Latest news with #Cromer
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Rocket House cafe in Cromer is not for sale, says council
A council says it will not sell a seafront cafe, despite earlier discussions over the future of the Norfolk District Council had considered selling the Rocket House in Cromer, which has faced problems with damp, but later dismissed the idea due to ongoing costs year, the authority committed to spending more than £1m on repairs to the property, which is built into a cliff leaseholders of the cafe are now being asked to pay more in rent as part of a new lease agreement. The Rocket House is home to the cafe, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) Henry Blogg Museum and public restaurant, which opened in 2006, has helped make the Rocket House a Cromer tourist is hoped the renegotiated rental agreement will bring cash into the council's coffers, while securing the future of the Democrat cabinet members at the district council will meet next week to discuss the property's future. The Rocket House was built in 2006 and was funded partly through EU regeneration has been undergoing extensive repairs after facing chronic damp issues and a new floor has been installed in the new rental agreement comes as the museum, which sits on the building's ground floor, remains closed until further renovation work is carried out. Much of the ground floor was damaged by storm surges in 2007 and the costs of maintaining the landmark building have proved controversial, with critics calling it a "monumental mistake" due to the risks of damage from the sea. This article was written by a trusted journalist and then edited for length and style with the help of AI, before being checked again by a BBC Journalist. It's part of a pilot. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
‘We turned a £25m country estate into Britain's poshest B&B'
The Ellis family stumbled upon one of England's loveliest stately homes for sale completely by accident. They were looking for a small plot of land to start a wine business when an agent got in touch. 'He said he knew of 500 acres that were coming up,' says James Ellis, but said it came with a caveat: 'it's got this really big house in the middle of it'.' James's father, Richard Ellis, had founded the holiday lettings business, Norfolk Country Cottages, in 1992 with his late wife, Lesley. Three decades later, having sold the company, the family were looking to buy some land on which they could start growing vines. The caveat turned out to be Grade I-listed Wolterton Hall, 10 miles from Cromer, rebuilt in the 1740s by Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, brother of Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister. Recently restored, it was on the market for £25m. The Ellises walked into the house and fell in love. 'I could see the look on my dad's face,' says James. 'I thought, we're in trouble – we're going to do this.' And they did. The Ellises' purchase of Wolterton in 2023 was, the agent later said, 'the most significant property sale in Norfolk for a long time'. And to think they'd just been looking for a bit of land. But who could blame them? Wolterton was a catch. It wasn't being sold in a parlous state, and by stately homes standards, it wasn't mind-bogglingly enormous. As James's brother, Will, the historian of the family, explains, it's a stately home 'but it was designed as a house, as Horatio Walpole put it, that was 'not extremely large, nor little… neither to be envied, nor despised'. It was designed to be an oasis, not as the kind of house that you're intimidated by.' Part of the Walpole family's Norfolk empire for almost 300 years, Wolterton is less well known than some of the other local Whig palaces – Houghton, the home of the Marquess of Cholmondeley, and the Earl of Leicester's Holkham. Robin Walpole, 10th Baron Walpole, inherited Wolterton in 1989, but after he made his home at nearby Mannington Hall, Wolterton lay empty. In 2016, Robin Walpole put Wolterton on the market, and it was snapped up for somewhere in the region of £10m by the restoration duo Keith Day and Peter Sheppard. Six years later, they had comprehensively restored it inside and out, and won the Georgian Group's award for the restoration of a country house for their efforts. Eager for a new project, they decided to move on from Wolterton – which is where the Ellises came in. Earlier this month, Wolterton opened to the public for the first time in a generation, with a new arts and culture programme featuring work by the artists and sculptors, Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson, alongside the house's stately interiors. Entry to Wolterton is free, with donations to the Ted Ellis Trust, the conservation charity established in the name of Richard Ellis's uncle, encouraged. 'You can come along and look at the art and then sit outside and take in the lake,' says Will. 'We want to share the space and let people see the environment, and reconnect with the arts heritage which is at Wolterton.' The Walpoles were ready collectors – what is left at Wolterton will be on show to the public, including a newly acquired portrait of Maria Walpole, Duchess of Gloucester, by Thomas Gainsborough. 'There's a Rubens in the Wallace Collection that used to be at Wolterton,' adds Will. 'We'd love to have that back.' The family's management of Wolterton has taken a slightly different shape to others who end up in their position, by design or inheritance. No one is living in the big house, for a start. 'Wolterton needs to become a sustainable business,' says James. 'If you've got family living there, then there's a clash. It frees it up from that perspective and stops any sibling rivalry.' Part of that sustainable business model harks back to the family's hospitality roots. As well as offering exclusive-use, whole-house rentals, and holiday lets in estate cottages, the bedrooms at Wolterton are bookable on a nightly basis – from the state bedroom with adjoining boudoir at £700 a night, to the Ripley room at £300 a night. 'We're not calling it a hotel,' says James, laughing, 'but it's like the poshest B&B you could ever book.' Whatever the results of their bedding-in period, the family is keen that Wolterton does not become a museum. 'We want it to be alive,' says James. 'When you have people in it, the walls and the fabric of the building give back.' It all seems very brave, to part with millions of pounds to buy an enormous house with 500 acres and an unlimited list of maintenance works. 'You're not the first to question our sanity,' says James. 'We're the second generation and we feel very fortunate to be in the position we're in.' Their challenge is two-fold. 'First, it's [about] being custodians and looking after this beautiful asset for the years that we're around. Secondly, it's [about] how do we turn this into something sustainable that we can pass on to the next generation? We love that business challenge. We think it's doable, but it's going to take some head-scratching.' So far, Wolterton is not yet commercially sustainable. 'That will take some time,' says Will. 'But is it a good business, is it fun, and is it building a good team with a good culture? It's starting to tick those boxes. The profitability will come with trying to do the right thing.' There is, he adds, more to value than commerciality. 'There is a community around Wolterton and we're opening up for that in the way the Walpoles did. We're hoping that we can play a role in that community as part of rebuilding the aura around the place.' Both James and Will – as well as their brother Tom, and sister Hannah – feel very lucky to be at Wolterton. 'We got into this purposefully to find something fun to do again – that was our motivation,' says James. 'We didn't need to do this, but we wanted to run something ourselves together again.'
