Cromer Pier
Encyclopedia
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
in the civil parish of Cromer
Cromer
Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
on the north coast of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, 40 km due north of the city of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The pier is the home of the Cromer Lifeboat Station
Cromer lifeboat station
Cromer Lifeboat Station is an RNLI station located in the town of Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. The station operates two lifeboats - one for inshore work and the other for offshore work....
and the Pavilion Theatre
Pavilion Theatre, Cromer Pier
The Pavilion Theatre, Cromer Pier is located on Cromer Pier, Cromer, Norfolk.- History :The pier as we know it today was opened in 1901. To celebrate its official opening The Blue Viennese Band played in an open bandstand. In 1905 the bandstand was covered to form an enclosed pavilion and the...
History
There are records of a Pier in CromerCromer
Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
back as far as 1391 although then it was more of a jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
. In the year 1582, Queen Elizabeth I, in a letter to the inhabitants of Cromer granted rights to export wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
and malt
Malt
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...
with the proceeds to be used for the maintenance and well-being of the pier and the town of Cromer.
In 1822 a 210 feet (64 m) long jetty was built (of cast iron, made by Hase of Saxthorpe
Saxthorpe
Saxthorpe is a village within the civil parish of Corpusty in the English county of Norfolk. The village is west south west of Cromer, north north west of Norwich and north east of London. The village lies south west of the town of Holt. The village is passed to the north and east by the B1149...
) 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 240 feet (73.2 m). This jetty soon became very popular for promenading. A keeper was employed to keep order and there were strict rules applied including no smoking and by 9 pm ladies were required to retire from the jetty. The last wooden jetty survived until 1897 when it was damaged beyond repair after a coal boat had smashed into the jetty and so 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 the year of 1902 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 450 feet (137.2 m) long and had cost £17,000 to build. In the early years the pier consisted of glass-screened shelters and a bandstand
Bandstand
A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...
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.
Pier repairs
The pier needs nearly £800,000 of repairs in the next few years- including some urgent works to repair the damage caused by the storm surgeStorm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
of Autumn 2007.
North Norfolk
North Norfolk
North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, United Kingdom. Its council is based in Cromer. The council headquarters can be found approximately out of the town of Cromer on the Holt Road.-History:...
District Council has backed plans to spend £121.000 to put right the damage to the pier. The council said it would cost another £666.000 to totally refurbish the structure.
Urgent repairs will be carried out as soon as possible to allow the pier to be fully open for the 2008 main holiday season.
In the media
Used as a film location for the 1979 ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television series, Danger UXB
Danger UXB
Danger UXB is a 1979 British ITV television series developed by John Hawkesworth and starring Anthony Andrews as Lieutenant Brian Ash, a new direct commission officer in World War II....
, starring Anthony Andrews
Anthony Andrews
-Life and career:Andrews was born in London, the son of Geraldine Agnes , a dancer, and Stanley Thomas Andrews, a musical arranger and musical conductor. He grew up in the North Finchley district of London...
.
The pier was used as location for the 1993 ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series September Song with Russ Abbott.
The Flesh and Blood Show
The Flesh and Blood Show
The Flesh and Blood Show is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Pete Walker and starring Ray Brooks, Jenny Hanley and Luan Peters. A group of young actors rehearsing a new play in a derelict theatre at the end of a seaside pier begin being murdered one by one.-Cast:* Ray Brooks ... Mike*...
used the pier's theatre, in this horror thriller film of 1972. With Jenny Hanley
Jenny Hanley
Jenny Hanley is an English actress, the daughter of Dinah Sheridan and Jimmy Hanley.She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme Magpie....
and Ray Brooks
The LivingTV
LIVINGtv
Sky Living is a UK television channel owned by British Sky Broadcasting, who purchased the Living TV Group group in 2010. Originally launched as UK Living in 1993, the channel changed its name to Living TV in 1997 and then to Living in 2007. On 1 February 2011 Living changed its name to Sky Living...
show Most Haunted
Most Haunted
Most Haunted is a British paranormal documentary reality television series. The series was first shown on 25 May 2002 and ended on 21 July 2010. It was broadcast on Living and presented by Yvette Fielding. The programme was based on investigating purported paranormal activity...
visited the pier for their investigation in April 2009. The episode, which investigated the piers paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
activity, was shown later that year.
External links
- Cromer Pier web site
- Cromer Pier History at "the heritage trail" web site
- Pictures of Cromer Pier
- For further information see The Story of Cromer Pier by Christopher Pipe (Poppyland Publishing, 1998).ISBN 094614852X