Norfolk | alan frost photography

Posts tagged ‘Norfolk’

Three Norfolk Churches – a place to return

Happisburgh Church

The county of Norfolk has many attractions not least the sheer number and variety of churches to visit. These three examples were captured whilst on holiday a couple of years ago but only now have I processed them to my liking. I sometimes think a trip to Norfolk specifically to photograph churches would be a great thing to do. I will add it to my ever growing list of places to take my camera!

Potter Heigham Church

Beeston St Lawrence Church

Do click on an image to view a larger version which will open in a new window.

The ruins of St Benet’s Abbey in Norfolk

The ruins of St Benet’s Abbey on the banks of the River Bure within the Norfolk Broads are the best part of 1,000 years old. In 1020 King Cnut who ruled both England and Denmark, granted land and property to the hermits at St Benet’s and so the Benedictine Monastery was formed. It changed and expanded over the centuries and in the second half of the 18th Century a farmer built a windmill inside the abbey gatehouse. Some time later it was converted to a windpump but this ceased operating and now forms part of the abbey ruins.

Little remains of the monastery but in 1987 a tall cross was erected on the position of the High Alter. It was made from oak from the Royal Estate at Sandringham and can be seen from miles around.

Happisburgh Lighthouse on the Norfolk coast

Happisburgh Lighthouse

Happisburgh Lighthouse (pronounced ‘Haze-bruh’) is the oldest working light in East Anglia and the only one in Great Britain which is independently run and maintained through voluntary contributions. Built in 1790 and originally one of a pair, the lighthouse is 85ft tall and the lantern is 134ft above sea level. It overlooks the dramatic North Sea coastline which is constantly under threat from coastal erosion, and to this day threatens many seaside homes.

Interestingly the lighthouse was painted in bands in 1884 after the second lighthouse was demolished in the previous year. This was to distinguish the Happisburgh lighthouse from the tower at Winterton, a short distance along the coast.

Having enjoyed a good late afternoon walk along the beach, I drove from the car park back towards the centre of the village before turning into the lane which leads to the lighthouse. I was keen to see whether or not there was a good view with setting sun behind me. Standing proud on the hill, with the low angled sun light illuminating the field in the foreground, I was able to capture this image. I couldn’t have been more fortunate with the cloudscape, which provides a lovely backdrop to the main event.

Beach Huts – the humble garden shed by the sea.

Beach Huts at Felpham

Beach huts are a common sight in many seaside resorts. They evolved from the wheeled bathing machines used by the Victorians to preserve their modesty. Often brightly coloured they take on various forms, but more often than not, they are quite simply the humble timber garden shed, sited on the seafront, in rows and rows, alongside their almost identical ‘brothers and sisters’. In some resorts they are owned and rented out by the local council; whereas others are privately owned and can command prices which are out of all proportion to their size, type of construction and their amenity. Location, location, location is the key phrase here.

The huts in the above shot are on a greensward adjoining the seafront in Felpham Village; a pretty area just to the east of Bognor Regis on the south coast.

Taken on a very different day, the picture below shows the beach huts on the other side of Bognor Regis at Aldwick.

Aldwick beach huts

At West Wittering, again in West Sussex, these huts enjoy a wonderful location.

The shadows of huts at Wittering

……and perhaps my favourite beach huts are at Wells Next The Sea, on the North Norfolk coast.

Wells Next The Sea

The Church Defender

Church Defender

In time to come it might be quite hard to put a date against this photograph.

The Church in the background, which is dedicated to St Margaret, is in Cley Next the Sea on the North Norfolk coast and was built in the early to mid 1300’s. The vehicle parked on the grass verge is of course a Land Rover, built much later but many are still going strong today. I would guess this is a Series 1 model – which first came into production in 1948 and later became the Land Rover Defender. I am no expert and if anyone can confirm whether or not this is the case then do please comment. An iconic vehicle which went out of production after 68 years, the last one rolled off the line on the 29th January 2016.

I like the timeless quality to this shot. Both the subject and the treatment evoke memories of days past even though it was taken less than two years ago in October 2014.

Cley Next the Sea is arguably best known for its windmill, which can be seen for miles around and overlooks the salt marches of this beautiful but wild part of the English coast. There are links to a couple of earlier posts featuring Cley windmill below.

Last light of the day on Cley Windmill

Cley Windmill – Decisions, decisions