NHER 39576 (Structure record) - Cromer Sea Front

Sea wall from Melbourne Slope to The Gangway including promenade, bastions, retaining walls, Jetty Cliff and footpaths.
Sea wall begun by George Edwards 1836 to 1838, in flint cobbles.
Extended to west by John Wright 1845.
Both sections extended, to east and west, and bastions added, in massed concrete 1899 to 1900 by W.T. Douglass. Torus moulding is later 20th century.
Jetty Cliff constructed 1894 to 1895 by J. C. Melliss to enable extension of Hotel de Paris; massive cliff wall with steps down, and large bastion added 1901 by Douglass and Arnott.
See (S1) for full description and history, which references (S2).
Important in illustrating the two periods of prosperity in Cromer as resort in the early and late 19th century.
E. Rose (NLA), 22 July 2003.

May-November 2004. Norfolk Rapid Coastal Zone Archaeological Survey.
Inter-tidal survey (Environmental Zone 16), Context 400:
Cromer's modern sea wall and promenade is located from TG 21785 42395 to TG 22300 42156. In most places the wall is concrete faced wall, with bastions in front and the promenade behind. In a number of places, however, flint cobble faced sections are visible. These are from an earlier sea wall and promenade (built between the 1830s and about 1900).
See assessment report (S3) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.421).
J. Allen (NLA), 25 April 2005. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 21 July 2019.

October 2013-March 2015. Photographic Survey and Watching Brief.
Programme of historic building recording and archaeological monitoring undertaken prior to and during the refurbishment of the coastal defences at Cromer.
An initial photographic survey was undertaken in autumn 2013, immediately prior to the destructive floods of December 2013. A watching brief was then maintained during the repair and improvement works undertaken between 2014 and 2015.
Works to the sea wall included the removal of sections in bad condition and the casting of a new concrete skin. The impact on the 19th-century elements was though relatively minor. The earliest elements of the sea wall observed were probably parts of the flint cobble walls constructed during the 1830s. No archaeologically-significant remains were noted during work to install steel sheeting in front of the existing berm.
See report (S4) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.214).
P. Watkins (HES), 12 December 2025.