Cromer West Beach

Letters Patent of 1390, referring to a pere at CrowmereAs Part of the 'Alfred Savin and the Fossil Collectors of Cromer' project, we're putting together some information on the gradual loss of the coastline over the centuries. This loss often releases material from the cliffs and reveals the fossils that tell us of the area from many millennia ago. There have, of course, been many changes in the last two millennia - it is thought that much of the Roman coastline of Norfolk was about a mile further out, and since that time, experts suggest that it has gone down, come up again and is now in the process of sinking again.

Occasionally we have glimpses of sea defences from times past. We know that a jetty was built at Cromer in 13901 from Letters Patent from the time of Richard II, now in the National Archive. In the picture the word 'pere' is the tenth word in the second line, and 'Crowmere' is seen as the fifth word in the third line. It is the first known use of the word 'pier' in its modern sense. Cromer historian Walter Rye2 refers to the will of vicar Robert Hayles from 1497 mentioning the 'keeper of the pier'.

Remains of defences, painting early 19th century, Cromer MuseumRemains of 18th century defences, 2013There were many other attempts at sea defences, and various jetties, generally to the east of the current pier. West of the pier, after a storm in 2013 a series of timber defences appeared for a while before the sand covered them again. There were visible again in 2023 and the opportunity was taken to cut the tops off three of them for possible dating in case they were part of works from the time of Elizabeth I. However, as they proved to be pine rather than oak, it was concluded that they were probably from the mid-18th century. A picture in Cromer Museum and the plan for the 1846 promenade development supports that conclusion.

A full photographic survey was carried out in 2023 because of impending developments immediately to the west of the pier. Photogrammetry was used to create 3D imagery of the seafront as a precursor to further such photography along the coastline for the 'Alfred Savin and the Fossil Collectors of Cromer' project. In 2024 the constant battering of the sea meant that a plan to put rock armour, granite blocks, in front of the promenade, was put into action. The 3D view below, before the rock armour work, was created from the photographic survey. It shows the area that is now protected. We've taken the opportunity to link in some views of the area from over the last century and a half. The remains of the timber defences referred to above were dug out as part of the preparation for positioning the rock armour.

We've put a date on for each photograph. If it's an estimated year, we've indicated that by 'circa' in the linked text. For more details of the rock armour scheme, see www.north-norfolk.gov.uk/cromer-map and linked pages.

Manipulating the 3D element will depend on the device and browser that you're using. On a Windows computer, left, right and middle buttons all offer different means of control. For a Mac, the controls are slightly different, mixed with the key.. For a touch screen, phone or tablet, single-finger and double-finger swipes or pinches will be the way to enlarge, shrink and rotate the 3D view. We'll leave you to sort it out!

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