Reydon 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, north-west of

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth, Suffolk, River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths ...

and south-east 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 Southw ...

, in the East Suffolk district and the ceremonial county of

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. Its population of 2,567 in 2001 including

Easton Bavents Easton Bavents is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Reydon, in the East Suffolk district of the county of Suffolk, England. Once an important village with a market, it has been much eroded by the North Sea. A map of Suffol ...

eased up to 2,582 at the 2011 Census, and was estimated at 2,772 in 2018. The name probably means ''Rye Hill'', ''Rey'' meaning rye and ''-don'' being an old word for hill or rise).

East Anglian Daily Times The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich. History The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August ...

, 20 October 2007, p. 37. The village is close to the cliffs at

, a village now much eroded. Both were established before neighbouring Southwold. The parish church is St

Margaret of Antioch Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr () in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in Western Christianity, on 30th of July (Julian calendar) by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and on Epip ...

. The parish of Easton Bavents was merged with Reydon in 1987, when part of Southwold was also transferred.

Communications and services

There are three main roads through Reydon, around which the village is built: A1095

Halesworth Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, 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 tribut ...

heading west to

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 spli ...

and Halesworth, B1126

heading north-west through Reydon to Wangford, and B1127

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

heading north-east to Wrentham and Lowestoft. The village of Reydon lies to the north of the town of Southwold. The three main roads converge at Reydon Corner, about 100 metres from Mights Bridge across Buss Creek, which provides the only road entry to Southwold. Reydon has two shops. Local opposition could not prevent the sub-post office from closing on 11 February 2008, but the associated shop continues. It also has a pub/hotel with restaurant, ''The Randolph Hotel'', in Wangford Road. It was renamed "The Cricketers", due to the adjacent locality of Southwold's former Eversley School cricket ground and playing fields, but reverted to its original name. The cricket ground was sold for housing and has now been built upon. Further along is a group of new houses on the site of a former senior school, Reydon Modern, renamed Reydon High after converting into a comprehensive in 1978, but closed in 1990. Continuing towards Wangford, there is St Margaret's Church (see below), then Reydon Hall, at one time the home of the writers Elizabeth Strickland,

Agnes Strickland Agnes Strickland (18 July 1796 – 8 July 1874) was an English historical writer and poet. She is particularly remembered for her ''Lives of the Queens of England'' (12 vols, 1840–1848). Biography The daughter of Thomas Strickland and his wi ...

, Jane Margaret, Catharine Parr,

Susanna Moodie Susanna Moodie ( Strickland; 6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) was an English-born Canadian author who wrote about her experiences as a settler in Canada, which was a British colony at the time. Family Susanna Moodie was born in Bungay, on th ...

and Samuel Strickland.Rosemary Mitchell, 'Strickland, Agnes (1796–1874)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 26 May 2015.
/ref> Reydon Wood is popular with walkers, especially when carpeted with bluebells in the spring. There is sheltered accommodation in Lowestoft Road.

Education

Reydon Primary School caters for 200 children aged three to eleven, from the village and surrounding area.Reydon Primary School
Department for Education Edubase. Retrieved 4 January 2013. At age 11, most pupils moved on to

Sir John Leman High School Sir John Leman High School is a coeducational 11–18 secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status serving part of the Waveney District, Waveney region in north Suffolk, England. The school is located on the western edge of the ...

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

, with some choosing to attend Bungay High School. However, after a 2019 decision by

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local 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 Governme ...

on eligibility for free school transport, the default 11–16 secondary school for Reydon students is now

Pakefield High School Pakefield High School is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school located in Pakefield, a suburb of Lowestoft in the England, English county of Suffolk. The school opened in September 2011, initially with Years 7 and 8 only, using ...

. Up to 1990, secondary education was provided by Reydon High School.Reydon High School
Department for Education Edubase. Retrieved 4 January 2013. After its closure in that year, students were then bussed to other schools in the area, and the land sold for housing development. The school playing fields are still in use, with the original school canteen building being used for changing rooms. Plans to extend the fields have been adopted by Waveney District Council.

Saint Felix School Saint Felix School is a 2–18 mixed, private, day and boarding school in Reydon, Southwold, Suffolk, England. The school was founded in 1897 as a school for girls but is now co-educational. History The school was founded in 1897 as a girls' s ...

on the Halesworth Road is independent. Founded as a girls' public school in 1897, it now takes pupils of both sexes aged 1–18.Saint Felix School
independent schools Council. Retrieved 4 January 2013. The independent St George's School on the same site closed in 2004.St George's School
Department for Education Edubase. Retrieved 4 January 2013.

