Lord Suffield, P.C. K.C.B. Lord of the manor of Overstrand, who resided at Gunton Hall in Cromer, was the principle landowner in the village. His estate was the second largest in the whole of Norfolk, at around 15,000 acres spreading in all directions. He built his first summer residence in Cromer, a building later converted to form part of the Hotel de Paris. In 1826 under Lord Suffield’s direction, attempts were made to build a harbour at Overstrand, it was hoped to improve the transport facilities of the region, but all efforts came to nothing. His successor the 5th Lord was even more prominent in attempting to develop the region and was a major figure in bringing the Great Eastern Railway connection to Cromer and in 1887 turned his unfertile cliff-edge acres into a prestigious golf links. Lord Suffield was a friend of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward V11 to whom he was Lord-in-Waiting) the Prince became a frequent visitor to Cromer and the surrounding countryside, which added to its prestige and popularity amongst the higher classes.

Lord Suffield’s motivation for improving the area was not just an attempt to bring an increase in prosperity to the area but also to increase the worth of his estate. He saw the potential of the small villages along the coast and carefully instrumented the changes of Overstrand from a small fishing community, to a holiday resort for the elite.

In 1883 the Daily Telegraph sent its celebrated London literary and drama critic Clement Scott, to Cromer. Since the advent of the railway to Cromer in 1877, this small fishing village had developed into a town and, as the Victorians called it, a watering place.

Scott, on arriving at Cromer, found he had no accommodation and decided to walk along the cliffs past the lighthouse built on the Overstrand hills and on to the tiny fishing village of Overstrand.

Just outside the village, he came to the Overstrand windmill which was opposite the miller's small farmhouse. He wrote:

"It was one of those farmhouses that is the exact reproduction of the style of cottage that all children are set to draw when they commence their first lesson. A little redbrick house with three white windows on the first floor, a little white door in the middle, a window at either side."

He knocked, and the door was opened by the miller's young daughter Louie Jermy. The miller Alfred Jermy gave Clement Scott a night's lodging which turned out to be the first of many more.

Scott fell in love with Overstrand, the surrounding countryside and probably the Miller's daughter; he climbed the windmill and surveyed the rustic panorama of green and gold dotted with bright red poppies and dubbed it "Poppy-land".

What followed was a prolific amount of literature that flowed from his pen, much of which was destined for readers of the Telegraph. Due to his writings, the fame of Poppy-land spread, so did the railways and it was not long before Overstrand itself had a station.

In 1918 Louie was evicted from the mill house, her landlord apparently disapproved of her more Bohemian guests. She retired to a nearby cottage in Tower Lane, Sidestrand. In old age she was often to be seen around Cromer pushing a pram and gathering old items which she hoarded in her shed. She died in the cottage 1934 and the cottage itself finally succumbed to cliff erosion in 1972.