The History of North Cottage Cromer

We’ve loved discovering the history of the house. We hope you do too”

Jerry & Andrea

How it all started – a trip back in time

The history of North Cottage Cromer begins with the generous gift of a school for boys, from a Cromer goldsmith, Sir Bartholomew Read (also sometimes Rede), who was once a Lord Mayor of London.

Although the school was built in 1821 the schoolmaster’s house (which is now known as North Cottage) wasn’t built until over 50 years later. The first and longest serving schoolmaster was a prominent local man, Simeon Simons, who owned and lived at The Bath House – a Victorian spa where people bathed in salt water, which he ran alongside his schoolmaster duties. The Bath House still stands today, it’s the big yellow painted building on the promenade near the Pier.

Simeon Simons retired as schoolmaster in 1867. He suggested the owner of the school, the Goldsmiths’ Company, build a cottage for future schoolmasters to live in. It was finally built in 1873 on land very close to the school – the wooden gate at the end of the garden connects the two properties. Only the final three schoolmasters spanning the 22 years from 1873 – 1895 lived in the new cottage. Back then it was simply known as the ‘Schoolmaster’s house’.

And then the school closed forever

In 1895 education became the responsibility of the Government, rather than churches and charities. The Goldsmiths’ Company decided to close their school. By this time the poorly constructed and outdated building was no longer suitable for use as a ‘modern’ educational facility.  In a letter to the Goldsmiths’ Company the final schoolmaster, John B Hudson records his dismay at losing his job and fears he’s too old to secure employment at the new school. His home (North Cottage) came with the job, and he needed it. The 1891 census shows he lived in the tiny schoolmaster’s house with his wife and 7 children. Fortunately, the census shows, he did later move to another home in Cromer.

What happened to the schoolmaster’s house when the school closed?

First we need to know some background about the Hoare family, who were about own the house. From 1839 Samuel Hoare, a wealthy banker, who owned Cliff House on Overstrand Road, leased North Lodge (the current home of Cromer Town Council) from the Goldsmiths’ company for his mother and then his son Joseph. 

The Goldsmiths’ Company had built the original, then much smaller, North Lodge building in an attempt to entice other wealthy holiday home owners to buy further leasehold plots. The plan was to create a grand swathe of elegant houses and apartments, similar to other grand Victorian seaside town resorts. But the plan was unsuccessful and North Lodge remained the only property ever built on the estate.

Renamed – North Cottage and the Hoare family

Cromer first became a fashionable seaside resort in 1877 with the arrival of the railway. Taking advantage of the train, Richard Hoare and his family frequently travelled up from Hertfordshire, spending many summer seasons renting Brunswick House on the Gangway.

In 1886, Richard inherited North Lodge from his uncle, Joseph Hoare. Less than a decade later, in 1895, the nearby Cromer Free Boys School closed. Richard seized the opportunity to purchase the entire estate from the Goldsmiths’ Company for £3,000. Alongside North Lodge, the land now included the school building, the stables (which today house the cafe), and the schoolmaster’s house. He renamed the schoolmaster’s house North Cottage.

Richard’s four children – Douro, Dick, Helen, and Louise – had grown up spending their holidays in Cromer. Of the four siblings, it was Louise who forged the deepest, lifelong connection with the town. Although she kept a home in London, North Cottage remained a precious, much-loved retreat to her for the rest of her life.

In 1954 as she approached her 80th birthday, still living at North Cottage, Louise Hoare wrote two slim volumes of memoirs ‘Cromer Memories’ and ‘Six Generations‘. In the first of these books she describes the building work her father commissioned to double the size of the modest former schoolmaster’s cottage and transform it into North Cottage.

My father took immense trouble over North Cottage, building on four good rooms and furnishing it. He said he hoped we would never sell it as he liked to feel that we should always have a roof over our heads.”

Extract from ‘Cromer Memories’ by Louise Hoare 1954

The Cromer Dictionary website has reproduced the entire short memoir ‘Six Generations’ along with handwritten notes from a family relative. You can read it here . It’s a fascinating read, and provides a glimpse of a bygone age of life in Cromer.

In 1897 once the building works were completed, Louise, Helen and their brother Dick all moved into North Cottage. In 1901 when her father Richard died, Louise’s eldest brother Douro took over the entire estate and moved into North Lodge.

The Hoare family extended North Cottage to
more than double its original size

We were intrigued to discover a series of photographs showing how North Cottage Cromer has grown in size during its 150-year history.

This first pair of photographs was taken from the tower of Cromer’s St Peter and St Paul Church. The first photo dated 1885 shows the original schoolmaster’s house 12 years after it was built. The second photo was taken almost 80 years later in 1964 and shows how North Cottage was considerably enlarged by Richard Hoare’s extensions to the front of the house and the rear to the left.

Why is North Cottage Cromer
inside North Lodge Park?

When we first saw North Cottage we were curious to know why it was located inside a public park, the only entrance is through the park. We set about finding out how this happened.

