Southwold is a seaside town 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 ...

on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, in the East Suffolk district, in the 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. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth in 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, south of

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 ...

, north-east of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and north-east of London, within the parliamentary constituency of

Suffolk Coastal Suffolk Coastal was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Melton, Suffolk, Melton, having moved from neighbouring Woodbridge, Suffolk, Woodbridge in 2017. Other towns include Fel ...

. At the 2021 Census, the population was 950.

History

Southwold was mentioned in ''

Domesday 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'' (1086) as a fishing port, and after the "capricious River Blyth withdrew from

Dunwich Dunwich () is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon ...

in 1328, bringing trade to Southwold in the 15th century", it received its town charter from Henry VII in 1489. The grant of the charter is marked by the annual Trinity Fair, when it is read out by the Town Clerk. Over following centuries, however, a shingle bar built up across the harbour mouth, preventing the town from becoming a major Early Modern port: "The shingle at Southwold Harbour, the mouth of the Blyth, is ever shifting," William Whittaker observed in 1887. Southwold was the home of a number of

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

emigrants to the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

in the 1630s, notably a party of 18 assembled under Rev. Young, which travelled in the ''Mary Ann'' in 1637. Richard Ibrook, born in Southwold and a former bailiff of the town, emigrated to

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Part of the Greater Boston region, it is located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of Massachusetts. At the 2020 ...

, along with Rev. Peter Hobart, son of Edmund Hobart of

Hingham, Norfolk Hingham is a market town and civil parish in mid-Norfolk, England. The civil parish covers an area of and had a population of 2,078 in 944 households at the time of the 2001 United Kingdom census, 2001 census, increasing to 2,367 at the 2011 ce ...

. Rev. Hobart had been an assistant vicar of St Edmund's Church, Southwold, after graduating from

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. Hobart married in America Rebecca Ibrook, daughter of his fellow Puritan Richard Ibrook. The migrants to Hingham were led by Robert Peck, vicar of St Andrew's Church in Hingham and a native of

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 ...

. A fire in 1659 devastated most of the town, creating spaces that were never built on again. Today this "series of varied and very delightful

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

s" and the restriction of expansion by the surrounding

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es, have preserved the town's tidy appearance. On the green just above the beach, descriptively named Gun Hill, six 18-pounder

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

commemorate the

Battle of Sole Bay The Battle of Solebay took place on 6 June 1672 New Style, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, near Southwold, Suffolk, in eastern England. A Dutch fleet under Michiel de Ruyter attacked a combined Anglo- French force in one of the largest naval ...

, fought in 1672 between English and French fleets on one side and the Dutch (under

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch States Navy officer. His achievements with the Dutch navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars earned him the reputation as one of the most skilled naval commanders in ...

) on the other. The battle was bloody but indecisive and many bodies were washed ashore. Southwold Museum has a collection of mementos of the event. These cannon were captured from the Scots at Culloden and given to the town by the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

, who had landed at Southwold in October 1745 having been recalled from Europe to deal with the Jacobite threat. In World War II they were prudently removed, reputedly buried for safety, and returned to their former position after hostilities. On 15 May 1943, low-flying German fighter-bombers attacked the town and killed eleven people, including the cricketer

George Katinakis George Demetrius Katinakis (25 July 1873 — 15 May 1943) was an English first-class cricketer and British Army officer. The son of Demetrius Katinakis, a broker hailing from Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire, he was born at Bayswater in Jul ...

Governance

Up to 1 April 2019, Southwold was part of the Southwold and Reydon

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 ...

in the

Waveney District Council Waveney may refer to: * River Waveney, a river that forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England * Waveney District, a local government district in Suffolk, England * Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) * Waveney class lifeboat, a class ...

area. The ward population at the 2011 census was 3,680; the resident population of the neighbouring village of

Reydon Reydon is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish, north-west of Southwold and south-east of Wangford, in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district and the ceremonial county of Suffolk, England. Its population of 2,567 ...

was more than double that of the town of Southwold. Although the town lost its independent

Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

status in the Local Government reforms of 1974 and consequent incorporation in Waveney District, it continues to have an elected,

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

and Mayor, based at Southwold Town Hall. With the 1 April 2019 amalgamation of the

Waveney Waveney may refer to: * River Waveney, a river that forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England * Waveney District, a local government district in Suffolk, England * Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) * Waveney class lifeboat, a class ...

and

districts into a new East Suffolk district, Southwold became an expanded ward with Reydon and

Walberswick Walberswick is a village and civil parish on the Suffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of the River Blyth on the south side of the river. The town of Southwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, aroun ...

, represented by a single councillor. Previously, the Southwold and Reydon ward, under Waveney District, elected two councillors. At the 2021 Census, the ward population overall had increased, by the inclusion of Walberswick (346 souls), to 3,843; of which Southwold was 950 and Reydon 2547.

