NHER 58820 (Building record) - Terraced Beach Chalets, The Promenade, Cromer

July 2012. Listed. Grade II.
List description (S1):
A terrace of beach chalets, dated 1912, built for the Cromer Protection Commissioners, in red brick with a slate roof covering.
EXTERIOR: the terrace consists of six chalets each with a set of double doors to the front, and with either one or two small windows flanking the doors. The end bays break-forward slightly on the front elevation, between which is a wooden verandah. The roof is pitched, with gables to the projecting end bays. Each gable end is decorated with bargeboards and mock Tudor wood panelling, and each roof gable is surmounted by a finial at the front elevation. The side and rear elevations are rendered and painted, with brick quoins to the side elevations. The windows and all features are original, save for the rainwater disposal goods which have been replaced in the early C21.
INTERIOR: the interiors are plastered, but otherwise entirely plain.
HISTORY (abbreviated): Cromer began to become a fashionable destination for sea bathing in the late 18th century, but it remained relatively exclusive until the construction of the railway stations in 1877 and 1887. The increase in popularity as a holiday destination in the late 19th and early 20th century resulted in redevelopment of the sea front and the construction of a wide variety of buildings that have contributed to the present-day character of the town.
The terrace of bathing chalets at Cromer were built in 1912 for the Cromer Protection Commissioners, who remodelled the sea front in 1845-6. They commissioned new promenades and sea walls in 1899-1900, and the cliff retaining walls, sloping pedestrian pathways, Jetty Cliff and Bastion in 1894-5. These structures were all listed at Grade II in 2003. The Commissioners also constructed the Pier in 1900-1 (listed at Grade II in 1975.)
Compiled by H. Hamilton (HES), 24 May 2013.