Many large portions of land were washed away in 1611, previous to which the inhabitants expended considerable sums of money and ingenuity in a fruitless attempt to maintain a small harbour. In the winter of 1799, the light-house cliffs, projecting from the beach three hundred and twenty feet, made several remarkably large shoots, one of which brought with it half an acre of ground, and extended into the sea beyond low water mark. On January 15th, 1825, another large mass of earth was detached from the light-house hills, and fell with great force on the beach, extending in breadth above three hundred yards from the cliffs, covering an area of twelve acres, and containing, it was supposed, not less than half a million of cubic yards of earth. The fall of this enormous body was sudden and unexpected. A large stream of water issued from the bank immediately after its fall, and discharged itself down upon the beach with great noise and violence. Early in the morning of August 19th, 1832, another large shoot of the cliffs occurred near the light-house, which threatened the destruction of that useful edifice. It was deemed expedient to erect another on the hill, two hundred and fifty yards inland; but the remains of the old one are still standing about three-quarters of a mile east of the town, where it was built of brick in 1719. These immense landslips were almost entirely owing to the numerous fresh water springs abounding in this locality, but the damage the town of Cromer experienced, and referred to in Chapter III., was caused by the ocean, during a continuous gale of wind. According to tradition, Cromer church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is supposed to have been erected in the reign of Henry 4th, soon after the village of Shipden disappeared. It is a large and handsome edifice, built of flint and free-stone, in the Gothic style, with a fine tower 154 feet in height, and richly ornamented with sculpture. The west entrance, the north porch, and the chancel have been long in ruins, and very little of the latter now remains; and history informs us, that many of its ornaments were destroyed by Cromwell’s soldiers, who converted it into barracks.