The River Stiffkey is a

chalk stream Chalk streams are rivers that rise from springs in landscapes with chalk bedrock. Since chalk is permeable, water easily percolates through the ground to the water table and chalk streams therefore receive little surface runoff. As a result, th ...

running through an area of north

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

from its source near Swanton Novers to flow out into the

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

on the north Norfolk coast near the village of

Stiffkey Stiffkey () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north coast of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A149 road, A149 coast road, some east of Wells-next-the-Sea, west of Blakeney, Norfolk, ...

. The river has been dredged historically, presumably for agricultural purposes, and has a self-sustaining population of

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

Course

The river's source is a small wooded lake just north of the village of Swanton Novers, after which the river passes close to

Fulmodeston Fulmodeston is a village and civil parish in the North Norfolk district, in the English county of Norfolk. Fulmodeston is located south-east of Fakenham and north-west of Norwich, along the course of River Stiffkey. Fulmodeston parish also ...

, then north to pass through the village of Great Snoring, which is noted 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as having a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

. From Great Snoring"Rivers of East Anglia, By James Turner: Publisher: Cassell & Company Limited, 1954, Chapter III The Stiffkey.:AASIN B0007JD6TQ it runs south past Thorpland Hall, then north-west through

East Barsham East Barsham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Barsham, in the North Norfolk district, in the English county of Norfolk. East Barsham is located north of Fakenham and west of Cromer. The village is one of the four v ...

, North Barsham and Houghton St Giles to Little Walsingham, the largest settlement on its course. The

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

in Little Walsingham was built with stone from

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

which had been towed up the River Stiffkey in flat-bottomed barges. The priory had a watermill on the river but this was demolished early in the 20th century. From here it flows north past Great Walsingham, then through

Wighton Wighton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some south of the town of Wells-next-the-Sea, north of the town of Fakenham, and north-west of the city of Norwich. The medieval pilgrimage cent ...

and Warham before passing through the village of

and out to its estuary on Stiffkey Salt Marshes. The area from Great Walsingham to Stiffkey is prone to flooding and was the subject of a severe flood warning in October 2004.

History

The river is probably named after the village of Stiffkey, whose name means "Island with tree-stumps".

Gallery

Image:River Stiffkey 5th April 2007 (10).JPG, The River Stiffkey at Warham Image:River Stiffkey 5th April 2007 (5).JPG, The river at Wighton Image:River Stiffkey in Stiffkey5th April 2007.JPG, The river as it flows through the village of Stiffkey Image:Stiffkey Salt Marsh 9,04,2007 (4).JPG, Stiffkey Salt Marsh and the mouth of the river

References

{{authority control Stiffkey river Walsingham