Sprowston History
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    • Roads B >
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      • Cecil Gowing Court
      • Cere Road
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      • Lambert Road
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      • Mallard Way
      • Merlin Avenue
      • Millwrights Way
      • Mousehold Lane
    • Roads N >
      • Neville Road
      • North Walsham Road
    • Roads P >
      • Parkland Road
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    • Roads R >
      • Recreation Ground Road
      • Rosemary Road
      • Roundtree Way
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      • Salhouse Road
      • School Lane
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      • Sparhawk Avenue
      • Sprowston Road
      • St Georges Loke
      • Stonehouse Road
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      • Tills Road
      • Tills Close
      • Tusting Close
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      • Varvel Avenue
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      • White Woman Lane
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    • Other Roads A >
      • Airedale Close
      • All Saints Green
      • Amsterdam Way, Hellesdon
      • Anchor Street, Norwich
      • Angel Road
      • Anglia Square
      • Ardney Rise
      • Aylsham Road, Banningham
      • Aylsham Road, Norwich
    • Other Roads B >
      • Bacton Road, North Walsham
      • Back Of The Inns, Norwich
      • Barber Place
      • Barnard Road, Bowthorpe
      • Barrack Street, Norwich
      • Baxter Court, Norwich
      • Beach Road, Hemsby
      • Beach Road, Mundesley
      • Beach Road, Sheringham
      • Bedford Street, Norwich
      • Bell Road, Norwich
      • Bessemer Road, Norwich
      • Beeston Road, Sheringham
      • Ber Street
      • Bethel Street
      • Bishop Bridge Road
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      • Botolph Street, Norwich
      • Boundary Road, Hellesdon
      • Bowers Avenue
      • Bowthorpe Road
      • Branford Road
      • Bridge Road, Potter Heigham
      • Britannia Rd
      • Bull Close
      • Bull Close Road
      • Burma Road, Old Catton
      • ​Bussey Road, Fiddlewood
      • Buxton Road, Spixworth
    • Other Roads C >
      • Cabbell Road, Cromer
      • California Road, California
      • Calvert Street, Norwich
      • Cambridge Street, Norwich
      • Carrow Hill
      • Carrow Road
      • Castle Meadow, Norwich
      • Castle Gardens, Norwich
      • Castle Street, Norwich
      • Castle Street, Wroxham
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      • Church Road, Bacton
      • Church Road, Hoveton
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      • Churchill Road, Great Yarmouth
      • Clancy Road
      • Coast Road, Bacton
      • Concorde Road
      • Connaught Road
      • Cowgate
      • Cozens Road
      • Cremorne Lane
      • Cromer Road, Aylsham
      • Cromer Road, Hellesdon
      • Cromer Road, Hevingham
      • Cromer Road, Mundesley
      • Cromer Road, Sheringham
      • Cromer Road, West Runton
      • Cucumber Lane, Brundall
    • Other Roads D >
      • Dales Loke, Thorpe St Andrew
      • Daniels Road, Norwich
      • Davey Place
      • Denmark Road
      • Dereham Road, Norwich
      • Diamond Road, Norwich
      • Dog Lane, Horsford
      • Dove Street, Norwich
      • Drayton High Road
      • Drayton High Street, Drayton
      • Drayton Road, Mile Cross
      • Duke Street, Norwich
      • Dussindale Drive
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      • Eade Road
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      • Edwards Street, Norwich
      • Egyptian Road
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      • Eversley Road
      • Exchange Street, Norwich
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      • Farmers Avenue
      • Fifers Lane
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      • Furze Road, Thorpe St Andrew
      • Fye Bridge Street
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      • Garden Street, Cromer
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      • Gertrude Road, Norwich
      • Golden Ball Street
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      • Grammar School Road, North Walsham
      • Grapes Hill
      • Greenborough Road
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      • Gurney Road
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      • Halls Corner, Hevingham
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      • Henby Way, Thorpe St Andrew
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      • Hillcrest Road
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      • Holt Road, Cromer
      • Hooker Road, Heartsease
      • Horning Road, Hoveton
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      • Holt Road, Horsford
      • Honeycombe Road, Salhouse
      • Hurricane Way
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      • Ingham Road, Lessingham
