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Hunstanton

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"HUNSTANTON is a pleasantly situated village, on an eminence, with a declivity to the east, opening into a fine valley, and terminated on the north west by that lofty sea cliff called Gore, or St. Edmund's Point,- being distant 10 miles W. of Burnham-Market, and 17 miles N. by E. of Lynn. Commanding an extensive view of the ocean, and having a firm sandy beach, with much beautiful scenery in its vicinity, it offers many temptations as a bathing place, though it has yet only two or three private lodging-houses, and one public house. Its parish contains 527 inhabitants, and 2,005 acres of land, including the decayed parish of Barrett Ringstead, and belonging to Henry L'Estrange Styleman Le Strange, Esq., the lord of the manor, who, in 1835-6, completely renovated Hunstanton Hall, which is seated in a beautiful park . . . Hunstanton Cliff, which rises to the height of from 60 to 100 feet above the beach, is commonly called St. Edmund's Point, from a tradition that Edmund the martyr landed here, when he was brought from Germany to be crowned King of East Anglia. . . . Hunstanton CHURCH (Virgin Mary,) is a large regular pile, with a square tower and one bell, at the west end of the north aisle. It has a handsome south porch, and an antique Norman font; also several fine brasses in memory of the L'Estranges, and one to Edmund Green and his wife, dated 1490. The vicarage, valued in the King's Book at £12, and in 1831 at £184, is now enjoyed by the Rev. Samuel Cross." [William White, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk (1845) - Transcription copyright © Paul Beesley]

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Hunstanton is on the coast of north west Norfolk, about 13 miles north east of King's Lynn.
It consists of Old Hunstanton (St Mary) and New Hunstanton (St Edmund).

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Biography

Rhodes, Mary
Hunstanton Born and Bred.
(Reminiscences 1920s-1940s).
[Mary Rhodes, 1996]
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Census

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Censuses

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Church Directories

  • In 1883 the parish was in the Deanery of Heacham, in the archdeaconry of Norfolk.
    It could have been in a different deanery or archdeaconry both before and after this date.
  • The parish church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
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Church History

St Mary, Old Hunstanton
Church of St Mary, Old Hunstanton
Description, history and pictures.
George, Roland
The History of Hunstanton Parish Church.
[The Church, 1996]
Hodder, John
An Introduction to the Parishes of Old Hunstanton and Ringstead, Norfolk: Colour on walling and traditional masonry.
[Typescript in Norwich Local Studies Library, 1991]
Methodist Church
Methodist Church
Minister, services, picture, etc.
Follow the link to the home page, then search for the church.
Walpole, Miriam
A Short History of the Methodist Church, Austin Street, Hunstanton.
[1996]
Union Church
Union Church
Description, address, etc.
Martin, R.G.
These Hundred Years: a picture of Union Church, Hunstanton, 1870-1970.
[Hunstanton, The Church, 1970s]
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Description & Travel

Hunstanton Online
Description, pictures, tourist information, etc.
Beeton's Library
Photographic View Album of Hunstanton.
[Hunstanton, Beeton's Library, 1900s]
Dalby, Terry
Hunstanton Sketchbook: Its buildings past and present.
[Hunstanton, Propetec Publications, 1996]
McLeans Bazaar
McLeans New Album of Hunstanton and Neighbourhood.
[No publication information]
Wilson, Philip
Hunstanton and its Neighbourhood.
[Thew and Son, Simpkin, Marshall and Co., 1873]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Description and Travel

You can see pictures of Hunstanton which are provided by:

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Directories

The directories and guides below are examples. There are more for other years.

(No author)
Hunstanton Blue Book: street directory and classified trades.
[Hunstanton, Priest Publications, 1968]
[Hunstanton, Norfolk Newspapers and Printing, 1970]
Hunstanton Advancement Association
Hunstanton and Neighbourhood: Official Guide.
[Norwich, Jarrold, Hunstanton Advancement Association, 1926]
Hunstanton Urban District Council
The Official Guide to Hunstanton: Queen of the Norfolk Coast.
[Hunstanton, Hunstanton Publicity Committee, 1957]
Hunstanton Urban District Council
Hunstanton: The ideal family resort.
[Hunstanton Urban District Council, 1965]
[Hunstanton, Witley, 1972]

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Directories

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Gazetteers

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Historical Geography

Hunstanton is in Smithdon Hundred.

Parish outline and location.
See Parish Map for Smithdon Hundred
Description of Smithdon Hundred
1845: White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk
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History

Arnott, Ken
Hunstanton: The story of a small Norfolk seaside resort, giving a brief history of the town; details of prominent buildings and landmarks; notes on the Le Strange family who were responsible for creating the resort in the middle of the 19th century.
[Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, 2000]
Calvert, E.M.
The History of Hunstanton Lighthouse.
[Norwich, Jarrold, 1939]
Cobb, John Storer
History of Hunstanton, Norfolk.
[London, Jarrold and Sons, 1868]
Gore, L.L.
The History of Hunstanton.
[ISBN 0861167996, Bogner Regis, New Horizon, 1983]
Oestmann, Cord
Lordship and community: the Lestrange family and the village of Hunstanton, Norfolk, in the first half of the sixteenth century.
[ISBN 0851153518, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1994]
Stibbons, Theo
The Hunstanton Lifeboats: 1824-1843, 1867-1931, 1979-1984.
[ISBN 0946148082, North Walsham, Poppyland Publishing, 1984]
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Land & Property

Hunstanton Household Accounts (this is a link to an archived copy)
List of Documents, 1328-1917.
Kelly, Geoffrey Ian
The Lodge Hotel, Old Hunstanton: A history.
[Typescript in Norwich Local Studies Library, 1988]
Great Britain: Statute
Annual Inclosure Act, 1857.
An act to authorize the inclosure of certain lands (including Costessey, Holme-next-the-Sea, Hunstanton and Dersingham, for which provisional inclosure orders were made between 30 October and 4 December 1856) in pursuance of a report of the Inclosure Commissioners for England and Wales: 21st March 1857.
[London, George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1857]
Hunstanton Cliffs consist of horizontal layers of carstone and red and white chalk, and contain fossils.
Fossils and Geology of Hunstanton (this is a link to an archived copy)

See also Norfolk Parish Links: Land and Property

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Maps

Hunstanton
Town Plan.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TF674409 (Lat/Lon: 52.939638, 0.489749), Hunstanton which are provided by:

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Names, Personal