St. Nicholas Church in Blakeney, Norfolk, England. Photo May 2015.
There are two towns in England with the name Blakeney – one in Norfolk and one in Gloucester, and I have now visited both. And if you’re wondering why someone would go out of their way to visit two towns with the same name in two different parts of England, for me there is a very good reason – that’s my mom’s family name! I grew up knowing about both towns (as well as Mountblakeney in Ireland – still on the to-do list) and remember when they were basically just a name and a dot on a map in the giant atlas in the local branch of the library (boy are we spoiled by Google Maps and Google Street View now!). I still don’t know what connection there may be between the towns and Mom’s family, but that’s a genealogy/history project for another day. I only drove through the town in Gloucestershire back in 1998, but on the 2015 visit I was planning to spend a number of days in East Anglia so I ended up in the Norfolk Blakeney for about half a day. I walked part of the Norfolk Coastal Path and explored the town a little and walked up to the church, seen above.
The church was mostly built between the 13th and 15th centuries and was resurfaced in the Victorian era. You can learn more about the building and its history here.
Don’t forget Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel – no doubt an illustrious connexion. “They seek him here, they seek him there/The Frenchies seek him everywhere!”
But of course! 🙂 There was also a character named Blakeney in “Master and Commander” (the movie, I don’t know if the character shows up in the books) and I was amused by Russell Crowe saying “Blakeney” every so often. (Yeah, I’m easily amused.)