What is "stiffkey"

Stiffkey ( or ) is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A149 coast road, some east of Wells-next-the-Sea, west of Blakeney, and north-west of the city of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 223 in 105 households, the population falling to 209 at the 2011 Census.

For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.

The River Stiffkey runs through the village, from which it takes its name, and used to power the Stiffkey watermill which was built before 1579. It was a small mill, running two pairs of stones, and it operated until 1881 when it was put up for auction as a warehouse. Little now remains of the mill: just a few low ruined walls showing the position of the building.

Stiffkey is also famous for cockles Cerastoderma edule which still retain the old name of "Stewkey blues". These are stained blue by the mud in which they live.