Development and building

Reydon has seen much new housing construction recently, due mainly to rising house prices in Southwold and the popularity of Reydon itself as a retirement village. Housing replaced the former Eversley School playing field to the south of the Randolph Hotel, and further construction is planned on other vacant plots throughout the village, and on adjacent farmland. According to figures in the 2011 Census, Reydon's permanent population has risen to more than double that of Southwold. The spread of new homes has lost Reydon much of its village atmosphere. Additionally, rising house prices in Southwold have led to several properties in Reydon being purchased as second homes, often unoccupied for long periods. However, this is unlikely to affect the increase in permanent population, at least in the short term. In 2004, a 4400 m²

distribution centre A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to con ...

for

Adnams Brewery Adnams is a regional brewery founded in 1872 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, by George and Ernest Adnams. It produces cask ale and bottled beers. Annual production is around 85,000 barrels. In 2010, the company established the Copper House d ...

was constructed on the western edge of Reydon on the site of an old open-cast sand quarry.

The Church of St Margaret

The parish church, dedicated to St

, stands in Wangford Road, to the north-west of the village. One of its striking features is a large, unnamed bronze angel inscribed "To Fanny my beloved wife". The present building is mainly from the early 14th century. The tower was built about 1325. The chancel was restyled in the 15th century, and has many niches for saints in the window splays. The church suffered damage during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and was much altered in succeeding centuries.Taken from 'A photographic and historical guide to the Parish Churches of East Suffolk' compiled by Adrian S. Pye. 27 January 2009. Page 213Taken fro
The Sole Bay Team Ministry
27 January 2009.Taken fro

27 January 2009. More drastic was the restoration and re-roofing of 1875–1887, which robbed the church of most of its old furnishings and architectural detail. The replacement roof is of a plain, simple design. The royal arms displayed are those of Queen Anne and date from 1713. In 1988 a large extension was built onto the north side of the nave using the original north door, which was reopened when the organ was moved into the chancel to allow for the building. The building is the frequently-used parish room. The

rood loft The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

stairs are open but partly bricked up at the top. The Victorian organ is in the chancel, for want of space in the nave, but it clutters the space and distracts attention from some Victorian stained glass. Behind the organ is a blocked entrance, also apparent from the outside. The small chapel to which it led has vanished. The font, of no great age, stands at the base of the tower, having been moved there from the nave in 1988 to improve access to a new parish room. The font cover, donated in 1922, was once suspended from the ceiling in the nave and operated by a system of weights; the wood in the roof still shows this. In 1999, the parish of Reydon became part of the Sole Bay Team Ministry.

The church bells

The tower originally held three bells, two of which were sold in 1792 to fund repairs to the church. In 1991 an appeal was launched to restore the tower, replace the two missing bells and procure a further three. These were dedicated at a service in December 1996. The original 15th-century bell, "Gabriel", has been joined by "Michael", "Raphael", "Peter", "Mary" and "Seraph", all cast at the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

in 1995 and 1996. The tenor (the largest) weighs 517 kg and the treble (the smallest) about a third of that. The bells hang in a two-tier steel frame, installed in 1995. The bells are hung for the traditional English art of

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

. Ringing takes place from ground level with the font in the centre of the rope circle. The tower is affiliated to the

Suffolk Guild of Ringers The Suffolk Guild of Ringers for the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is a society and charity supporting the Bell-ringer, bell ringers and Ring of bells, rings of bells in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich who practice the art of ch ...

. The bells are rung regularly for practice, Sunday services, weddings and other special occasions.Taken fro
Doves Guide
27 January 2009.

Notable residents

In birth order: * John Youngs (c. 1598–1672), cleric and founder of

Southold, New York The Town of Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 23,732 at the 2020 census. The town contains a hamlet ...

, was born in Reydon. *

(1796–1874), historical writer and poet, lived at Reydon Hall. *

, née Strickland (1803–1885), Canadian author and younger sister of Agnes, lived at Reydon Hall. *

Alexander Hyatt King Alexander Hyatt King, also known as Alec Hyatt King, (18 July 1911 in Beckenham, London – 10 March 1995 in Southwold, Suffolk) was an English musicologist and bibliographer, who was a music librarian of the British Museum and leading scholar on ...

(1911-1995), musicologist, lived in Southwold and is buried in Reydon churchyard. *

Lewis Blake Lewis Blake (born June 1946) is a British poet and artist. He is a member of the Cambridge School of poetry, and, to a certain extent, the British Poetry Revival. Life Blake was born in Reydon, near Southwold in Suffolk in June 1946. He was educ ...

(born 1946), poet *

Geoffrey Munn Geoffrey Charles Munn, OBE, MVO, FSA, FLS (born 11 April 1953 in Hastings, East Sussex) is a British jewellery specialist, television presenter and writer. He is best known as one of the specialists on the BBC's ''Antiques Roadshow''. Car ...

OBE, MVO (born 1953), presenter on the BBC

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

, local historian, and author of ''Southwold – an Earthly Paradise'' *

Bernard Hill Bernard Hill (17 December 1944 – 5 May 2024) was an English actor. He was known for his versatile roles in both television and film, and his career spanned over fifty years. Hill first gained prominence as the troubled hard man Yosser Hughes ...

(1944-2024), actor best known for his performances in

Boys from the Blackstuff ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' is a five episode British drama television series, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2. The serial was written by Liverpudlian playwright Alan Bleasdale, as a sequel to a television pl ...

and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King died in Reydon in May 2024.

References

External links

Reydon Primary SchoolSt. Felix School
{{Authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District