In 1928 Douro Hoare, the owner of North Lodge, died. Much to the dismay of Louise Hoare, her brother’s widow Ida put North Lodge and all the land of the estate up for auction. It was bought by Cromer Urban District Council for £5,500 on 24th September 1928. With the help of a government grant to create recreational spaces, the estate grounds became North Lodge Park and opened to the public in May 1929. 

The former Goldsmiths’ school building was purchased by the local GP Dr. Burton to use as his surgery. He also built the adjacent Rede House as his home. North Cottage remained in the ownership of Louise Hoare, who now found her home surrounded by a public park instead of a private estate. As she writes in her memoir:

After my brother Douro’s death, his widow Ida sold North Lodge, the house, stables, garden and two fields to the Town. North Cottage now stands alone in its own garden with all its quiet and privacy gone. I have now got used to seeing the stables turned into a tea house, putting golf, bowls, tennis and a paddling pool in the field, and a roundabout just outside the garden wall. The place is certainly more useful to the town now then it ever was before.

Louise Hoare, ‘Cromer Memories’ published 1954

North Cottage was the only building to remain in the Hoare family ownership. Louise Hoare continued to live here on and off until 1958. She also owned a house in London where she spent much of World War I helping to run a hospital for army officers. Later she also became a volunteer at the Cromer Hospital, which was built with donations before the founding of the National Health Service.

Lousie Hoare celebrated her 80th birthday in June 1955. Four generations of her family joined her to mark her special birthday at nearby Northrepps Hall. They presented her with a tea set. We’re indebted to historian John Morgan for unearthing this photo from The Chronicle dated 24th June 1955. It shows Louise, with her beloved poodles, proudly showing off her part of her gift from the family.

Someone who remembers Louise Hoare well is Margaret Hunter (nee Baker). She’s the daughter of Billy Baker, who was North Lodge Park Superintendent during the 1950’s. As a girl she lived in caretaker’s accommodation which was inside North Lodge. Margaret shared her fond memories of living in North Lodge Park for its 90th anniversary celebrations in 2019.

“My brother and I used to visit Miss Louise Hoare and Lady Sanderson in the 1950s.  The corner where the garage now is I recall as a summer house.  Louise Hoare was matron of an officer’s hospital in London during WW1.  Her companion Lady Sanderson was the widow of the Master of Ruskin College Oxford. They had a Northrepps Hall connection I recall.  They lived in Cromer but over-wintered in Torquay every year, where Louise died. There was a path from her garden to the Rede’s School building, by then a doctor’s surgery.  She related her memories of living in North Lodge, the nursery was on the first floor.”

Margaret Hunter (nee Baker)

What happened to North Cottage after
Louise Hoare died?

Since Louise Hoare died (during one of her annual winter stays in Torquay) North Cottage has had a succession of different owners. Each of them left has their mark on the house with a series of alterations and improvements, but no one has matched her long 60 years of ownership.

On 25th August 1961 the owner of The Watch House, the neighbouring white painted house on the cliff edge, bought North Cottage. In 1962 the main driveway was relocated from the front to the side of the house. When the house was re-sold on 31st January 1963 for £3,700 part of the garden closest to the sea was kept by The Watch House.

North Cottage over the next twenty years

For the next 20 years Leslie Bilsby and his wife Shura Alexandra Bilsby owned North Cottage as their holiday home. Leslie Bilsby, originally from Lincolnshire, became a noted 1960’s property developer of post war modern homes in the Blackheath area of London. His interest in design and architecture embraced North Cottage where he and his extended family spent their holidays. The gardens were a special love, Leslie and Shura even employed a gardener to maintain the lawns and borders in immaculate condition.

This was a period of sensitive updating and restoration. In 1963 the house still had its traditional green painted timber framed sash windows and black glazed roof tiles. In the photo below you can see the 1897 front extension more clearly, the tiles are darker, and the brick line and garden wall show where the original schoolmaster’s house ended. The low wall was reduced in length in 1965 and the area to the front of the house was opened up to surround the house with gardens.

By 1965 the timber windows have been re-painted white (photo below) giving the house a more modern feel. The gardens become more formal, with less emphasis on the cottage-style. The large sycamore in the garden is there too – the overhanging branches frame the photo.

We’re indebted to Mike and Judy, two of the extended Bilsby family, for sharing the photos and history revealing the story of these two decades at North Cottage. We were thrilled, when out of the blue we received an email from Mike that explained how he knew the house so well:

In the 1960’s and 70’s North Lodge Cottage was owned by my wife’s uncle, Leslie Bilsby. In 1965 as newly qualified doctors with no funds, Leslie kindly let us spend our honeymoon at the Cottage. Thereafter we spent many holidays there with our growing family.“

Mike Dixon

Mike and Judy’s son noticed North Cottage Cromer was available through Airbnb – and the family booked the house for the 60th wedding anniversary celebrations in 2025. We were excited to see Mike’s photos of North Cottage from the 1960’s and 1970’s and some additional photos taken from outside in the park during their return visits to Cromer over the next forty years.

