Suffolk () is a ceremonial
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in
East Anglia. It borders
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
to the north,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...
to the west and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
to the south; the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
lies to the east. The
county town is
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
; other important towns include
Lowestoft,
Bury St Edmunds,
Newmarket, and
Felixstowe
Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northea ...
which has one of the largest
container
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
ports in Europe.
The county is low-lying but can be quite hilly, especially towards the west. It is also known for its extensive
farming
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
and has largely
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...
with the wetlands of
the Broads
The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly use ...
in the north. The
Suffolk Coast & Heaths and
Dedham Vale are both nationally designated
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...
.
History
Administration
The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Suffolk, and East Anglia generally, occurred on a large scale, possibly following a period of depopulation by the previous inhabitants, the Romanised descendants of the
Iceni
The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...
. By the fifth century, they had established control of the region. The Anglo-Saxon inhabitants later became the "north folk" and the "south folk", from which developed the names "Norfolk" and "Suffolk". Suffolk and several adjacent areas became the
kingdom of East Anglia
la, Regnum Orientalium Anglorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Angles
, common_name = East Anglia
, era =
, status = Great Kingdom
, status_text = Independent (6th centu ...
, which later merged with
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era= Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ...
and then
Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
.
Suffolk was originally divided into four separate
Quarter Sessions
The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...
divisions. In 1860, the number of divisions was reduced to two. The eastern division was administered from
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
and the western from
Bury St Edmunds. Under the
Local Government Act 1888
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
, the two divisions were made the separate administrative counties of
East Suffolk and
West Suffolk; Ipswich became a
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
. A few
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
parishes were also added to Suffolk:
Ballingdon
Ballingdon is a suburb of the town of Sudbury in Suffolk, England. Once a separate village in the county of Essex, today it is part of Sudbury civil parish though it was formerly a separate parish. It is the only part of the town to the south of ...
-with-
Brundon
Brundon is a hamlet in the Babergh district, in the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the River Stour near the town of Sudbury (its post town). For transport there is the A131 road nearby. Brundon was recorded in the Domesday Book
...
and parts of
Haverhill and Kedington.
On 1 April 1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972, East Suffolk, West Suffolk, and Ipswich were merged to form the unified county of Suffolk. The county was divided into several
local government district
The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...
s:
Babergh,
Forest Heath
Forest Heath was a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Mildenhall. Other towns in the district included Newmarket. The population of the district at the 2011 Census was 59,748.
The district's name reflec ...
,
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
,
Mid Suffolk
Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Needham Market until late 2017, and is currently sharing offices with the Suffolk County Council in Ipswich. The largest town of Mid Suffolk is Stowmarket. ...
,
St Edmundsbury,
Suffolk Coastal, and
Waveney. This act also transferred some land near
Great Yarmouth to Norfolk. As introduced in Parliament, the Local Government Act would have transferred
Newmarket and Haverhill to Cambridgeshire and
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
from Essex; such changes were not included when the act was passed into law.
In 2007, the
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local governme ...
referred
Ipswich Borough Council
Ipswich Borough Council, founded in 1974 after the abolition of the County Borough of Ipswich, governs the non-metropolitan district of Ipswich in Suffolk. It is the second tier of a two-tier system, fulfilling functions such as refuse collecti ...
's bid to become a new
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
to the
Boundary Committee. The Boundary Committee consulted local bodies and reported in favour of the proposal. It was not, however, approved by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
Beginning in February 2008, the Boundary Committee again reviewed local government in the county, with two possible options emerging. One was that of splitting Suffolk into two unitary authorities – Ipswich and Felixstowe and Rural Suffolk; and the other, that of creating a single county-wide controlling authority – the "One Suffolk" option. In February 2010, the then-Minister
Rosie Winterton announced that no changes would be imposed on the structure of local government in the county as a result of the review, but that the government would be: "asking Suffolk councils and MPs to reach a consensus on what unitary solution they want through a countywide constitutional convention". Following the
May 2010 general election, all further moves towards any of the suggested unitary solutions ceased on the instructions of the incoming
Coalition government. In 2018 it was determined that Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury would be merged to form a new
West Suffolk district, while Waveney and Suffolk Coastal would similarly form a new
East Suffolk district. These changes took effect on 1 April 2019.
Archaeology
West Suffolk, like nearby
East Cambridgeshire
East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in Ely. The population of the District Council at the 2011 Census was 83,818. The district was formed on 1 April 19 ...
, is renowned for
archaeological finds from the
Stone Age, the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
, and the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
. Bronze Age
artefacts have been found in the area between
Mildenhall and West Row, in
Eriswell
Eriswell is a village and civil parish of West Suffolk in the English county of Suffolk.
About forty scattered archaeological finds have been made here, including Bronze Age battle axes, palstaves and rapiers. The greater part of these objects ...
and in
Lakenheath
Lakenheath is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It has a population of 4,691 according to the 2011 Census, and is situated close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, ...
.
Many bronze objects, such as swords, spearheads, arrows, axes,
palstaves, knives, daggers, rapiers, armour, decorative equipment (in particular for horses), and fragments of sheet bronze, are entrusted to St. Edmundsbury heritage service, housed at
West Stow
West Stow is a small village and civil parish in West Suffolk, England. The village lies north of Bury St. Edmunds, south of Mildenhall and Thetford and west of the villages of Culford and Ingham in the area known as the Breckland. This ar ...
just outside Bury St. Edmunds. Other finds include traces of
cremation
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is ...
s and
barrows.
In the east of the county is
Sutton Hoo, the site of one of England's most significant
Anglo-Saxon archaeological finds, a ship burial containing a collection of treasures including a
sword of state,
helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
, gold and silver bowls, jewellery and a
lyre.
In 1992 a famous
hoard of late Roman gold and silver was discovered in the village of
Hoxne
Hoxne ( ) is a village in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about five miles (8 km) east-southeast of Diss, Norfolk and south of the River Waveney. The parish is irregularly shaped, covering the villages of Hoxne, Cross Street ...
