Reydon is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

, north-west of

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is a ...

and south-east of

Wangford Wangford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wangford with Henham, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England, just off the A12 trunk road on the edge of the Henham Park estate just outside Southwo ...

, in the East Suffolk district and the ceremonial county of

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 ...

, England. Its population of 2,567 in 2001 including

Easton Bavents Easton Bavents is a hamlet and former civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the county of Suffolk, England. It now belongs to the civil parish of Reydon. Once an important village with a market, it has been much eroded by the North Sea. ...

eased up to 2,582 at the 2011 Census, and was estimated at 2,772 in 2018. The name probably means ''Rye Hill'', ''Rey'' meaning rye and ''-don'' being an old word for hill or rise).

East Anglian Daily Times The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich. History The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August ...

, 20 October 2007, p. 37. The village is close to the cliffs at

, a village now much eroded. Both were established before neighbouring Southwold. The parish church is St

Margaret of Antioch Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr ( grc-gre, Ἁγία Μαρίνα) in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in the Western Rite Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic Church and Anglicanism, o ...

. The parish of Easton Bavents was merged with Reydon in 1987, when part of Southwold was also transferred.

Communications and services

There are three main roads through Reydon, around which the village is built: A1095

Halesworth Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in north-eastern Suffolk, England. The population stood at 4,726 in the 2011 Census. It lies south-west of Lowestoft, on a tributary of the River Blyth, upstream from Southwold. T ...

heading west to

Blythburgh Blythburgh is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is west of Southwold and south-east of Halesworth and lies on the River Blyth. The A12 road runs through the village which is split ...

and Halesworth, B1126

heading north-west through Reydon to Wangford, and B1127

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 ...

heading north-east to Wrentham and Lowestoft. The village of Reydon lies to the north of the town of Southwold. The three main roads converge at Reydon Corner, about 100 metres from Mights Bridge across Buss Creek, which provides the only road entry to Southwold. Reydon has two shops. Local opposition could not prevent the sub-post office from closing on 11 February 2008, but the associated shop continues. It also has a pub/hotel with restaurant, ''The Randolph Hotel'', in Wangford Road. It was renamed "The Cricketers", due to the adjacent locality of Southwold's former Eversley School cricket ground and playing fields, but reverted to its original name. The cricket ground was sold for housing and has now been built upon. Further along is a group of new houses on the site of a former senior school, Reydon Modern, renamed Reydon High after converting into a comprehensive in 1978, but closed in 1990. Continuing towards Wangford, there is St Margaret's Church (see below), then Reydon Hall, at one time the home of the writers Elizabeth Strickland, Agnes Strickland, Jane Margaret, Catharine Parr,

Susanna Moodie Susanna Moodie (born Strickland; 6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) was an English-born Canadian author who wrote about her experiences as a settler in Canada, which was a British colony at the time. Biography Susanna Moodie was born in Bungay, ...

and Samuel Strickland.Rosemary Mitchell, 'Strickland, Agnes (1796–1874)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 26 May 2015.
/ref> Reydon Wood is popular with walkers, especially when carpeted with bluebells in the spring. There is sheltered accommodation in Lowestoft Road.

Education

Reydon Primary School caters for 200 children aged three to eleven, from the village and surrounding area.Reydon Primary School
Department for Education Edubase. Retrieved 4 January 2013. At age 11, most pupils moved on to

Sir John Leman High School Sir John Leman High School is a coeducational 11–18 secondary school with academy status serving part of the Waveney region in north Suffolk, England. The school is located on the western edge of the town of Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market ...

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fli ...

, with some choosing to attend Bungay High School. However, after a 2019 decision by

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Establ ...

on eligibility for free school transport, the default 11–16 secondary school for Reydon students is now Pakefield High School in

. Up to 1990, secondary education was provided by Reydon High School.Reydon High School
Department for Education Edubase. Retrieved 4 January 2013. After its closure in that year, students were then bussed to other schools in the area, and the land sold for housing development. The school playing fields are still in use, with the original school canteen building being used for changing rooms. Plans to extend the fields have been adopted by Waveney District Council.

Saint Felix School Saint Felix School is a 2–18 mixed, independent, day and boarding school in Reydon, Southwold, Suffolk, England. The school was founded in 1897 as a school for girls but is now co-educational. History The school was founded in 1897 as a gir ...

on the Halesworth Road is independent. Founded as a girls'

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

in 1897, it now takes pupils of both sexes aged 1–18.Saint Felix School
independent schools Council. Retrieved 4 January 2013. The independent St George's School on the same site closed in 2004.St George's School
Department for Education Edubase. Retrieved 4 January 2013.

