History & Heritage
THE HUNSTANTONS'BACKSTORIES
New Hunstanton was created as a bathing resort by local landowner Henry Styleman Le Strange in 1846 as a holiday destination and was well-serviced by a direct rail line from King’s Lynn to Hunstanton.
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The Le Strange family still live in Hunstanton and own the beach, and, according to a charter, they also own “everything in the sea as far as a man on a horse can throw a javelin from the low tide mark”!
Old Hunstanton dates back to AD855, when the boy king Edmund stepped ashore and was crowned King of East Anglia. He built the first settlement here, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
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He was elevated to St Edmund following his death at the hands of a Viking army, when he refused to renounce his faith. He was the patron saint of England, until later usurped by St George.
Perched on the clifftop, overlooking the start of Old Hunstanton beach is the imposing lighthouse.
Built in 1844, it was operational until 1921.
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The first lighthouse was built here in 1666, although beacons and lanterns have warned shipping of dangerous sandbanks in The Wash for centuries before.
Nearby, you’ll also find the ruins of St Edmund’s Chapel, dating back to 1272, built in honour of St Edmund.