Economy

Once home to several industries, Southwold's economy is now centred on services: hotels, holiday lets, catering and tourism. With surrounding areas largely given to agriculture, the town is an important commercial centre, with independent shops, cafés and restaurants and a market on Mondays and Thursdays, although there has been a recent trend for retail chains in food and beverages, clothing and stationery to take over the independent units.

Adnams 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 ...

Brewery remains in Southwold as its largest single employer. The fishing fleet is much diminished, but Southwold Harbour remains one of the main fishing ports on the Suffolk coastline. In 2012, additional fleet facilities were constructed there as part of the repair and reinstatement of the Harbour's North Wall.

Education

Primary

Southwold Primary School, adjacent to St. Edmund's Church, currently caters for children aged 2 to 11 years. As a member of the Yoxford Valley Partnership of Schools, it works in partnership with Yoxford and Peasenhall Primary School in

Yoxford Yoxford is a village in East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk, England, close to the Heritage Coast, Minsmere Reserve (RSPB), Aldeburgh and Southwold. It is known for its antique shops and (as "Loxford") for providing the setting for a Benjamin ...

and Middleton Primary School, near

Secondary

The nearest secondary school for Southwold children was Reydon High School until it closed in 1990. Thereafter, most pupils were bussed to the

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 ...

or to Bungay High School. These schools have been joined by SET Beccles School, opened in 2012 and catering for pupils aged 11–16. In line with 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 changes to free school transport, the default 11–16 secondary school for Southwold and Reydon students is

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 ...

. Private education for pupils aged 2–18 is offered at

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 ...

, a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in nearby Reydon.

Landmarks and features

Railway

The narrow-gauge

Southwold Railway The Southwold Railway was a narrow gauge railway line between Halesworth and Southwold in the English county of Suffolk. long, it was narrow gauge. It opened in 1879 and closed in 1929. Intermediate stations were at Wenhaston, Blythburgh a ...

connecting the town to

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 ...

ran from 24 September 1879 to 11 April 1929. In 2007 the Southwold Railway Society submitted plans to build a new line between the parish of

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 ...

and Henham Park, to link the town to the nearest mainline service at

. However, these plans were criticised for having no relation to the original route of the railway and for environmental and other reasons. In July 2007 the plans were rejected by

and by

District Councils. In December 2008 the Society introduced a new proposal for a Railway Park, including railway track and a museum, on a site at present occupied by a car-breaker's yard, next to the local sewage works. That proposal was superseded by another, in which a short section of railway, together with other attractions and facilities, would be constructed in the village of

Wenhaston Wenhaston is a village in the civil parish of Wenhaston with Mells Hamlet, in the East Suffolk district, in northeastern Suffolk, England. It is situated to the south of the River Blyth. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 563. History ...

, a few miles inland from Southwold and once a stop on the Southwold Railway. The plan did not meet with universal approval. In February 2016, the original Railway Park proposal for Blyth Road, Southwold, on the site of the town's former gasholders, was revived, and a new planning application was submitted and approved. Construction of the Railway Park began in 2017.

Lighthouse

Southwold lighthouse was commissioned in 1890 and automated and electrified in 1938.Southwold
, ''Trinity House''. Retrieved 29 October 2012. It stands as a prominent landmark in the centre of the town and is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

.The Lighthouse, Southwold
''British Listed Building''. Retrieved 29 October 2012. It is metres tall, standing metres above sea level. It is built of brick and painted white and has 113 steps around a spiral staircase.See inside a lighthouse
, ''Trinity House''. Retrieved 29 October 2012. The lighthouse replaced three local lighthouses that were under serious threat from

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

. It suffered a fire in its original oil fired lamp just six days after commissioning but survived and today operates a rotating 150-watt lamp with a range of .Application note 32064 – Southwold Conversion
, Pelangi. Retrieved 4 January 2013.Discovering Southwold
''BBC Suffolk''. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
''Southwold museum''. Retrieved 29 October 2012. From 2023, Trinity House has arranged that tours of the lighthouse are offered by the Adnams brewery, which stands close by, and may be booked with that company.

Brewery

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 established in the town by George and Ernest Adnams in 1872 with the purchase of the Sole Bay Brewery, which had been founded in 1818.Suffolk brewer Adnams starts distillery
BBC news website, 12 November 2010. Retrieved 2013-01-02.Point 7 – The Brewery
BBC Suffolk. Retrieved 2 January 2013.Our history
Adnams. Retrieved 2 January 2013. In 1890 the brewery was re-built on its current site in the centre of the town. The brewery is the town's largest employer and has been modernised and expanded in recent years, with development of an energy efficient brewery, a distribution centre in the nearby village of Reydon, and a distillery. In 2011 it received the

Good Pub Guide ''The Good Pub Guide'' is a long-running critical publication which lists and rates public houses (pubs) in the United Kingdom.Adnams claims national title
, ''Eastern Daily Press'', 7 October 2010. Retrieved 2013-01-02.