. It is still the largest
hoard of its kind to have been discovered in Britain.
While carrying out surveys before installing a pipeline in 2014, archaeologists for
Anglian Water
Anglian Water is a water company that operates in the East of England. It was formed in 1989 under the partial privatisation of the water industry. It provides water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment to the area formerly the responsibilit ...
discovered nine skeletons and four cremation pits, at
Bardwell,
Barnham,
Pakenham and
Rougham, all near Bury St Edmunds. Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and medieval items were also unearthed, along with the 9 skeletons believed to be of the late or
post-Roman era (AD 300–500). Experts said the 5-month project had recovered enough artefacts to fill half a shipping container, and that the discoveries had shed new light on their understanding of the development of small rural communities.
A number of 6th century
Anglo-Saxon "grub huts" were also found nearby, which are believed to be cellars beneath Saxon buildings.
In 2019, an excavation of a 4th-century
Roman cemetery in
Great Whelnetham
Great Whelnetham (sometimes Great Welnetham) is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around two miles south of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 820.
The parish also contains ...
uncovered unusual burial practices. Of 52 skeletons were found, a large number had been
decapitated
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
, which archaeologists claimed gave new insight in to Roman traditions. The burial ground includes the remains of men, women and children who likely lived in a nearby settlement. The fact that up to 40% of the bodies were decapitated represents "quite a rare find".
A survey in 2020 named Suffolk the third best place in the UK for aspiring archaeologists, and showed that the area was especially rich in finds from the Roman period, with over 1500 objects found in the preceding year.
In July 2020,
metal detector
A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...
ist Luke Mahoney, found 1061 silver hammered coins estimated to be worth £100,000 in
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
. The coins dated back to the 15th–17th century, according to experts.
In September 2020, archaeologists announced the discovery of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery with 17 cremations and 191 burials dating back to the 7th century in Oulton, near
Lowestoft. The graves contained the remains of men, women and children, as well as artefacts including small iron knives and silver pennies, wrist clasps, strings of amber and glass beads. According to Andrew Peachey, who carried out the excavations, the skeletons had mostly vanished because of the highly acidic soil. They, fortunately, were preserved as brittle shapes and "sand silhouettes" in the sand.
Suffolk Pink
Villages and towns in Suffolk are renowned for historic pink-washed halls and cottages, which has become known far and wide as "Suffolk Pink". Decorative paint colours found in the county can range from a pale shell shade, to a deep blush brick colour.
According to research, Suffolk Pink dates back to the
14th century, where these shades were developed by local dyers by adding natural substances to a traditional
limewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used.
...
mix. Additives used in this process include
pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
or
ox blood with
buttermilk
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...
,
elderberries
''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...
and
sloe
''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalisation (biology), naturalized ...
juice.
Locals and historians often state that a true Suffolk Pink should be a "deep dusky terracotta shade", rather than the more popular pastel hue of modern times. This has caused controversy in the past when home and business-owners alike have been reprimanded for using colours deemed incorrect, with some being forced to repaint to an acceptable shade. In 2013, famous chef
Marco Pierre White
Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the ''enfant terrible'' of the UK restaurant scene. In January 1995, aged 33, White became ...
had his 15th century hotel, The Angel, in Lavenham, decorated a shade of pink that was not traditional Suffolk Pink. He was required by local authorities to repaint.
![Suffolk Pink cottage in Ixworth, with pargetting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Suffolk_Pink_cottage_in_Ixworth%2C_with_pargetting.jpg)
In another example of Suffolk taking its colours seriously, a home-owner in
Lavenham
Lavenham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is noted for its Guildhall, Little Hall, 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walks. In the mediev ...
was obligated to paint their
Grade 1 listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
cottage Suffolk Pink, to make it match a neighbouring property. The local council said it wanted all of the cottages on that particular part of the road to be the same colour, because they were a single building historically (300 years earlier).
County landmarks that are painted Suffolk Pink include the cottages in front of St Mary's Church in the village of
Cavendish
Cavendish may refer to:
People
* The House of Cavendish, a British aristocratic family
* Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), British poet, philosopher, and scientist
* Cavendish (author) (1831–1899), pen name of Henry Jones, English au ...
.
The historic Suffolk Pink colour has also inspired the name of a British
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
.
Geography
![Cmglee Manningtree River Stour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Cmglee_Manningtree_River_Stour.jpg)
Located in the
East of England,
much of Suffolk is low-lying, founded on
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...
and
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
s. These rocks are relatively
unresistant and the coast is
eroding rapidly.
Coastal defences
Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...
have been used to protect several towns, but several cliff-top houses have been lost to
coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...
and others are under threat. The continuing protection of the coastline and the
estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen ...
, including the
Blyth,
Alde and
Deben, has been, and remains, a matter of considerable discussion.
The coastal strip to the East contains an area of
heathland
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
known as "The Sandlings" which runs almost the full length of the coastline. Suffolk is also home to nature reserves, such as the
RSPB site at
Minsmere, and
Trimley Marshes, a wetland under the protection of
Suffolk Wildlife Trust
Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) describes itself as the county's "nature charity – the only organisation dedicated wholly to safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and countryside." It is a registered charity, and its headquarters is at Brooke House in ...
. The clay plateau inland, deeply intercut by rivers, is often referred to as 'High Suffolk'.
The west of the county lies on more resistant
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
. This chalk is responsible for a sweeping tract of largely
downland
Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...
landscapes that stretches from
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
in the south west to
Dover in the south east and north through
East Anglia to the
Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.
On the western edge, the Wolds rise to an escarpment wh ...
. The chalk is less easily eroded so forms the only significant hills in the county. The highest point in the county is
Great Wood Hill, with an elevation of . It is the highest point of the
Newmarket Ridge and is near the villages of
Rede and
Chedburgh.
The county flower is the
oxlip
''Primula elatior'', the oxlip (or true oxlip), is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to nutrient-poor and calcium-rich damp woods and meadows throughout Europe, with northern borders in Denmark and southern parts o ...
.
Demography
According to estimates by the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for t ...
