Eccles on Sea
Encyclopedia
Eccles-on-Sea is an ancient Norfolk
coastal fishing village, now virtually all swept into the North Sea.
was compiled in 1086, Eccles-on-Sea was a thriving community of some 2000 acres (8.1 km²), but as it was situated in a low-lying area on the North Norfolk
coast it was prone to inundation.
In 1605, according to William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk, 1883, the inhabitants petitioned for a reduction in their taxes when only 14 houses and 300 acres (121.4 ha) of land remained following a ferocious storm in 1604.
By 1881 it had only 17 inhabitants and comprised 253 acres (102.4 ha) of land divided into two farms.
Today the majority of the area is occupied by the Bush Estate - a collection of about 200 mostly pre-war bungalow
s tucked in behind the sand dunes. The Bush Estate was originally a simple holiday retreat, with just one well between the inhabitants and no mains drainage or power.
However, over the years the properties have been improved, the utility companies subsequently laid on mains drainage, electricity and telephones and the community took on a more permanent feel. Today about half the dwellings are occupied all year round and many of the more temporary structures have been rebuilt as conventional bungalows.
The community at Eccles is now nestled behind concrete sea defences constructed after the North Sea flood of 1953
.
"...as the sea advanced, chewing ever more land away, the sand dunes were pushed back around the church. When Ladbroke engraved the tower for his series of illustrations of the churches of Norfolk in 1823, the tower was still, just, on the landward side of the dunes. By 1893, the church was not only on the beach, the chancel ruins had been destroyed... The fact that the tower stood until 1895 and formed such a local landmark, made it an attraction for early photographers and so we have a number of early plates, most notably the fine image taken by a Mr Fitt, a Norwich photographer c.1890, and which was reproduced and sold in some numbers by him after the tower fell. ...it has been possible to show that the parish church was originally a two-celled building which had a round west tower... and a south aisle subsequently added. The tower is difficult to date, but from its size, proportions and coursed flint walling, appears to be Norman in date, probably of the twelfth century." Sand, Sea and Sherds: Intertidal Archaeology on the East Norfolk Coast, Tim Pestell, 2001.
In the 1960s it is said that the location of the church was obvious from two large piles of flint, but they are all gone today.
Norfolk County Council Archive has a few Victorian prints of the tower still standing, although publication is not permitted. Examples can be seen Norfolk County Council website.
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
coastal fishing village, now virtually all swept into the North Sea.
History
The placename Eccles comes from the Latin ecclesia meaning church, and usually indicates an early British Christian site, as ecclesia was not taken into the Anglo-Saxons' vocabulary, other than in inherited place names. When the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
was compiled in 1086, Eccles-on-Sea was a thriving community of some 2000 acres (8.1 km²), but as it was situated in a low-lying area on the North Norfolk
North Norfolk
North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, United Kingdom. Its council is based in Cromer. The council headquarters can be found approximately out of the town of Cromer on the Holt Road.-History:...
coast it was prone to inundation.
In 1605, according to William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk, 1883, the inhabitants petitioned for a reduction in their taxes when only 14 houses and 300 acres (121.4 ha) of land remained following a ferocious storm in 1604.
By 1881 it had only 17 inhabitants and comprised 253 acres (102.4 ha) of land divided into two farms.
Today the majority of the area is occupied by the Bush Estate - a collection of about 200 mostly pre-war bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
s tucked in behind the sand dunes. The Bush Estate was originally a simple holiday retreat, with just one well between the inhabitants and no mains drainage or power.
However, over the years the properties have been improved, the utility companies subsequently laid on mains drainage, electricity and telephones and the community took on a more permanent feel. Today about half the dwellings are occupied all year round and many of the more temporary structures have been rebuilt as conventional bungalows.
The community at Eccles is now nestled behind concrete sea defences constructed after the North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm caused a...
.
The Church of St Mary’s at Eccles-on-Sea
The tower of St Mary’s church at Eccles, which was badly damaged by storm in 1604, stood until 1895 when it finally succumbed to the storms."...as the sea advanced, chewing ever more land away, the sand dunes were pushed back around the church. When Ladbroke engraved the tower for his series of illustrations of the churches of Norfolk in 1823, the tower was still, just, on the landward side of the dunes. By 1893, the church was not only on the beach, the chancel ruins had been destroyed... The fact that the tower stood until 1895 and formed such a local landmark, made it an attraction for early photographers and so we have a number of early plates, most notably the fine image taken by a Mr Fitt, a Norwich photographer c.1890, and which was reproduced and sold in some numbers by him after the tower fell. ...it has been possible to show that the parish church was originally a two-celled building which had a round west tower... and a south aisle subsequently added. The tower is difficult to date, but from its size, proportions and coursed flint walling, appears to be Norman in date, probably of the twelfth century." Sand, Sea and Sherds: Intertidal Archaeology on the East Norfolk Coast, Tim Pestell, 2001.
In the 1960s it is said that the location of the church was obvious from two large piles of flint, but they are all gone today.
Norfolk County Council Archive has a few Victorian prints of the tower still standing, although publication is not permitted. Examples can be seen Norfolk County Council website.