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Noel Edmonds is pushed to the limit as New Zealand gets a soaking
9pm, ITV1'I think I might have found my paradise,' says Noel Edmonds, gazing out across the majestic New Zealand landscape as this barmy series continues. In truth, this is an episode that pushes Noel's Zen calmness to the limit. Rain has kept visitors away from the bar-restaurant and a sharp frost could destroy the vineyard. It's a good job he has his voluminous collection of motivational catchphrases ('When it rains, look for the rainbows') to make sense of it all. Phil Harrison 8pm, Channel 4The squirrelling urge starts early: Shane has been collecting records, jewellery, bikes, lighters and bits of old china since he was 12. Consequently, he's now renting an incredible six garages to keep on top of it. Can Ronnie and Katie help him reduce his load? Ali Catterall 8pm, Channel 5More seaside fun for Calman as she takes a jaunty trip to Cromer on the north Norfolk coast. She quickly gets the obligatory crab-tasting ticked off before heading to the annual Vintage Sixties festival. She also bumps into comic Helen Lederer, who is revisiting fondly remembered family holidays. PH 9pm, Sky WitnessWay back in the first season of this long-running drama, righteous firefighter Cruz (Joe Miñoso) let a criminal gang leader perish in a blaze (to be fair, he did feel pretty bad about it). Now, that crook's dodgy cousin is threatening to reveal the truth to Cruz's bosses … unless he agrees to help with an audacious heist. Graeme Virtue 9.30pm, BBC OneSian Gibson's 90s-set sitcom opens with a nightmarish prediction of death, disaster and dodgy singing. It's Alison's 18th birthday, and Diane is suffering from stress after Sandy's disappearance. How will she get all her egg and cress sandwiches done? Alexi Duggins 10pm, Channel 4This slightly cringe reality show continues to offer a mixture of hokey intimacy coaching and out-and-out raunch. The series climaxes this week with a sexy pool party designed partly to help Jamie and Sharmayne loosen up. As they get up close and personal with Jen and Marc, a big decision approaches. PH
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
How Albert Einstein found refuge from the Nazis in NORFOLK: Jewish physicist's letter reveals what he got up to during stay in log cabin amid 'plans for my assassination'
A fascinating letter by Albert Einstein revealing how he was enjoying the 'enviable solitude' of Norfolk while in hiding from the Nazis has emerged 92 years on. The genius mathematician first fled to Belgium after Adolf Hitler came to power and Jewish people began to be targeted. Although he had police protection, Einstein was still deemed under threat there, so he travelled by boat to Dover and was then driven to the Norfolk coast. His alien new surroundings as a guest of Conservative MP Oliver Locker-Lampson consisted of a tiny 9m sq hut consisting of a single room. But despite the lack of luxury in the cabin on Roughton Heath, near Cromer, Einstein informed son Eduard that he was enjoying his new surroundings and was spending most of the time doing maths. He added that, whenever he was cold, he would run around outside to warm up. Einstein started his letter to his son by confiding in him that he was aware of 'plans for my assassination'. He then cuttingly described the Nazi takeover of Germany as 'a revolution of the stupid against the rational'. Einstein added with gallows humour: 'It's a shame that an old fellow like me cannot have his peace and quiet. 'When you're dead, you don't get to enjoy it, unfortunately.' Einstein was on a visiting professorship at the California Institute of Technology CalTech the Nazis assumed power in Germany early in 1933. He was immediately personally targeted, with several raids on his flat and country house. When he landed in Antwerp on his return to Europe on March 28 he formally renounced his German citizenship. He remained in Belgium over the summer, but the threat of violence from the Nazis increased, particularly after the assassination of the philosopher and anti-Nazi figurehead Theodor Lessing in Czechoslovakia in August 1933. In early September, Einstein secretly escaped to England, where he was given shelter by Locker-Lampson. Although his whereabouts were intended to be secret, photographs of Einstein, guarded by locals with shotguns, were published in the newspapers. He received a small number of visitors at Roughton, including the sculptor Jacob Epstein who he sat for for a bust. On October 7, Einstein boarded a ship for the US, where he had been offered a position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He never returned to Europe before his death in 1955. The two-page letter in German, signed 'Papa' and sent from Cromer on September 23, 1933, reads: 'Times have been rather turbulent since my last letter. 'It was actually reported in the newspapers that there were plans for my assassination. 'As a result my police protection in Belgium was increased so much that I did not want to bother any more. 