Sotherton is a dispersed 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, in the English county of Suffolk. It is located approximately south 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 ...

and north-east of

Halesworth Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in north-eastern Suffolk, England. The population stood at 4,726 in the 2011 Census. It lies south-west of Lowestoft, on a tributary of the River Blyth, upstream from Southwold. T ...

. The A145 road passes through the east of the parish area.Blyford & Sotherton
Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 2021-10-12. The mid-2005 population estimate for Sotherton parish was 80.

Uggeshall Uggeshall is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England, located approximately 6 miles (10 km) south of Beccles and 4 miles (6km) north east of Halesworth close to the A145. The mid-2005 popu ...

is located just to the north-east,

Byford Byford is a village and civil parish on the River Wye in Herefordshire, England, about west of Hereford. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 119, increasing to 201 at the 2011 census. Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Cla ...

to the south and

Blythburgh Blythburgh is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is west of Southwold and south-east of Halesworth and lies on the River Blyth. The A12 road runs through the village which is split ...

to the south-east. Latitude Festival takes place a couple of miles east.

Doomsday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
entry

HUNJRET OF BlIDINGA lYTHING (At) SuDRETUNA othertonRada a freeman held under Harold 2 carucates of land as a manor. now Franc holds it of Drogo. Then and after- wards 16 bordars, now 19. Then as now 2 serfs. Then and afterwards I plough on the demesne, now 2. Then as now 3 ploughs be- longing to the men. And 2 acres of meadow. Wood(land) for 100 swine. A church with 5 acres. And 1 rouncey. And now i beast. Then 12 swine, now 24, and 25 sheep. Then as now it was worth /^.os. It is i league long and half a league broad. And (pays) i\d. in geld. Rada, Drogo's predecessor, had soke and sac. To this manor Humphrey de Sancto Bertino added I freeman with 12 acres, over whom his predecessor had commendation T.R.E. Then as now 1 bordar. And half a plough. Worth 2s.

C19 Gazetteer Descriptions

In 1868 The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland wrote, "SOTHERTON, a parish in the hundred of Blything, county Suffolk, 4 miles N.E. of Halesworth, 7 S. of Beccles, and 2 N.W. of

Wangford Wangford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wangford with Henham, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England, just off the A12 trunk road on the edge of the Henham Park estate just outside Southwo ...

, its post town. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the river Blyth, and is wholly agricultural. The living is a rectory annexed to that of

, in the diocese of Norwich. The church is dedicated to St. Andrew." In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales: "SOTHERTON, a parish in Blything district, Suffolk; 4 miles ENE of Halesworth r. station. Post town, Wangford. Acres, 1,085. Real property, £1,675. Pop., 187. Houses, 39. The property belongs to the Earl of Stradbroke. The living is a rectory, annexed to Uggeshall. The church was rebuilt in 1854." And in 1894-5 The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales: "Sotherton, a parish in Suffolk, 4 miles ENE of Halesworth station on the East Suffolk branch of the G.E.R. Post town and money order and telegraph office, Wangford (R.S.O.) Acreage, 1095; population, 159. The property belongs to the Earl of Stradbroke, who is

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

. The living is a rectory, annexed to Uggeshall; joint gross value, £588 with residence, in the gift of the Earl of Stradbroke. The church, which was rebuilt in 1854, is a small building of flint in the Decorated style. "

St Andrews Church

The parish church is dedicated to

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

and is located on a small dead-end lane signposted off the A145. It is a Grade II*

listed building 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 ...

.Listed Buildings in Waveney District Area
''Waveney District Council'', 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-19 It possesses a fine 1811 bust of

John Rous, 1st Earl of Stradbroke John Rous, 1st Earl of Stradbroke (30 May 1750 – 27 August 1827), known as Sir John Rous, Bt, from 1771 to 1796 and as The Lord Rous from 1796 to 1821, was a British nobleman, race horse owner and Member of Parliament. He married Charlotte Maria ...

Nollekens Joseph Nollekens R.A. (11 August 1737 – 23 April 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century. Life Nollekens was born on 11 August 1737 at 28 Dean Street, Soho, London, ...

, and a good late C13 effigy of a knight, of which the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

possesses 2 C19 prints.

Global Village Trucking Company

In the 1970s Jeremy and James Lascelles, sons of the 7th Earl of Harewood, had a commune in Church Farm, with their band Global Village Trucking Company, roadies, etc.

Jeremy Thorpe John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979, and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at the ...

was a regular visitor. The writer Dinah Jefferies lived there, and has written about her experiences. In 1973 the BBC made a documentary film about the rock group living in a Suffolk commune with their families, friends, roadies and managers. They made a follow up in 2003. Church Farm is now a holiday let.

Sotherton Hall

Sotherton Hall is a grade II listed Tudor

timber framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

farmhouse or Hall house with a shaped brick gable end, set by a listed 17th/18th century timber framed and weatherboarded

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Alle ...

, in a small park towards the North of the parish mentioned by

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

. It belonged to the Earls of Stradbroke, as part of the Henham Park estate, until 1951 when it became part of the Blyford Estate of John Hill.

Notes

References

External links

Blyford and Sotherton Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District

Doomsday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ... entry