Orford is a village in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England, within the

Suffolk Coast and Heaths The Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Suffolk and Essex, England. The AONB covers ancient woodland, commercial forestry, the estuaries of the Alde, Blyth, Deben, Orwell and Stour ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. It is east of Woodbridge.

History

Like many Suffolk coastal villages it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in the Middle Ages. It has a mediaeval

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

, built to dominate the River Ore and St Bartholomew's Church is Grade I listed. The castle was built as a royal castle built by

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

in the period 1165-1173 as an assertion of monarchical power in the region. Although the castle became less important after the king's death in 1189, the importance of Orford as a port grew. By 1200 its level of trade exceeded that of nearby Ipswich. Henry III granted Orford its first charter and the town returned a member of parliament in 1298, although it did not function as a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

throughout the 14th century. Orford Town Hall was completed in 1902.

Local amenities

The population of Orford greatly increases during the summer months, partly due to its flourishing sailing club. In common with other Suffolk coastal towns and villages, a substantial number of properties in Orford are holiday or second homes. As well as the Castle, Orford's attractions include river cruises, three pubs, a renowned traditional bakery, a smokehouse and a restaurant; the Butley-Orford Oysterage. Orford was rated as among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" by

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club me ...

in 2020 and its castle as "worthy of a storybook".

Governance

Historically Orford was an

ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...

institutionalised as Orford Corporation. It returned two members of parliament for the Orford constituency from 1523 to 1832. Considered a

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...

, this status was revoked by the Municipal Corporation Act of 1883. Orford is part of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of Orford and Tunstall. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 1,830.

Notable people

* John Kirby (1690–1753), topographer, was also schoolmaster in Orford. * Nick Robinson (born 1963), BBC journalist, is said to have a second home locally

Gallery

File:Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1867) - Orford - P354 - The Wallace Collection.jpg, '' Orford'' by

Clarkson Stanfield Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (3 December 179318 May 1867) was an English painter best known for his large-scale paintings of marine art and Landscape painting, landscapes. He was the father of the painter George Clarkson Stanfield and the compo ...

, 1833 File:Orford - Church of St Bartholomew.jpg, St Bartholomew's Church File:Orford Suffolk.jpg, View from the top of

Orford Castle Orford Castle is a castle in Orford in the English county of Suffolk, northeast of Ipswich, with views over Orford Ness. It was built between 1165 and 1173 by Henry II of England to consolidate royal power in the region. The well-preserve ...

File:Orford, Suffolk.jpg, Houses in the town File:The Kings Head, Orford. Suffolk. - geograph.org.uk - 519045.jpg, The Kings Head pub File:Orford Quay, Suffolk. - geograph.org.uk - 163594.jpg, Orford Quay File:Ferry, Orford Ness - geograph.org.uk - 535535.jpg, Orford Quay from

Orford Ness Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Weir Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from th ...

File:Pump Street ^ Post Office, Pump Street George V Postbox - geograph.org.uk - 2608939.jpg, Orford Town Hall (on the right)

References

External links

Photographs and more details about Orford

– An animated version of the 12th Century myth

– An interesting insight into village life in Orford. {{Authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk