Winterton-on-Sea
Winterton lies on the Norfolk coast between Hemsby
and Horsey. Traditionally it
was an important seafaring and fishing village.
Ironically, this stretch of
coastline has always been a notoriously dangerous area
for shipping - as the number of graves of shipwrecked
sailors in the churchyard attests. Some of the older
houses in the village are also built from the timber
from shipwrecks. Today there is considerable coastal
erosion taking place at Winterton.
Daniel Defoe
In Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe the
eponymous hero is shipwrecked off Winterton and
has to fight his way to the shore in a rowing boat:
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'While we were in this condition, the men yet labouring
at the oar to bring the boat near the shore, we could
see (when, our boat mounting the waves, we were able to
see the shore) a great many people running along the
strand, to assist us when we should come near; but we
made slow way towards the shore; nor were we able to
reach the shore til, being past the lighthouse at
Winterton, the shore falls off to the westward, towards
Cromer, and so the land broke off a little the violence
of the wind. Here we got in, and, though not without
much difficulty, got all safe on shore, and walked
afterwards on foot to Yarmouth...' |
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Robinson Crusoe is widely regarded as the first
English novel.
Just north of Winterton lies Winterton Ness which is a
sand bank which has built up over several hundred years.
Winterton Ness
While researching for his novel Armadale
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) visited Winterton and met a
girl called Martha Rudd - who later returned to London
with him and became his partner for the rest of his
life.
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The village sign The folk singer and
fisherman Sam Larner lived in Winterton and there is now
a blue plaque on the wall of his former cottage. Sam was
discovered in 1956 by a BBC radio producer from
Birmingham who recorded 25 of his songs. Sam learnt most
of his songs - some of which were a bit risqué
- from fishermen he worked with on the drifters. He is best known for
Now Is The Time For Fishing. Ewan MacColl also wrote
The Shoals of
Herring about Larner's life.
Sam Larner's Cottage
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The novelist Sylvia Townsend Warner visited Winterton
frequently staying at the Hill House which was once owned by
Valentine Ackland's family. The Hill House is now part
of the rather bizarre holiday centre which includes
African inspired thatched huts.
The Hill House today
Thatched holiday homes
Both Ackland and Townsend Warner wrote
poetry inspired by the beach and dunes at Winterton.
Here is Ackland on the subject: 'The dandling sea nursed
me, the sand was soft and gentle./ Larks sang and I was
unwatched for long hours of clear daylight.' The couple
later became gay lovers and lived for a time at both
Salthouse and Sloley.
Winterton also provided the setting for
Trezza Azzopardi's novel Winterton Blue. The two
main characters in the book make separate journeys to
the village looking for solutions to their problems.
The following anonymous rhyme presents a disparaging
view of the Winterton - and some of its neighbours:
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Pakefield for Poverty
Lowestoft for Poor,
Gorleston for Pretty Girls
Yarmouth for Whores,
Caister for Water Dogs
California for Pluck:
Beggar old Winterton -
How Black she do look!
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Links:
All Saints' Church
Sam
Larner
Sylvia
Townsend Warner |
Supported
by Norfolk Tourism