, the population of Suffolk in 2014 was 738,512, split almost evenly between males and females. Roughly 22% of the population was aged 65 or older, and 90.84% were "
White British
White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population ...
".
Historically, the county's population has mostly been employed as agricultural workers. An 1835 survey showed Suffolk to have 4,526 occupiers of land employing labourers, 1,121 occupiers not employing labourers, 33,040 labourers employed in agriculture, 676 employed in manufacture, 18,167 employed in retail trade or handicraft, 2,228 'capitalists, bankers etc.', 5,336 labourers (non-agricultural), 4,940 other males aged over 20, 2,032 male servants and 11,483 female servants. The same publication records the total population of the county at 296,304.
Most English counties have nicknames for people from that county, such as a
Tyke from
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
and a
Yellowbelly from
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
. A traditional nicknames for people from Suffolk is 'Suffolk Fair-Maids' referring to the supposed beauty of its female inhabitants in the Middle Ages.
Another is 'Silly Suffolk', often assumed to be derived from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
word
sælig in the meaning 'blessed' referring to the long history of Christianity in the county. However, use of the term 'Silly Suffolk' can actually be dated to no earlier than 1819, and its alleged medieval origins have been shown to be mythical.
There are several towns in the county with Ipswich being the largest and most populous. At the time of the 2011 census, a population of 730,000 lived in the county with 133,384 living in Ipswich. The table below shows all towns with over 20,000 inhabitants.
Economy
![Willis Building Ipswich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Willis_Building_Ipswich.jpg)
The majority of agriculture in Suffolk is either
arable or
mixed. Farm sizes vary from anything around 80 acres (32 hectares) to over 8,000. Soil types vary from heavy clays to light sands. Crops grown include
winter wheat
Winter wheat (usually '' Triticum aestivum'') are strains of wheat that are planted in the autumn to germinate and develop into young plants that remain in the vegetative phase during the winter and resume growth in early spring. Classificatio ...
,
winter barley,
sugar beet,
oilseed rape, winter and
spring beans and
linseed
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in W ...
, although smaller areas of rye and oats can be found growing in areas with lighter soils along with a variety of vegetables.
The continuing importance of agriculture in the county is reflected in the
Suffolk Show, which is held annually in May at Ipswich. Although latterly somewhat changed in nature, this remains primarily an
agricultural show
An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...
.
Well-known companies in Suffolk include
Greene King
Greene King is a large pub retailer and brewer. It is based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The company owns pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by CK Assets in October 2019.
H ...
and
Branston Pickle
Branston is an English food brand best known for the original Branston Pickle, a jarred pickled chutney first made in 1922 in the village of Branston near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire by Crosse & Blackwell. The Branston factory proved to ...
in Bury St Edmunds.
Birds Eye
Birds Eye is an American international brand of frozen foods owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot in Australia.
The former Birds Eye Company Ltd., originally named "Birdseye Seafood, Inc." had b ...
has its largest UK factory in Lowestoft, where all its meat products and frozen vegetables are processed.
Huntley & Palmers biscuit company has a base in Sudbury. The UK
horse racing industry is based in Newmarket. There are two
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
bases in the west of the county close to the
A11.
Sizewell B nuclear power station is at
Sizewell
Sizewell is an English fishing hamlet in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It belongs to the civil parish of Leiston and lies on the North Sea coast just north of the larger holiday village of Thorpeness, between the coastal town ...
on the coast near
Leiston
Leiston ( ) is an English town in the East Suffolk non-metropolitan district of Suffolk, near Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, about from the North Sea coast, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...
.
Bernard Matthews Farms
Bernard Matthews Holdings Ltd., trading as Bernard Matthews Foods Ltd, is a British farming and food products business with its headquarters in Great Witchingham, Norfolk, England, which specialises in turkey products.
Founded by Bernard Matt ...
have some processing units in the county, specifically
Holton.
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 ...
is the home of
Adnams Brewery. The
Port of Felixstowe
The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk, is the United Kingdom's busiest containerization, container port, dealing with 48% of Britain's containerised trade. In 2017, it was ranked as 43rd List of busiest container ports, busiest contain ...
is the largest
container
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
port in the United Kingdom. Other ports are at
Lowestoft and Ipswich, run by
Associated British Ports.
BT has its main research and development facility at
Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles (10 km) east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield. A "new village" was established there in the mid-1970s and t ...
.
Below is a chart of regional gross value added of Suffolk at current basic prices published by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Education
Primary, secondary and further education
Suffolk has a
comprehensive education
Comprehensive may refer to:
* Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client.
*Comprehensive school, a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement ...
system with fourteen independent schools. Unusually for the UK, some of Suffolk had a
3-tier school system in place with primary schools (ages 5–9),
middle schools (ages 9–13) and upper schools (ages 13–16). However, a 2006 Suffolk County Council study concluded that Suffolk should move to the 2-tier school system used in the majority of the UK. For the purpose of conversion to 2-tier, the 3-tier system was divided into 4 geographical area groupings and corresponding phases. The first phase was the conversion of schools in Lowestoft and Haverhill in 2011, followed by schools in north and west Suffolk in 2012. The remainder of the changeovers to 2-tier took place from 2013, for those schools that stayed within Local government control, and did not become
Academies
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
and/or
free schools. The majority of schools thus now (2019) operate the more common primary to high school (11–16).
Many of the county's upper schools have a
sixth form
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
and most
further education colleges in the county offer
A-level courses. In terms of school population, Suffolk's individual schools are large with the Ipswich district with the largest school population and Forest Heath the smallest, with just two schools. In 2013, a letter said that "...nearly a fifth of the schools inspected were judged inadequate. This is unacceptable and now means that Suffolk has a higher proportion of pupils educated in inadequate schools than both the regional and national averages."
The Royal Hospital School
)
, established = 1694 Royal Charter1712 Greenwich1933 Holbrook, Suffolk, Holbrook
, type = Public school (UK), Public School Independent school (UK), Independent day and boarding School Royal Foundation
, founders = William ...
near Ipswich is the largest independent boarding school in Suffolk. Other boarding schools within Suffolk include Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School,
Culford School
Culford School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for pupils age 1-18 in the village of Culford, miles north of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. The headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Con ...
