The A145 is an

A road A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B and sometimes lower c ...

in the

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

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

. It runs from east of the town of Beccles, close to the border with Norfolk, to the village of Blythburgh where it joins the A12 road. It is around in length and single carriageway throughout.

Route description

The A145 runs from close to the village of

North Cove North Cove is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is part of the East Suffolk district, located around east of Beccles and west of Lowestoft. It merges with the village of Barnby and the villages shar ...

, just east of Worlingham and Beccles, bypassing both places before passing through a rural area on its route to the A12 at Blythburgh. Until 2018 it ran through the town before a relief road was opened passing around the southern edge of Beccles.Another step forward for relief road project
''Beccles and Bungay Journal'', 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2014-02-28.Carr J (2017
Work to begin this week on £7m Beccles Southern Relief Road
''Beccles and Bungay Journal'', 2017-08-22. Retrieved 2018-05-26.Carr J (2018
New £7m relief road finally opens – with potential to create 3,000 jobs
''Beccles and Bungay Journal'', 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-13.Beccles Southern Relief Road opens after 20-year campaign
BBC News, 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-13. At the same time the route was re-designated, the route through the town becoming a 'B' road.Smith A (2018
Joy for campaigners as council agrees to take A-road away from town
''Beccles and Bungay Journal'', 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-05-26.

Beccles Relief Road section

Straight Down the B1127 to the Roundabout - geograph

Beginning as Copland Way, the A145 has its northernmost point at a roundabout with the A146 road between Worlingham and

to the east of Beccles.''Landranger Sheet 134 – Norwich & the Broads'', Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 sheet, 2019-09-13.Google maps
Google, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-13. It runs southwards for around through farmland and an industrial area on the site of the World War II Ellough Airfield. The first section of the route was previously designated the B1127. It meets a roundabout on the south-eastern edge of the industrial area before turning to head west for along the southern edges of Worlingham and Beccles across farmland, bypassing the town. Along this section the road is crossed by Regional Cycle Route 31.Beccles cycle route map
, Suffolk County Council, September 2010. Retrieved 2014-03-02. Prior to the opening of the Beccles Southern Relief road in October 2018, the road started on the northern edge Beccles at a roundabout junction with the A146. It passed through the town, splitting to form a one-way system before passing through an industrial area on the southern edge of the town.''Landranger Sheet 134 – Norwich & the Broads'', Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 sheet (2012 edition), 2012-11-28. Before the building of the Beccles northern bypass in the 1980s, the A145 began at the junction of London Road and Blyburgate, with the roads through the town centre being designated as the A146.Ordnance Survey One-inch to the mile, Seventh Series, 1952-1961
available at the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

. Retrieved 2014-03-02. The road rejoins its previous route at a roundabout south of the town centre where it heads in a southerly direction.

Rural section

To the south of Beccles the A145 becomes a rural route. It runs through the parishes of Weston,

Willingham St Mary Willingham St Mary, also known simply as Willingham, is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk located about south of Beccles in the East Suffolk district. At the 2011 United Kingdom census it had a population of 152. T ...

and

Shadingfield Shadingfield is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around south of Beccles in the north of the county. The village is spread along a stretch of the A145 road between Beccle ...

immediately to the south of the town. In Weston it passes the former Duke of Marlborough public houseWeston, Duke of Marlborough
Suffolk CAMRA. Retrieved 2014-02-28. and close to the

Grade II* 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 ...

Weston Hall, built in the late 16th century for John Rede,Weston Hall, Weston
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-02-28. and the 12th century parish church of St Peter which can be seen from the road at the junction with Church Lane.Church of St Peter, Weston
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-02-28. A small section of Willingham St Mary follows before the route reaches Shadingfield where it passes the Shadingfield Fox public house, the village hall and a water tower. The village is linear and extends for around ; at its southern edge the road passes the Grade I listed medieval church of St John the BaptistChurch of St John the Baptist, Shadingfield
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-03-01. and Hill Farmhouse, dating from the 16th century and Grade II* listed.Hill Farmhouse, Shadingfield
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-03-01. The A145 and the Brampton Milepost - geograph

The A145 and the Brampton Milepost - geograph

South of Shadingfield the A145 passes through the parish of

Brampton with Stoven Brampton with Stoven is a civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located south of the town of Beccles and north-east of Halesworth, with an area of .Brampton is dispersed across a wide area either side of the road. At Brampton crossroads it passes the former Dog public house which closed in 1999 and is now a guesthouse.Brampton, Dog
Suffolk CAMRA. Retrieved 2014-02-28. The crossroads were the site of the original Brampton Primary School and a post office, both of which are now private residences. A cast iron milestone stands at the crossroads alongside the village sign. Dating from 1822, the milestone was discovered and restored in 2010 before being replaced. It indicates that Beccles is 5 miles to the north, Great Yarmouth 19 miles and Norwich 23 miles and that the crossroads are 104 miles from London.Lost Suffolk milestone rediscovered
'' Eastern Daily Press'', 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2014-02-28. A number of similar milestones can be seen along the road in this section.Milestones in Suffolk
Milestonesweb. Retrieved 2014-03-01. From the crossroads Station Road to the west leads to Brampton railway station, some away, whilst Southwold Road runs eastward, passing Brampton Primary School before heading towards

Stoven Stoven is a village and former civil parish now in the parish of Brampton with Stoven, in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located approximately north east of Halesworth and south of Beccles. In 1961 the parish ...

and Wangford. The A145 passes the Grade I listed Brampton church, dedicated to St Peter and with a 15th-century tower,Church of St Peter, Brampton with Stoven
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-03-01. before turning sharply and reaching a junction with the B1124 Halesworth road. It continues into the parish of Sotherton, passing the former Cross Bows Inn alongside the road,Sotherton, Cross Bows
Suffolk CAMRA. Retrieved 2014-02-28. and then into Wangford with Henham where it passes along the western edge of

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 roads ...

