Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District Council, is ''Mare Ditat Pinusque Decorat'', Latin for "The sea enriches and the pine adorns".Town Crest and motto
Retrieved 7 March 2013

History

The place-name 'Sheringham' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ''Silingeham''. It appears as ''Siringeham'' in 1174, and ''Scheringham'' in the ''

Book of Fees The ''Book of Fees'' is the colloquial title of a modern edition, transcript, rearrangement and enhancement of the medieval (Latin: 'Book of Fiefs'), being a listing of feudal landholdings or fief (Middle English ), compiled in about 1302, but f ...

'' (''Liber feodorum'') in 1242. The name means 'the homestead of Scira's people'. Historically, the parish of Sheringham comprised the two villages of

Upper Sheringham Upper Sheringham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is north-north-west of Norwich, west of Cromer and north-north-east of London. The village is from the town of Sheringham. The nearest railway sta ...

, a farming community, and Lower Sheringham, which combined farming with fishing. The fishing industry was at its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as the coming of the railways made it possible for fish to be transported more efficiently to market. Through the 1900s the focus of the fishing, as all along the north Norfolk coast, began to be on crabs, lobsters and whelks. The local fishermen were major suppliers of crabs and lobsters to the London fish markets. Long lining for

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the 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 ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

and the catching of

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

began to become less important in the second half of the century, as did whelking. Today, from a peak of maybe 200 boats, Sheringham has eight boats operated single-handed. The current town of Sheringham was once Lower Sheringham, a fishing station for the main village, now known as Upper Sheringham. It is a railway town that was developed with the coming of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line in the late 19th century. Most of Sheringham's range of buildings and shops come from this period and the early 20th century. It has a particularly interesting range of buildings using flint, not normally in the traditional Norfolk style but in a variety of techniques.

Sheringham Town Hall Sheringham Town Hall, formerly known as Sheringham Council Offices, is a former municipal building in Church Street, Sheringham, Norfolk, England. The structure served as the headquarters of Sheringham Urban District Council and then as the offi ...

, the former headquarters of Sheringham Urban District Council, was completed in 1912. In the First World War, Sheringham was hit by two bombs from a Zeppelin raid at 20:30 GMT on 18 January 1915, making it the first place in Britain to be attacked by Zeppelins from the air. No one was killed.

The town today

Sheringham town centre is centred on a traditional high street with a wide range of privately owned shops. On Saturdays throughout the year there is a popular market in the car park next to the railway station which attracts large crowds even out of the holiday season. The town also has a good selection of specialist shops such as second-hand books, antiques and bric-a-brac, fishing tackle and bait, a computer shop, a model shop, and arts and craft shops. The Sheringham Little Theatre has a wide range of productions on throughout the year including a well-established summer repertory season running from July to September, and a popular pantomime at Christmas; in the foyer is a coffee shop with display of art by local artists. There is a selection of food outlets, pubs, restaurants and a youth hostel. On 15 October 2010, Tesco won a 14-year battle to open a store in the town. In a split vote North Norfolk District Council development committee chairman Simon Partridge used his casting vote in favour of the scheme. The store finally opened on 24 October 2013. An annual Cromer and Sheringham Crab/Lobster festival is held in May, and the town's Carnival is held at the beginning of August. Otterndorf Green is a small green space between the town's railway stations. It commemorates Sheringham's twinning with the German town of Otterndorf. The Church of England Parish Church of St Peter was consecrated in 1897.

Sheringham Museum

The town's museum now known as ''The Mo'' includes a collection of old lifeboats, various displays, a viewing tower and houses the

Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is a Round 2 wind farm in North Sea off the coast of Norfolk. A lease for use of the sea bed was obtained in 2004 by Scira Offshore Energy (later acquired by Statoil (now Equinor) and Statkraft), the developmen ...

visitor centre.

Lifeboats

Sheringham is reputed to be the only place in the world to have four of its original lifeboats. The Sheringham Museum Trust owns three of these: JC Madge (1904–36) pulling and sailing. Foresters Centenary (1936–61) the towns first motorised lifeboat. Manchester Unity of Oddfellows (1961–90) an Oakley Class lifeboat, Sheringham's last offshore boat. Within the next two to three years Sheringham Museum Trust plans to have an extended museum to house this unique collection together with three crab boats and general lifeboat and fishing industry ephemera. The town has no

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

, so the lifeboat has to be launched by tractor, and the fishing boats are hauled up the beach. An old sail-powered lifeboat is preserved in the former lifeboat shed and the three other preserved RNLI lifeboats are kept in another centre.

