Sea Marge, Overstrand

The Sea Marge is an Edwardian country house designed by Architect Sir Arthur William Blomfield and was built between 1908 and 1912 as the country home for Sir Edgar Speyer.

Speyer, although largely unknown now, was a fascinating character and represented a strain of pre-War society that linked London, Frankfurt and New York. Speyer was an American-born Jewish financier and philanthropist of German parentage. He was Chairman of Speyer Brothers, an international finance house and financed and became Chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL, forerunner of the London Underground) from 1906 to 1915.

Speyer was a prominent member of London society and financed Scott's Antarctic Expedition, founded the Whitechapel Gallery and rescued the Promenade Concerts between 1902 and the First World War. His wife was an accomplished violinist and Speyer was friends with Egar, Grieg, Strauss, Debussy and Grainger. He was made a baronet and a member of the Privy Council.

A frequent visitor to fashionable Overstrand staying with Sir Edgar, was Lady Randolph Churchill the widow of Lord Randolph Churchill. Randolph and Jennie had brought their two children - Winston and Jack - to Cromer in the Summer of 1885.

Winston clearly loved Overstrand and in 1914, when he was First Lord of the Admiralty he and his wife Clementine with their children, took Pear Tree Cottage in Overstrand for the Summer and Jack and his family took Beehive Cottage at the other end of the lawn. Winston spent several Sunday's in 1914 at the cottage. When he was in London Winston kept Clementine in touch with the deteriorating international situation by using the telephone at Speyer's Sea Marge house.

During the approach to War in 1914, Churchill had to contact another Anglicised German, Prince Louis Battenburg First Sea Lord at the Admiralty. He popped over to Sea Marge to use Sir Edgar's phone, and ordered that he Grand Fleet not be dispersed. A major contribution to Britain's entry into the War. Given what happened to both Speyer and Battenburg this was a richly ironic action.

Following the British Declaration of War on the 4th August and widespread popular suspicion of people of German descent, Battenburg was hounded out of office. There were also accusations of Speyer’s disloyalty and treachery appeared in the press. Speyer was accused of signalling to German submarines from the cliff-top gardens of the Sea Marge. Lord and Lady Speyer were ostracised from societies and associations in both London and Norfolk. Speyer and his family abandoned the house and moved to New York, soon after 1916, never to return to the Sea Marge. He was convicted of helping the Germans after the War and deprived of his membership of the Privy Council and citizenship on very shaky evidence.