Iken is a small village and

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

in the sandlands of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

county of

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

, an area formerly of heathland and sheep pasture. It is near the estuary of the

River Alde The River Alde and River Ore form a river system in Suffolk, England passing by Snape and Aldeburgh. The River Alde and River Ore meet northwest of Blaxhall. From there downriver the combined river is known as the River Alde past Snape and ...

on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

coast and is located south east of Snape and due north of Orford. To its west is Tunstall Forest, created since the 1920s by the Forestry Commission and now part of the

Sandlings Forest Sandlings Forest is a 2,483.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in two large blocks, Rendlesham Forest and Tunstall Forest, and two small ones, between Woodbridge and Aldeburgh in Suffolk. It is partly in the Sandlings Special ...

. Iken was part of Sudbourne Hall Estate. It was composed largely of tenant farms and cottages for farm workers. The owners of the estate valued the area more for shooting than farming, and a

decoy pond A duck decoy is a device to capture wild ducks or other species of waterfowl. Decoys had an advantage over hunting ducks with shotguns as the duck meat did not contain lead shot. Consequently, a higher price could be charged for it. Decoys are ...

was built at Iken in the eighteenth century. Since the break up of the Estate Iken has remained a "close" village: only a handful of new houses have been built and no council houses have ever been built. In the pre-railway era Iken Cliff was a commercial area used for transporting coal and wheat, and there was a public house near the shore. Flat barges used to sit on the mud at low tide and goods were moved in wheelbarrows. The last heathland around Iken Cliff was ploughed up after the second world war. The population reached a peak of 380 in 1840, steadily declining to around 100. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

most of Iken and the neighbouring village of

Sudbourne Sudbourne is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, located approximately north of Orford. All Saints' Church dates from the 14th century but was much restored in 1879. It is a grade II* listed building. Between 964 and 975 King ...

were used as a battle training area in advance of the D-Day landings in June 1944. The inhabitants were relocated returning sometime after the war finished.

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 ...

set his opera ''

The Little Sweep ''The Little Sweep'', Op. 45, is an opera for children in three scenes by the English composer Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Eric Crozier. ''Let's Make an Opera!'' ''The Little Sweep'' is the second part of a stage production entitled ' ...

'' in Iken Hall, then the home of

Margery Spring Rice Margery Spring Rice (10 June 1887 – 21 April 1970) was a British social reformer. She was Secretary of the League of Nations Society and a founding member of the National Birth Control Association (later Family Planning Association). She autho ...

, who was one of the founders of the

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 ...

. Britten, who then lived at Snape, was involved in an unsuccessful campaign to keep open a footpath along the Alde to Iken Church.

St Botolph’s Church

, formerly an island in what was a marsh at the edge of the estuary, is the most likely site of

Saint Botolph Botolph of Thorney (also called Botolph, Botulph or Botulf; later known as Saint Botolph; died around 680) was an English abbot and saint. He is regarded as the patron saint of boundaries, and by extension, of trade and travel, as well as vario ...

's Abbey, Ikenhoe, although this is disputed with other possible locations, including Boston in Lincolnshire, and Hadstock on the Cambridgeshire/Essex border. During excavations in 1977 Dr Stanley West discovered part of a large stone

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

cross incorporated into the wall of St Botolph's Church tower. The Cross was carved with the heads of dogs and wolves, symbols which were traditionally recognised as St Botolph's emblems during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and therefore it is thought that the cross may originally have been a memorial to him. The Church is

Grade II 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 I ...

listed; it is the only listed building in the village. At the time of the most recent amendment to the listing (1984), the church was still burnt out. The nave is the oldest part, dating from before 1200. The chancel fell into disuse after the Reformation, and was in ruins by the 18th century. It was rebuilt in 1853. The tower is 15th century. The church suffered a devastating fire in 1968, caused by sparks from a bonfire. It is one of 18 churches in the Wilford Benefice Group of Churches. Features inside the church include a war memorial in the Church to the ten men of the village who died in WWI, an Orthodox icon to St Botolph, and a 15th-century octagonal font.

Julian Tennyson Charles Julian Tennyson (7 February 1915 – 7 March 1945) was an English writer and historian most famous for his writings on his home county of Suffolk. He was the second son of Sir Charles Tennyson and his wife Lady Ivy Gladys (née Pretious ...

, (1915-1945), writer and historian, most famous for his writings on his home county of Suffolk, is commemorated by a headstone in the churchyard of St Botolph's. He was killed in action in Burma. The former rectory next door, now the Anchorage, was sold to a private individual after the Second World War, and as a result of a conveyancing mistake, access to the church was greatly restricted by the new owner.

Governance

There is a parish council. Iken was brought to national attention, in the aftermath of the fire, by the decision of the renowned judge, Sir Robert Megarry, to conduct a hearing in person at Iken, partly to take evidence from a witness who was unable to travel to London and partly to conduct a mock funeral in order to test a disputed right of way. The result of that litigation had the effect of requiring the materials for the rebuilding of the church to be brought in on foot.

Buildings

There are two former pubs in the village: the Anchor and the Boot both of which closed in the 19th century. There was also a poorhouse established by the early nineteenth century.

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 ...

the poet used to attend poorer patients in Iken in his days as a surgeon, and his poem "The Workhouse" may have been based on his experience at Iken as well as at Aldeburgh. The former workhouse building was purchased by the Sudbourne Hall Estate in 1896.

Notes

External links

Iken's historical heritage
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk