Bungay () is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

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

and electoral ward in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . It lies in the Waveney Valley, west of

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

on the edge 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 ...

, and at the neck of a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...

of the

River Waveney The River Waveney is a river which forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads. The "ey" part of the name means "river" thus the name is tautological. Course The source of the River Wavene ...

History

The origin of the name of Bungay is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon title ''Bunincga-haye'', signifying the land belonging to the tribe of Bonna, a Saxon chieftain. Due to its high position, protected by the

and marshes, the site was in a good defensive position and attracted settlers from early times. Roman artefacts have been found in the region.

Bungay Castle Bungay Castle is a Grade I listed building in the town of Bungay, Suffolk.town sign, was built by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

but was later rebuilt by

Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk Roger Bigod (c. 1245 – bf. 6 December 1306) was 5th Earl of Norfolk. Origins He was the son of Hugh Bigod (Justiciar), Hugh Bigod (1211–1266), Justiciar, and succeeded his father's elder brother Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk (1209� ...

and his family, who also owned

Framlingham Castle Framlingham Castle is a castle in the market town of Framlingham in Suffolk in England. An early motte and bailey or ringwork Norman castle was built on the Framlingham site by 1148, but this was destroyed (slighted) by Henry II of England in ...

. The castle contains a unique surviving example of mining galleries, dating to the siege of the castle in 1174. They were intended to undermine and thus collapse the castle's tower and keep. The Church of St. Mary was once the church of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Bungay Priory Bungay Priory was a Benedictine nunnery in the town of Bungay in the English county of Suffolk. It was founded c. 1160-1185 by the Countess Gundreda, wife or widow of Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk, upon lands of her '' maritagium'' and was ...

, founded by Gundreda, wife of Roger de Glanville.Page, W. (1975), 'Houses of Benedictine nuns: Priory of Bungay', ''A History of the County of Suffolk: Volume 2'', pp. 81–83
available online
. Retrieved 30 April 2011. The 13th-century

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

Thomas Bungay Thomas Bungay ( la, Thomas Bungeius or '; ),. also known as ( la, Thomas de Bungeya; french: Thomas de Bungeye) and formerly also known as , was an English Franciscan friar, scholar, and alchemist. Life Thomas was born in Bungay, a market town ...

later enjoyed a popular reputation as a magician, appearing as Roger Bacon's sidekick in Robert Greene's Elizabethan comedy ''

Frier Bacon and Frier Bongay ''Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay'', originally entitled ''The Honorable Historie of Frier Bacon and Frier Bongay'', is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by Robert Greene. Widely regarded as Greene's best and most significant play, ...

''. The 11th century church of Holy Trinity, with its round tower, lies SE of St. Mary's churchyard, while the 19th century red brick

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church of St. Edmund is immediately S of the churchyard. The town was almost destroyed by a great fire in 1688. The central

Buttercross A buttercross, also known as butter cross or butter market, is a type of market cross associated with English market towns and dating from medieval times. Its name originates from the fact that they were located at the market place, where peop ...

was constructed in 1689 and was the place where local farmers displayed their butter and other farm produce for sale. Until 1810, there was also a Corn

Cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, but this was taken down and replaced by a pump. Bungay was important for the printing and paper manufacture industries. Joseph Hooper, a wealthy

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

graduate who fled

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

when his lands were seized after the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, rented a mill at Bungay in 1783 and converted it to paper manufacture. Charles Brightly established a printing and stereotype foundry in 1795. Then in partnership with

John Filby Childs John Filby Childs (1783–1853) was an English printer, known as a political radical, a successful lobbyist against the monopoly on printing the Bible, and a congregationalist active against church rates. Life He was born at Bungay, Suffolk, an ...

, the business became Brightly & Childs in 1808 and later Messrs. Childs and Son. Charles Childs (1807–1876) succeeded his father as the head of the firm of John Childs & Son. The business was further expanded after 1876 as R. Clay and Sons, Ltd. The railway arrived with the Harleston to Bungay section of the Waveney Valley Line opening in November 1860 and the Bungay to Beccles section in March 1863. Bungay had its own railway station near Clay's Printers. The station closed to passengers in 1953 and freight in 1964.

Modern Bungay

Local firms include St. Peter's Brewery, based at St. Peter's Hall to the south of the town. In 2008, Bungay became Suffolk's first

Transition Town The terms transition town, transition initiative and transition model refer to grassroot community projects that aim to increase self-sufficiency to reduce the potential effects of peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instabilitythrough r ...

and part of a global network of communities that have started projects in the areas of food, transport, energy, education, housing and waste as small-scale local responses to the global challenges of climate change, economic hardship and limited of cheap energy.