,
Finborough School,
Framlingham College
Framlingham College is a public school (independent day and boarding school) in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school and nursery at Brandeston Hall, it serves pupils from 3 to 18 ye ...
,
Ipswich High School,
Ipswich School
Ipswich School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 3 to 18 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England.
North of the town centre, Ipswich School has four parts on three adjacent sites. The Pre-Prep and Nursery ...
,
Orwell Park School
Orwell Park School is a day and boarding preparatory school for boys and girls in the village of Nacton on the edge of Ipswich in the English county of Suffolk. Founded in 1868 in Lowestoft, the school currently accommodates around 300 boys ...
,
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 ...
and
Woodbridge School
Woodbridge School is an independent school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Foundation. Woodbridge School has been co-educational since September 1974.
Histor ...
.
The Castle Partnership Academy Trust in Haverhill is the county's only All-through Academy Chain. Comprising
Castle Manor Academy
Castle Manor Academy ''(formerly Castle Manor Business and Enterprise College)'' is a secondary phase converter academy school in Haverhill, Suffolk
Haverhill ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the county of Suffolk, England, next ...
and Place Farm Primary Academy, the Academy Trust supports all-through education and provides opportunities for young people aged 3 to 18.
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
s in the county include
Lowestoft Sixth Form College
Lowestoft Sixth Form College is a sixth-form college in the town of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. The college opened in September 2011, replacing sixth form provision in the existing high schools in Lowestoft. The college is a me ...
and
One in Ipswich. Suffolk is home to four further education colleges:
Lowestoft College
East Coast College is a Further Education (FE) college which has campuses in Lowestoft, Suffolk and Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Following a six-month pilot area review in 2014, it was proposed that the merger of Great Yarmouth College and Lowestoft C ...
,
Easton & Otley College,
Suffolk New College (Ipswich) and
West Suffolk College
West Suffolk College is a Further Education college in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The college delivers a range of courses, including vocational and technical courses, apprenticeships, and an array of higher-apprenticeships and bachelor's degree ...
(Bury St Edmunds).
Tertiary education
The county has one university, with branches spread across different towns.
University of Suffolk
The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The modern university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), the institution was founded as a unique collaboration between the Univer ...
was, prior to August 2016, known as University Campus Suffolk. Up until it became independent it was a collaboration between the
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...
and the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
which sponsored its formation and validated its degrees.
[University Campus Suffolk](_blank)
, University of Essex. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
, ''Daily Telegraph'', 21 June 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2012. UOS accepted its first students in September 2007. Until then Suffolk was one of only four
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in England which did not have a university campus.
The University of Suffolk was granted Taught Degree Awarding Powers by the
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the independent body that checks on standards and quality in UK higher education. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and condu ...
in November 2015, and in May 2016 it was awarded University status by the
Privy Council and renamed The University of Suffolk on 1 August 2016.
The university operates at five sites with its central hub in
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
. Others include
Lowestoft,
Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A ...
, and
Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.
[University Campus Suffolk](_blank)
, University of East Anglia. Retrieved 28 September 2012. The university operates two academic faculties and in had students. Some 30% of the student body are classed as mature students and 68% of university students are female.
Culture
Arts
![Snape Maltings Concert Hall - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Snape_Maltings_Concert_Hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_666311.jpg)
Founded in 1948 by
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 ...
, the annual
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall.
History of the Aldeburgh Festival
Th ...
is one of the UK's major classical music festivals. Originating in
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...
, it has been held at the nearby
Snape Maltings
Snape Maltings is an arts complex on the banks of the River Alde at Snape, Suffolk, England. It is best known for its concert hall, which is one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival.
The original purpose of the Maltings was the m ...
since 1967. Since 2006,
Henham Park
Henham Park is an historic estate in the parish of Wangford with Henham, situated north of the village of Blythburgh in the English county of Suffolk. The park is bordered to the east by the A12 road and to the west by the A145, the two roa ...
, has been home to the annual
Latitude Festival. This mainly open-air festival, which has grown considerably in size and scope, includes popular music, comedy, poetry and literary events. The
FolkEast festival is held at
Glemham Hall in August and attracts international acoustic, folk and roots musicians whilst also championing local businesses, heritage and crafts. In 2015 it was also home to the first instrumental festival of musical instruments and makers. More recently,
LeeStock Music Festival has been held in
Sudbury. A celebration of the county, "Suffolk Day", was instigated in 2017.
Dialect
The
Suffolk dialect is very distinctive.
Epenthesis and
yod-dropping
The phonological history of the English language includes various changes in the phonology of consonant clusters.
H-cluster reductions
The H-cluster reductions are various consonant reductions that have occurred in the history of English, inv ...
is common, along with non-conjugation of verbs.
Sport
Football
The county's sole professional
football club is
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
. Formed in 1878, the club were
Football League champions in
1961–62,
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
winners in
1977–78 and
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
winners in
1980–81; as of the
2022–23 season, Ipswich Town play in
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
, the third tier of English football. The club has as part of its
crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
the
Suffolk Punch
The Suffolk Horse, also historically known as the Suffolk Punch or Suffolk Sorrel,Dohner, ''Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds'' pp. 349–352 is an English breed of draught horse. The first part of the nam ...
, a now endangered breed of
draught horse
A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...
native to the county. The next highest ranked teams in Suffolk are
Leiston
Leiston ( ) is an English town in the East Suffolk non-metropolitan district of Suffolk, near Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, about from the North Sea coast, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...
and
Needham Market
Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. The town of Needham, Massachusetts, was named after Needham Market.
History
It initially grew around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 166 ...
, who both participate in the Southern League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football.
Horse racing
The town of
Newmarket is the headquarters of
British horseracing – home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations including the
National Stud
The National Stud is a United Kingdom Thoroughbred horse breeding farm located two miles from Newmarket. The Stud originated in 1916 as a result of a gift by William Hall Walker (later Lord Wavertree) of the entire bloodstock of his stud farm ...
