North Creake is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the north west of the English county of Norfolk

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...

.
It covers an area of 14.99 km² (5.8 sq mi) and had a population of 414 in 184 households as of the 2001 census

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

.
For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 of King's Lynn and West Norfolk

King's Lynn and West Norfolk

King's Lynn and West Norfolk is a local government district and borough in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in the town of King's Lynn.-History:...

. The parish shares boundaries with the adjacent parishes of Burnham Market

Burnham Market

Burnham Market is a village with and civil parish near the north coast of Norfolk, England. Burnham Market is one of the Burnhams, a group of adjacent villages in North Norfolk...

, Burnham Thorpe

Burnham Thorpe

Burnham Thorpe is a small village and civil parish on the River Burn and near the coast of Norfolk in the United Kingdom. It is famous for being the birthplace of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, victor at the Battle of Trafalgar and one of Britain's greatest heroes...

, Holkham

Holkham

Holkham is a village and civil parish in the north-west of the county of Norfolk, England. Besides the small village, the parish includes the major stately home and estate of Holkham Hall, and an attractive beach at Holkham Gap...

, Walsingham

Walsingham

Walsingham is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and as a major pilgrimage centre...

, South Creake

South Creake

South Creake is a village and civil parish in north west Norfolk, England. The village lies south of its twin village of North Creake, and some five miles north-west of the town of Fakenham....

, Barwick

Barwick, Norfolk

Barwick is a hamlet and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated adjacent to the slightly larger village of Stanhoe, some 30 km north-east of the town of King's Lynn and 60 km north-west of the city of Norwich....

 and Stanhoe

Stanhoe

Stanhoe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, 6.4 miles from the North Sea. It covers an area of and had a population of 196 in 97 households as of the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.Its...

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The village lies 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Burnham Market

Burnham Market

Burnham Market is a village with and civil parish near the north coast of Norfolk, England. Burnham Market is one of the Burnhams, a group of adjacent villages in North Norfolk...

 and about 5 miles (8 km) from the north Norfolk coast. 1 miles (1.6 km) further south is the twin village of South Creake

South Creake

South Creake is a village and civil parish in north west Norfolk, England. The village lies south of its twin village of North Creake, and some five miles north-west of the town of Fakenham....

.

The village lies on the River Burn

River Burn, Norfolk

The River Burn is a river in the northwest of the County of Norfolk. From its source to its mouth on the North Coast of Norfolk it is 9.8 miles long. The river has a fall of 36 metres to the sea. The source is one mile south of the village of South Creake, in a small copse west of a bend in London...

, which flows through the centre of the village. 1 miles (1.6 km) to the north of the village along the river lies the ruined Creake Abbey

Creake Abbey

Creake Abbey is a ruined abbey in Norfolk, England, situated alongside the River Burn and a mile to the north of the village of North Creake. The abbey church was dedicated to Saint Mary....

. The village itself musters a church, a public house, and a post office. Most of the agricultural land surrounding the village, and many of the village houses, today belong to the estate of the Earl Spencer

Earl Spencer

Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...

, who consequently has significant influence on village matters, although his family seat is many miles away in Althorp

Althorp

Althorp is a country estate of about and a stately home in Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-west of the county town of Northampton. The late Diana, Princess of Wales is buried in the estate.-History:...

, Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

.

On April 27, 1944, a De Havilland Mosquito

De Havilland Mosquito

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...

 fighter bomber, on a night training exercise, crashed in the centre of the village killing the crew of two. On the 60th anniversary of the crash in 2004, a plaque on the approximate location of the crash was unveiled by an Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

guard of honour and other dignitaries, including relatives and friends of those killed.

External links

• Photographs of North & South Creake
• Norfolkcoast.co.uk on North Creake.
• Information from Genuki Norfolk on North Creake.