Transport

Railway

Sheringham railway station is the northern terminus 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 bittern, a rare bird found in t ...

, the National Rail route to Cromer and Norwich. Services run generally hourly and are operated by Greater Anglia. The station has a basic single platform structure that was opened in January 1967, following the closure of the original and more substantial

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

close by; the platform was rebuilt in 2019, to accommodate the new Class 755 trains which now operate the route.

Heritage

GWR 3440 City of Truro backing into the station - geograph

The line beyond the National Rail station has been preserved as the North Norfolk Railway, also known as the ''Poppy Line''. It operates between Sheringham's original station and a new station at

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

, via Weybourne. The railway operates primarily with steam and diesel-hauled trains, with some diesel multiple units. The short link between the National Rail network and the North Norfolk Railway was re-established in 2010; the first train to use the link was hauled by 70013 ''Oliver Cromwell''.

Buses

Local bus services are provided by Sanders Coaches. The primary X44 and 44A services run regularly between Sheringham, Cromer, Aylsham and Norwich. Routes also operate to other local destinations including Fakenham,

and Wells-next-the-Sea.

Roads

The A148, which connects

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 located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

and Cromer, by-passes the southern part of the town.

Schools

Sheringham has three schools. One is the Woodfields for disabled children, the other two are

Sheringham High School Sheringham High School is a secondary school and sixth form located in the town of Sheringham in the English county of Norfolk. The school has around 700 students, usually including between 160 and 180 in the sixth form centre. The Roman Catholic Church of St Joseph, on Cromer Road was designed by

Sir Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and ...

. In 1901 a donation of over £3,000 by Catherine Deterding, the wife of the managing director and founder of the Shell Oil Company, enabled the purchase of land around an existing chapel to build a new church. Work began in 1902 and the first section, St Joseph's chapel was completed in 1908. In 1910 the second section opened, which comprises the sanctuary, nave and the porch. Later the church was completed by extending the nave and adding a new porch. The complete building was consecrated on 25 March 1935. From the outside it is possible to see the join between the northern two-thirds opened in 1910, and the southern extension completed in 1935. This large red-brick church towers over its neighbours. The north end, (the

liturgical east Liturgical east and west is a concept in the orientation of churches. It refers to the fact that the end of a church which has the altar, for symbolic religious reasons, is traditionally on the east side of the church (to the right in a diagram) ...

), has a high rose window, while each long side is pierced by three vast Perpendicular-style windows. The church is entered through a porch and into a narthex on the south west corner of the building. Behind a grilled area to the east there is a large framed icon of the

Blessed Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. Inside the church the height and narrowness emphasizes the arcades which are also of a good height and have arches of alternate sizes. The décor is a mixture of both the arts and crafts movement and

industrial Gothic ''Industrial Gothic'' is a five-issue comic book limited series written and illustrated by Ted McKeever. It was published in 1995 by Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving wh ...

, a signature of Gibert Scott's style. The

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

is a replica the seven sacraments font at

St Mary and All Saints, Little Walsingham St Mary and All Saints Church is the parish church of Little Walsingham in the English county of Norfolk. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and All Saints. Little Walsingham (better known as Walsingham) was the location of the shrine of Our Lad ...

. There are some good pieces of early 20th century devotional art much of which was imported from the studio and workshop of Ferdinand Stuflesser in the

Austrian Tyrol Tyrol (; german: Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a state (''Land'') in western Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical Princely County of Tyrol. It is a constituent part of the present-day Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino (t ...

. There is a

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

above the entrance to the sanctuary. The

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

, ordered from Stuflesser, spent the First World War in the hold of a German freighter impounded at Genoa. St Josephs Church

*The Church of England Parish Church of St Peter was consecrated in 1897.

War memorial

The memorial to the men and women of Sheringham and

Beeston Regis Beeston Regis is a village and civil parish in the North Norfolk district of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 – Norfolk Coast East''. . It is about a mile (2 km) east of Sheringham, Norfolk and near the coas ...

who died in military service during the two world wars is located at on the traffic island at the intersection of the Boulevard, St Nicholas Place and the Esplanade. It was designed by Herbert Palmer somewhat in the style of an

Eleanor cross The Eleanor crosses were a series of twelve tall and lavishly decorated stone monuments topped with crosses erected in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had them built between 1291 and about 1295 in memory of his beloved wi ...