, and
Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horserac ...
.
Tattersalls
Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Founding
It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. T ...
bloodstock auctioneers and the
National Horseracing Museum are also in the town.
Point to point racing takes place at
Higham and
Ampton
Ampton is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk District of Suffolk, England, about five miles north of Bury St Edmunds.
According to Eilert Ekwall the meaning of the village name is 'Amma's homestead'.
According to the 2001 census ...
.
Speedway
Speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
racing has been staged in Suffolk since at least the 1950s, following the construction of the
Foxhall Stadium
Foxhall Stadium is a Stock car and speedway stadium located in Foxhall near Ipswich. The Stadium is run by Spedeworth Motorsports stock car promoters. The stadium opened in 1951 and has been in continuous operation since.
Stock cars
Known ...
, just outside Ipswich, home of the
Ipswich Witches
The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first r ...
. The Witches are currently members of the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
, the UK's first division.
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
team
Mildenhall Fen Tigers
The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975 and currently riding in the National Development League.
History
1971–1989
The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with chef Bernie Kla ...
are also from Suffolk.
Cricket
Suffolk C.C.C. compete in the Eastern Division of the
Minor Counties Championship. The club has won the championship three times outright and has shared the title one other time as well as winning the
MCCA Knockout Trophy
The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the ''English Industrial Estates Cup'', before being called the ...
once. Home games are played in Bury St Edmunds,
Copdock,
Exning
Exning is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England.
It lies just off the A14 trunk road, roughly east-northeast of Cambridge, and south-southeast of Ely. The nearest large town is Newmarket.
T ...
,
Framlingham
Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019. Nearby villages include Ea ...
, Ipswich and Mildenhall.
Suffolk in popular culture
![Framlingham Castle Sunset](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Framlingham_Castle_Sunset.jpg)
Novels set in Suffolk include parts of ''
David Copperfield
''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...
'' by
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
, ''
The Fourth Protocol'', by
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist and journalist. He is best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', '' The Fourth Protocol'', '' The Dogs of War'', ''The Devil's Alter ...
, ''
Unnatural Causes'' by
P.D. James,
Dodie Smith
Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English novelist and playwright. She is best known for writing ''I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other works ...
's ''
The Hundred and One Dalmatians
''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' is a 1956 children's novel by Dodie Smith about the kidnapping of a family of Dalmatian puppies. It was originally serialized in ''Woman's Day'' as ''The Great Dog Robbery'', and details the adventures of ...
'', ''
The Rings of Saturn
''The Rings of Saturn'' (german: Die Ringe des Saturn: Eine englische Wallfahrt - An English Pilgrimage) is a 1995 novel by the German writer W. G. Sebald. Its first-person narrative arc is the account by a nameless narrator (who resembles the ...
'' by
W. G. Sebald, and among
Arthur Ransome's children's books, ''
We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea
''We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea'' is the seventh book in Arthur Ransome's ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books. It was published in 1937. In this book, the Swallows (John, Susan, Titty and Roger Walker) are the only recurring ch ...
,
Coot Club'' and ''
Secret Water
''Secret Water'' is the eighth book in Arthur Ransome's ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books. It was published on 28 November 1939.
This book is set in and around Hamford Water in Essex, close to the resort town of Walton-on-t ...
'' take place in part in the county. Roald Dahl's short story
"The Mildenhall Treasure" is set in Mildenhall.
A TV series about a British antiques dealer, ''
Lovejoy'', was filmed in various locations in Suffolk. The reality TV series ''
Space Cadets'' was filmed in
Rendlesham Forest, although the producers fooled participants into believing that they were in Russia. Several towns and villages in the county have been used for location filming of other television programmes and cinema films. These include the
BBC Four TV series ''
Detectorists
''Detectorists'' is a British comedy television series first broadcast on BBC Four in October 2014. It is written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, who also stars alongside Toby Jones.
The series is set in the fictional small town of Danebury i ...
'', an episode of ''
Kavanagh QC,'' and the films ''
Iris
Iris most often refers to:
*Iris (anatomy), part of the eye
*Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess
* ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
* Iris (color), an ambiguous color term
Iris or IRIS may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional ent ...
and'' ''
Drowning by Numbers
''Drowning by Numbers'' is a 1988 British-Dutch film directed by Peter Greenaway. It won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the Cannes Film Festival of 1988.
Plot
The film's plot centres on three married women — a grandmother, her d ...
''. During the period 2017–2018, a total of £3.8million was spent by film crews in Suffolk
The
Rendlesham Forest Incident is one of the most famous
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
events in England and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's
Roswell".
The song "Castle on the Hill" by
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
was referred to by him as "a
love letter
A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings.
History
One of the oldest references to a l ...
to Suffolk", with lyrical reference to his hometown of
Framlingham
Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019. Nearby villages include Ea ...
and Framlingham Castle.
George Orwell's Knype Hill is the fictional name for Southwold in
A Clergyman's Daughter, while the character of Dorothy Hare is modelled on Brenda Salkeld, the gym mistress at St Felix School in the early 1930s.
Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle's 2019 romantic comedy
''Yesterday'' was filmed throughout Suffolk, using Halesworth, Dunwich, Shingle Street and Latitude Festival as locations.
The 2021 film ''
The Dig'', based on the excavation of Sutton Hoo in the 1930s and starring
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
and
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award.
Mulli ...
was mostly shot on location.
The 2022 series "
The Witchfinder" is a
BBC Two sitcom based on the journey of
Matthew Hopkins
Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...
, the Witchfinder general, and a suspected witch through
East Anglia and many Suffolk towns including
Stowmarket
Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket
Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 trunk road between Bury St Edm ...
and
Framlingham
Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019. Nearby villages include Ea ...
during the
Witch trials
A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...
of the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
.
Notable people
![Mr and Mrs Andrews 1748-49](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Mr_and_Mrs_Andrews_1748-49.jpg)
In the arts, Suffolk is noted for having been home to two of England's best regarded painters,
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
and
John Constable – the Stour Valley area is branded as "Constable Country" – and one of its most noted composers,
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 ...