Development and building

Reydon has seen much new housing construction recently, due mainly to rising house prices in Southwold and the popularity of Reydon itself as a retirement village. Housing replaced the former Eversley School playing field to the south of the Randolph Hotel, and further construction is planned on other vacant plots throughout the village, and on adjacent farmland. According to figures in the 2011 Census, Reydon's permanent population has risen to more than double that of Southwold. The spread of new homes has lost Reydon much of its village atmosphere. Additionally, rising house prices in Southwold have led to several properties in Reydon being purchased as second homes, often unoccupied for long periods. However, this is unlikely to affect the increase in permanent population, at least in the short term. In 2004, a 4400 m²

distribution centre A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to con ...

for

Adnams Brewery Adnams is a regional brewery founded in 1872 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, by George and Ernest Adnams. It produces cask ale and bottled beers. Annual production is around 85,000 barrels. In 2010, the company established the Copper House d ...

was constructed on the western edge of Reydon on the site of an old open-cast sand quarry.

The Church of St Margaret

The parish church, dedicated to St

, stands in Wangford Road, to the north-west of the village. One of its striking features is a large, unnamed bronze angel inscribed "To Fanny my beloved wife". The present building is mainly from the early 14th century. The tower was built about 1325. The chancel was restyled in the 15th century, and has many niches for saints in the window splays. The church suffered damage during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and was much altered in succeeding centuries.Taken from 'A photographic and historical guide to the Parish Churches of East Suffolk' compiled by Adrian S. Pye. 27 January 2009. Page 213Taken fro
The Sole Bay Team Ministry
27 January 2009.Taken fro

27 January 2009. More drastic was the restoration and re-roofing of 1875–1887, which robbed the church of most of its old furnishings and architectural detail. The replacement roof is of a plain, simple design. The royal arms displayed are those of Queen Anne and date from 1713. In 1988 a large extension was built onto the north side of the nave using the original north door, which was reopened when the organ was moved into the chancel to allow for the building. The building is the frequently-used parish room. The

rood loft The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

stairs are open but partly bricked up at the top. The Victorian organ is in the chancel, for want of space in the nave, but it clutters the space and distracts attention from some Victorian stained glass. Behind the organ is a blocked entrance, also apparent from the outside. The small chapel to which it led has vanished. The font, of no great age, stands at the base of the tower, having been moved there from the nave in 1988 to improve access to a new parish room. The font cover, donated in 1922, was once suspended from the ceiling in the nave and operated by a system of weights; the wood in the roof still shows this. In 1999, the parish of Reydon became part of the Sole Bay Team Ministry.

The church bells

The tower originally held three bells, two of which were sold in 1792 to fund repairs to the church. In 1991 an appeal was launched to restore the tower, replace the two missing bells and procure a further three. These were dedicated at a service in December 1996. The original 15th-century bell, "Gabriel", has been joined by "Michael", "Raphael", "Peter", "Mary" and "Seraph", all cast at the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells a ...

in 1995 and 1996. The tenor (the largest) weighs 517 kg and the treble (the smallest) about a third of that. The bells hang in a two-tier steel frame, installed in 1995. The bells are hung for the traditional English art of

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

. Ringing takes place from ground level with the font in the centre of the rope circle. The tower is affiliated to the Suffolk Guild of Ringers. The bells are rung regularly for practice, Sunday services, weddings and other special occasions.Taken fro
Doves Guide
27 January 2009.

Notable residents

In birth order: * John Youngs (c. 1598–1672), cleric and founder of

Southold, New York The Town of Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 23,732 at the 2020 census. The town also contains a ha ...

, was born in Reydon. * Agnes Strickland (1796–1874), historical writer and poet, lived at Reydon Hall. *

, née Strickland (1803–1885), Canadian author and younger sister of Agnes, lived at Reydon Hall. *

Alexander Hyatt King Alexander Hyatt King, also known as Alec Hyatt King, (18 July 1911, Beckenham, London — 10 March 1995, Southwold, Suffolk) was an English musicologist and bibliographer, who was a music librarian of the British Museum and leading scholar on Wolf ...

(1911-1995), musicologist, lived in Southwold and is buried in Reydon churchyard. *

Lewis Blake Lewis Blake (born June 1946) is a British poet and artist. He is a member of the Cambridge School of poetry, and, to a certain extent, the British Poetry Revival. Life Blake was born in Reydon, near Southwold in Suffolk in June 1946. He was educ ...

(born 1946), poet *

Geoffrey Munn Geoffrey Charles Munn, OBE, MVO, FSA, FLS (born 11 April 1953 in Hastings) is a British jewellery specialist, television presenter and writer. He is best known as one of the experts on the BBC's ''Antiques Roadshow''. Career Munn's first ...

OBE, MVO (born 1953), presenter on the BBC

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...

, local historian, and author of ''Southwold – an Earthly Paradise''

References

External links

Reydon Primary SchoolSt. Felix School
{{Authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District