LXX. HUNSTANTON.—Licensed Victualler, 34 feet by 7J feet, 10 oars.

A distinction should be made between old and new Hunstanton; the latter, commonly known by the name of Hunstanton St. Edmunds, is situate about a mile south of old Hunstanton, and we shall only notice it in this brief description as a watering-place of the usual type of seaside resorts, which owes its existence to the opening of the Lynn and flunstanton Kailway. The provision for visitors was at first very small, but it has risen gradually in importance from a hamlet to a town possessing all the advantages of a civilized community. It enjoys a mineral spring in the neighbourhood of Eingstead Downs having chemical properties equal to those of some of the best-known spas in England. The town, too, is the only one on the Eastern coast open to the sea with a western aspect.

An iron pier, without which no wateringplace is complete, was constructed in 1870. It is more than 800 feet long, and, owing to the flatness of the beach, visitors can at low water walk on the sands round the head of the pier; but at high water the sea flows right up to the cliffs. Near the entrance to the pier is the open space called the Green, or Recreation Grounds, sloping towards the sea, and consequently exposed to the invigorating sea breezes. These grounds are a great'acquisition to the town, and are rendered more attractive by the lawntennis courts, archery and quoits, with which they are provided. It is here, when watching the fine autumnal sunsets, that one is reminded of the fact that this portion of the East coast looks due West.

Leaving Hunstanton St. Edmunds, a walk of about a mile, either along the now dangerous footpath on the summit of the cliff, or by the beach, should it be low water, will bring us to the old village of Hunstanton, standing on a slight eminence, with a declivity to the East.

It is situated at the extreme N.W. corner of the county, which possesses over 90 miles of seaboard, and on the eastern side of the great bay called the Wash, which here unites with the German Ocean. In common with the rest of the county, great ravages have been made here by the sea, which at high water dashes against the cliffs with great force and washes away large masses of earth.

The soil thus lost forms the dangerous shoals and banks abounding in the vicinity of Huns tan ton. The sea is said to encroach on the land at the rate of a foot every year, and as there is no natural formation along the coast strong enough to resist the even sweep of the waters, the easy curve of the shore is nowhere broken. T?he splendid stretch of fine, firm and level sands, and the beautiful scenery in the neighbourhood, made Hunstanton for many years a favourite watering- place; but it has been, to a great extent, spoiled by the railway, which brings to it crowds of excursionists from the several large centres of industry.

The bathing, with such sands, is excellent, and there is also very good sea-fishing.

The cliff which divides the two Hunstantons is about 60 feet in height at the highest part, and is composed principally of red carrstone, of which the houses are, as a rule, built. It is about a mile in length, and gradually descends after passing the Lighthouse, until it disappears altogether as a sea barrier, and is succeeded by an extensive range of sand-hills.

The beach becomes more shingly as it approaches the extreme point of land at Holme, called St. Edmunds Ness, where the shore turns eastward to the German Ocean. Should we select the footpath on top of the cliff in preference to the beach for our walk to old Hnnstanton, about midway we come to the ruins of St.

Edmund's Chapel, where St. Edmund is said to have landed and in pursuance of a vow shut himself up till he had learnt all the Psalms by heart. The time he took for accomplishing this self-imposed task is not on record, but, having done so, he is said to have been at once crowned King of Anglia. A little further on we arrive at the Lighthouse, now standing unpleasantly near to the edge of the cliff. It was erected by the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House in 1840. The light, a splendid one, is 110 feet above the level of the sea, and can be seen a distance of twenty miles.

A few years ago it was altered to an occulting light, which produces two eclipses, in quick succession, every half minute. A strip of red glass, the height of the lantern, and 12 inches wide, is placed on its west side, to throw a ruddy and a warning glare upon a dangerous shoal, known as the " Roaring Nuddle," situated midway between the Norfolk and Lincolnshire coasts. On a clear day, the Lincolnshire coast and the fine old tower of Boston Church can be distinctly seen from the Lighthouse. At night time, miles out to sea, may be seen the regularly returning flash, or revolving light, of the Lynn Well Lightship. The channels between the perfect labyrinth of sands are carefully buoyed and beaconed, and altogether the great bay of the Wash is one of the most carefully tended portions of the navigable waters on the eastern coast.

The great bulk of the land in Norfolk is in the hands of some ten thousand holders, and, as might be expected, the seats of many such large proprietors are very fine, and that belonging to Mr. Le Strange, Hunstanton Hall, situated in. a beautiful and extensive park, is one of the most interesting. The Lordship of Hunstanton has been in the family of the Le Strange's ever since the Conquest.

The greater part of the Hall was built by Sir Roger Le Strange, who was Esquire to Henry VII., and there is a fine brass to his memory in the church. Here lived, too, Sir Roger Le Strange, the great pamphleteer, who took such an active part in the civil war of Charles I. After the Restoration he became a great political writer, and was appointed Licenser of the Press.