. Other artistic figures connected with Suffolk include:
Sir Alfred Munnings
Sir Alfred James Munnings, (8 October 1878 – 17 July 1959) was known as one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken critic of Modernism. Engaged by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorials Fund, he earned several prest ...
,
John Nash, sculptress
Dame Elizabeth Frink
Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...
,
Cedric Morris
Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet (11 December 1889 – 8 February 1982) was a British artist, art teacher and plantsman. He was born in Swansea in South Wales, but worked mainly in East Anglia. As an artist he is best known for his portra ...
who ran the
East Anglian School,
Philip Wilson Steer
Philip Wilson Steer (28 December 1860 – 18 March 1942) was a British painter of landscapes, seascapes plus portraits and figure studies. He was also an influential art teacher. His sea and landscape paintings made him a leading figure in ...
, and the cartoonist
Carl Giles
Ronald "Carl" Giles OBE (29 September 1916 – 27 August 1995), often referred to simply as Giles, was a cartoonist who worked for the British newspaper the '' Daily Express''.
His cartoon style was a single topical highly detailed panel, usu ...
(a bronze statue of his character "Grandma" is located in Ipswich town centre); the poets
George Crabbe
George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people.
In the 177 ...
and
Robert Bloomfield were both born in Suffolk; farmer and writer
Adrian Bell
Adrian Hanbury Bell (4 October 1901 – 5 September 1980) was an English ruralist journalist and farmer, and the first compiler of ''The Times'' crossword.
Early life
Bell was born at Stretford, Lancashire, son of Robert Bell (1865-1949), e ...
, writer and
editor Ronald Blythe
Ronald George Blythe (born 6 November 1922)["Dr Ronald Blythe ...](_blank)
,
V. S. Pritchett, the authors Ralph
Hammond Innes
Ralph Hammond Innes (15 July 1913 – 10 June 1998) was a British novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as works for children and travel books.
Biography
Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at Feltonfleet School, Cobham, Surrey ...
and
Ruth Rendell
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...
. The writer
M. M. Kaye spend her last years in Suffolk and died in
Lavenham
Lavenham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is noted for its Guildhall, Little Hall, 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walks. In the mediev ...
. Actors
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
and
Bob Hoskins, actress and singer
Kerry Ellis
Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at La ...
, musician and record producer
Brian Eno, multi-award winning singer-songwriter
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
and sopranos
Laura Wright
Laura Wright (née Sisk) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Ally Rescott on ''Loving'' (1991–1995) and '' The City'' (1995–1997), Cassie Layne Winslow on ''Guiding Light'' (1997–2005) and Carly Corinthos on ...
and
Christina Johnston are all connected with the county.
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
band and three time
Brit Award
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
winners
The Darkness hail from Lowestoft.
Hip hop DJ
Tim Westwood
Timothy Westwood (born 3 October 1957) is a British DJ and presenter. He is often referred to by other DJs and artists appearing on his shows simply as Westwood. He was described by ''The Guardian'' in 2022 as "a veteran of the hip-hop scene ...
is originally from Suffolk and the influential DJ and radio presenter
John Peel made the county his home. Contemporary painter
Maggi Hambling
Margaret ("Maggi") J. Hambling (born 23 October 1945) is a British artist. Though principally a painter her best-known public works are the sculptures '' A Conversation with Oscar Wilde'' and '' A Sculpture for Mary Wollstonecraft'' in London, ...
, was born and resides in Suffolk.
Norah Lofts
Norah Lofts, ''née'' Norah Ethel Robinson, (27 August 190410 September 1983) was a 20th-century British writer. She also wrote under the pen names Peter Curtis and Juliet Astley. She wrote more than fifty books specialising in historical fi ...
, author of best-selling historical novels, lived for decades in Bury St. Edmunds.
Sir Peter Hall the founder of the
Royal Shakespeare Company was born in Bury St. Edmunds, and
Sir Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...
the theatre director was born in Ipswich. The actor
Sir John Mills spent periods of his youth in the county. The designer
David Hicks
David Matthew Hicks (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian who attended al-Qaeda's Al Farouq training camp in Afghanistan, and met with Osama bin Laden during 2001. He was then detained by the United States in Guantanamo Bay detention camp fro ...
lived for a number of years in Suffolk. Model
Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Maria Schiffer (; born 25 August 1970) is a German model and actress based in the United Kingdom. She rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the world's most successful models, attaining supermodel status. In her early career, she was compa ...
and her husband, the film director
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Allard de Vere Drummond (born Matthew Allard Robert Vaughn; 7 March 1971) is an English filmmaker. He has produced films including ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) and '' Snatch'' (2000), and directed ''Layer Cake'' (2004 ...
, have owned a house in Suffolk since 2002.
Suffolk's contributions to sport include
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
magnate
Bernie Ecclestone and former
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
footballers Terry Butcher
Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town.
During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...
,
Kieron Dyer
Kieron Courtney Dyer (born 29 December 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was recently the U23s manager at Ipswich Town.
Born in Ipswich, Dyer played youth football for his home club Ipswich Town ...
and
Matthew Upson
Matthew James Upson (born 18 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Upson played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup.
Upson started his career with Bedfordshire ...
. Due to
Newmarket being the centre of British
horse racing many jockeys have settled in the county, including
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
and
Frankie Dettori
Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...
.
MMA
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
fighter
Arnold Allen was born in Suffolk.
Fabio Wardley English heavyweight champion is also from Suffolk.
Significant ecclesiastical figures from Suffolk include
Simon Sudbury
Simon Sudbury ( – 14 June 1381) was Bishop of London from 1361 to 1375, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1375 until his death, and in the last year of his life Lord Chancellor of England. He met a violent death during the Peasants' Revolt in 1 ...
, a former
archbishop of Canterbury; former
Lord High Chancellor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...
hailed from Ipswich; and author, poet and Benedictine monk
John Lydgate
John Lydgate of Bury (c. 1370 – c. 1451) was an English monk and poet, born in Lidgate, near Haverhill, Suffolk, England.