During the 1960s the gardens were much altered. By 1967 the rear garden has been united with the front.
A sun terrace is created where the exotic garden lies today.
Photos kindly provided by Mike Dixon.

In 1965 an aerial photo was taken of the house. It shows the immaculate gardens extending all around the property – back then there’s no Conservatory, Garden Room or garage – just lots of garden. There’s a summerhouse to the front where the garage stands today. The large Sycamore tree is already gracefully maturing on the rear lawn.

1984 – 2007 another owner: two more decades

In 1984 Leslie Bilsby (who died in 1990) sold North Cottage to Mr Harber a local businessman who ran the Blue Danube tea rooms just opposite in North Lodge Park. In the summer of 1985 he applied to the council for permission to open up the lovely gardens at North Cottage so he could sell cream teas. He was granted a three year licence.

The Harber family lived at North Cottage while the children were at school. Jessica, Laura and Stuart scribbled their names inside a cupboard in one of the front bedrooms – their names are still there. The Harbers made some big additions to the house. The first of these was in 1993 when they added the huge Conservatory, cleverly wrapping it around the rear corner of the house, enclosing two of the beautiful original flint walls. Their second addition hasn’t survived.

In the 1990s they built an outdoor swimming pool, just outside the Conservatory. We’ve only been able to find one photo showing a tantalising glimpse of the pool. The photo was taken by the neighbour; Dr. Barclay, who was documenting the demolition of the East Coast Motor Company building. Over the years we’ve met quite a few locals in Cromer who remember swimming in the Harbers’ pool.

What became of the swimming pool at
North Cottage? The next decade

In 2007 North Cottage had a new owner, only the fourth during its then, 134 year history. He was a local builder and according to plans lodged with the Council he applied for planning permission to enclose the outdoor swimming pool. However there was more building work to attend to first. In 2009 the summer house was replaced with a huge double garage. Then in 2010 the plan to enclose the swimming pool was abandoned and instead the huge Garden Room was built over the area where the pool was. At the entrance to the house new garden gates were installed, and a reclaimed red post box inserted in the outside wall. And then after all that building, at the end of 2014, the local builder decided to move on. The next owners only stayed a short time too – just under four years, during which time they remodelled the upstairs bathrooms and installed a shiny red AGA in the kitchen.

2018 – North Cottage becomes a holiday home again

We bought the house in November 2018. We were looking for a home by the seaside to retire to. When we saw North Cottage we knew we’d never find anything else like it again – which was a dilemma because we were nowhere near ready to retire! We hatched a plan to buy the house and, as was the growing craze, list it for rent as a holiday home. After extensive preparation the first guests checked-in during May 2019. Many more guests flocked here during the great staycations of 2020 and 2021 and in the years since. These were the two summers when holidays abroad were either prohibited or made difficult due to travel restrictions designed to limit the spread of the global pandemic. Families rediscovered the great joy of holidaying at home by the sea, just as the Victorians had done a century earlier.

In 2022 our guests were rewarded with a glorious summer. It was the joint hottest summer on record in England. Norfolk had it’s third driest summer ever – just behind 1983 and 1921 (source: Met Office) and East Anglia enjoyed its third sunniest summer. 2025 was another warm summer with several heatwaves where temperatures exceeded 30 celsius. All five of the UK’s warmest ever summers have now been recorded since the year 2000, and two of the five since North Cottage Cromer listed as a holiday cottage – the warmest summers were 2025, 2022. The long-term trend is for warmer summers in the UK and very hot summers in southern Europe.

In 2025 North Cottage Cromer was awarded Self Catering Accommodation of the Year at the Visit Suffolk and Norfolk Tourism Awards, and the following year, 2026, it was runner-up. It has become a premier destination for larger groups and multi-generational families.

The joys of spending summer holidays at home are set to continue for many more generations to come. Many of the families who stay at North Cottage Cromer span 3 or even 4 generations – from grandparents to great grandchildren. They return year after year and we’re grateful to all of them for continuing this special seaside tradition.

Your stay at North Cottage Cromer makes you part of its history

When you stay here you’re continuing a long holiday home tradition. A story that began in the 1890s when Louise Hoare travelled to Cromer with her parents, brothers and sisters from Stoke Newington by train for their holidays. In fact North Cottage has been used as a holiday home for over half its existence . We’re sure Louise would have been delighted her beloved home still brings so much joy to holidaymakers today over 130 years later.

We’re indebted to the excellent book ‘Chronicle of Cromer’s North Lodge Park Pleasure Ground’ Volume II written by John Morgan for confirming important dates in the early years of North Cottage and also for sharing historical documents from the Goldsmiths’ Company Archive. John has been invaluable in unearthing treasured documents. Also many thanks to Mike Dixon for documenting the ownership of North Cottage during the 1960s, 70s and early 80s and providing wonderful photographs.

John Morgan’s excellent book is available from Jarrold book department, 33 Church Street, Cromer for £10.
There’s also a copy for guests to enjoy inside the house at North Cottage Cromer
Proceeds help support the Friends of North Lodge Park. It’s a fascinating read!
More information on the Friends of North Lodge Park website.