Cley next the Sea, Norfolk Genealogy

England   Norfolk   Norfolk Parishes

Parish History
CLEY (St. Margaret), a small sea-port, a parish, and formerly a market-town, in the union of Erpingham, hundred of Holt, W. division of Norfolk, 26 miles (N. N. W.) from Norwich, and 124 (N. N. E.) from London. It is part of the Glaven Valley which also includes Wiveton, Blakeney, Glandford and Letheringsett. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists.

Cley next the Sea St margaret is an Ancient Parish in the Holt deanery of the Diocese of Norwich.

During the Middle Ages it was "one of the principal ports of East Anglia, exporting large quantities of wool and grain. The River Glaven was navigable to large ships as far as Glandford and ran into the sea a half mile north west of Cley." 1612 - a great fire destroyed 117 dwellings near the church. "The Cley Windmill dates from the 1700s although the tower was not completed until some time later. The Customs House and other promienent buildling were also built at this time after much of the old town was destroyed by fire."

William White's 1845 History, Gazetteer and Directory of Norfolk tells that in 1845 Cley next the Sea contained the "custom house for he Port of Blakeney and Cley (including Cromer and several fishing towns)"

Resources
If you live in Norfolk or near Blakeney then you will have access to a variety of resources; however, for those who live further afield, one can access online records at FamilySearch and other sites mentioned on this page. Additional records (microfilm and online) can be viewed at Family History Centers. Refer to and  in the Family History Library Catalog for available records.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.


 * Erpingham 1837-1938
 * North Walsham 1939-1974
 * The Register Office, 18 Kings Arms Street, North Walsham, NR28 9JX. Tel/Fax: 01692 406220. E-mail: registration.nwalsham@norfolk.gov.uk

Church records
parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

Norfolk Record Office reference PD 270

Poor Law Unions
Erpingham     http://www.institutions.org.uk/workhouses/england/norf/erpingham_workhouse.htm

Norfolk Poor Law Unions

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Norfolk Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites

 * Norfolk: Cley next the Sea on GenUKI
 * Cley Next The Sea Community Village Website