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Stiffkey
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{{Short description|Village in Norfolk, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | country = England | coordinates = {{coord|52.94817|0.93226|display=inline,title}} | os_grid_reference = TF 971 430 | official_name = Stiffkey | population = 209 | population_ref = (2011) | area_total_km2 = 14.55 | static_image_name = Stiffkey Salt Marsh 9,04,2007 (4).JPG | static_image_caption = Stiffkey Salt Marsh | shire_district = [[North Norfolk]] | shire_county = [[Norfolk]] | region = East of England | civil_parish = Stiffkey | constituency_westminster = [[North Norfolk (UK Parliament constituency)|North Norfolk]] | postcode_district = NR23 | postcode_area = NR | post_town = WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA | dial_code = | london_distance = 129 miles }} '''Stiffkey''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|tj|uː|k|i|,_|ˈ|s|t|ɪ|f|k|i}}) is a village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] on the north coast of the [[England|English]] county of [[Norfolk]]. It is situated on the [[A149 road|A149 coast road]], some {{convert|6|km|abbr=on}} east of [[Wells-next-the-Sea]], {{convert|6|km|abbr=on}} west of [[Blakeney, Norfolk|Blakeney]], and {{convert|40|km|abbr=on}} north-west of the city of [[Norwich]].<ref name=osexp251>Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 251 – Norfolk Coast Central''. {{ISBN|0-319-21887-2}}.</ref> The civil parish has an area of {{convert|14.55|km2|abbr=on}} and in the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 census]] had a population of 223 in 105 households, the population falling to 209 at the 2011 Census.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11129072&c=NR23+1QW&d=16&e=62&g=6449703&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1441041217709&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=31 August 2015}}</ref> For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the [[Non-metropolitan district|district]] of [[North Norfolk]].<ref name=osnncc>Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20170211032229/https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/ncc017867.xls Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes]''. Retrieved 2 December 2005.</ref> The parish church of [[St John and St Mary, Stiffkey|St John the Baptist]] is a [[Grade I listed]] building.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1373655|desc=Church of St John the Baptist|grade=I}}</ref> The [[River Stiffkey]] runs through the village, from which it takes its name. The river was 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.<ref name=norfmills>{{cite web | url=http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/stiffkey.html | access-date=15 April 2006 | title=Stiffkey Mill | work=Norfolk Mills | year=2006 | author=Jonathan Neville}}</ref> Stiffkey is noted for [[Cockle (bivalve)|cockles]] ''[[Cerastoderma edule]]'' which still retain the old name of 'Stewkey blues'. These are stained blue by the mud in which they live.<ref name="Sti" /> ==Etymology and geology== Stiffkey is first evidenced in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, and means 'stump island, island with stumps of trees'.<ref name="Sti" /> The local historical pronunciation of the village is 'Stiff-key' and not ‘Stew-key’. The mis-pronunciation is primarily due to the underlying [[Glauconite|glauconitic]] clays (blue-green clays – formerly Blue Marl), BGS lexicon [[Lithology|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 [http://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=HUCK Hunstanton Formation] ("Red Chalk"). In places thin, variable junction beds at the base include some [[limestone]]s. (BGS lexicon: [http://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=GLT Gault Formation] which belongs to the [http://www.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=SELB Selbourne Group]). The blue clays are known locally as 'Norfolk Stew', hence{{dubious|date=July 2020}} the name 'Stew-Key' [Stew-quay] as the flats there and the quays use 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]]. The correct and locally used pronunciation is ‘Stiff-key’. In the Domesday book it is spelt ‘Stiucai’, when this was written there weren't separate letters for ‘V’ and ‘U’. All names with a ‘V’ sound were spelt with a ‘U’. It is thought that ‘Stew-key’ arose from the mis-reading of the Domesday spelling. Later on English spelling evolved, and by 1300 the spelling ‘Styfkey’ appeared in documents, which is pretty hard to mid-represent. [Stiffkey with Cockthorpe: A story of Norfolk People, 2013]. ==Wildlife sites== Forming part of the [[Blakeney Point]], a [[National nature reserve (United Kingdom)|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blakeney National Nature Reserve |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/blakeney-national-nature-reserve |website=National Trust |access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref> [[Stiffkey Fen]] {{coord|52.954760|N|0.956528|E|}} is nature reserve located close to the village covering {{convert|35|acre|ha|}}. The reserve is open to the public, and has a [[reed bed]] and freshwater lagoons providing a habitat for many species of birds.