Beeston Regis
Beeston Regis lies on the North Norfolk coast between the towns of Cromer to the east and Sheringham to the west and forms an eastern boundary with Sheringham. The census in 2011 showed that the population was 1062.
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Beeston Regis was once known as Beeston-next-the-Sea, but from the year 1399 when Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Lancaster became King Henry IV, the name became Beeston Regis. Regis (Regius) means owned or appointed by the Crown, and the Living and Manor of Beeston became part of the Crown and the Lancaster Inheritance. King Henry declared that the Lancaster Inheritance was to be held separately from all other Crown possessions and was to descend to his Male Heirs thus forming the Duchy of Lancaster. Over the passing centuries the ownership of the land changed, some going to smaller farmers with the National Trust taking over the estate of the last big land owner, the Ketton-Cremers.
Beeston Regis was once much larger than its present size, for when the councils were reorganised in the last century a large part of the Parish was transferred to Sheringham Town Council. The Parish and Town are now separated by Beeston Common and Furrough Common which lay either side of the coast road. The Parish consists of some five hundred properties, the majority of which were built in the 1960s/70s when the area became a very popular retirement location.
The main features of the village are the cliff top Parish Church of All Saints, the ruins of an Augustinian Priory (a Heritage site), Beeston Hall School – a renowned private school; Beeston Bump – a cliff-top hill which overlooks the sea and the village; the two Commons – one of which, Beeston Common, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest; the North Sea, which naturally forms the northern boundary and the wooded Beeston Heath which raises up from the Parish and becomes the southern boundary.
The Parish is fortunate in having good public transport with a frequent bus service on the coast road A149 and a rail service – the Bittern Line – between Norwich and Sheringham.
