Stiffkey

Stiffkey
Stiffkey Salt Marsh
Stiffkey  Stiffkey shown within Norfolk
Area	14.55 km2 (5.62 sq mi)
Population	209
– density	14/km2 (36/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TF 971 430
– London	129 miles
Civil parish	Stiffkey
District	North Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA
Postcode district	NR23
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	North Norfolk
List of places UK England Norfolk

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

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, the population falling to 209 at the 2011 Census.^[2]

For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

Etymology

Stiffkey is first evidenced in the Domesday Book of 1086, and means 'stump island, island with stumps of trees'.^[5]

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.^[6]

Stiffkey Fen 52°57′17″N 0°57′24″E / 52.954760°N 0.956528°E / 52.954760; 0.956528 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.^[7]

Notable people

The village is remembered as the parish whose rector, Harold Davidson, faced charges of immorality and was defrocked in 1932.^[5] 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.^[8]

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.^[9]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stiffkey.

• Map sources for Stiffkey
• Information from Genuki Norfolk on Stiffkey.
• Information from NorfolkCoast.co.uk on Stiffkey.
• Parishes and Churches of Central North Norfolk - Stiffkey