Sheringham Museum

Story

The Mo Sheringham Museum is a museum in the town of Sheringham, Norfolk, England. The current museum opened in April 2010 and replaced the former collection which was housed in converted fishermen's cottages behind the main street.The name Mo comes from a little girl who lived in Sheringham over 130 years ago and the museum tells her story and those of other Sheringham people.HistoryThe town's museum was located in converted fishermen's cottages and washhouses in the heart of the town. The museum had, as part of its information on the local fishing industry, a collection of original boat building tools dating back to the 1880s. Sheringham became known for its boat-building with boat-builders like Lown, Johnson and especially Emery being kept busy in the town. These skilled shipwrights built boats for Sheringham, Cromer and other fishermen further afield. There was a display in the museum of Emery's original bench and tools. Fishing is the foundation of which Lower Sheringham developed with a small, tightly-knit community developing on the cliffs and launching their boats from the flint beaches. During the mid 19th century, there were over 200 boats fishing off the shore. The fishermen were real characters going by nicknames like Downtide, Bounce, Squinter, Spider, Butter Balls, Bread-alone, Pongo and Teapot. Also on display were models of lifeboats, a Roman kiln, the original settlement of Upper Sheringham, and photographs showing how this popular holiday resort has grown over the years.