The River Cong is a stream in the west of the county of
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 ...
, only in length. It is a tributary of the
River Babingley
The Babingley is a minor river in the northwest of the county Norfolk in England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 250 - Norfolk Coast West''. . It runs from its source at the village of Flitcham to the River Great Ouse at Wootton Mar ...
. The spring rises in a meadow pool on the
Hillington side of Manor Farm,
Congham
Congham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 10 km east of the town of King's Lynn and 55 km west of the city of Norwich.
History
Congham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from t ...
. From there, it flows through the wood and over a small waterfall, where in the past it powered all the machinery within the Congham Oil Mill (), which is now known as Congham Lodge.
[Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 250 – Norfolk Coast West''. .]
The name of the stream does not appear on current Ordnance Survey maps, and few sources name it. One appearance of the name is in the neighbouring village of
Congham
Congham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 10 km east of the town of King's Lynn and 55 km west of the city of Norwich.
History
Congham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from t ...
, whose name is listed by one source as meaning "dwelling by the River Cong", though more recent sources suggest a possible direct meaning of dwelling "at the hill".
Congham Oil Mill
The mill is said to have been built for processing whales. Whales were transported from King's Lynn docks by horse and wagon. The mill produced oil from whale blubber. The resultant whale bones were then taken by road to
Narborough Bone Mill where they were ground into fertiliser. Some of the whale bones remain as ornaments at Congham Lodge to this day. The waterfall that drove the mill still remains. There would have been a horrendous smell especially in the summer, which was why the mill was situated away from King's Lynn itself. The Cong then flows on under the
A148 and joins the Babingley close by the Gatton Waters caravan site.
See also
*
The River Babingley
References
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Cong