      • Ipswich Road
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      • Jolly Gardeners Court, Norwich
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      • Kerrison Road
      • Ketts Hill
      • King Street, Norwich
      • Kingsley Road, Norwich
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      • Ladysmith Road, Norwich
      • Larkman Lane
      • Lawrence Street, Norwich
      • Lawson Road, Norwich
      • Laundry Lane, Thorpe St Andrew
      • Laundry Loke, North Walsham
      • Leopold Road
      • Lodge Lane, Old Catton
      • Lollard Road
      • London Street, Norwich
      • Lovett Close
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      • Lower Goat Lane
      • Lower Street, Horning
      • Lower Street, Salhouse
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      • Magdalen Road
      • Magdalen Street
      • Magpie Road, Norwich
      • Manor Road, Newton St Faith
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      • Market Street, North Walsham
      • Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth
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      • Middlebrook Way, Cromer
      • Mill Road, Cromer
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      • Millgate, Trowse
      • Mile Cross Lane
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      • Mundesley Road, North Walsham
      • Mundesley Road, Trimingham
    • Other Roads N >
      • Nelson Street, Norwich
      • New Road, North Walsham
      • North Walsham Road, Beeston St Andrew
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        • Norwich Road, Horstead
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      • Northumberland Street, Norwich
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      • Orford Place, Norwich
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      • Paddock Street. Norwich
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      • Plumstead Road, Norwich
      • Plumstead Road, Thorpe End
      • Plumstead Road East
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      • Prince Of Wales Road, Norwich
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      • Quebec Road, Norwich
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      • Rouen Road
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      • Russell Avenue, Sprowston
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      • Vincent Road, Norwich
      • Vulcan Road North / South
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      • Wodehouse Street, Norwich
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      • Woodland Drive, Old Catton
      • Wroxham Road, Rackheath
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    • Other Roads Y >
      • Yarmouth Road, Caister On Sea
      • Yarmouth Road, North Walsham
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      • Yarrmouth Road, Thorpe St Andrew
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California Road, California

California Sands Estate
Picture
The California Tavern
Around 1800 a migration took place along the coast of East Norfolk by people who had  previously worked on the land. These people organised  themselves into beach companies’  in  order to benefit from the rapidly expanding Yarmouth Herring Industry by earning  a living salvaging the many vessels that had come to grief on the maize of sandbanks that lurked just below the surface of the sea.  The men became known as 'beachmen' .
Around 1840 a group of beachmen from Winterton moved south and established the California settlement which was so named because of  Gold coins being found in the cliffs at the time of the California Gold Rush. California had the advantage of a clear view of the sandbanks from Happisburgh to Corton including the sheltered anchorage in Yarmouth  where up to  1000 sailing ships would await a favourable wind.
A lookout tower  was erected on the cliffs and  vessels called ‘Gigs’ and ‘Yawls’ were purpose built for salvage work.  In 1854 the beachmen also  had a lifeboat built by the famous Yarmouth boat builders James Beeching, to enable  them to carry out more hazardous work. Permission was granted from the Prince Consort to name the  lifeboat ‘Prince Albert’  and under the leadership of Coxswain Solomon Brown, many notable rescues were carried out .(Solomon Brown is far right, back row in the right hand picture above)
However from around 1880 erosion started to affect the work of beach companies with the loss of  both beach and cliffs, this eventually resulted in the loss of the lookout, and subsequently the original California Tavern, to the sea. By 1890 the California beach companies ceased to exist and the beachmen migrated to Caister and joined the beach companies there.
The future for California now lay in the booming tourist industry where people originally came to Norfolk via the railways to enjoy the golden beachs and stay in the fast developing Holiday Camps.


John Cannell.
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