CLEY PARISH COUNCIL

About Cley next the Sea

 

Cley next the Sea (to give it its proper name) is a village and one time port on the east bank of the River Glaven close to its mouth.

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Its population is around 420, less in winter and more in summer. It sits on the main A149 coast road roughly halfway between Wells next the Sea and Cromer and is located within the North Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about two hours by car from Cambridge, nearer three hours from London and the Midlands, not impossibly remote but far enough to feel different.

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“Cly” or “Clay”?

Most modern guide books state that the name should be pronounced Cly, rhyming with shy, though it has not always been so. It seems to be derived from the Old English word ‘claeg’ meaning clay or clayey (similar to the modern word ‘clag’) though the Domesday Book rendered it as ‘Claia’.

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Early modern maps tended to use phonetic spellings. Speed’s map of 1611 used the spelling ‘Clay’ and that was religiously copied by many who came after him, though by the eighteenth century ‘Cly’ was more common: Daniel Defoe, writing in 1712, used the spelling ‘Clye’ which seems fairly definitive.

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By the early twentieth century ‘Clay’ would seem to have been back in favour once more, only to be usurped again by ‘Cly’ after the war when many, largely middle class, newcomers settled in the village. Where that leaves the pottery shop ‘Made in Cley’ is a moot point.

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The Surrounding Landscape

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The marshes to the north of the village are a world renowned wildlife reserve owned by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust whose stylish new Visitor Centre is on the eastern edge of the village.

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The beach continues to the west to become the Blakeney Point, also a wildlife reserve, owned by the National Trust. The Norfolk Coast Long Distance Footpath passes through the village which has two pubs and two cafés to cater to thirsty hikers.