Blakeney is a coastal village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the English 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 ...

. Blakeney lies within the

Norfolk Coast AONB The Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a protected landscape in Norfolk, England. It covers over 450 km2 of coastal and agricultural land from The Wash in the west through coastal marshes and cliffs to the sand dunes at Wi ...

(

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

) and the North Norfolk Heritage Coast. The North Norfolk Coastal Path travels along its quayside. The village is north west 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 ...

, NNW of the larger settlement of Holt, west of

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 ...

and

NNE The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 789 in 402 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of North Norfolk.

Description

St_Peter's_Roman_Catholic_Church,_Blakeney

Blakeney was a commercial

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

until the early 20th century. Now the harbour is silted up, and only small boats can make their way out past Blakeney Point to the sea. Adjacent to the hill, at the foot of the village's High Street, is the old

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

with a 14th-century

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

. Higher up the village, the Church of St Nicholas has two towers: the main tower is more than 100 ft (30 m) high and a well-known landmark for miles around; the smaller tower was built as a

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

to guide boats into Blakeney Harbour.

History

In the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086,The Domesday Book, Englands Heritage, Then and Now, Editor: Thomas Hinde, Norfolk page 182/183, Blakeney, Blakeney is recorded under the name Esnuterle (later, Snitterley); the main landholders are noted as Walter Gifford and William de Noyers. The settlement first appears under the name Blakeney in a document which dates from 1340. Around the same period Edward III's wife, Queen Philippa is said to have dined on fish caught by Blakeney’s fishermen. The village's name means 'Black island'.

Haven

Blakeney Haven was a deeper inlet on the north coast of

into which the River Glaven flowed. Sheltered behind Blakeney Point, it was a major shipping area in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, with relatively important North Norfolk ports at

Wiveton Wiveton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the west bank of the River Glaven, inland from the coast and directly across the river from the village of Cley next the Sea. The larger village of Blake ...

Cley next the Sea Cley next the Sea (, , is a village and civil parish on the River Glaven in English county of Norfolk, north-west of Holt and east of Blakeney. The main A149 coast road runs through the centre of the village, causing congestion in the sum ...

and Blakeney itself. Cley and Wiveton silted up in the 17th century, but Blakeney prospered, especially after the channel to the Haven was deepened in 1817.

Packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

s ran from that port to Hull and

from 1840. This trade declined as ships became too large for the harbour, and it is now silted up with access only for small boats. From the 12th century Blakeney had a reputation for acts of piracy: between 1328 and 1350 it is recorded that men of Blakeney boarded two vessels sailing from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and sailed them back to Blakeney haven, where they were stripped of their cargoes. Many a foreign merchant ship which sought shelter in the haven found its cargo stolen. Such was the lawlessness of the residents that the village refused to supply a ship for the battle against the Spanish Armada.

'Chapel'

This building now in adjoining

appears never to have been a chapel and may merely have been a hermitage. Indeed, the calendar of England's

Patent Rolls The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a register ...

dated 20 April 1343, confirms a grant of alms-seeking across the realms to a local hermit.

Friary

This was among the junior houses of a Carmelite region (''distinctio'') which included Burnham Norton, King's Lynne and Yarmouth the crypt of its senior house is intact and is converted to part of

's Printing Museum which is run by an active printing firm, Jarrold's in the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. The northern part of Friary Park by the seashore is a modest caravan park for visitors, with the remainder being the relatively small Friary Farm. Friary Farmhouse incorporates remains of the Carmelite Friary founded in 1296 with its church consecrated in 1302. This was the gift of Maud de Roos or latterly de Ros, née de Vaux, wife of William de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros who distinguished himself in the Crusades, was knighted and granted land at Cley and Blakeney. In 1321 their son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

completed the foundation. The house has a date-stone: "1667 T.R.I" and is made of flint and brick with some stone quoins. Despite modern windows and most exterior work it incorporates medieval walling, a buttress, various blocked openings, fragments of window surrounds and stonework including a re-used carved kneeler on the south-west gable with coat of arms.

Windmill

Blakeney Mill in Friary Park is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and is chiefly of flint with brick dressings (mostly its upper parts) across its three storeys. It appears on a map of 1769 in this exact location, following earlier mention from the

of mills in the village.

Railway

In the 19th century a rail branch line from Holt to a new station at Blakeney was planned by the

Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...

. The scheme was never completed, although the junction site at High Kelling now serves as Holt station on the

North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limite ...

. A rival proposal for a branch from Cawston to Cley and Blakeney was put forward by the East Norfolk Railway, but this was also not built.

