Population 209 (2011) Civil parish Stiffkey Country England Area 14.55 km² Shire county Norfolk UK parliament constituency North Norfolk | OS grid reference TF 971 430 Region East Sovereign state United Kingdom Local time Tuesday 2:14 AM District North Norfolk | |
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Weather 3°C, Wind SE at 6 km/h, 96% Humidity | ||
Stiffkey with cockthorpe a story of norfolk people
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. 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.
Contents
- Stiffkey with cockthorpe a story of norfolk people
- Map of Stiffkey UK
- Stiffkey salt marsh
- Etymology and Geology
- Wildlife sites
- Notable people
- Public access
- References
Map of Stiffkey, UK
For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.
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.
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.
Stiffkey salt marsh
Etymology and Geology
Stiffkey is first evidenced in the Domesday Book of 1086, and means 'stump island, island with stumps of trees'.
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.
Stiffkey Fen 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.
Notable people
The village is remembered as the parish whose rector, Harold Davidson, faced charges of immorality and was defrocked in 1932. 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.
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.