. It is of

Clipsham Clipsham is a small village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is in the northeast of Rutland, close to the county boundary with Lincolnshire. The population of the civil parish was 120 at the 2001 census increasing to ...

stone and stands tall. It was unveiled on 1 January 1921. The names of the dead are on four panels that form the base of the cross. A recent addition to the memorial is a small wrought-iron fence around the base with poppy motifs. There are also further names on memorial boards in the nearby parish church of St Peter.

Sheringham Park and other prominent property

*In 1811, the Sheringham Estate was bought by Abbot and Charlotte Upcher. They asked Humphry Repton to design

Sheringham Hall Sheringham Hall is a Grade II* listed buildings in North Norfolk, Grade II* listed building which stands in the grounds of Sheringham Park which is in the care of the National Trust. The house is close to the village of Upper Sheringham in the En ...

. The Upcher family also built a school. The Hall is still privately occupied, but Sheringham Park is in the care of the National Trust and open to visitors. * The Dales, formerly the residence of

Henry Douglas King Commodore Henry Douglas King, CB, CBE, DSO, VD, PC (1 June 1877 – 20 August 1930) was a British naval commander and Conservative politician. He served under Stanley Baldwin as Financial Secretary to the War Office between 1924 and 1928 ...

, M.P., and later Major William James Spurrell, D.S.O., M.C., is now a hotel (The Dales Country House). * Sheringham watermill was mainly known as a papermill that operated from around 1750 to about 1865, although it quite possibly started life as a corn mill. It had an overshot waterwheel, which seems quite remarkable when considering the surrounding terrain and the fact that the mill was only supplied by the small Beeston Beck. A blue plaque on the wall of a cottage marks the location of the mill in Beeston road which was then called Paper Mill Road. * The Masonic Hall on Cromer Road. Was once the Electric Picture Palace.

Offshore wind farm

The town is also home to a large 317MW wind farm, the

, approximately to offshore.

The Oddfellows Hall

The Oddfellows Hall on the Lifeboat Plain, built in 1867, was the original

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

Lifeboat station and a gathering place for fishermen and boat builders, and has over the years been used as a craft centre, used to exhibit a model railway, and to display a model village. The hall was also used as a shoe factory. After years of standing idle, it re-opened in October 2007 having been completely refurbished at a cost of £250,000. A collection of organisations such as

East of England Development Agency The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) was a non-departmental public body and the regional development agency for the East of England region of England. It came into operation on 1 April 1999 and assumed the regional powers of English Par ...

, North Norfolk District Council, Sheringham plus Community Partnership and other interested parties worked together to facilitate the refurbishment of the hall and bring it back into community use.

Beeston Bump

Sheringham nestles under the nearby hill of

Beeston Bump Beeston Regis is a village and civil parish in the North Norfolk district of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 – Norfolk Coast East''. . It is about a mile (2 km) east of Sheringham, Norfolk and near the coast ...

, a geological

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

which was the site of one of the Second World War secret Y-stations. The Bump can be climbed using the

Norfolk Coast Path The Norfolk Coast Path is a long-distance footpath in Norfolk, running 83 miles (133.5 km) from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea. It was opened in 1986 and covers the North Norfolk Coast AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). It links with ...

from either the east or west. The Bump is a

kame A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the g ...

, a glacial deposit that began forming between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago at the end of the latest Ice Age. The huge mass of ice caused a depression in the land and, as the ice melted, the land mass began to 'spring' slowly back in a process called isostatic readjustment. This process still occurs in the UK, as Northern England is slowly rising. Sea Swimmers Sheringham Seafront East Anglia

Sea Swimmers Sheringham Seafront East Anglia

Sea defences

The northern frontage of Sheringham is protected by a concrete seawall which also serves as the promenade. It is a vital part of the protection of the town against the natural erosion that occurs along the

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...

coast. 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 n ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

considerably damaged Sheringham's wooden sea defences. In front of the sea wall are

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concre ...

s, armoured at their bases with large blocks of natural rock, which prevent

long shore drift Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle incoming wave direction ...

. There are numerous drains along the frontage. To the east towards

West Runton West Runton is a village in North Norfolk, England, on the North Sea coast. Toponymy The villages name means either, Runa's farm/settlement' or 'Runi's farm/settlement'. Overview West Runton and East Runton together form the parish of Runton ...

the seawall ends just below

. From there a timber

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water ...

and groyne system, designed and constructed in 1976, runs eastwards for 2 km (just over a mile) to West Runton Gap. The shoreline management plans of the Department for Environment include a policy of " managed retreat" along this stretch of coast. The revetment between Sheringham and West Runton is no longer being maintained and is thus in a poor state of repair. Sections that become hazardous will be removed. The coastline will then be left to evolve naturally.

