Beeston Regis is a 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 North Norfolk district 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.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 – Norfolk Coast East''. . It is about a mile (2 km) 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 ...

, Norfolk and near the coast. The village is 2 miles (3 km) 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 16 miles (26 km) north of 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 ...

. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 1,062. There is a frequent bus service on the coast road A149 and a rail service from the nearby stations of

to the west and West Runton to the east, where the Bittern Line runs a frequent service between

and Sheringham. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport. The

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

is the northern boundary of the parish, the parish of Runton forms the western boundary, the wooded Beeston Regis Heath forms the southern boundary with the parish of Aylmerton and the parish of Sheringham lies to the west.

History

There are few traces of early antiquity in Beeston Regis. However, evidence of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

habitation was found on Beeston Regis Heath in 1859 when a complete set of

quern-stone Quern-stones are stone tools for hand- grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...

s were found dating from Roman times. Quern-stones were used to grind materials, the most important of which was usually grain to make flour for bread. On Beeston Regis Heath there are circular pits called 'Hills and Holes' (from the first edition of the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

map of the area). They are thought to date from prehistoric times. During the Saxon-

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Medieval 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 ...

periods these pits were dug to obtain iron ore, which was then

smelted Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

in a furnace to produce iron.

Domesday Book

Beeston Regis is mentioned in

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, where it is called Besetune and Besetuna/tune. The main landholders of the parish were William d'Ecouis and Hugh de Montfort. The main tenant was Ingulf, The survey also lists ½ a mill. In the Domesday survey fractions were used to indicate that the entry, in this case a mill, was on an estate that lay within more than one parish.

Regis

Beeston Regis was once known as Beeston-next-the-Sea, but from 1399 when Henry Bolingbroke,

Earl of Lancaster The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267. It was succeeded by the title Duke of Lancaster in 1351, which expired in 1361. (The most recent creation of the ducal title merged with the Crown in 1413.) King Henry ...

, became King Henry IV, the name became Beeston Regis. Regis means "of the king", and the

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...

and manor of Beeston became part of the Crown and the Lancaster Inheritance. Beeston Regis Priory1

St Mary's Priory

Beeston Regis has the remains of an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

known as Beeston Regis PrioryNorfolk 1: Norwich and North-East, By

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

and Bill Wilson, Beeston Regis entry. ( St Mary in the Meadow). It was founded in 1216. The priory is listed as Grade I and is located on the eastern side of Beeston Regis common. The suppression of the Priory and its school (the priory was finally dissolved in 1538) left no local provision for education. This is believed to have led Sir John Gresham to found Gresham's School at nearby Holt in 1555.

The Priory ruins today

The cloister, to the south of the nave of the

church, is now part of the Priory Farm garden. To the east of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

, still standing, are part of the walls of the chapter house, and also some traces of the dormitory. The

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

and other domestic buildings probably are beneath or have been incorporated into the 18th century Priory Farmhouse, which was probably built from materials from the demolition of the early buildings. Much remains of the main priory church. The nave, from the west wall to the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

, is long and wide. The north wall still stands practically to the roof level, although the divisions between the windows have long gone. The belfry tower has gone, although the first steps can be seen in a doorway in the south wall. The south wall is only as high as the window-sill level. The west wall is standing almost intact to

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

height, although the lining of the original door has been replaced by modern brickwork. The north transept is long and wide. The east wall of the transept is entirely gone, except for traces of its junction with the north wall. At the south end of this wall once stood a pillar; the opposite pillar, west of the south door, is almost complete and in a good state of preservation. Also in the transept there is a doorway which leads to what is thought to be a sacristy, and is the only doorway remaining in its original form. The architrave is almost complete. West of the transept there is a small chapel long and wide. Most of the chapel's window mouldings survive. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

at the eastern end of the ruin remains to roof height on the north and south side. The original eastern wall has been demolished, but a

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

wall has been built up to window-sill level. The north-east corner still has most of its window mouldings.

