Kirkley is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

within the town of

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

in the East Suffolk district of the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. It is located south of the centre of Lowestoft and the town's harbour and

Lake Lothing Lake Lothing is a saltwater lake located in Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. The lake, which is believed to be the remnant of medieval peat cutting,

. Kirkley was originally an independent village but is now part of the

urban conurbation An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...

of Lowestoft. In 1901 the parish had a population of 6465.

History

Kirkley was briefly mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

at which time it formed part of King William's estates and was held by

Roger Bigot Roger Bigod (died 1107) was a Norman knight who travelled to England in the Norman Conquest. He held great power in East Anglia, and five of his descendants were earls of Norfolk. He was also known as Roger Bigot, appearing as such as a witness t ...

. Suckling. A. (1846) 'Kirkley', ''The history and antiquities of the County of Suffolk: volume 1'' pp.260-269
available online
. Retrieved 2011-04-18. The area is described as a village with a population of around 433 by Suckling in 1846, with its main industry being fishing. The former parish church is dedicated to St Peter and St John Church. The church had fallen into disrepair by 1640, with restoration taking place at some point in the 18th Century.Page.A (1844) 'Kirkley Parish', ''Topographical and genealogical, The County of Suffolk''

. Retrieved 2011-04-18. In 1847, from his base at

Somerleyton Hall Somerleyton Hall is a country house and estate near Somerleyton and Lowestoft in Suffolk, England owned and lived in by Hugh Crossley, 4th Baron Somerleyton, originally designed by John Thomas. The hall is Grade II* listed on the National Heri ...

, entrepreneur

Samuel Morton Peto Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet (4 August 1809 – 13 November 1889) was an English entrepreneur, civil engineer and railway developer, and, for more than 20 years, a Member of Parliament (MP). A partner in the firm of Grissell and Peto, he ...

brought the railway to Lowestoft. A new resort was built by Peto in the then rural parish of Kirkley and along the south beach. Peto sponsored construction of St John's church on the corner of Belvedere Road for the inhabitants of the new town. This was damaged by flooding and finally demolished in 1977. Peto's legacy can be seen throughout Kirkley, including Wellington Terrace and Gardens (where there is a commemorative plaque to him), period seafront houses and Kensington Gardens. Kirkley is also the site of Britten House, a large Victorian house in Kirkley Cliff Road where the composer

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

was born in 1913. On 1 April 1907 the parish was abolished and merged with Lowestoft.

Redevelopment

In 2019 Kirkley hosted the ‘sunrise first light festival’ on the beach. Kirkley was part of the Waveney Sunrise Scheme and has received regeneration finance from the EU.

Culture and community

The local high school is

East Point Academy East Point Academy is an Academy (English school), academy sponsored by the Inspiration Trust, located in the Kirkley district of Lowestoft, in the English county of Suffolk. It educates children from ages 11 to 16. In its latest Ofsted inspect ...

which teaches students from ages 11–16. The

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It carries out a wide range of research, advisory, consulta ...

(CEFAS), a large fisheries research centre, which is a part of

Defra DEFRA may refer to: * Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law * Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department {{Disambiguation ...

, is located in the Kirkley area. Kirkley has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club Kirkley and Pakefield Football Club who play at Walmer Road.Suffolk F
List of football clubs in Suffolk
. Retrieved 2009-11-14.

Notable people

Claud Castleton Claud Charles Castleton, VC (12 April 1893 – 29 July 1916) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life Cla ...

V.C. of the Australian Army was born in Kirkley. * Three founder members of the rock band The Darkness were educated in Kirkley. *

Lil' Chris Christopher James Hardman (26 August 1990 – 23 March 2015), known by the stage name Lil' Chris, was a British singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality from Lowestoft, England. He came to prominence in 2006 after appearing on the ...

featured in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's ''

Rock School ''Rock School'' (also known as ''Gene Simmons' Rock School'') is a British reality television series starring Gene Simmons from the rock band Kiss, in which he has a short time to turn a class of schoolchildren into a fully fledged rock band ...

'' programme filmed at

Kirkley High School East Point Academy is an academy sponsored by the Inspiration Trust, located in the Kirkley district of Lowestoft, in the English county of Suffolk. It educates children from ages 11 to 16. In its latest Ofsted inspection in October 2016, t ...

and went on to have a musical career.

References

{{East Suffolk Populated places in Suffolk Former civil parishes in Suffolk Lowestoft

History

Redevelopment

Culture and community

Notable people

See also

References