Burnham Overy is a

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 ...

on the north coast 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 ...

, England. In modern times a distinction is often made between the two settlements of Burnham Overy Town, the original village adjacent to the medieval parish church and now reduced to a handful of houses, and Burnham Overy Staithe, a rather larger hamlet about away and next to the creek-side harbour. The villages name means 'Homestead/village on the River Burn' or perhaps, 'hemmed-in land on the River Burn'. 'Overy', meaning 'Over the river', was added to distinguish it from the other Burnhams in Norfolk. Burnham Overy lies between the larger village of

Burnham Market Burnham Market is an English village and civil parish near the north coast of Norfolk. It is one of the Burnhams, a group of three adjacent villages that were merged: Burnham Sutton, Burnham Ulph and Burnham Westgate. In 2022, Burnham Market ...

, less than to the west, and

Holkham Holkham is a small village and civil parish in north Norfolk, England, which includes a stately home and estate, Holkham Hall, and a beach, Holkham Gap, at the centre of Holkham National Nature Reserve. Geography The parish has an area of and ...

, some to the east. The larger town of King’s Lynn is 20 miles (32 km) to the south-west (with the closest railway station), whilst the city 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 ...

is 30 miles (48 km) to the south-east.

Burnham Thorpe Burnham Thorpe is a small village and civil parish on the River Burn and near the coast of Norfolk, England. It is famous for being the birthplace of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, victor at the Battle of Trafalgar and one of Britain's greatest he ...

, the birthplace of Horatio, Admiral Lord Nelson, lies to the south-east. According to various letters and documents, Nelson learned to row and sail a dinghy at Burnham Overy Staithe, at the age of 10, two years before joining the Navy. The village’s only pub is called “The Hero” in his honour. The civil parish has an area of 8.92 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 311 in 167 households, reducing to a population of 134 measured at the 2011 Census. 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 King's Lynn and West Norfolk. Historically Burnham Overy was the port for the surrounding villages of the Burnhams. Both settlements lie on the River Burn, and until the end of 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 ...

trading ships were able to reach the village (now Burnham Overy Town). With the silting of the river, commercial traffic switched to the downstream Staithe. With the coming of the railway to the Burnhams in 1866, commercial shipping declined and the last cargo is believed to have been shipped from the Staithe soon after the end of 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 ...

. Between Burnham Overy Staithe and the sea, the river spreads out into multiple tidal creeks through the

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

es that fringe this stretch of coast, and finally reaches the sea by passing through the fronting sand dunes at a gap near Gun Hill locally known as Burnham Harbour. Small boats can reach Burnham Overy Staithe through this gap and creek. Today Burnham Overy Staithe, and the associated harbour, is a recreational sailing centre. It is also the point of departure for seasonal ferries to the Scolt Head Island National Nature Reserve. To the east of the Burnham Overy creek, the former salt marshes between dry land and the sand dunes have been reclaimed to form fresh water meadows, part of the

estate. A long footpath links Burnham Overy Staithe to the sand-dunes and beach, running along the crest of the embankment which protects these water meadows from the creek.

Notable residents

* Robert Austin R.A., artist and engraver *

Richard Woodget Richard Woodget (21 November 1845 – 5/6 March 1928) was an English sea captain, best known as the master of the famous sailing clipper ''Cutty Sark'' during her most successful period of service in the wool trade between Australia and the Unit ...

, Captain of the ''

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period ...

In popular culture

In Joan G. Robinson's book ''

When Marnie Was There is a 2014 Japanese animated psychological drama film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho. It is based on Joan G. Robinson's 1967 novel of the same name. The film follows Anna Sas ...

'', the villages of Little Overton and Barnham are based upon Burnham Overy, especially the key locations of the staithe and the windmill.

References

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Burnham%20Overy

External links

Photographs of Burnham Overy StaitheTide tables
for Burnham Overy Staithe

on Burnham Overy.
Webcam showing the harbour at Burnham Overy Staithe
{{authority control Villages in Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk Populated coastal places in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk