The History of Mundesley

A settlement here appears in the Domesday Book with the name of Museleai, with a local church also being mentioned.

Among the many buildings in the village with long histories is the Royal Hotel, which was known as the New Inn when Lord Nelson is said to have there lived some time while attending school in nearby North Walsham. Later on it gained fame as a popular stopping place for passing royalty, thus earning the current name.

The area has been home to three main industries; tourism, agriculture and fishing. In Victorian times the growth in tourism to seaside resorts saw Mundesley gain great popularity, due to the fine beach and fresh air available here. The building of a railway station in the late 19th century saw the population swell to almost 700, having previously been around 450 people 50 years earlier, and some of the buildings and pubs in the village date from around this boom period. Trains stopped coming to the village in the 1960s and there is now no trace of the train station, although parts of the track can still be seen.