Sunday 16th May 2021 - Opening Up and Old Photos
As from tomorrow we will see a further relaxation in the rules of lockdown. Apart from a few hiccups, along the way, the UK has done so well to be in the position we are today. We must be the envy of many a country, in particular the roll out of the vaccination programme. The biggest concerns that could affect as to whether we leave all restrictions behind on 21st June must surely be, the opening up of holidays abroad (to countries where they may be more lax in the care they take to avoid transmission of the virus resulting in holidaymakers bringing the virus back with them) and the latest Indian Covid variant. Despite our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, saying there would be no further lockdowns, there are rumours that there will be another, a short sharp period in October. Is there any end to this? Not any time soon by the looks of things.
Cromer Museum has, in the past, held regular mardles (chats) where people can exchange local information and photos etc. Since Covid, the frequency of these meetings has been curbed. The next best thing has been to post photos on their Facebook page. This week their theme was Overstrand with a number of old photos featuring on their page, which attracted a variety of comments (as sort of online mardle). It is interesting to see how little the High Street has changed. Yes, the Singing Kettle is now a dwelling and the hairdresser’s wooden cabin has gone but the basic streetscape to the north is much as it was then, sadly though, long gone are the Danish House and the Overstrand Hotel.
This brings me on to a snippet of Overstrand’s history and today’s photo of the house in Pauls Lane now known as Danum House. In the early 1900’s the house was called Corner Cottage and was purchased in 1912 from the Countess of Yarborough to provide a country retreat for the novelist Florence Barclay and her husband, Reverend Charles Barclay. Florence Barclay’s most famous novel is The Rosary; this sold over a million copies and was translated into eight languages. I am indebted to the late David Thornton for the above information, taken from his book titled, Echoes of History, Poppyland 1883-1914 which is available to purchase from Amazon.