Lydgate's poetic output is prodigious, amounting, at a conservative count, to about 145,000 lines. He explored and estab ...
.
Richard Hakluyt the great recorder of exploration and voyages was a clergyman in
Wetheringsett.
Edward FitzGerald, the first translator of the
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia".
Altho ...
, was born in
Bredfield
Bredfield is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is situated just off the A12, two miles north of Woodbridge. Another village, Dallinghoo, is to the north, and to the west is Boulge, a small hamlet. The popul ...
. The
abolitionists
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...
and
Richard Dykes Alexander
Richard Dykes Alexander (15 August 1788 – 1865) was a businessman and Philanthropy, philanthropist based in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Family life
He was the son of Dykes Alexander (junior), Dykes Alexander (1763–1849) and Hannah Brewster. His paren ...
both lived near Ipswich. The
agriculturist
An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...
Arthur Young had a long-standing association with the county.
Other significant persons from Suffolk include the great
landscape designer
Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and gard ...
Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...
,
suffragette Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett; the captain of ''
HMS Beagle
HMS ''Beagle'' was a 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803 (roughly equivalent to £ in 2018), was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on t ...
'',
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...
; Witch-finder General
Matthew Hopkins
Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...
; educationist
Hugh Catchpole; and Britain's first female physician and mayor,
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English physician and suffragist. She was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon. She was the co-founder of the first hospital staffed by women, ...
. The
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
pioneer Dr.
Jane Walker ran the East Anglian Sanatorium above the banks of the
River Stour, and charity leader
Sue Ryder
Margaret Susan Cheshire, Baroness Ryder of Warsaw, Lady Cheshire, (''née'' Ryder; 3 July 1924 – 2 November 2000), best known as Sue Ryder, was a British volunteer with Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, and a membe ...
settled in Suffolk and based her charity in
Cavendish
Cavendish may refer to:
People
* The House of Cavendish, a British aristocratic family
* Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), British poet, philosopher, and scientist
* Cavendish (author) (1831–1899), pen name of Henry Jones, English au ...
. The popular Victorian novelist
Henry Seton Merriman
Hugh Stowell Scott (9 May 1862 – 19 November 1903) was an English novelist who wrote as Henry Seton Merriman. His best known novel, ''The Sowers'' went through thirty UK editions.
Life
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he became an underwriter at ...
lived and died in the village of
Melton. Between 1932 and 1939
George Orwell lived at his parents' home in the coastal town of Southwold, where a mural of the author now dominates the entrance to Southwold Pier.
He is said to have chosen his pen name from Suffolk's
River Orwell
The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England from Ipswich to Felixstowe. Above Ipswich, the river is known as the River Gipping, but its name changes to the Orwell at Stoke Bridge, where the river becomes tidal. It broadens in ...
.
Arthur Ransome lived alongside the river during the 1930s, sailing his boats from
Pin Mill and along the
Shotley Peninsula.
Edmund of East Anglia
King of East Anglia and Christian
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
St Edmund (after whom the town of
Bury St Edmunds is named) was killed by invading Danes in the year 869. St Edmund was the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of England until he was replaced by
St George in the 13th century. 2006 saw the failure of a campaign to have St Edmund named as the patron saint of England, but in 2007 he was named patron saint of Suffolk, with St Edmund's Day falling on 20 November. His
flag is flown in Suffolk on that day.
Gallery
File:Ickworth House.jpg, Ickworth House close to Bury St Edmunds
File:Southwold maisons phare.jpg, 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 popular seaside town
File:Architectural Detail - Lavenham - Suffolk - England - 09 (28226197172).jpg, Lavenham
Lavenham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is noted for its Guildhall, Little Hall, 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walks. In the mediev ...
is a preserved medieval village
File:St Edmundsbury Cathedral - geograph.org.uk - 1292400.jpg, St Edmundsbury Cathedral
File:Bank of the River Orwell - geograph.org.uk - 1592162.jpg, Bank of the River Orwell
The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England from Ipswich to Felixstowe. Above Ipswich, the river is known as the River Gipping, but its name changes to the Orwell at Stoke Bridge, where the river becomes tidal. It broadens in ...
File:Supposed UFO landing site - Rendlesham Forest - geograph.org.uk - 263104.jpg, Rendlesham Forest
File:RS1497 Waterfront location (32)-lpr.jpg, Ipswich Waterfront
The Ipswich Waterfront is a cultural and historically significant area surrounding the marina in the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. The modern dock was constructed in 1842 and the area was a functioning dock up until the 1970s. At the time of comple ...
, once the most important dock in the kingdom
File:Beach Front, Aldeburgh - geograph.org.uk - 959856.jpg, Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...
beachfront
File:Kersey - Ancient Cottages.jpg, Ancient Cottages in Kersey
File:Orford Ness (National Trust) and the lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 261134.jpg, Lighthouse at Orford Ness
Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Weir Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the m ...
, a national trust site
See also
*
List of places of interest in Suffolk
*
History of Suffolk
*
Healthcare in Suffolk
Healthcare in Suffolk was the responsibility of two clinical commissioning groups until July 2022: Ipswich and East Suffolk, and West Suffolk.
History
From 1947 to 1965 NHS services in Suffolk were managed by the East Anglian regional hospital b ...
*
Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency)
*
Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner
*
Suffolk Coast and Heaths
The Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Suffolk and Essex, England.
The AONB covers ancient woodland, commercial forestry, the estuaries of the Alde, Blyth, Deben, Orwell and Stour rivers, farmland, sal ...
*
List of Lords Lieutenant of Suffolk
*
List of High Sheriffs of Suffolk
*
Suffolk Youth Orchestra
Notes
References
Further reading
*
William Addison, ''Suffolk'' (
The County Books),
Robert Hale, 1950.
*Mark Bailey, ''Medieval Suffolk: An Economic and Social History, 1200–1500'', The
Boydell Press
Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, editio ...
, 2007.