The Priory maze

Near the priory is the Priory maze, a popular

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

that includes a café-restaurant and a garden centre. The

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

in this part of Norfolk enables the owners to grow a collection of rare and exotic plants.

Beeston Regis Common

Beeston Regis Common lies in the valley of Beeston Beck and consists of 24.7 hectares/61 acres of

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...

and secondary

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

. The part of the common known as the ''Top Common'' lies north, whereas the ''Back Common'' lies south of the Cromer Road ( A149). This is confusing as there is also a neighbourhood in Sheringham called "Back Common", which lies northwest of the "Top Common" and is made worse by the fact that the Backe Common lies within the boundaries of the civil parish of

. The common was made a Site of Special Scientific Interest/SA6 in the year 2000 and is habitat for a wide range of mammals, birds, and insects. There are some forty species of rare flowering plants, and fourteen species of British

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

s have been recorded on the common due to its special soil conditions. With such a variety of flowers the site is attractive to butterflies. Twenty-six species have been regularly recorded, including green hairstreak, brown argus and Essex skipper.

Kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

and heron are also visitors to the pond, and no fewer than 19 species of dragonfly/damselfly have been observed. The bird life of the common includes varieties such as chiffchaff,

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strong ...

blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sm ...

, common whitethroat,

lesser whitethroat The lesser whitethroat (''Curruca curruca'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in the western and central Palearctic. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, winteri ...

reed warbler The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler f ...

and occasionally sedge and

grasshopper warbler The grass warblers are small passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Locustella''. Formerly placed in the paraphyletic "Old World warbler" assemblage, they are now considered the northernmost representatives of a largely Gondwanan family, the ...

Nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk tal ...

s are occasionally heard. Foxes and

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

deer along with smaller mammals such as

water shrew Water shrew may refer to any of several species of semiaquatic red-toothed shrews: *Asiatic water shrews ('' Chimarrogale'' spp.) ** Malayan water shrew (''C. hantu'') ** Himalayan water shrew (''C. himalayica'') ** Sunda water shrew (''C. phaeura'' ...

, field

vole Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...

s, and harvest mice are present. Adders,

slowworm The slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a reptile native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, a slowworm, a blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple and hazelworm. These legless lizards are also sometimes called common slowworms. T ...

s and common lizards can also be found on the common. The Dew Pond, Beeston Regis 2 Feb 2008 (2)

In November 2007 the

Dew pond A dew pond is an artificial pond usually sited on the top of a hill, intended for watering livestock. Dew ponds are used in areas where a natural supply of surface water may not be readily available. The name dew pond (sometimes cloud pond or mist ...

was reinstated on the Top Common by Sheringham Town Council. Many years ago there were shallow ponds on this part of the common and in 1939 natterjack toads were recorded in and around the ponds along with common and

great crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

s. The reinstatement is an attempt to attract more wildlife back to this part of the common. Until the Second World War, goats, ponies and geese were a common sight grazing in and around the ponds. The Back Common, although not as species-rich as the Site of Special Scientific Interest is home to a great many plants and insects. Around the damper fringes spotted orchids can be found and in some years bee orchids are present along with the occasionally appearance of the

southern marsh orchid ''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'', the southern marsh orchid or leopard marsh orchid, is a commonly occurring species of European orchid. Description ''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'' grows to tall, with leaves generally unspotted. The flowers, appea ...

. In the late spring and early summer the common is as mass of buttercups. Along the edges of Beeston Beck and Sheringham Loke, monkey musk grows in abundance and until a few years ago dittander, a rare plant, was present, although this may have since been lost due to the mowing regime. On the drier areas of the common, trefoils and

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

s are present which attract

common blue The common blue butterfly or European common blue (''Polyommatus icarus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly is found throughout the Palearctic. Butterflies in the Polyommatinae are collectively ...

butterflies and the longer grass areas and buttercups are frequented by

meadow brown The meadow brown (''Maniola jurtina'') is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasse ...

and

ringlet The ringlet (''Aphantopus hyperantus'') is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is only one of the numerous "ringlet" butterflies in the tribe Satyrini. Range The ringlet is a widely distributed species found throughout much of the Pale ...

butterflies.

