| Stoke Ferry | |
|---|---|
 All Saints, Stoke Ferry | |
  Stoke Ferry Location withinNorfolk | |
| Area | 9.15 km2 (3.53 sq mi) |
| Population | 1,020 |
| • Density | 111/km2 (290/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TL706995 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | KING'S LYNN |
| Postcode district | PE33 |
| Dialling code | 01366 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°34′00″N0°31′00″E / 52.5667°N 0.5167°E /52.5667; 0.5167 | |
Stoke Ferry is a village andcivil parish in theEnglish county ofNorfolk, 6.5 miles southeast ofDownham Market. The village lies on theRiver Wissey, previously known as the River Stoke.[1]
It covers an area of 9.15 km2 (3.53 sq mi) and had a population of 896 in 358 households as of the2001 UK Census,[2] the population increasing to 1,020 at the2011 UK Census.[3]For the purposes of local government, it falls within thedistrict ofKing's Lynn and West Norfolk.
All Saints' Church, a Grade II listed building, was rebuilt byWilliam Donthorn. It is no longer used for church services and was owned byKit Hesketh-Harvey[4] until his death in 2023.[5]
The village has many small businesses such as two takeaway shops, ahairdresser, wood yard, DIY hardware shop & metalworks workshop, funeral directors, and acorner shop. There is also a thriving community-owned pub, The Blue Bell Pub-Cafe which was bought by the local community on 30 June 2021 and, after extensive refurbishment reopened on 4 June 2022. Stoke Ferry Hall is a Grade II* listed building.
In 1805, Stoke Ferry is described[6] as being "distant from London 88 miles 2 furlongs; on theStoke river, which is navigable to this place fromthe Ouse. Fair, December 6...on the right, 5 m is the seat of Robert Wilson, esq. Inn,Crown."
The village was serving as a post town (under the name "Stoke") by 1775; the name had been changed to "Stoke Ferry" by 1816. A type ofpostmark known as an undated circle was issued to the village in 1828, and it had aPenny Post service, underBrandon (in Suffolk), between 1835 and 1840.
It once had its ownrailway station, the terminus of theDownham and Stoke Ferry Railway, a branch from the main line betweenCambridge andKing's Lynn. It closed to passengers in 1930 but remained open for goods until 1965. From the early 2000s it was used as a wood yard which moved to its new home on Boughton Road North. The site of the old station is currently being developed as a housing complex which will retain itsGrade II listed buildings.
There is still ablacksmith's shop, Thomas B. Bonnett, in the heart of the village that has been trading over 100 years. As well as ironwork, they also sell hardware, plumbing supplies, timber and steel. As well as a hairdresser's, there are takeaways and many other small businesses that help make Stoke Ferry such a vibrant village.
Many photographs of the village can be found in a collection published in 2007 available to purchase at £4.95 from Bonnett's Hardware & DIY in the village.[7]
Media related toStoke Ferry at Wikimedia Commons
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