Cromer Lighthouse

Before a lighthouse was established at Cromer, the parish church displayed a light from its tower. Although small, this served a valuable purpose for many years.

Following Charles II's restoration in 1660, many proposals were put forward to establish lighthouses on all parts of the coast. Sir John Clayton, one of the proposers, suggested no less than five lighthouses on four different sites. These included the Farne Islands, Flamborough Head, two at Corton near Lowestoft, and one at Foulness, Cromer.

In 1669 Clayton, together with George Blake, obtained a comprehensive patent, despite opposition. At the cost of £3,000, they erected towers at each of the four sites. The patent would last for 60 years and specified rates of voluntary dues to be paid by the owners of passing vessels.

The cost of maintenance was high and many shipowners were unwilling to pay the dues required, so Clayton could not afford to kindle fires in the tower at Cromer. However, the unlit tower served as a beacon. Together with the other towers, they were marked as lighthouses on sea charts after 1680, with references such as "a lighthouse but no fire kept in it".

Nathanial Life, the landowner of Foulness, built a tower in 1717, hoping to be granted a patent for the light. However, it is more likely that Life merely took steps for lighting the shell of Clayton's tower.

Assisted by Edward Bowell, a Younger Brother of Trinity House, Life persuaded the Brethren to apply for a patent. They obtained the lease in 1719, the dues to be ¼ penny per ton of general cargo and ½ penny per chaldron (25 cwt) of Newcastle coal. The lease was on Life's undertaking that the tower and grounds should pass to Trinity House when the patent expired in 61 years. The patentees exhibited a coal fire which was enclosed in a lantern on 29th September 1719.

In 1792 Trinity House, now in possession of the lighthouse, installed only the second flashing light apparatus in the Service. Five reflectors and Argand oil lamps were mounted on each of the three faces of a revolving frame. The frequent and rapid eclipse of the light annoyed some mariners, who described it as an "ignis fatus" or “will'-o-the-wisp”.

The first keepers were two young women who received a pound a week for wages with certain prerequisites. However, the sea encroached rapidly, with large cliff falls in 1799 and 1825. A new lighthouse was built in 1833, and a landslip finally destroyed Bowell’s tower in 1866.

The new lighthouse, standing well back from the cliff edge, was a 60ft octagonal tower. The lighthouse was converted to electric operation in 1958. In June 1990, the station was automated.

The Royal Cromer Golf Course is adjacent to the lighthouse grounds, and the area between the tower and the cliff edge is a picturesque parkland area known as Happy Valley.

https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses-and-lightvessels/cromer-lighthouse