, the site of the

Latitude festival The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 ...

, a major music and arts festival held annually in July, and the

Grand Henham Steam Rally The Grand Henham Steam Rally is a steam rally held every September at Henham Park near Southwold. It features displays of fixed and mobile steam engines and of vintage and classic cars and motorcycles. There are many events and activities, and cr ...

, held in September. The park was the site of Henham Hall, originally a Tudor house dating from the early 16th century. The original building burned down in 1773 and was replaced with a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

mansion in 1790. This was pulled down in 1953. An archaeological dig of the site featured in the '' Time Team'' television programme in January 2013.Henham Park
Dig report, Time Team, Channel 4. Retrieved 2014-02-28. The road then runs into the parish of Blythburgh where a junction with the B1123 at Bulcamp leads towards Halesworth. The Battle of Bulcamp occurred here in 653 or 654 AD between the forces of Anna of East Anglia and Penda of Mercia. Anna, the King of East Anglia, was defeated and killed along with his son

Jurmin Jurmin also known as Hiurmine of Blythburgh, was an Anglo-Saxon prince who was the son and heir of Anna of East Anglia, a 7th-century king of East Anglia, a kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. As such, he w ...

. Both are believed to have been buried at Blythburgh Priory.S. E. Kelly, 'Anna (d. 654?)’, '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 201
accessed 2014-03-08.
/ref>Warner, Peter (1996) ''The Origins of Suffolk'', Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press. The main A12 road is reached at the southern end of the A145, around north of the village of Blythburgh,''Landranger Sheet 156 – Saxmundham, Aldeburgh & Southwold'', Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 map sheet, 2008-08-27. at a junction overlooking the estuary of the River Blyth.

Road safety

The A145 is generally straight and has no record of significant safety issues. It has generally been rated as medium or low–medium risk in

European Road Assessment Programme European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) is an international nonprofit ( vzw) organisation registered in Belgium. It operates from Worting House, Basingstoke, Hampshire. In partnership with national motoring organisations and local author ...

(EuroRAP) surveys.Norfolk's most dangerous road routes revealed
'' Eastern Daily Press'', 2010-01-28. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Simple Measures Save Lives
,

Road Safety Foundation The Road Safety Foundation is a United Kingdom charity which carries out and procures research into safe road design and road safety. The Foundation is responsible for the European Road Assessment Program (EuroRAP) in the UK and Ireland. Histo ...

, May 2011. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Measuring to Manage – Tracking the safety of Britain's major road network
,

, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02. There were 8 fatalities associated with road traffic accidents along its length between 1999 and 2010.Every death on every road in Great Britain 1999-2010
BBC news website. Data extracted for incidents on the A145 in Waveney District. Retrieved 2014-03-02. Accidents have occurred at

,Family mourn after road death
''Ipswich Star'', 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2014-03-02. BramptonBrampton: Man dies after fatal collision in Suffolk village
'' East Anglian Daily Times'', 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2014-03-02. and

and

.Woman priest dies after collision
BBC news website, 2006-03-23. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Ex-teacher and priest killed in crash
'' East Anglian Daily Times'', 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Cyclist critical after crash on Willingham road
BBC news website, 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Shadingfield: Emergency services attend serious crash on the A145 London Road
'' East Anglian Daily Times'', 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2014-03-02. The road is limited to 30 miles per hour for a distance of around in Shadingfield and either side of Brampton crossroads. On the approach to the A12 at Blythburgh a speed limit of 40 mph is applied.

Suffolk Constabulary Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 761,000 in a mostly rural area of 1,466 square miles (3,796 km2), including 49 miles of coastline and ...

operate mobile speed cameras on the road to enforce speed limits.Safecam
Suffolk Constabulary. Retrieved 2014-03-02. An off-road cycle lane and footpath is in use alongside the section made up of the Beccles Southern Relief Road, with street lighting on the roundabouts at each end of this stretch. Outside of this there is limited street lighting in place along the road. The

Latitude Festival The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 ...

attracts a significant amount of road traffic and delays around the site at Henham and the junction of the A145 with the A12 are common over the festival weekend.Latitude: Travellers to festival can expect a long wait on A12
'' East Anglian Daily Times'', 2013-07-20 Retrieved 2014-03-02. The A145 and other approach roads are generally subject to temporary speed limits, diversions, no stopping orders and one way systems to ease traffic flow.Henham: Bid to ease traffic congestion around Latitude Festival site
'' East Anglian Daily Times'', 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2014-03-02.LATITUDE PREVIEW: Guide to avoiding the heavy traffic at Latitude 2012
, ''Norwich Evening News'', 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Latitude: Traffic restrictions put in place on A12 and A145 to keep festival traffic moving
''Ipswich Star'', 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2014-03-02. Organisers have attempted to encourage festival goers to use cycle or bus transport to minimise congestion.Latitude traffic and travel arrangements
Festivals for All, 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2014-03-02.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1-0144 Roads in England Roads in Suffolk