| Official Name: | Holme-next-the-Sea |
| Static Image Name: | UK Holme next the Sea.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | Village sign |
| Country: | England |
| Region: | East of England |
| Shire County: | Norfolk |
| Shire District: | King's Lynn and West Norfolk |
| Constituency Westminster: | North West Norfolk |
| Population: | 239 |
| Area Total Km2: | 8.82 |
| Population Ref: | (2011) |
| Os Grid Reference: | TF7043 |
| Coordinates: | 52.96°N 0.54°W |
| Post Town: | HUNSTANTON |
| Postcode Area: | PE |
| Postcode District: | PE36 |
| Dial Code: | 01485 |
Holme-next-the-Sea is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the west Norfolk coast. It is north-east of Hunstanton, north of King's Lynn and north-west of Norwich.[1]
The village's name means 'Island' next to the sea.
The civil parish has an area of 8.82km2 and in the 2001 census had a population of 322 in 177 households,[2] falling to 239 at the 2011 Census.[3] For local government, the parish falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.
Its position on the North Sea coast makes it a prime site for migratory birds in autumn. It consequently is home to two adjoining nature reserves, one owned by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the other by the Norfolk Ornithological Association. A pair of black-winged stilts bred at the Wildlife Trust's Holme Dunes https://web.archive.org/web/20070915205630/http://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature%20reserves/map-links/holme.htm in 1987, raising three young.[4]
The eastern end of Hunstanton golf links reach to Holme, and public rights of way mean that birders and golfers have learned to co-exist. It is the meeting point of the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path which together form a National Trail.
It is the nearest village to Seahenge, the Bronze Age timber circle.
The parish church of St Mary was first mentioned in 1188, but the oldest remaining part of the building is the tower which dates from the fifteenth century. The main church building was demolished and rebuilt in 1888, although some memorials and an ancient stone font survive from the earlier structure. The church has a peal of five bells which are still rung, the earliest is dated 1677. In the churchyard are the graves of various members of the Nelson family, who lived at Holme House.[5]
Near the village is an area of beach and dunes known as “Gore Point” and is the north easternmost point of the area known as The Wash and is just NaNmiles by sea from Gibraltar Point (the north westernmost point) near Skegness in Lincolnshire yet by land it's a journey of over 75miles and marks the narrowest point on The Wash between the two points of entrance into the bay.