Stiffkey
| Stiffkey | |
.JPG) Stiffkey Salt Marsh |
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  Stiffkey |
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| Area | 14.55 km2 (5.62 sq mi) |
|---|---|
| Population | 209 (2011) |
| – 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 |
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, 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 and Geology
Stiffkey is first evidenced in the Domesday Book of 1086, and means 'stump island, island with stumps of trees'.[5]
The local historical pronunciation of the village is "Stew-key" this is primarily due to the underlying glauconitic clays (blue-green clays - formerly Blue Marl), BGS lexicon lithological description: Pale to dark grey or blue-grey clay or mudstone, glauconitic in part, with a sandy base. Discrete bands of phosphatic nodules (commonly preserving fossils), some pyrite and calcareous nodules. In Norfolk, the Cretaceous Gault Formation becomes calcareous before passing northwards into the Hunstanton Formation ("Red Chalk"). In places thin, variable junction beds at the base include some limestones. (BGS lexicon: Gault Formation which belongs to the Selbourne Group).
The blue clays are known locally as "Norfolk Stew", hence the name "Stew-Key" [Stew-Quay] as the flats there and the quays utilise the underlying blue clays (muds) weathered from Cretaceous Bedrock. As already noted the local fauna of cockles can be stained with relation to their habitat. Glauconite is an iron and potassium rich mineral and the solid phase reactions can produce the iron and potassium rich dye Prussian Blue.
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 plant life. 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 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
- ↑ Ordnance Survey (2002). OS Explorer Map 251 - Norfolk Coast Central. ISBN 0-319-21887-2.
- ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ↑ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved December 2, 2005.
- ↑ Jonathan Neville (2006). "Stiffkey Mill". Norfolk Mills. Retrieved 2006-04-15.
- 1 2 3 Google books Retrieved 3 October 2014
- ↑ National Trust-Stiffkey Retrieved 3 October 2014
- ↑ Stiffkey Fen Retrieved 10 October 2014
- ↑ The Story of a Norfolk Farm Retrieved 3 October 2014
- ↑ Norfolk Green buses Retrieved 10 October 2014
External links
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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