Happisburgh ( ) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is on the coast, approximately 14 miles to the south-east of Cromer, and 20 miles to the north of Great Yarmouth, and is to the east of the B1159 from Bacton on the coast to Stalham. It is a nucleated village. The nearest substantial town is North Walsham 6 miles (10 km) to the west. The place-name 'Happisburgh' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Hapesburc. The name means 'Hæp's fort or fortified place'. Happisburgh is known for its distinctive red and white lighthouse, medieval church and the secluded beach, which has become a site of global archaeological importance, having provided evidence of early human activity, dating back 800,000 years. The village has also become well known for the effects of coastal erosion. The 2021 Census shows the parish (which also includes the settlements of Happisburgh Common and Whimpwell Green) to have a population of 870.
Correct pronunciation The name is pronounced as if spelled Haisborough, like the nearby Haisborough Sands; other phonetic respellings include "Hazebro"; "Hazeborough"; and "Hazeburrer".
Governance Happisburgh electoral ward includes the parishes of Happisburgh, Lessingham, East Ruston, Ingham, Honing and Brunstead, with a population of 2,646 recorded in the 2021 Census. For the purposes of local government, the parish is in the district of North Norfolk
Landmarks
Happisburgh Lighthouse
The red-and-white striped lighthouse, 0.5 miles (800 m) to the south of the church, is the only independently operated lighthouse in Great Britain and is the oldest working lighthouse in East Anglia having been constructed in 1790. It is open to the public on occasional Sundays during the summer.
St Mary's Church
In 1086, the incoming Norman aristocracy had a simple church built on the site of the current tall stone one. It was demolished and rebuilt in the 15th century. The tall tower of St Mary's church is an important landmark to mariners, as it warns of the position of the treacherous nearby sandbanks. In 1940, a German bomber released a trapped bomb from its bays during its return to Germany, and some shrapnel from the bomb can still be seen embedded in the aisle pillars of the church. The church's octagonal font, also of the 15th century, is carved with figures of lions and satyrs. A new staircase was added to the top of the tower in 2001. There are regular tower open days when visitors can climb to the top
The Hill House Inn Pub with bed and breakfast dating from the 16th century. The pub serves real ale and hosts an annual summer solstice beer festival. Outside, overlooking the large beer garden is an old railway signal box, built for a railway which was announced but never materialised. It is now used as guest accommodation. Inside there is Sherlock Holmes memorabilia - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was inspired to write a short story featuring the detective while staying here. The walls are also decorated with historical photos of the area, an oil painting of the wrecking of the HMS Invincible, which occurred at Haisborough Sands, and an artist's reconstruction of the area of the area 800,000 years ago with a sign underneath it reading HAPPISBURGH-ON-THAMES, relating to the discovery of the Happisburgh Footprints. Perhaps uniquely, the pub has a geological feature named after it - the Hill House Member, part of the Cromer Forest-bed Formation. Grade II Listed.
Happisburgh Manor or St Mary's
The main land use is a private garden to the homes here, forming an ornate 19th-century estate on the site of fields until the middle of that century. The estate is central and towards the coast from the kinked village street. The main house which was thatched from local reeds was worked up by Detmar Blow from an initial detailed design by Ernest Gimson with whom Blow had collaborated at Stoneywell. Blow was responsible for practical architectural changes to the initial design and overall architectural management of the build during the period 1900–1902 with his 'leading man' Frank Green from East Knowle supervising on the spot. It is pretty certain that Gimson supplied the interior timber fittings and in particular the complicated timber roof structure. It is mainly a grade II listed (starting category) listed park and garden, having been designed as an Arts and Crafts movement garden by Detmar Blow to accompany the butterfly-plan summer home for wealthy landowner Albemarle Cator, seated at Woodbastwick Hall, Woodbastwick, who decided to build homes or gatehouses for his family. The north end of the largest, his home, was destroyed by a bomb, and was restored by Christobel Tab (née Cator) after the war. The Cators sold the site in 1969, at which time the three houses of St John's, St Anne's and St Mary's came into separate ownership. The restored main home is Grade II* listed.
World War Two defences Happisburgh has numerous structures built as part of the defence network during WWII. These included a 4.7 inch coastal battery to the north west of the church.
The Decca Field The Decca Field is an area of land at the cliff top just north of Cart Gap. Historically it was used as the location for a transmission mast for the Decca Navigator System. More recently, it was used to store materials during the construction of a rock bund in 2007 - 2010. It is now being considered as a site for an access ramp for maintenance vehicles for proposed repositioning of the rock bunds on the beach in the village. Not to be confused with the area around the WWII coastal battery, which was being used by Decca in 1982.
Happisburgh Lifeboat station
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