Tumbling-In
Welcome to the land of linguistic challenges, crumbling coastlines and flinty facades. Yes, we are in North Norfolk where village names such as Cley-next-the-Sea, Happisburgh, Hunstanton, or Stiffkey are not what they seem.
‘Happisburg’ (pronounced ‘Haseboro’ or ‘Haseborough’ depending on your spelling preference), lies on – and in – the sea, about 14 miles south of Cromer (pronounced Cromer). First impressions reveal a distinctive vernacular architecture, based on a surprising variety of local materials. Let’s take a stroll.
To start with, it’s not just one material or style or shape which makes the village so easy on the eye: colour, texture and pattern all play a signifcant part in the Happisburgh village-scape. A palette of warm orange-reds and flecked greys is complemented with textures, forms, design and details created by the building materials themselves and how they’re put together. Two materials are key: clay and flint.
Anyone from southern England will be familiar with flint as a building material but Norfolk takes it to another level. Combined with the county’s remarkable range of orange, smoky red and buff bricks - mottled or plain, new or weathered - the results are at once striking, heart-warming and distinctive. Every building is an individual and yet all are of a kind, created from local resources through the agency of craftsmen who fashioned the materials and constructed the buildings.
Flint can provide a satisfying and unifying theme, but brick, in particular, lends itself to creativity. Use of different bonds, or different colours to create wall patterns, or different bricks for specific purposes (eg red brick for chimneys) gives individuality which is often lacking in more modern constructions. ‘Tumbling-in’ brickwork, which was probably used for practical construction purposes, becomes more of an art form in Happisburgh.
Below left: detail from Happisburgh Manor (of which more later) with bricks ‘tumbling-in’ from either side above the window Below right: tumbling-in on gable end
Clay is also used for roofs. In Norfolk, plain tiles are often replaced by the larger, curved pantiles, and glazed pantiles are a county speciality (below right).
Roofs also bring in a third vernacular material - thatch made from Norfolk reed.
But even in rural North Norfolk, there is no avoiding the ubiquitous Welsh slate (below left) or, indeed, that staple of British agriculture, the corrugated iron roof.
Unsurprisingly, a number of buildings in and around Happisburgh are listed by Historic England, but only one manages to pull off Grade I status. This, of course, is the Church of St Mary, perched on a knoll above the village. The first church on the site was probably of late 11th century Norman construction, but the current classic - so typical of Norfolk with its tall but sturdy tower and substantial nave, aisles and chancel - was constructed in the 15C, restored in the 19th and again in the 20th century, following damage during WWII. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1169843?section=official-list-entry
Even to the casual observer the building is obviously of flint construction although Historic England does mention the use of some brick. However, that casual observer would need to lift their eyes unto the heavans to note that most of the roof is actually, yes, slate, although the chancel is, apparently, roofed with lead.
The tower is thought to have been an important landmark for mariners but the need for something more visible at night became pressing and the lighthouse – illustrated at the top of this post - was constructed in 1790.
Sadly, neither church nor lighthouse tower was able to prevent the loss of HMS Invincible in 1801. Invincible was on her way to join Nelson in what was to become the Battle of Copenhagen when she hit the treacherous sand banks off Happisburg and went down the following morning with serious loss of life. This stone (right) on the seaward side of the church yard, marks the mass grave of 119 members of the crew.
Had we been invited, our visit to Happisburgh’s newest piece of heritage would have been approached through a gateway in a fine, curving flint wall, past a magnificent, Grade II listed red brick and thatch stable block and on into the grounds of Happisburgh Manor. As befits our humble origins, and thanks to England’s excellent system of public rights of way, we took an alternative route via a public footpath which provided us with fine views of this extraordinary example of very early 20th century design.
The house design is credited to Arts and Craft architect Detmar Blow (although other(s) may have been involved), is based on an unusual butterfly or X-plan, and uses Norfolk vernacular materials throughout; apparently only the window glass came from outside the county. The client was Albemarle Cator, one of Blow’s many aristocratic clients.
Blow, the Manor House and its Grade II Registered Park all deserve blogs in their own right, but for now, we hope you can enjoy a few images of this remarkable building. The words affixed to the two gables visible from the footpath, read ‘Stella’ and ‘Maris’.
Our next post will explore a much more literal take on ‘Tumbling-in’.