River Stiffkey

The River Stiffkey is a chalkstream running through an area of north Norfolk, England from its source near Swanton Novers to flow out into the North Sea on the north Norfolk coast near the town of Stiffkey. The river has been dredged historically, presumably for agricultural purposes, and has a self-sustaining population of brown trout.cite web | author=Vaughan Lewis, Windrush AEC on behalf of Tom Coke, Holkham Estate and Nick Zoll | year=2002 | title=Habitat Advisory Visit, Rivers Stiffkey and Burn, Norfolk | work=originally available as http://www.wildtrout.org/WWT/library/papers/AU18.pdf | url=http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:0go5jM7AptQJ:ng2.wildtrout.org/WTT/library/papers/AU18.pdf+au18.pdf&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7 | accessdate=2006-04-14]

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, then north to pass through the village of Great Snoring, which is noted in the Domesday book as having a watermill. From Great Snoring it runs south past Thorpland Hall, then north-west through East Barsham, North Barsham and Houghton St Giles to the town of Little Walsingham.

The Priory in Little Walsingham was built with stone from Northamptonshire 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.cite web | author=Jonathan Neville | year=2003 | title=Norfolk Mills - Little Walsingham watermill | work=Norfolk Mills | url=http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/lt-walsingham.html | accessdate=2006-04-14]

From here it flows north past Great Walsingham, then through Wighton and Warham before passing through the village of Stiffkey 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.cite web | author=National Flood Warning Centre| year=2006| title=River Stiffkey from, and including Great Walsingham to Stiffkey | work=Environment Agency | url=http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/floodwarning/NF1C | accessdate=2006-04-01 ]

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