Black Shuck

St Mary's Church was struck by lightning on Sunday, 4 August 1577. According to legend, an apparition appeared during the thunderstorm, consisting of a black Hell Hound which dashed around the church, attacking members of the congregation. It then suddenly disappeared and re-appeared in

Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh The Holy Trinity Church is the parish church of the village of Blythburgh in the East Suffolk area. It is part of the Church of England Halesworth deanery in the diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and has been listed Grade I on the National ...

away, injuring members of the congregation there. The dog has been associated with

Black Shuck In English folklore, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia, one of many such black dogs recorded in folklore across the Br ...

, a dog haunting the coasts of

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 ...

, Essex, and Suffolk. An image of the Black Dog has been incorporated in the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of Bungay and has been used in the titles of various enterprises associated with Bungay as well as several of the town's sporting events. An annual race, The Black Dog Marathon, begins in Bungay, and follows the course of the River Waveney and the town's football club is nicknamed the "Black Dogs". Black Shuck was also the subject of a song by The Darkness.

Sport

The local football club, Bungay Town F.C., play in the

Anglian Combination The Anglian Combination (known as the Hadley & Ottaway Anglian Combination under the terms of a sponsorship deal) is an English football league that operates in the East Anglia area. The league specifically covers Norfolk and northern Suffolk ...

, having previously been members of the

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

. Godric Cycling Club is based in Bungay.Waveney Rural Community Partnership – Sports Information
. Retrieved 10 May 2010. It organises a number of events each year, including weekly club runs.

Notable residents

Bungay was home to several literary figures. Thomas Miller (1731–1804), the bookseller and antiquarian, settled in the village. His publisher son, William Miller (1769–1844), was born there. The author

Elizabeth Bonhôte Elizabeth Bonhôte, née Mapes (baptised 11 April 1744 – 11 June 1818) was an English novelist, essayist and poet. Her most successful work was ''Bungay Castle'', a Gothic romance written after her husband had bought the ruins of the real Bung ...

, née Mapes, (1744–1818) was born and grew up there, marrying Daniel Bonhôte and writing the notable book ''

Bungay Castle Bungay Castle is a Grade I listed building in the town of Bungay, Suffolk.Canadian Dictionary of Biography The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; french: Dictionnaire biographique du Canada) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is a ...

'', was as prolific as the Brontës, Edgeworths and Trollopes, settled in the village 1802–08. Its daughters included Agnes, a historian. Others were Catharine Parr Traill, who concentrated on children's literature, and Susanna Moodie, who emigrated to Canada and wrote ''Roughing it in the Bush'' (1852) as a warning to others. The novelist Sir H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) was born nearby in Bradenham and presented St. Mary's Church with a wooden panel, displayed behind the altar. Religious writer Margaret Barber (1869–1901), author of the posthumously published best-selling book of meditations, ''

The Roadmender Margaret Fairless Barber (pseudonym, Michael Fairless; 7 May 1869 – 24 August 1901), was an English Christian writer. Her book of meditations, ''The Roadmender'' (1902), became a popular classic. Life Barber was born in Rastrick, Brighouse, W ...

'', settled in Bungay. More recently, Formula 1 motor racing president Bernie Ecclestone was brought up in Bungay and internet activist Julian Assange was confined to nearby Ellingham Hall, Norfolk in 2010–11. Authors

Elizabeth Jane Howard Elizabeth Jane Howard, Lady Amis (26 March 1923 – 2 January 2014), was an English novelist, author of 12 novels including the best-selling series ''The'' ''Cazalet Chronicles''. Early life Howard's parents were timber-merchant Major David L ...

and

Louis de Bernières Louis de Bernières (born 8 December 1954) is an English novelist. He is known for his 1994 historical war novel ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin''. In 1993 de Bernières was selected as one of the "20 Best of Young British Novelists", part of a pr ...

have lived in the town. Blind artist

Sargy Mann Martin Oliver Henson Mann (29 May 1937 – 5 April 2015), known as Sargy Mann, was a British painter.

moved to Bungay in 1990 and lived there until the end of his life. Children's author and illustrator James Mayhew currently lives in Bungay.

Arms

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Suffolk Market towns in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk