Somerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet is a

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 authority ...

in the north of 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 is north-west of

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

and the same distance south-west of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

and is in the

East Suffolk East Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * East Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * East Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * East Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...

district. The parish is made up of the villages of

Somerleyton Somerleyton is a village and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of Lowestoft and south-west of Great Yarmouth in the East Suffolk district. The village is closely associated with Somerleyton Ha ...

, Ashby and

Herringfleet Herringfleet is a place and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is located north-west of Lowestoft in the East Suffolk district. The parish was combined with Somerleyton and Ashby to create the parish of Somer ...

and at the

2011 United Kingdom census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

had a population of 427. The three villages were each a separate parish until 1987 when they were combined into the current parish. The parish is on the county border with

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 ...

, with the western border formed by the River Waveney and the north by

Fritton Decoy Fritton may refer to the following places in Norfolk, England: * Fritton, Great Yarmouth * Fritton, North Norfolk, a location near Ludham * Fritton (near Morning Thorpe) Morningthorpe (sometimes Morning Thorpe) is a village and former civil ...

.Ashby
Suffolk Heritage Explorer,

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Establ ...

. Retrieved 2021-03-13.Somerleyton
Suffolk Heritage Explorer,

. Retrieved 2021-03-13. It borders the Suffolk parishes of

Blundeston Blundeston is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of Lowestoft, south of Great Yarmouth and around inland from the North Sea coast. It is part of the area known as Lothingland in the Eas ...

and Lound and the Norfolk parishes of

Burgh St Peter Burgh St Peter is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. The village is about northeast of Beccles in Suffolk. The village is about above sea level, sharing the same slight hill with Wheatacre about to ...

Wheatacre Wheatacre is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 112 in 43 households at the 2001 census, increasing to 118 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the ...

Aldeby Aldeby is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is bounded to the south by the River Waveney, on the other side of which is Suffolk. The village is about five miles (8 km) by road from Beccles. History The name Alde ...

and

Haddiscoe Haddiscoe is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk Non-metropolitan district, district of Norfolk, England, about southeast of Norwich. The parish is on the county boundary with Suffolk, about west-northwest of Lowestoft. The parish ...

across the Waveney and the parishes of

Fritton and St Olaves Fritton and St Olaves is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The parish comprises the villages of Fritton and St. Olaves, together with the surrounding rural area.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads''. . The ...

and

Belton with Browston Belton with Browston is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Historically part of Suffolk, the parish consists of the villages of Belton and Browston Green, and is situated some 5 miles (8 km) south-west of the town of Great Yar ...

to the north. The village of

St Olaves St Olaves is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated on the River Waveney, south-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and the same distance north-west of the Suffolk town of Lowestoft. It is within The Broads nation ...

was formerly part of the parish of Herringfleet until local government reorganisation in 1974 redrew the county boundary. Prior to this the entire area south and east of the Waveney, including Fritton and the three parishes which make up the modern parish of Somerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet, was part of Suffolk.Herringfleet
Suffolk Heritage Explorer,

. Retrieved 2021-03-13.

Culture and community

Somerleyton is the largest of the three villages which make up the parish, with a population of around 300. It includes the Somerleyton Estate, which is a major landowner within the wider parish.Our area
ASH Villages, Somerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet parish council. Retrieved 2021-03-13.Somerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet
Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-13. The village was rebuilt during the 19th-century at the direction of Samuel Morton Peto, a railway developer who owned Somerleyton Hall. The design of the village was based on

Blaise Hamlet Blaise Hamlet is a group of nine small cottages around a green in Henbury, now a district in the north of Bristol, England. All the cottages, and the sundial on the green are Grade I listed buildings. Along with Blaise Castle the Hamlet is lis ...

near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and was designed by John Thomas who also rebuilt Somerleyton Hall. Ashby and Herringfleet are both sparsely populated, each with populations of around 50, mainly on scattered farms. Somerleyton has a primary school, built as part of the development of the model village, a village hall and playing field as well as the parish's only remaining public house, the ''Dukes Head''. Each of the former parish churches remain active.Lound with Ashby, Herringfleet and Somerleyton Neighbourhood Plan
Lound Parish Council, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-14. In the 1950s,

Christopher Cockerell Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell CBE RDI FRS (4 June 1910 – 1 June 1999) was an English engineer, best known as the inventor of the hovercraft. Early life and education Cockerell was born in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cocker ...

designed and tested the first

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

at his boatyard in the village. A column was erected in the village in 2010 on the 100th anniversary of Cockerell's birth. The Lowestoft to Norwich railway line runs through the parish close to the Waveney.

Somerleyton railway station Somerleyton railway station is on the Wherry Lines in the east of England, serving the village of Somerleyton, Suffolk. It is down the line from on the route to , and is less than from Somerleyton Hall on foot. Its three-letter station code ...

has operated since 1847. The lines passes close to Cockerell's boatyard, Somerleyton Marina, and Herringfleet Windmill, both of which are within The Broads national park.Herringfleet Marsh Mill
List entry, Historic England. Retrieved 2013-03-13.

References

External links

ASH villages
parish council website {{Suffolk-geo-stub Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District