North Norfolk

Walsingham Abbey

North Norfolk, district, administrative and historic county of Norfolk, eastern England. It borders the North Sea for about 55 miles (89 km) on the north and northeast.

Inland North Norfolk contains fertile agricultural areas around the market centres of Fakenham in the northwest and North Walsham in the northeast. The north-central part of the district has a generally less fertile series of low-lying gravel ridges extending southwest from the coastal town of Cromer, the district seat. The Broads, in the east, are a series of nearly sea-level lakes that reach more than 15 miles (24 km) inland. They are surrounded by reed marshes abounding in waterfowl, and boating is popular there.

The coast has intermittent sand and gravel beaches with spits and islands at the western extreme, an area subject to accretion. East of Sheringham the coast suffers from wave erosion. Situated directly inland on the west is an alluvial plain of salt marshes and woodlands. The north-central and western-coastal resorts of Cromer, Sheringham, and the yachting centres of Blakeney and Wells-next-the-Sea are generally dependent on the summer tourist trade. Walsingham Abbey, which is located inland from Wells-next-the-Sea, is a pilgrimage site for both Roman Catholics and Anglicans; miracles have been associated with the locale since before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

After 1967 the small town of Bacton on the northeast coast became the terminal for much of Britain’s North Sea natural gas. Barley, wheat, and sugar beets are raised in the agricultural areas of the district, and crab and lobster fishing is locally important at Cromer and Sheringham. North Walsham and Fakenham have canning and food-processing industries. Area 372 square miles (963 square km). Pop. (2001) 98,382; (2011) 101,499.