All Saints Church and other features

Other features of the village are the cliff-top Parish Church of All Saints (which is a Grade I listed Church and is located in Church Close), dating from the latter part of the 11th century or early in the 12th. The tower arch opening into the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is 13th century, as are much of the

and nave walls. Probably towards the end of the 13th century or early 14th century the church was reconstructed. The existing arcades were inserted into the nave walls onto the

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

s, which were constructed at this time, and the nave walls raised to provide for the clerestory, the window arches of which are decorated on the outside with squared flints. The inventory of 1552 makes it clear that there were three

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

s in the tower, a fourth being added in 1610. The latter is the only one remaining, the others being sold to defray the cost of repairs in 1765. Farmer James Renolds Headstone

The strange story of farmer Reynolds' stone. Within the churchyard is a large stone covering a grave. It is approximately long x x high, being a rectangular block of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

, with circular depressions on the uppermost surface. On each side is inscribed the name of the

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...

's occupant: James Reynolds. This is originally one of a pair which stood at either side of a pathway in the yard of the farmhouse, in the grounds of the ruined Beeston

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

. The path itself led to what is now known as the Abbot's Freshwater

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

Pond. A local tale says that about 1938–41, when both boulders were in place, a farmer named James Reynolds often drove his horse and cart along this pathway. Several times, a hooded grey ghost would hide behind two boulders and would leap out from behind one of the stones at sunset, and try to grab the horse's reins before vanishing. This, although terrifying the animals, seems not to have perturbed the man unduly. However, he ordered that the stone in question be laid upon his grave after his death, in an attempt at 'laying' the apparition. James Reynolds died in 1941 and, in accordance with his wishes, the boulder now lies atop his grave, his wife Ann Elizabeth also being

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

there in 1967. There is no record as to whether or not the '

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

' was successful, and indeed, a local woman who knew the Reynolds could not confirm the story. The other stone of the pair can now be seen lying against the north wall of the churchyard. Orben Beck is a tiny pond of half an acre located in a cliff-top caravan park and only yards from the sea. Depths range from six to twelve feet. The pond is popular with anglers and holds a variety of coarse fish. Abbey Farmhouse is a Grade II listed building and is located on the Eastern side of Beeston Regis Common. Within the parish is

Beeston Hall School Beeston Hall School is an independent day and boarding preparatory school for boys and girls in the village of Beeston Regis, Norfolk. Founded in 1948, Beeston Hall currently accommodates 125 pupils aged 4 – 13 making it the largest boardin ...

, the largest boarding preparatory school in East Anglia. Beeston Regis Hall was once a family home of the Wyndham Ketton-Cremers on the Beeston Regis Estate, part of the much larger Felbrigg Estate, the family seat. In 1940 a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

bomb hit the school, causing slight damage. The Hall was leased to Thomas Tapping and his wife Bessie, who opened the private Beeston Hall School in 1948. In 1967 the school became an incorporated trust, and in 1970, following the death of

Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, (2 May 1906 – 12 December 1969) was an English landowner, biographer and historian. He bequeathed his family seat, Felbrigg Hall, to the National Trust. Early life Robert Wyndham Cremer was born in Plympton, Dev ...

, the last squire of

Felbrigg Felbrigg is a small village just south of Cromer in Norfolk, England.''OS Explorer Map 24'' (Edition A 1997) – ''Norfolk Coast Central''. . The Danish name means a 'plank bridge'. Historians believe that the original village was clustered aro ...

, the school acquired the freehold and about of land. Over the years the school has expanded; it is the biggest employer in the parish. It has also acquired other surrounding land including Beeston Hall Common, which it purchased from the parish of Beeston Regis.

