Eccles on Sea
| Eccles-on-Sea | |
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 View across the Bush Estate from the dunes |
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 Eccles-on-Sea
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| Eccles-on-Sea shown within Norfolk | |
| OS grid reference | TG407292 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Norwich |
| Postcode district | NR12 |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Eccles-on-Sea (also called Eccles-by-the-Sea) is an ancient Norfolk coastal fishing village, now virtually all swept into the North Sea. The population is included in the civil parish of Lessingham
The placename Eccles comes from the Latin ecclesia meaning church, and usually indicates an early British Christian site, as ecclesia was not taken into the Anglo-Saxons' vocabulary, other than in inherited place names. When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, Eccles-on-Sea was a thriving community of some 2,000 acres (8.1 km2), but as it was situated in a low-lying area on the North Norfolk coast it was prone to inundation.
In 1605, according to William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Norfolk, 1883, the inhabitants petitioned for a reduction in their taxes when only 14 houses and 300 acres (120 ha) of land remained following a ferocious storm in 1604. However, this 1604 date cannot be verified by reference to the storm record, and probate evidence clearly demonstrates that by the early 17th century Eccles had been united with Hempstead for some thirty years.
By 1881 it had only 17 inhabitants and comprised 253 acres (102 ha) of land divided into two farms.
Today the majority of the area is occupied by the Bush Estate - a collection of about 200 mostly pre-war bungalows tucked in behind the sand dunes. The Bush Estate was originally a simple holiday retreat, with just one well between the inhabitants and no mains drainage or power.
However, over the years the properties have been improved, the utility companies subsequently laid on mains drainage, electricity and telephones and the community took on a more permanent feel. Today about half the dwellings are occupied all year round and many of the more temporary structures have been rebuilt as conventional bungalows.
The community at Eccles is now nestled behind concrete sea defences constructed after the North Sea flood of 1953.
The circa 12th century round tower church of Eccles St Mary next the Sea was badly damaged by storms in 1570, with the nave and chancel dismantled soon after. The parish of Eccles St. Mary next the Sea was combined with neighbouring Hempstead St. Andrew by a Deed of Union dated January 1571. The church steeple, comprising a basal round tower surmounted by an octagonal belfry was not demolished in recognition of its usefulness as a seamark, and perhaps as a lighthouse. Thereafter Eccles became part of the combined parish of Hempstead with Eccles, although Rectors continued to be appointed to St. Mary's until the late 19th century as a 'sine cure', defined as 'a Rectory without cure of souls.'
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Wikipedia