<ref>[http://www.norfolkbirds.com/Sites.aspx?s=40 Stiffkey Fen] Retrieved 10 October 2014.</ref> In October 2020, a [[rufous bush chat]] was found at Stiffkey, the first time this species had been seen in Britain since 1980.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rare rufous bush chat in UK for first time in 40 years |work=BBC News |date=17 October 2020 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-54583461 |access-date=26 December 2020}}</ref> ==Military camp== An artillery and [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] training camp was established south of the marshes in 1938 and remained in operation throughout World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF12747|title=World-War-Two-anti-aircraft-army-camp-including-'The-Whirlygig'-rotary-launcher|work=Norfolk Heritage Explorer|publisher=Norfolk Historic Environment Service|date=5 October 2006}}</ref> Aircraft from [[RAF Langham]] would tow targets over the marshes for the trainee gunners to aim at.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rafbnmp.org.uk/langham.html|title=A brief history of RAF Langham|access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/69/a7146669.shtml| title="Memories of Frank Yates Chapter 8"|publisher=[[BBC]] |work=[[BBC WW2 People's War]]|first=Frank |last=Yates|date=20 November 2005}}</ref> After the war the camp was used for training [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29]] gunners until the site's closure in 1955. Vestiges of the former camp can still be seen including the remains of a circular runway, known locally as 'The Whirlygig', used by the USAAF to launch [[Target drone|radio-controlled aerial targets]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.fakenhamtimes.co.uk/news/remote-dummy-aircraft-from-war-go-to-on-show-in-stiffkey-1-5987547|title="Remains of Second World War dummy aircraft to go on show in village"|newspaper=Fakenham & Wells Times|first=Stuart|last=Anderson|date=9 April 2019}}</ref> The former officers' mess is now a boat restoration charity workshop and visitor centre and other surviving buildings have been converted to agricultural use or incorporated into the present day holiday camp site.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/new-visitor-centre-will-help-spread-the-word-about-some-historic-craft-1-2344789 |title="New visitor centre will help spread the word about some historic craft"|newspaper=[[Eastern Daily Press]]|date=20 August 2013 |first=Adam|last=Lazzari}}</ref> ==Notable people== Member of Parliament [[Nathaniel Bacon of Stiffkey|Sir Nathaniel Bacon]] (1546?–1622), second son of [[Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper)|Sir Nicholas Bacon]] and half-brother of [[Francis Bacon|Sir Francis Bacon]], was buried in Stiffkey church. The village is remembered as the [[parish]] whose [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]], [[Harold Davidson]], faced charges of immorality and was defrocked in 1932.<ref name=Sti>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Gm_kkDGEOfsC&dq=stiffkey+domesday+book&pg=PA139 Google books] Retrieved 3 October 2014.</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=June 2013}} They have cared for his grave for many years. (He died, rather improbably, after he was mauled by a lion.) 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.<ref>[https://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-STORY-OF-NORFOLK-FARM/dp/B0007J7RKA The Story of a Norfolk Farm] Retrieved 3 October 2014.</ref> On 11 May 1978, the author, soldier and politician [[Aubrey Buxton, Baron Buxton of Alsa|Aubrey Buxton]] was created a [[life peer]] as ''Baron Buxton of Alsa, of Stiffkey in the County of Norfolk''. He died there in 2009. Singer [[Dennis Lotis]] resided in Stiffkey until his death.<ref name=edp>{{cite web|url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/what-s-on/legend_lotis_bows_out_in_style_1_702973|title=Legend Lotis bows out in style|work=Eastern Daily Press|date=6 August 2005 |access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> The British explorer and secret agent [[Frederick Marshman Bailey]] (1882–1967) spent his final years in Stiffkey. ==Public access== The [[Norfolk Coast Path]] runs between the village and the sea and further on to [[Blakeney, Norfolk|Blakeney]] to the East and [[Wells-next-the-Sea]] to the West. [[Sanders Coaches]] Coast Hopper CH1 bus service connects Stiffkey with Wells-next-the-Sea and [[Cromer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sanderscoaches.com/route-map |title=Route map |website=sanderscoaches.com |access-date=4 April 2022}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == {{Commons category|Stiffkey}} *{{oscoor gbx|TF971430}} *[http://www.origins.org.uk/genuki/NFK/places/s/stiffkey/ Information from Genuki Norfolk] on Stiffkey. *[http://www.norfolkcoast.co.uk/location_norfolk/vp_stiffkey.htm Information from NorfolkCoast.co.uk] on Stiffkey. *[http://www.northnorfolkcentral.co.uk/balestiffkey/stiffkey/stiffkeyenter.htm Parishes and Churches of Central North Norfolk – Stiffkey] {{Civil Parishes of North Norfolk}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Stiffkey| ]] [[Category:Villages in Norfolk]] [[Category:Populated coastal places in Norfolk]] [[Category:Civil parishes in Norfolk]] [[Category:North Norfolk]]
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