The Norfolk Burnhams are a group of adjacent villages on the north coast 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...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The villages are located at the sea near a large natural bay named Brancaster Bay

Brancaster

Brancaster is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Brancaster comprises Brancaster itself, together with Brancaster Staithe and Burnham Deepdale...

 and the Scolt Head Island National Nature Reserve

National Nature Reserve

For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...

.

A medieval verse speaks of London York and Coventry and the Seven Burnhams by the sea. The Domesday Book

Domesday 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...

 of 1086 also mentions some of the Burnhams (see external links). At one time there were indeed seven Burnham villages, all within a radius of two miles. These were:

• Burnham Deepdale
• Burnham Norton
• Burnham Overy
• Burnham Sutton
• Burnham Thorpe
• Burnham Ulph
• Burnham Westgate

Hence the mnemonic for the seven Burnhams:
Nelson Of Thorpe Died Well Under Sail.

Over the years the central villages of Burnham Sutton, Burnham Ulph and Burnham Westgate have merged to form the larger village 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...

 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...

, which forms the principal centre for the Burnhams and several other nearby villages. The most westerly of the villages, Burnham Deepdale has more or less merged with the neighbouring village of Brancaster Staithe, and both now part of the civil parish of Brancaster

Brancaster

Brancaster is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Brancaster comprises Brancaster itself, together with Brancaster Staithe and Burnham Deepdale...

.

Burnham Norton

Burnham Norton

Burnham Norton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Burnham Norton is one of the Burnhams, a group of adjacent villages in North Norfolk...

 and 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...

 still exist as separate villages and civil parishes, much as they always have. Burnham Overy

Burnham Overy

Burnham Overy is a civil parish on the north coast of Norfolk, England. In modern times a distinction is often made between the two settlements of Burnham Overy Town, the original village adjacent to the parish church and now reduced to a handful of houses, and Burnham Overy Staithe, a rather...

 is still a single civil parish, but in modern times a distinction is often made between the two settlements of Burnham Overy Town (actually a small settlement adjacent to the parish church) and Burnham Overy Staithe (a rather larger settlement about a mile away and next to the creek-side harbour).

The Burnhams are all located either 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...

, or adjacent to its mouth, and the name Burnham derives from this.

External links

• Domesday Book Online lists Burnham, Burnham Deepdale, Burham Overy and Burnham Thorpe
• Webcam at Burnham Overy Staithe