*
Adrian Bell
Adrian Hanbury Bell (4 October 1901 – 5 September 1980) was an English ruralist journalist and farmer, and the first compiler of ''The Times'' crossword.
Early life
Bell was born at Stretford, Lancashire, son of Robert Bell (1865-1949), e ...
, ''A Suffolk Harvest'',
The Bodley Head
The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...
, 1956.
*Adrian Bell, ''Corduroy'', Cobden-Sanderson, 1930.
*Adrian Bell, ''Men and the Fields'',
B.T. Batsford, 1939.
*
Ronald Blythe
Ronald George Blythe (born 6 November 1922)["Dr Ronald Blythe ...](_blank)
, ''
Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village'',
Allen Lane, 1969.
*
Henry Munro Cautley, ''Suffolk Churches and their Treasures'', B.T. Batsford, 1937; reprinted Boydell, 1954.
*
Thomas Kitson Cromwell, ''Excursions in the County of Suffolk'', 2 vols., Longmans, 1818 & 1819.
*
Daniel Defoe, ''Tour through the Eastern Counties'' (1722), East Anglian Magazine ed., 1949.
*Sarah E. Doig, ''The A-Z of Curious Suffolk: Strange Stories of Mysteries, Crimes and Eccentrics'',
The History Press
The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...
, 2016.
*Sarah E. Doig, ''The Little History of Suffolk'', The History Press, 2018.
*Robert Halliday, ''Suffolk Strange But True'', The History Press, 2008.
*
M. R. James
Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...
, ''Suffolk and Norfolk: A Perambulation of the Two Counties with Notices of their History and their Ancient Buildings'', J.M. Dent & Sons, 1930.
*Allan Jobson, ''A Suffolk Calendar'', Robert Hale, 1966; illustrated by
Beryl Irving
Beryl ( ) is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate with the chemical formula Be3Al2Si6O18. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine. Naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several meter ...
.
*Allan Jobson, ''A Window in Suffolk'', Robert Hale, 1962; illus. Beryl Irving.
*Allan Jobson, ''Something of Old Suffolk'', Robert Hale, 1978.
*Allan Jobson, ''Suffolk Miscellany'', Robert Hale, 1975.
*Allan Jobson, ''Suffolk Remembered'', Robert Hale, 1969.
*Allan Jobson, ''Suffolk Villages'', Robert Hale, 1971.
*Allan Jobson, ''Under a Suffolk Sky'', Robert Hale, 1964; illus. Beryl Irving.
*D. P. Mortlock, ''The Guide to Suffolk Churches'',
Lutterworth Press
The Lutterworth Press, one of the oldest independent British publishing houses, has traded since the late eighteenth century - initially as the Religious Tract Society (RTS). The Lutterworth imprint, named after the small English town of Lutte ...
, 2nd rev. ed. 2009.
*
Arthur Mee
Arthur Henry Mee (21 July 187527 May 1943) was an English writer, journalist and educator. He is best known for ''The Harmsworth Self-Educator'', '' The Children's Encyclopædia'', ''The Children's Newspaper'', and ''The King's England''. The ...
, ''Suffolk. Our Farthest East'' (
The King's England series),
Hodder and Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.
History
Early history
The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publishe ...
, 1942; reprinted.
*
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
, James Bettley (ed.), ''Suffolk: East'' (
The Buildings of England
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
),
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous.
, Yale Universi ...
, rev. ed. 2015.
*Nikolaus Pevsner, James Bettley (ed.), ''Suffolk: West'' (The Buildings of England), Yale University Press, rev. ed. 2015.
*Steven Plunkett, ''Suffolk in Anglo-Saxon Times'', The History Press, 2005.
*W. M. Roberts, ''Lost Country Houses of Suffolk'', The Boydell Press, 2010.
*Eric Sandon, ''Suffolk Houses: A Study of Domestic Architecture'', Antique Collector's Club, 1977.
*Norman Scarfe, ''Suffolk. A Shell Guide'' (
Shell Guides
The Shell Guides were originally a 20th-century series of guidebooks on the counties of Britain. They were aimed at a new breed of car-driving metropolitan tourist, and for those who sought guides that were neither too serious nor too shallow a ...
),
Faber and Faber, 1960; reprinted.
*Norman Scarfe, ''Suffolk in the Middle Ages'', The Boydell Press, 2007.
*Norman Scarfe, ''The Suffolk Landscape'', Phillimore & Co., new ed. 2002.
*
W. G. Sebald, ''
The Rings of Saturn
''The Rings of Saturn'' (german: Die Ringe des Saturn: Eine englische Wallfahrt - An English Pilgrimage) is a 1995 novel by the German writer W. G. Sebald. Its first-person narrative arc is the account by a nameless narrator (who resembles the ...
'',
Harvill Press, English ed. 1998.
*Neil R. Storey, ''The Little Book of Suffolk'', The History Press, 2013; 2nd ed. 2020.
*
Alfred Suckling
Alfred Inigo Suckling (1796–1856), surname originally Fox, was an English clergyman, an author and historian of Suffolk.
Life
Born on 31 January 1796 in Norwich, he was the only son of Alexander Fox, by his wife Anna Maria (née Suckling, d.1848 ...
, ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk'', printed for the author, 1846.
*Josephine Walpole, ''Suffolk Artists of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries'', Antique Collector's Club, 2009.
*Peter Warner, ''The Origins of Suffolk'',
Manchester University Press, 1996.
*Derek Wilson, ''A Short History of Suffolk'', B.T. Batsford, 1977.
*Pip Wright, ''I Read it in the Local Rag: Selections from Suffolk and Norfolk Papers 1701-1900'', Poppyland, 2006.
External links
Suffolk County CouncilBBC Suffolk*
Images of Suffolkat the
English Heritage Archive
The Historic England Archive is the public archive of Historic England, located in The Engine House on Fire Fly Avenue in Swindon, formerly part of the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway.
It is a public archive of architectural and arch ...
{{Authority control
Non-metropolitan counties
Kingdom of East Anglia
Counties of England established in antiquity