Beeston Hill (''Beeston Bump'')

Beeston Hill, or ''Beeston Bump'' as it is called locally, is a cliff-top hill which overlooks the sea and the village. At 207 feet (63m) high, it is the dominating feature of the parish. The hill, part of Cromer Ridge, was once two symmetrical round flat-topped hills in the shape of giant molehills: geological features known as kames.North Norfolk Coast by EM Bridges. The Geographical Association. The two hills were left behind when glaciers retreated northwards at the end of the last

Ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

, between 15,000 and 10,000 years ago, a recent event in geological timescales. At that time most of what is now the

was dry land, with the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

combining to form a giant river estuary. As the ice melted, the sea level rose and the North Sea was formed. Since then, Beeston Bump has been eroded by the sea: most of its seaward side had been washed away by the 1930s. Almost 90 yards (80m) of the cliff have now been lost to the sea, along with a brickworks which stood to the east of the summit and a football pitch. In recent times, coastal erosion has been slowed by building groynes and sea walls along the coast and below the hill. During low tides on the foreshore of the sandy beach beneath Beeston Bump, one can find the curious paramoudras and flint circles. These are sometimes mixed in with the exposed "Beeston Chalk". In Norfolk, paramoudras are known as "pot stones", due to the shape. Local folklore tells of the southern slopes of the Bump being festooned with grapevines, tended by the monks of the priory. The Bump can be climbed using the North Norfolk Coastal Path from either the east or west, and is well worth the climb. From the top, there are views of the surrounding land and sea. Each Easter, the combined churches in the area make a pilgrimage carrying a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

to the top of Beeston Bump, and an open-air service takes place.

Beeston Hill Y-Station

During the

World War II 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 opposing ...

Beeston Bump was the location for one of the network of Signals Intelligence collection sites:

Y-stations The "Y" service was a network of British signals intelligence collection sites, the Y-stations. The service was established during the First World War and used again during the Second World War. The sites were operated by a range of agencies inc ...

. These stations collected material to be passed to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

Government Code & Cypher School Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Uni ...

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years followin ...

. There were several of these stations around the east coast and by triangulating the signals, the exact location of enemy shipping could be pinpointed. In an episode of the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

series ''

Coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

'', the technique was explained and demonstrated. In the same programme, Joy Hale was interviewed by the presenter,

Hermione Cockburn Hermione Anne Phoebe Cockburn (born 1973, Sussex, England) is a British television and radio presenter specialising in scientific and educational programmes. She is currently Scientific Director at Our Dynamic Earth. Biography Cockburn grew up ...

. Hale had been a Wren and an operator at the Y-station. The concrete remains of part of this facility can still be seen on the summit of the hill: the octagonal concrete base measures 3.85 m (13 feet) across, with a channel running west to east across the middle. On the southern edge of the octagon is a raised area of concrete, which is 225 mm (9 inches) higher than the rest of the base. Around the edge of the octagon are the remnants of a reinforced

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

, which has long been removed. There are also signs of a

Fletton brick The London Brick Company, owned by Forterra plc, is a leading British manufacturer of bricks. History The London Brick Company owes its origins to John Cathles Hill, a developer-architect who built houses in London and Peterborough. In 1889, ...

wall running westward away from the raised area. The octagonal shape of the base indicates that a direction-finding station operator's hut stood there. It would have consisted of a double-skinned wooden structure in which the cavity was filled with shingle designed to make them "splinter proof" or "bulletproof". Two Y stations were operated in Sheringham in World War II, one by the RAF and the other by the Royal Navy.

Footpath

Beeston Regis lies on the Peddars Way & Norfolk Coast Path National Trail, a combination of the

Norfolk Coast Path The Norfolk Coast Path is a long-distance footpath in Norfolk, running 83 miles (133.5 km) from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea. It was opened in 1986 and covers the North Norfolk Coast AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). It links with ...

and the

Peddars Way The Peddars Way is a long distance footpath that passes through Suffolk and Norfolk, England. Route The Peddars Way is 46 miles (74 km) long and follows the route of a Roman road. It has been suggested by more than one writer that it was n ...

