History of Hunstanton

“On Christmas Day 855 a 14 year old Saxon called Edmund landed on the Norfolk coast at a place which would become, in some 200 years, Hunstanton and which is called St. Edmund’s Point to this day. Edmund was crowned King of East Anglia in 856, martyred by the Danes in 870 and later became the first patron saint of England”. hunstanton-info.com

There is evidence of Romans, Iceni, Anglo-Saxon and Early Bronze Age settlements and Old Hunstanton appears in the writings of the Doomsday Book, (1086).

Henry Styleman Le Strange the creator of Hunstanton built the very first building (The Golden Lion) in his attempt to create a Victorian seaside town in 1846. Although he did not live to see his vision come to fruition his legacy to the town is many of the beautiful Victorian buildings and architecture.

The Bays Guest House was also built by this creative architect and many of its original features still remain.

With the construction of a railway and the pier (sadly no longer part of Hunstanton) the seaside town of Hunstanton soon became a very fashionable resort. This was spurred on by the purchase of Sandringham House by Queen Victoria for her son the Prince of Wales in 1862.

Today Hunstanton is a hive of activity in the summer months and in the winter a peaceful and relaxing haven.