Sport and leisure

Sheringham has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club

Sheringham F.C. Sheringham Football Club is a football club based in Sheringham, England and was established in 1897. They are currently members of the and play at Weybourne Road. Nicknamed "The Shannocks", the club are affiliated to the Norfolk County FA. H ...

who play at Weybourne Road.

Sheringham Golf Club Sheringham Golf Club is a golf club on the western outskirts of Sheringham, Norfolk, Sheringham, Norfolk, England. The 6546-yard links course was originally designed by Tom Dunn (golf course architect), Tom Dunn and opened in 1891. The Links Hote ...

opened in 1891. In October 2016, it was announced a disused sewage outlet pipe stretching from the beach into the sea will form the North Sea's "first snorkel trail".

is located on town's western outskirts and is bounded by the North Sea and the North Norfolk Railway. A modern sports and leisure complex, incorporating a swimming pool and gym, and known as The Reef Leisure Centre, opened on Weybourne Road in late 2021, replacing the ageing 'Splash' facility that had occupied the site.

Notable people

* Tony Colman, Labour MP for Putney 1997–2005, born in Sheringham *

Olive Edis Mary Olive Edis, later Edis-Galsworthy (3 September 1876 – 28 December 1955), was a British photographer and successful businesswoman who, throughout her career, owned several studios in London and East Anglia. Known primarily for her studio ...

had two photographic studios in the town and became Britain's first female

WW1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

war photographer ''War Photographer'' is a documentary by Christian Frei about the photographer James Nachtwey. As well as telling the story of an iconic man in the field of war photography, the film addresses the broader scope of ideas common to all those inv ...

. *

Magdalen Goffin Magdalen Goffin, FRSL (23 July 1925 – 2015) was an English writer, born in Sheringham, Norfolk, England, UK. She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) from 1980. She wrote biographies of her grandmother, Maria Pasqua, and her ...

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

(born 23 July 1925), English writer, was born in Sheringham. * Patrick Hamilton, writer, lived in a house called Martincross located on the corner of the Boulevard and St Nicholas Place. *"King Nicholas I" changed his name by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...

from

Nick Copeman A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...

and set up a new empire from his royal seat, a caravan just outside town. King Nicholas I often appeared on TV and radio around the time his book was launched. * Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, was born in neighbouring

and brought up in Sheringham. *

Benjamin Pulleyne Benjamin Pulleyne, ''sometimes spelt'' Pullan (30 September 1785 – 20 October 1861), was a mathematician, Church of England clergyman, fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and schoolmaster. For almost fifty years he was the Master of Gresham's Sch ...

, Vicar of Sheringham 1825–1861, was also headmaster of

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

Allan Smethurst Allan Francis Smethurst (19 November 1927 – 22 December 2000), aka The Singing Postman was an English folk singer and postman. He is best known for his self-penned novelty song, "Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy?", which earned him an Ivor Novello Awa ...

(1927–2000), known as the "Singing Postman", brought up in Sheringham although born in Lancashire * Stephen Spender (1909–1995), English poet, novelist and essayist. Lived in a house called 'The Bluff' on the cliffs. He recalls Sheringham fondly in his autobiography ''World Within World'' *

Edward Ingram Watkin Edward Ingram Watkin (27 September 1888 - 1981) was an English Catholic philosopher, pacifist and writer. Life He studied at St Paul's School, London and New College, Oxford. Joseph Pearce, ''Literary Converts'' (1999), p. 39. In 1908, Watkin be ...

(1888–1981), English writer, lived in the town. * John Short Hewett, cleric and academic, was Vicar of Sheringham *

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, composer, lived in Sheringham in 1919. He also lived and worked at Martincross, where he wrote '' A Sea Symphony''.

Twin towns

*Sheringham is twinned with the town of Otterndorf, in the region of Lower Saxony, Germany. Otterndorf is at the mouth of the River Medem on part of the Elbe delta in the district of

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

. *Sheringham is also twinned with the town of

Muzillac Muzillac (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Muzillac are called in French ''Muzillacais''. Population See also *Communes of the Morbihan department *The works of Jean Fréour ...

in the region of Morbihan, Brittany, France.

Location diagram

References

External links

{{authority control North Norfolk Seaside resorts in England Towns in Norfolk Market towns in Norfolk Fishing communities in England Populated coastal places in Norfolk Port cities and towns of the North Sea Railway towns in England Civil parishes in Norfolk Beaches of Norfolk