LETTER XXII.

CROMER, Sept. 1798.

A RESPLENDANT morning shone on my farther progress. SHERINGHAM Priory is an * object that will command your notice in the

*SHERINGHAM is divided into Upper and Lower; the houses in the former being nearly a mile from it, whilst those of the latter are so close to the beach as frequently to suffer by the impetuosity of the tides. Lower Sheringham is situated on a ruin of the cliff projecting on the beach, and the cliff gradually rises on each side to upwards of an hundred yards; the sea gains considerably here, and it is not uncommon to observe large pieces of arable land carried away with corn growing on it, betwixt seed time and harvest, so near do the people plough to the edge of a cliff.-It strikes a stranger with awe to look down. A very considerable fishery is carried on from this place, of cod, skate, and whiteings, but especially crabs and lobsters, with which this place and Cromer chiefly supply the London Market, by vessels which take the fish from the boats while at sea. There is a very good, and, indeed, the only inn at Lower Sheringham, much resorted to in Summer; the dining

degree that it has recently attracted mine; and if you take your way to it by the brook - or as they call it in this country, the beck-you will meet with a courteous reception from the wellinformed gentleman-farmer upon whose grounds. the ruin stands.* He will shew you the spot

room stands on the very edge of the cliff, and at high water no land can be seen from the windows. Sometimes thirty or forty fishing boats within a mile of the shore, and fleets of three hundred colliers and other large trading vessels pass so near, that with the naked eye you may discover the men on board. At low water the beach is enlivened by the multitude of fishermen either drying their nets, hawling up their boats, repairing their tackle, landing their fish, or securing their lobsters and crabs in coys, a sort of boxes fixed to the rocks, which the sea overflows and fills at every tide. This prospect may be enjoyed within doors, but when abroad you will be charmed by the beauty of the country, surrounded by richly cultivated, and what in Norfolk may be called bold and lofty hills; from one, to the cast of Lower Sheringham, you command an extensive view of the sea-coast, abrustly bounded by Cromer lighthouse, about four miles to the east, whilst the eye is lost towards the west, after wandering over both the Sheringhams.

* Of the ruins, the church which is near to the British ocean, the whole west gavel wall, with the arch of the window, is standing; the length of the church itself, with

where the stone coffin was discovered about thirty years since by Blomfield, and a variety of other particulars respecting the antiques; and if you have the luck that I had, you will see several very pretty moderns, in the form of his fair daughters, who happened to be then in the garden that fronted his house.

Passing the farm you strike again into the CROMER road, and if you stop at the first field gate to your left, you will well employ your time in the survey of a very fine picture. The well built, comfortable, modern farm-house of the present times, with its garden, and nurseries, mixed with the reliques of the ancient Priory; Beeston-hill, and a similar ridge of smaller ones as its satellites, bounding your horizon; the ocean is seen through an arch to the left, and to the right, you have more expansive openings of it with various small craft and larger vessels

the nave, tower and chancel, was about forty-seven yards; the nave itself ten yards wide; the choir, or chancel, fifteen yards long within. South of the nave was the cloister; the north and south transcept were twelve yards long each, and ten wide, enfolding chapel within chapel.

gliding over its bosom; while Beeston-church standing close to the beach, serves at once as a pleasure-mark to the traveller, and as a seaguide to the tar.

You then proceed by a pleasant green lane till you come to the village of Further Runton, in which you have an elegant villa, situated in a romantic valley, screened by a continuation of the hills, and rendered more picturesque by several hanging groves, ornamented by a thick wood in the back ground, consisting of fir, sycamore, oak, and elm, less injured by their proximity to the sea than they certainly would have been had they not been under protection of the glen. The road onward, shews on one side, far-extended mountains more barren of foliage yet not destitute either of cultivation or verdure, and on the other, the broadened ocean

*The scite of Beeston Priory and lands are now in the possession, and, I believe, the property of Mr. Thomas Woodrow. The Priory was dedicated to St. Mary, in the reign of our King John, for Canons of the order of St. Augustin.

spreads to the limit of your view. You have Cromer church and light-house all

front as the vista of your prospects

the way in

The Norfolk Tourist, and all the other historians, have done what they could for CROMER; desiring their readers will suffer its situation and the scenery around it, to make amends for the town itself. On the ostensible common facts they are all so accordant as to the mediocre buildings and foot-piercing streets, and a few other objects, - that nothing can be added to the old accounts which will do the interior of the place further service.

The embattled church has been a magnificent, and is still an interesting structure. It was built about the year 1396: its steeple, which is 159 feet high, is square and richly ornamented with free-stone sculpture: the chancel is in ruins. About a mile to the east of the town is

the light-house. Cromer boasts a great fishery for lobsters and crabs, and within the last few years, a considerable number of herrings have been taken on the coast.

The fair is on Whit-Monday, which