A Short Guide To Cromer

Cromer is one of the many coastal towns that dot the north-eastern side of the United Kingdom. It is believed that the original settlement was actually two smaller villages, one of which is now under the sea close to the end of the Cromer Pier. The population of the civil parish is 7,749 and it lies twenty-three miles north of the county seat of Norwich. It was not mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086, but the two settlements of Shipden-juxta-Felbrigg and Shipden-juxta-Mere – which are believed to be Cromer’s ancestors – were mentioned.
The Victorian era saw the surge of affluent individuals into the Norfolk County coastal towns, Cromer included. Many families from Norwich built summer homes in Cromer and King Edward VII played regularly at the Cromer Links golf course. The Pier was built in 1907 and the promenade and Pavilion Theatre were added later. In 1883, the journalist Clement Scott nicknamed the area ‘Poppyland’ because of all of the poppies that grew in the fields and along the country roads. This caught the imagination of his readership and contributed greatly to the popularity of the area.

The local Crab was and is a main income source for Cromer and the town fished all year round for crab, lobster, herring, and cod. The last thirty years has seen a decline in fishing off the coast, and the fishermen that go out now primarily catch lobster and crab. The catches are usually sold to one of the many restaurants and shops in the town and visitors can enjoy a seafood dish at any one of the many eateries and know that it was locally caught and prepared.