Unfortunately, there was a serious fire in 1853, and the old dining-hall and eighteen other rooms were burnt. At a recent trial in connection with the rights of the Lord of the Manor a charter dating as far back as the reign of John was, we believe, produced granting to him the foreshore seaward as far out as the cast of a javelin reached, from a horseman who had first ridden out at low water (it does not say whether spring or neap tides) as far as the depth of the sea would permit. As, therefore, the tide recedes here to a great distance, Mr. Le Strange can lay claim to a considerable extent of beach. The church is a fine structure, built about 1350 ; the whole fabric was entirely restored, in I860, by the late Mr. Le Strange, the work being carried out under his supervision and from his own designs. The building contains several tombs and fine brasses of the Le Strange family well worthy of notice.

This article would be incomplete without a reference to one of the most curious phenomena of Hunst;inton— the submarine forest, of wluo'.i Mr. Mundford gives the following account:—" A very striking instance of the destruction of land on the borders of the ocean, by the mighty agency of tides and currents, or by some other natural causes, may be seen off the coast of Hunstanton at low neaps, for there commences at Brancaster Bay, stretching by Holme and Hunstanton across the Wash, and extending all along the coast of Lincolnshire, from Skegness to Grimsby, a submarine forest, which, in ages far remote, abounded in trees and plants indigenous to the district.

This now submerged tract was once inhabited by herds of deer and oxen, as is evident from the remains of their horns and bones, which have been occasionally found here. The foot of man has also trodden these wastes, for works of art have been met with, buried with the forest beneath the waves." Mr.

Mundford also tells us that although it is difficult to reach the overwhelmed forest without the assistance of a boat, he managed to do so one autumn at an extremely low tide. About two miles north of the cliff, and one and a half miles from high-water mark, lies the prostrate forest, consisting of numberless large timber trees, trunks and branches, many of them so decomposed and so soft that they might easily be penetrated by a spade. These vegetable remains now lie in a black mass, covering a space of some 500 or 600 acres. Many of the trees are quite sound and still fit for use, and are sometimes cut up for posts and rails.

Before the establishment of a Life-boat station at Hunstanton, the only protection against shipwreck and casualty, at a spot characterised by seamen as being one of the most dangerous parts of the coast between Dungeness and the Orkneys, was the Coastguard boat. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that in the year 1867 the inhabitants expressed a wish to have a Life-boat. The Board of Trade also, about the same time, forwarded to the National Institution a copy of a return made to the Board by the Inspecting Officer of Coastguards, in which attention was called to the want of a Life-boat at this place. The Committee of Management, acting upon these representations, promptly ordered the Station to be proceeded with. The whole cost was defrayed by the Licensed Victuallers of London, through the indefatigable zeal of Messrs. W. Smalley, T. Winterbottam, J. Wylde, and other gentlemen.

The Institution was also much indebted to Mr. Hamon Le Strange and Mr. W. 0.

Beedy, of Hunstanton, who, with other gentlemen, assisted in the formation of the Life-boat Station. A grand demonstration and public launch took place on the arrival of the Boat, which was drawn on its carriage along the principal roads, accompanied by a large procession. After being formally presented to the Institution and named the Licensed Victualler she was launched and exercised under oars and sails. The Boat had not to wait long to prove that notwithstanding her name, she could take kindly to water though the retort might be made by one of the trade that she did so with spirit too, for within a few months of her inauguration, her life-saving powers were put to a rude test. The Swedish barque, Thetis, had been driven, during bad weather, on the Wool Pack, a treacherous bank six miles from Hunstanton, and stretching almost entirely across the bay.

The Life-boat was launched, reached the vessel just as her distressed crew had taken to their own boats and were drifting out "to sea, and brought them safely to shore. Two or three weeks later she brought off the crew, fifteen in number, of the steamship Harnonia, of Hamburg, which had been driven on Brancaster Staith during a heavy gale from the N.E.

At the end of the year 1884 an Endowment Fund was started in the ranks of the trade by Mr. A. L. ANNETT, Secretary of the Licensed Victuallers' Asylum, to commemorate the service performed by the Licensed Victualler on the night of the 24th November of that year, when she saved twelve lives from the barque Alabama. This Life-boat, after twenty years of service, during which she had been instrumental in saving eighty-six lives, was replaced last year by a more modern one, bearing the same name, and a fund was at once started by the Licensed Victuallers, under the presidency of Mr.

ALEXANDER L. BRUCE, a prominent member of the wholesale trade, to defray the cost of the new Boat.

The Life-boat Establishment is entrusted to the care of a committee of management composed of local gentlemen Mr. LB STRANGE, who has been actively associated with the Branch since the formation of the Station in 1867, is Chairman, and the Vicar of Holme, the Kev. C. E. BROWNE, fills the post of Hon.

Secretary. The Vicar of Hunstanton, the Eev. .A. WALLER, occupied the latter office from 1870 until 1882, when he was obliged to resign in consequence of bad health. He was succeeded by Captain NOEL, E.N., who held office until 1885, and the Institution is under great obligation to him, as well as to Mr. LK STRANGE, for their exertions in maintaining the efficiency of the Branch during that period, financially as well as practically.

Mr. LK STRANGE still fills the Chair, and Mr. BROWNE, the present Hon.

Secretary, has proved himself a worthy successor to those who preceded him in that office..