Cromer, Church Street 1902

Photo ref: 49071

More about this scene

By the time of this photograph Cromer had experienced a continuing building boom, which included new premises for fashionable stores such as Jarrold & Sons (left), who are still flourishing both in Cromer and Norwich. There were several attempts to promote the town as a spa, but the quality of the waters could not compare with Bath, Harrogate or Tunbridge Wells, so this never got off the ground. The church of St Peter and St Paul was built at the end of the 14th century and can hold a huge congregation. Children of the famous Gurney family (one of the founders of Barclays' Bank) stayed in lodgings in this street, on the site of the present Boots the chemist. A very stern Dr Fenner had his practice here in Hamilton House; he is reputed to have chastised a young Winston Churchill, who had badly misbehaved and injured his nanny in a tantrum.