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Hunstanton

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Hunstanton
PopulationExpression error: "4,961 (2001)" must be numeric
OS grid referenceTF6740
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHUNSTANTON
Postcode districtPE36
Dialling code01485
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk

Hunstanton, often pronounced by locals as "Hunston"ⓘ (Template:PronEng), and also known colloquially to locals as 'Sunny Hunny', is a seaside town (population 4961[1]) in Norfolk, England, facing The Wash.

The description of Hunstanton as an "east coast" town makes it unique as the only east coast seaside resort in England where the sun can be seen to set over the sea.

Geology

The stratified red chalk limestone and white chalk cliffs on the beach at Old Hunstanton.

Hunstanton is also well-known for its stratified, fossiliferous cliffs: lower reddish limestone, known as 'Red Chalk', was laid down during the Lower Cretaceous era, and is topped by a white chalk layer from the Upper Cretaceous era.

In 1910, a book "The Rocks of Hunstanton and its Neighbourhood" by J.F. Jackson was published by The Premier Press.

History

The town is of prehistoric origin. In 1970, evidence of Neolithic settlement was found.

In 1846, Henry Styleman Le Strange, a local landowner, decided that he'd like to turn Hunstanton into a holiday resort. Many new buildings were built, mostly in warm Norfolk carrstone. Following the death of Henry Le Strange, the project was successfully continued by his son. Hunstanton today is home to a fairground, aquarium and seal sanctuary, leisure pool, theatre, large caravan parks with amenities (Searle's Holiday Park opened in 1936), a number of amusement arcades, and a long promenade. In good weather, boats run by Searle's carry tourists out to view grey seals which have colonised sand bars both in The Wash and to the north of Norfolk. The centrepiece of the town is a large sloping green, which runs from one end of the high street to the promenade. The town also boasted a Victorian pier, until it was blown down by a storm in 1972.

Remains of St Edmund's Chapel and Lighthouse

The original, pre-Le Strange settlement of Hunstanton is now known as Old Hunstanton, adjoining the north of the larger resort. The quiet character of Old Hunstanton remains distinct from and complements that of its busy sibling, with clifftop walks past a disused lighthouse. The lighthouse is privately owned (and currently for sale), and the ruins of St. Edmund's Chapel, built in 1272. The River Hun runs to the coast just to the east of old Hunstanton.

Hunstanton railway station used to offer services to King's Lynn, but is now closed.

Tourism

Although summer crowds tend to flock to Hunstanton in smaller numbers now than was evidenced in the 1980's, postcards of the promenade and beach, the popularity of the town as a tourist destination for day-trippers and holidaymakers has nevertheless endured, weathering the decline of the British seaside resort. Indeed, during the 1990s, businesses in villages south of Hunstanton (Dersingham, Ingoldisthorpe and Snettisham) complained of a loss in trade after being bypassed by the A149, which carries heavy Hunstanton-bound traffic; while in 2004, the Hunstanton lifeboats were the busiest in Norfolk (around 40 call-outs in 2004, 52 in 2003).[2]

The town today

The town is notable for several stately Victorian squares, perhaps most notably Boston Square, which enjoys fine views across The Wash to Boston, Lincolnshire. On a fine day, one can see Boston Stump.

Hunstanton is home to Glebe House School & Nursery, one of Norfolk's leading independent co-educational preparatory schools.

The Smithdon High School (formerly known as Hunstanton Secondary Modern School) is an early building designed by the architects Peter and Alison Smithson.

The town has hosted several international sporting events including the 2005 World Water Ski Racing Championships.

The countryside surrounding Hunstanton is hillier than most of Norfolk, and as sparsely populated, the only nearby large settlement being King's Lynn, 12 miles to the south. The catchment area of Hunstanton's day-trippers includes the remote Fenland of South-West Norfolk, South Lincolnshire and North Cambridgeshire, and the Midlands beyond it. Holidaymakers are attracted by nearby Sandringham House (the Queen's winter residence), Castle Rising, the Burnhams (birthplace of Lord Nelson) and the RSPB reserves at nearby Titchwell village and Snettisham.

References

  1. ^ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council, 2001. "Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes."
  2. ^ Source: 2004 a quiet year for lifeboats http://new.edp24.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&itemid=NOED09%20Jan%202005%2020:00:19:443&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=search&archive=0

3. Hunstanton Directory: http://www.hunstanton-info.com/

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