Sheringham, the Beach 1893

OVER THE BUMP TO PLAY FOOTBALL

This photograph illustrates all too well the erosion of the cliffs. The profile of Beeston Bump seen in the background of this photograph compared with to day shows just how much land we have lost. My father used to speak of playing football as a boy on level ground beyond Beeston Bump, that is on the seaward side of the bump. Just off camera the Grand Hotel is under construction due for completion in 1896, two years after this photograph was taken. In fact the only Victorian purpose built hotel in the vilage at the time was Sheringham Hotel built in 1889. On the stones there are beach tents and some of these larger tents were constructed using four oars. There is only one breakwater visible in the photograph and then none at all for as far as the eye can see. This photograph gives an indication of what Sheringham was like before the popular invasion, depictIing the Village of Sheringham rather than the Town it was about to become.

Grand Hotel

I have just obtained a print of Sheringham promenade with a building on the left on top of a hill. I searched through these photos and came across the Grand Hotel - and that is the building in my picture. The date is 1890s. Does anyone know if this building still stands and if so is it still a hotel, or something else?
Thank you.

The Beach

When I look at these old photos, Sheringham has not changed that much, it's very strange though seeing the old Grand Hotel.  I used to take the ponies round the roundabout as a young child to earn money during the summer. The water trough is still there but full of flowers instead of horses' noses.

Names of Lifeboatmen....

The gentleman laying on the ground in the front is my great grandfather John 'Teapot' West.  He was a fisherman and lifeboatman but also well known for being a 'Fisherman Evangelist'.  Together with William Craske and William Long he was a Methodist Preacher for over 50 years.  They travelled throughout the county preaching and after visitors heard them they appeared at rallies in such places as London, Birmingham and Liverpool.  These fishermen/lifeboatmen were strong, brave and somewhat exceptional men.  There is a phrase used which I think fits them beautifully - 'Iron Men in Wooden Boats'. Pictured from left: 1. Henry 'Joyful' West 2. Wilson Able (with pipe) 3. Grice (in the background - unsure of Christian name) 4. 'Brighams' Bishop 5. 'Joyful' West (father of Henry - No 1) 6. John 'Sparrow' Hardingham (Young Lad) 7. John 'Rook' Reynolds 8. 'Potter' Hardingham (leaning on boat - father of John - No 6) 9. 'Fiddy' West (seated) 10. John 'Teapot' West (laying on ground). Fishermen nearly all had nicknames.  In the days when this photograph was taken the fishing community here was huge - hundreds of fishermen on the beach and scores of boats.  Fishing was a family tradition and sons followed their fathers and grandfathers for generations in going to sea, families were large and a lot of the community was related in some way.  This resulted in men sharing the same names - both surnames & christian names (for example my great grandfather John pictured here had a son, my grandfather, who was also called John and he in turn named one of his sons, my uncle, John!).  So you can see that this lead to some confusion when all of these men would have been working together on an overcrowded beach!  Fishing was a dangerous occupation and it was important that when you called to someone the person you were talking to responded - not half the beach!!  Therefore they all had nicknames to differentiate them from other men with the same name.  I do not know the history of all the individual nicknames some are obvious such as 'Squinter' or 'Red Eye'.  I do however know the history behind why my great grandfather was called 'Teapot'.  He rescued a pilot who had crashed in the North Sea and brought him home in his fishing boat.  In return for saving his life the pilot and his wife gave great grandfather a silver teapot.

Whitethorn Morris at the Sheringham Lobster Potty Morris Dance Festival

Each year on the first Saturday in July there is a splendid festival of dancing, music and singing held at Sheringham. I have been to this festival twice in recent years as the band leader of Whitethorn Morris.

Along with other musicians and dancers in our team we camped right next to the sea on the Beeston Regis Caravan Site. Nearby there were scores of rabbits grazing the camping fields, and as we walked to and fro between Beeston Regis and Sheringham we passed whole fields of red poppies.

There was a procession around the town on the Saturday afternoon while the local police closed the streets to traffic, and later in the evening we went into the town centre to listen to the "Shantymen" singing their traditional songs. Great fun!