk Cricket Alliance League, a Women's softball team in the NCB Women’s Softball Cricket League, and a junior section that play competitive cricket in the Junior Tier Groups of the Norfolk Cricket Alliance League. Cabbell Park has been the home of Cromer Town F.C. since 1922. The long established club plays in the Premier Division of the

Anglian Combination The Anglian Combination (currently known as the Fosters Solicitors Anglian Combination for sponsorship reasons) is an English association football, football league that operates in East Anglia. The league specifically covers Norfolk and northern ...

. The town's tennis and squash courts are located at Norwich Road and are open to the public. The Norfolk Coast Path passes through the town and is also the termination of the

Weavers' Way The Weavers' Way is a long-distance footpath in Norfolk, England. Much of the Weavers’ Way footpath follows the old trackbed of the Aylsham North railway station, Aylsham to Yarmouth Beach railway station, Great Yarmouth railway line, which ...

. The Norfolk Coast Cycleway runs parallel to the coast and passes through a mixture of ''quiet roads'' and country lanes to link the town with

Kings Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

to the west and

in the east. Sea angling is popular and mixed catches including

cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...

can be made from the town's beaches. The pier provides the opportunity to capture specimen sized

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. Established in 2007, the North Norfolk Surf Lifesaving Club (North Norfolk SLSC) has its clubhouse on the town's main promenade.

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

is also carried out on the town's beaches close to the pier. Equipment and lessons can be hired in season.

Cultural references

Literature

The town is featured as a location in the novels Emma'' by

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

and North and South'' by

Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer detailed studies of Victorian era, Victoria ...

. '' Emma'' by

Chapter XII '' North and South'' by

Chapter XLIX

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

includes a

limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

about Cromer in his '' Book of Nonsense''.

Film media

In a ''

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

'' episode first shown in 1970 (Series 2, Episode 9, Skit: Cosmetic Surgery), the name on the "desk" of Professor Sir Adrian Furrows indicates that the character has a B.Sc from, among sundry other places, Cromer. In '' The Three Doctors'', a 1972–1973 serial in the long-running

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', the doctor's ally,

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and played by Ni ...

mistakes the surface of an alien planet for the town, famously uttering, "I'm fairly sure that's Cromer". Actor Nicholas Courtney improvised the line, name-checking the place where he got his first professional job as an actor-cum-assistant stage manager. The final scenes of the 2013 film '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'' were filmed on Cromer Pier. Filming took place in the town during November 2014 of the

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

series '' Partners in Crime''. A BBC short fantasy – ''Wonderland'', first aired 1 December 2018, was filmed in Cromer featuring the pier. It depicts the distant personal relationship between a busy mother's lifestyle working with IT bizarrely crossed-over to her son's video-game-driven lifestyle, causing the screens of both to display corrupted fragments of each other's content, and everyone else's real-time frame to freeze, allowing mother and son to enjoy unique quality time together. The musical theme is Emmy the Great’s ''Lost in You''. Several scenes in the 2018 TV series '' Angry Birds on the Run'' were filmed in Cromer.

Music

The town is referenced in the song ''Norman and Norma'' by

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

"Norman and Norma got married in Cromer, April 1983"

International relations

Cromer is twinned with: * Crest,

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

, France * Nidda,

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany

Notable people

* Edward Bach, creator of Bach flower remedies * Henry Blogg, most decorated lifeboatman of the

. * Benjamin Bond Cabbell, politician and philanthropist * Henry "Shrimp" Davies, longest-serving coxswain of the lifeboat * Emily Wilding Davison, women's rights campaigner. * Teresa del Riego, composer of ballads, lived at 'Sycamore', Mundesley Road, Overstrand * James Dyson, creator of

Dyson Dyson may refer to: * Dyson (surname), people with the surname Dyson * Dyson (company), a Singaporean multinational home appliances company founded by James Dyson * Dyson (crater), a crater on the Moon * Dyson (operating system), a Unix general- ...

vacuum cleaners * John Henry Gurney, banker and amateur ornithologist *

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

, veteran actor; had a home close to the town * Charles William Peach, British naturalist and geologist * Malcolm Sayer, designer for Jaguar cars * Simon Thomas, television presenter * Liam Walsh, the boxer is based in the town. * Charles Mayes Wigg, artist

Freedom of the Town

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Cromer.

Individuals

* Anthony "Tony" Shipp: 15 August 2022.

References

External links

Cromer Town Council
{{authority control North Norfolk Seaside resorts in England Towns in Norfolk Port cities and towns of the North Sea Populated coastal places in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Beaches of Norfolk