Nacton is a village and

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

in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The parish is bounded by the neighbouring parishes of Levington to the east and

Bucklesham Bucklesham is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, a few miles east of Ipswich. History Bucklesham is derived from the old English meaning Buccel's homestead or village. The village is recorded in the Dom ...

in the north. It is located between the towns of

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

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 ...

. Nacton abuts 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 ...

opposite the village of Pin Mill. Riverside features covered by this parish are (from east to west) Buttermans Bay, Potter's Point, Downham Reach, Mulberry Middle and Pond Oose. Nacton parish is the mother for the villages of Levington and

and was sufficiently large to have a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

, on the remains of which a substantial house was built. This was used by Amberfield School as its main building until it closed in 2011. The more adventurous explorer can find the old burial ground opposite the entrance to a lane leading down to the school. The site of Alnesbourne Priory is close to Nacton.Wilson J. M. (1872) 'Nacton', ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales''
available online
. Retrieved 2011-04-30. The village contains one of the few remaining active wildfowl

decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lu ...

s left in East Anglia.

History

The name means Hnaki or Nokkvi's homestead. In 1010 Ulfcytel, Ealdorman of East Anglia, fought the Danes in the area now called Seven Hills (there were more than seven barrows at one time) which is now mostly under junction 58 of the A14. A country house in the parish,

Broke Hall Broke Hall is an English country house at Nacton, near Ipswich, Suffolk. It overlooks the River Orwell, opposite Pin Mill. The gardens were landscaped by Humphry Repton in 1794, and the house is Grade II* listed. The site was purchased by Sir ...

, was the seat of the Broke family, including Admiral Sir Philip Broke. A former public house, the Anchor, appears to have been closed in controversial circumstances during the late 19th century. From 1877 to 1959 the village was served by the Orwell station.

Notable inhabitants

* Margaret Catchpole, who became legendary in the 19th century after the publication of 'The History of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk Girl' by Richard Cobbold in 1845. It is a classic story of young girl falling in love with a villain (a smuggler called Will Laud) and suffering the consequences. She stole her employer's horse and rode to London to be with Laud. She was convicted of theft and sentenced to death, but managed to escape. She was recaptured and transported to Australia for life. * Edward Vernon, a naval hero. * George Tomline, a politician

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches north east to Waldringfield and at the 2011 census had a population of 4,602.

Orwell Park Observatory

An observatory, which had been commissioned at Orwell Park by Colonel George Tomline (1813-1889) has been in use as the base of the Orwell Astronomical Society, Ipswich (OASI) from the 1960s.

In popular culture

Nacton's name was used as a word coined by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...

to describe the letter 'N' when inserted between two other words as an abbreviation for 'and', as in ''rock 'n' roll'' and ''fish 'n' chips''.Nacton
at The Suffolk Real Ale Guide. Accessed 21 February 2014

References

External links

Reference on www.british-history.ac.ukLocation and picture at www.geograph.org.ukAccount of Nacton workhouse and riots
at EASF radical history site {{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk