Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a large village and

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germa ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

, England. It is close to the large town of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

. At the 2001 census it had a population of 8,756 and 3,970 households, the population increasing to 8,901 at the 2011 Census. It used to be served by

Caister-on-Sea railway station Caister-on-Sea railway station is a former railway station in Norfolk, England. It was opened in 1877. It later became part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway route from Birmingham to Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often c ...

. Following its closure in 1959, Great Yarmouth railway station, to the south, became the nearest station. The wind farm at Scroby Sands has thirty 2–megawatt wind turbines, off shore.

Caister Castle Caister Castle is a 15th-century moated castle situated in the parish of West Caister, some north of the town of Great Yarmouth in the English county of Norfolk (). The castle had a 100 ft (33 m) high tower and was built between 1432 and ...

, a 15th century tower, and part of which is now a car museum, is about to the west.

History

Caister's history dates back to Roman times. In around AD 200 a fort was built here as a base for a unit of the Roman army and navy. However its role as a fort appears to have been reduced following the construction of the

Saxon Shore The Saxon Shore ( la, litus Saxonicum) was a military command of the late Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of the Channel. It was established in the late 3rd century and was led by the " Count of the Saxon Sh ...

fort at

Burgh Castle Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the east bank of the River Waveney, some west of Great Yarmouth and within the Norfolk Broads National Park. The parish was part of Suffolk until ...

on the southern side of the estuary in the latter part of the 3rd century. The name 'Caister' derives from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

word 'ceaster' meaning 'Roman fort' In the 1950s, a building near the south gate at Caister was excavated in advance of a housing development. These buildings do not appear to be military as they include a

hypocaust A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...

and painted wall plaster as well as female jewellery, and it has been suggested that this building may have been an officer's house, or possibly a ‘seamen's hostel’ which may be a polite name for a brothel. The site appears to have been abandoned in the 5th century, but 150 Saxon burials have been found to the south of the enclosure. The remains excavated in the 1950s are now managed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

and are open free of charge to the public as Caister Roman Site. There has been an offshore lifeboat in the area since 1791. It was used by a beach company to salvage ships wrecked on the sand banks. Between 1856 and 1969 lifeboats were operated by the

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 ...

. In the

1901 Caister lifeboat disaster The Caister lifeboat disaster of 13 November 1901 occurred off the coast of Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk, England. It took place during what became known as the "Great Storm", which caused havoc down the east coasts of England and Scotland. Disaste ...

, nine crew were lost while attempting a rescue during heavy seas. At the time it was said, "If they had to keep at it 'til now, they would have sailed about until daylight to help her. Going back is against the rules when we see distress signals like that". A monument to the men lost in the disaster bearing the inscription "Caister men never turn back" stands in the village cemetery, unveiled in 1903 and was listed Grade II by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

in 2020. A pub called the "

Never Turn Back The Never Turn Back is a grade II listed public house in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk, England. It was designed by A. W. Ecclestone in the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and ...

" is named after the incident. Today, Caister is also host to a National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) Station.

21st century

There is a Haven caravan and holiday park near the coast. The oldest holiday camp in the UK, it began as the "Caister Socialist Camp" i
1906

at Seaside History. Accessed May 2008. In the 1950s and early 1960s, it used to be on both sides of the road. Opposite the beach was a dining room, paper shop, sports facilities and tourist chalets. These facilities were sold to a property developer who turned it into housing in the 1970s. In the 1980s a brand new holiday camp was opened, under the ownership of

Ladbrokes Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations a ...

, which was later sold to Warners in the 1990s. Caister’s village football team, Caister F.C., currently play at the King George V playing field.

War Memorial

References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Caister%20next%20Yarmouth

External links

Great Yarmouth - the Golden Mile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caister-On-Sea Villages in Norfolk Populated coastal places in Norfolk Seaside resorts in England Beaches of Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Borough of Great Yarmouth