Tourism

Blakeney is a popular tourist resort during the summer months. The village has two large hotels, one in a historic building, and one with a modern main part but with also with a late 17th-century and 18th-century barn annexe, The Blakeney Hotel as well as having the alternative at the end of the Quay Road of the caravan site. Blakeney offers a large range of activities including

crabbing Crab fisheries are fisheries which capture or farm crabs. True crabs make up 20% of all crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with about 1.4 million tonnes being consumed annually. The horse crab, ''Portunus trituberculatus'', accounts for on ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, canoeing and

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

. In the area of marshland around Blakeney Point, owned by the National Trust, up to a hundred species of birds can be found throughout the year. Several

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in the area serve food and

real ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous car ...

Wells-next-the-Sea Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk, England. The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 2,451,Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household c ...

has a miniature and heritage railway to the west. The North Norfolk Coastal Path travels along its quayside and varies between a path through salt marshes, raised promenades, sandy beaches and compact villages in this section.

Demography

The population of Blakeney, according to the census of 1801, was 618. This number increased, lagging just behind national population growth in the forty years to 1851, to 1,108 however a gradual decline in population took place until 1931, particularly during the early years of this decline which coincided with the arrival of the railway at Holt to the south and national urban industrialisation – population fell from 1,108 to 641 in 1931. Population growth resumed and saw a growth between 1961 and 2011, to 801 people. Data for 1801–1961 is available at Britain Through Time. The 2001 and 2011 Censuses give detailed information about the village. The settlement's population in 2011 were living in 407 households.

Transport

The village's centre is off the northern side of the A149 coast road from King’s Lynn to

, with a further part of Blakeney community directly adjoining in the residential estates south of this and also several outlying farms. The nearest railway station is at

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 ...

, two villages to the east for the Bittern line to

. The nearest airport is

Norwich Airport Norwich Airport is an international airport in Hellesdon, Norfolk, England, north of Norwich. In 2017, Norwich Airport was the 28th busiest airport in the UK and busiest in the East Anglia region. Norwich Airport has a CAA Public Use Aero ...

War Memorial

Blakeney's elaborate war memorial is located on the side of the A149 and lists the following names for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

: * Lieutenant Basil C. Ash (1886-1914), 2nd Battalion,

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

* Midshipman Christopher A. G. Cooke (1899-1917), '' HMS Vanguard'' * Second-Lieutenant Cyril C. G. Roe (1896-1917), Drake Battalion, Royal Naval Division * Chief-Stoker Vincent K. Bullen (1873-1917), ''HMS Vanguard'' * Leading-Seaman Charles Claxton (1876-1916), ''HM Yacht Zaida'' * Able-Seaman Robert Balding (1880-1914), ''

HMS Aboukir Four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Aboukir'', after Abu Qir Bay, the site of the Battle of the Nile: * was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line, formerly the French ship ''Aquilon'' captured at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 ...

'' * Sergeant Reginald M. Daniel (1886-1918), Northumberland Hussars * Acting-Sergeant Alfred E. Turner (1885-1915), 7th Battalion,

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

* Corporal Ernest H. Starling (1893-1917), 2/9th (Queen Victoria's) Battalion, London Regiment * Corporal Clement B. Mitchell (d.1917), 8th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Gunner George P. Hudson (1885-1918), 301st Siege Battery,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

* Gunner William E. King (1875-1914),

HMS Bulwark Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Bulwark'', after the reference to the Navy as the 'bulwark' (defence) of the country: * HMS ''Bulwark'' was to have been a 74-gun third rate. She was ordered in 1778 but was cancelled in 178 ...

* Gunner George A. King (1886-1917), HMS Crusader * Private Percy H. Allen (1885-1915), 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force * Private Jack Long MM (d.1917), 2nd Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

* Private William E. Seales (1897-1916), 1/6th Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

* Private John Newland (d.1917), 8th Battalion,

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

* Private James Moore (1898-1916), 1st Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

* Private William S. Pyke (1899-1918), 9th Battalion, Essex Regiment * Private Thomas H. Palmer (d.1917), 11th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers * Private Thomas R. D. Lane (d.1917), 1/7th Battalion,

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...

* Private Edward A. Adcock (d.1918), 2/8th Battalion,

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

* Private Reginald C. Cooper (1896-1916), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Clarence A. Haines (d.1916), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Herbert J. Long (d.1915), 1/5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Rifleman Frederick W. Pyke (1892-1917), 1/17th (Poplar and Stepney) Battalion, London Regiment * J. H. Long * J. A. G. Moore * C. Nicholls * J. W. Smith * H. Wright And, the following for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

: * Second-Lieutenant Jack A. Balding (d.1941), Durham Light Infantry * Aircraftman-First Class John T. Balding (1913-1940),

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

* Corporal Maurice D. Jackson (d.1943), 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers * Corporal Jack Cobon (1917-1944), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Leading-Aircraftman Raymond H. Harcourt (d.1944), Royal Air Force * Private Harold Milner (1915-1944), 1st Battalion,

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

* Private Frederick W. Grimes (1915-1944), 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * N. C. Cooke

References

External links

*
Tide tables
for Blakeney.
Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Blakeney. {{authority control Blakeney Villages in Norfolk North Norfolk Populated coastal places in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk