Stiffkey

Stiffkey

Stiffkey Salt Marsh
Stiffkey
 Stiffkey shown within Norfolk
Area  14.55 km2 (5.62 sq mi)
Population 223 
   – density  15/km2 (39/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTF 971 430
   – London  129 miles 
Civil parishStiffkey
DistrictNorth Norfolk
Shire countyNorfolk
RegionEast
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA
Postcode district NR23
Police Norfolk
Fire Norfolk
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK ParliamentNorth Norfolk
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk

Coordinates: 52°56′53″N 0°55′56″E / 52.94817°N 0.93226°E

Stiffkey (/ˈstjuːki/ or /ˈstɪfki/) is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A149 coast road, some 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Wells-next-the-Sea, 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Blakeney, and 40 km (25 mi) north-west of the city of Norwich.[1] The civil parish has an area of 14.55 km2 (5.62 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 223 in 105 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.[2]

The River Stiffkey runs through the village, from which it takes its name, and used to power the Stiffkey watermill which was built before 1579. It was a small mill, running two pairs of stones, and it operated until 1881 when it was put up for auction as a warehouse. Little now remains of the mill: just a few low ruined walls showing the position of the building.[3]

Stiffkey is also famous for cockles Cerastoderma edule which still retain the old name of "Stewkey blues". These are stained blue by the mud in which they live.[4]

Etymology

Stiffkey is first evidenced in the Domesday Book of 1086, and means 'stump island, island with stumps of trees'.[4]

Wildlife sites

Forming part of the Blakeney Point, a National nature reserve, the Stiffkey Salt Marshes create an extensive habitat for a wide range of birds and plantlife. The salt marshes which are owned and managed by the National Trust are open to the public.[5]

Stiffkey Fen 52°57′17″N 0°57′24″E / 52.954760°N 0.956528°E is nature reserve located close to the village covering 35 acres (14 ha). The reserve is open to the public, and has a reed bed and freshwater lagoons providing a habitat for many species of birds.[6]

Notable people

The village is remembered as the parish whose rector, Harold Davidson, faced charges of immorality and was defrocked in 1932.[4] He was a popular priest in the area and the villagers asked his family to allow him to be buried in Stiffkey when he died, rather than in the family tomb in Sholing, where he was born. (He was killed, rather improbably, by a lion.) They have cared for his grave for many years.

The author Henry Williamson bought a farm in Stiffkey. The Story of a Norfolk Farm (1941) is his account of his first years of farming here.[7]

On 11 May 1978, the author, soldier and politician Aubrey Buxton was created a life peer as Baron Buxton of Alsa, of Stiffkey in the County of Norfolk. He died there in 2009.

Public access

The Norfolk Coast Path runs between the village and the sea. The village is provided with a bus service by the Stagecoach Norfolk coasthopper which links to Kings Lynn to the west and Cromer to the east.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Ordnance Survey (2002). OS Explorer Map 251 - Norfolk Coast Central. ISBN 0-319-21887-2.
  2. ↑ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved December 2, 2005.
  3. ↑ Jonathan Neville (2006). "Stiffkey Mill". Norfolk Mills. Retrieved 2006-04-15.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Google books Retrieved 3 October 2014
  5. ↑ National Trust-Stiffkey Retrieved 3 October 2014
  6. ↑ Stiffkey Fen Retrieved 10 October 2014
  7. ↑ The Story of a Norfolk Farm Retrieved 3 October 2014
  8. ↑ Norfolk Green buses Retrieved 10 October 2014

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stiffkey.