East Runton is a small village in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England situated close to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. It was once a

traditional fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...

outside

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

but is now a popular holiday destination for camping and caravan holidays. The village is within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Runton Runton is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk consisting of the villages of East Runton and West Runton. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,633 in 784 households at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census, the populat ...

that also includes

West Runton West Runton is a village in North Norfolk, England, on the North Sea coast. Toponymy The villages name means either, Runa's farm/settlement' or 'Runi's farm/settlement'. Overview West Runton and East Runton together form the parish of Runton ...

. The village is west of Cromer, east of West Runton, east of

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...

and north of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. The village lies on the A149 coast road but most of the dwellings can be found just south of the road, nestled around the two village greens. The population in the 2001 census was shown as 1,633 (includes West Runton) in 784 households. At the 2011 census the population was included in the civil parish of

. The parish area is 544 hectares. The war dead of East Runton are recorded on the West Runton War Memorial. The villages name means either, Runa's farm/settlement' or 'Runi's farm/settlement'.

Public houses

There are two public houses in East Runton: the Fishing Boat and the White Horse Inn. The Fishing Boat is the older of the inns, and is on the tithe map of 1840,''East and West Runton: Two Villages, One Parish'' by G.F. Leake, Poppyland Publishing, . although it was simply called the ‘Boat Inn’ then. In 1734 it is recorded that a court was held at the inn and it was then called the ‘Three Horse Shoes’. The White Horse Inn is first recorded in 1851. There is also a social club in the village which is known as ‘Bernies’ Corner House in Beach Road which in years prior was an amusement arcade but this changed to current usage in around 1982. Bernie's was named after Bernie Parkin whose father Reginald (Snr) originally had bought the place and had run it as an amusement arcade. Next door is a fish and chip shop. This was run for some time (especially during the 1980s) by John Parkin (Bernie's brother).

The Windmill

The tower mill at East Runton dates from at least 1826 when it is shown on Bryants map. The mill has now been restored and is a private dwelling. The mill was last worked in 1908 and has a cap that resembles an upturned clinker-built boat. This style of top is known as the Norfolk style. The restored tower now is complete with its cap,

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

and

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...

but to date has no sails. The tower is high and is built of brick. The tower had five storeys and once had three pairs of stones which were powered from the four double-shuttered sails. The village once also had a wooden

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

although there is no trace of where this was located other than a piece of land close to the railway which to this day is called Mill Hill and is now a caravan storage facility.

Story of James Leak

James Leak James Leak was a bare-knuckle prize fighter who was born in the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom. James Leak was a resident of East Runton, Norfolk around the early part of the 19th century. Leak was the local blacksmith and renowned bar ...

was a resident of East Runton around the early part of the 19th century. Leak was the local

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

and renowned Bare-Knuckle prize fighter. He lived in one of six thatched cottages that once stood on the cliff top near Runton gap. His blacksmith's

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

was at East Runton. In 1827 Leak had a big problem. The story goes that he had developed a

gangrenous Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

toe Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plan ...

and was in fear of it spreading and causing his death. In his desperation, Leak came up with his own solution to his problem. He went to his forge in East Runton, rested his foot on his anvil and with one mighty blow removed the infected toe with a

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

and

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, stru ...

. He then cauterized the stump with a red hot

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

from out of his forge. This desperate surgery had been as a consequence of Leak being unable to afford surgeon's fees. He made a full recovery and his home surgery seems to have had little effect on the man as he continued his prize-fighting and lived to the age of 82.

Surfing

The beach at East Runton is popular with the surfing fraternity. Located on a cliff-top, the Surfers' Memorial was unveiled in 2003. The

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

is topped with a figure depicting a surfer. At the base of the memorial a plaque commemorating the lives of four young surfers is inscribed with the words ''Waves come & go my friends but your lights shine on'' . BBC news item
Retrieved January 25, 2008

Gallery

File:StAndrewsChurchEastRunton(JohnSalmon)Apr2005.jpg, St. Andrew's Church, East Runton File:East Runton.jpg, Looking towards

File:Fishing Boat Inn East Runton 30th Jan 2008 (1).JPG, The Fishing Boat Inn File:Views into East Runton from the North west 30 Jan 2008 (2).JPG, View into East Runton from the north-west File:East Runton A149.jpg, A149 passing through the village

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:East Runton Villages in Norfolk North Norfolk Populated coastal places in Norfolk