'So for more than three weeks now I have been near the English coast in enviable solitude. 'My little house, in which I live alone, has an area of roughly 9 m2 and consists of a single room. 'Outside the door you have immediate access to Mother Nature. I spend most of the time doing mathematics and run around outside when I get cold.' The letter, which remained in the Einstein family until 2001, is now being sold by a private collector at London-based auctioneers Christie's with a £20,000-£25,000 estimate. The auctioneers say this is one of a very small number of letters Einstein wrote while temporarily resident in England. Thomas Venning, books and manuscripts specialist at Christie's, said: 'It's a lovely example of Einstein's sense of humour, even in the most stressful possible circumstances. 'He is at serious risk of being assassinated by the Nazis, but still gets in a joke about how you get plenty of peace and quiet when you're dead, but sadly don't get to enjoy it. 'His opposition to the Nazis was significant: the line in the letter about the victory of Nazism being the 'revolution of the stupid against the rational' was one that he reused in later years, and the Nazis knew that his international prominence and unstinting criticism of them was a threat. 'The other theme in the letter is his love of peace and quiet and his love of nature: in some ways being stuck in the middle of nowhere in a one-room that is quite a dream scenario for Einstein. 'He really asked nothing better than being left alone to think about science, with the minimum of creature comforts. 'Of course, there is something slightly incongruous about a world-famous figure like Einstein hiding out in a hut in the Norfolk countryside, and there is something slightly Dad's Army-like about the photographs of him sitting outside his hut, guarded by locals with shotguns. 'The fact that these were published in the British press at the time somewhat reduced the effectiveness of his 'top secret' hideaway.' The sale takes place on July 9.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Jarrolds boss assures staff that Cromer store is not closing
Staff at a long-established department store outlet have been assured that another shop closure is not being is closing the book department of its four-floor store in Norwich, citing the struggle to compete with national and online Cromer store primarily sells books, however Tim Shattock, the firm's managing director for trading, insisted the coastal shop was "not at risk".It follows the closure of its shop in Wymondham last September - and a move to cut the hours of around 70 staff earlier this year. Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk, Mr Shattock said: "I think it comes down to how you work with scale. "We obviously have a large store with large operating costs in Norwich and we also have a multi-department offer."If you're dedicated to books and you're operating either as a large bookseller - as a Waterstones where you've got scale to combat some of the price and availability - or if that's actually the main area of focus, like some of the excellent independent book shops."That's where Cromer exists for us. It leads with books and has a very good book business. It has a very good customer base, with not huge amounts of competition, like Norwich." 'Difficult decision' The book department of the Norwich store is set to close at the end of August after a sale of existing Shattock did not confirm if any staff would be made redundant but said: "With any business change we have to prioritise any colleagues affected and I know the team at Jarrolds are working with them to manage that."Jarrolds appears to be in a healthy position financially, according to its most recent annual accounts to the end of January dipped very slightly to £31.8m but a £6m profit represented a 19.1% gross profit margin. The average number of employees also fell very slightly to 398 from 419 the previous the firm's long history as a publisher and a book seller, Mr Shattock admitted the department had faced challenges since the rise of online retailers at the turn of the millennium."We're very proud of our history as a bookseller in Norwich and books as a whole in the company, we're also very thankful to our loyal customers who have been on the journey with us," he said."So I understand that this decision is a difficult one and tricky for some customers to understand."In the department store we operate in a number of different categories and whilst we're seeing some really good growth in some and some really strong demand, this [books] has been a challenging market for us for a number of years."We've managed to nurture the department over the last two decades and managed that decline, it's got to the point where we need to think about the future and make a difficult decision on our portfolio."Mr Shattock said growth could be found in innovative areas, such as the food hall and beauty retreat rooms."We're seeing that innovation in other categories that we're finding very difficult to replicate in books," he said. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