The legend of Black Shuck

There is a legend in East Anglia about a ghostly black hound from hell that roams the coast and lonely lanes of Norfolk. The hound is the size of a small horse and appears from the depths of Beeston Bump with malevolent flaming red eyes. Anyone confronted by the Doom Dog will be dead within a year. Sometimes,

Black Shuck In English folklore, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia, one of many such black dogs recorded in folklore across the Br ...

EDP24 Spooky Norfolk
has appeared headless and, at other times, he appears to float on a carpet of mist, rather than running. The Black Shuck often terrifies his victims out of their wits, although the apparition is said not to harm its victims. The legend was the inspiration behind

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

's Sherlock Holmes story,

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is se ...

. Conan Doyle had been on a golfing holiday at the nearby Links Hotel in West Runton, and it was in the sitting room of the hotel that his friend, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, recounted the legend of the Black Hound from the Bump.

War Memorial

Beeston Regis' War Memorial takes the form of two plaques located inside All Saints' Church. It holds 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 Godfrey B. Cook (1895-1918),

20th Hussars The 20th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. After service in the First World War it was amalgamated with the 14th King's Hussars to form became the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 1922. History Early wars The regiment was original ...

* Second-Lieutenant Robert W. King (1895-1918), 1st Battalion,

Cambridgeshire Regiment The Cambridgeshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, and was part of the Territorial Army. Originating in units of rifle volunteers formed in 1860, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and the First and Secon ...

* Sergeant Edward Long (1887-1918), 20th 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 ...

* Lance-Sergeant Walter W. Cooper (1895-1916), 8th 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 ...

* Able-Seaman Ernest F. Horne (1894-1916), Hawke Battalion,

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...

* Lance-Corporal James J. Turney (d.1915), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Lance-Corporal Frederick Turney (1896-1915), 5th Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

* Private Harold H. Rogers (1898-1917), 11th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders * Private Sidney Dyball (1889-1915), 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 Frederick J. Applegate (1891-1915), 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Frederick A. Mortimer (1884-1915), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Private Frederick Duffield (1897-1918), 4th Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

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 ...

: * Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart D. G. Robertson (1908-1943), Suffolk Regiment * Wing Commander G. Christopher B. Bernard-Smith (1901-1941), No. 254 Squadron RAF * Commander Edward W. Harrison (1886-1941), ''HMS Paragon'', Hartlepool * Flying-Officer Richard T. W. Ketton-Cremer (1909-1941), No. 30 Squadron RAF * Chief Petty Officer Walter W. Harries (1893-1940), '' HMS Forfar (F30)'' * Sub-Lieutenant Peter E. Palmer (1921-1942),

807 Naval Air Squadron 807 Naval Air Squadron (807 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy. Second World War 807 Squadron was formed at RNAS Worthy Down in September 1940, equipped with Fairey Fulmar Is. Three were embarked on HMS ''Pegasus'', where they re ...

, ''

HMS Argus (I49) HMS ''Argus'' was a British aircraft carrier that served in the Royal Navy from 1918 to 1944. She was converted from an ocean liner that was under construction when the First World War began and became the first example of the standard patte ...

'' * Leading-Aircraftman Charles B. Bensley (1921-1942), Royal Air Force Reserve * Leading-Aircraftman Roydon W. Duffield (1913-1944),

No. 84 Squadron RAF No. 84 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is at present a Search and Rescue Squadron based at RAF Akrotiri, using the Bell Griffin HAR.2 helicopter. It is currently one of the two operational parts of the RAF Search and Rescue Force left in ser ...

* Aircraftman-Second Class Ernest J. Sayer (1911-1944), Royal Air Force Reserve * Gunner James W. Tuck (1912-1942), 122 Field Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

* Private George T. Page (1921-1944), 2nd Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment * Private Geoffrey W. Steward (d.1944), 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment * Trooper Stanley W. Drummond (1928-1946), 2nd Brigade,

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

Peck, M. (2017). Retrieved October 30, 2022. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/BeestonRegis.html

Destinations from Beeston Regis

References

External links

Beeston Regis Parish WebsiteGENUKI UK Beeston Regis
{{authority control Villages in Norfolk North Norfolk Populated coastal places in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk