The seaside resort of Caister, although quaint, has its own big slice of history on the Norfolk coast.
A good place to start, as always is with those Romans. They arrived on Caisters shores in the first century AD. During their reign Caister became the site for a roman fort, which formed part of the Saxon Shore, a collection of Roman Military along the shorelines of England and France.
As well as Roman forts, Caister boasts a 15th Century castle. In fact the name Caister comes from the Latin word Castra, meaning castle.
Moving on from Castles and Latin, Lifeboats have always had a prevalent history in Caister.
Lifeboats were first documented in Caister in 1791 and still run today. The services most memorable history came in 1901. While attempting a rescue nine crew members of the Beauchamp were lost at sea.
The famous Lifeboatman James Haylett, who survived the incident, while losing his two sons, son in law and grandson, went on to have his famous words used by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
“I suppose they had given up the job and were returning.” said “They would never give up the ship. If they had to keep at it ’til now, they would have sailed about until daylight to help her. Going back is against the rules when we see distress signals like that.” This response was translated by journalists to become the famous phrase “Caister men never turn back”, “Never Turn Back” was later to become a motto of the RNLI.
Today you can visit a monument in Caister commemorating the tragic event.
Caister also has its history in holiday camps. Its Haven site stands as one of the oldest sites in the UK, beginning back in 1906 as the ‘Caister Socialist Holiday Camp’.
The fun loving holiday tradition still lives on in Caister today. There’s always an event to be found, including the upcoming Caister Soul Weekender.
Take a look around the site to see what’s going on in Caister today. If your thinking of taking a holiday to Caister feel free to browse everything from hotels , holiday parks, pubs and restaurants.