Pier

Southwold Pier was built in 1900. At it was long enough to accommodate the Belle steamers that carried trippers along the coast at that time. In World War II, it was weakened by two breaches, and in 1955 a large section was destroyed by a gale. The pier was entirely rebuilt and restored in 2001 and is now about long. While many English seaside piers are in decline, Southwold Pier is enjoying renewed popularity, helped by a collection of modern coin-operated novelty machines made by

Tim Hunkin Timothy Mark Trelawney Hunkin (born 27 December 1950 in London) is an English engineer, cartoonist, writer, and artist living in Suffolk, England. He is best known for creating the Channel Four television series ''The Secret Life of Machines'', i ...

and the occasional berth of paddle steamers such as

PS Waverley PS ''Waverley'' is the last seagoing passenger-carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973. Bought by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS ...

and the

MV Balmoral A number of motor vessels have been named MV ''Balmoral'', including: * , an excursion ship * , a cruise ship {{DEFAULTSORT:Balmoral, Mv Ship names ...

. A model boat pond adjacent to the pier is used for the Southwold Model Yacht regattas that have been held since the late Victorian period.The SMYR Handbook
''Southwold Model Yacht Regattas''. Retrieved 30 October 2012. Some of the boats entered are up to 80 years old and include replicas of beach yawls. Regattas are usually held in the spring and summer with the largest, the annual regatta, held at the end of the summer season.

Water towers

The Old Water Tower, in the middle of Southwold Common, was built in 1890. The tank held 40,000 gallons of water and was powered by huge sails. On St Valentine's Day 1899, George Neller, a respected local man, died when his coat got caught in its machinery. In 1937 a new 150,000 gallon capacity

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

water tower was built next door. The then Southwold Borough Council bought the Old Water Tower before it came into the hands of successive water companies. It was returned to the Town Council for a nominal fee of £100 in 1987. The Old Water Tower has since been used as the Lifeboat Museum and was later used by

for a number of years.

Electric Picture Palace

The Electric Picture Palace cinema was opened in 2002, as a

pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...

of the original 1912 cinema that stood nearby in York Road.

Museum

Southwold Museum holds a number of exhibits focused on the local and natural history of the town. The museum is owned and managed by the Southwold Museum & Historical Society. It is part of the Maritime Heritage East programme which unites more than 30 maritime museums on the East Coast.

Sailors' Reading Room

The Southwold Sailors' Reading Room is a Grade II listed building on the seafront at Southwold. It was built in 1864 as a place for fishermen and mariners to read, as an alternative to drinking in pubs, and also to encourage the pursuit of Christian ideals. The room has a number of historic displays of model boats and other maritime objects in glass cabinets.

Golf club

Southwold Golf Club was founded on 4 January 1884 as a Golf and Quoit Club. At the time there were only three other golf clubs in East Anglia – Cambridge University, Yarmouth and Felixstowe. The first game on the nine-hole course was played on 28 August 1884. Originally membership was not accepted from shopkeepers or manual workers, but in 1925 Mr J. B. Denny successfully persuaded the committee to form an Artisans' Section, which was originally restricted to 30 members.

St Edmund's Church

The Grade I listed parish church of Southwold is dedicated to St Edmund and considered one of Suffolk's finest. It lies under one continuous roof, and was built over about 60 years from the 1430s to the 1490s; replacing a smaller, 13th-century church that was destroyed by fire. The earlier church dated from the time when Southwold was a small fishing hamlet adjacent to the larger

. By the 15th century Southwold was an important town in its own right, and the church was rebuilt to reflect that power and wealth.

Harbour

Southwold

Harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

lies south of the town on the River Blyth. Vehicle access is via York Road and Carnsey Road to the west and Ferry Road to the east. The harbour extends nearly a mile upstream from the river mouth and is mainly used by fishing boats, yachts and small

pleasure boat Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

s. The clubhouse of Southwold Sailing Club is on the north side of the harbour adjacent to ''The Harbour Inn''. The quay and area in front of the inn and clubhouse is called Blackshore; although the name has often been used incorrectly for the whole harbour in recent years. At the seaward end of the harbour is

Southwold Lifeboat Station Southwold Lifeboat Station is located at the end of Ferry Road at Southwold Harbour, on the north bank of the River Blyth, in the county of Suffolk. A lifeboat was first stationed at Southwold by the Southwold Lifeboat Society in 1841. Manag ...

, operated by the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

. The former

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local ...

lifeboat shed houses the Alfred Corry Museum, which features the Southwold lifeboat "Alfred Corry", which was in service from 1893 to 1918. An extensive and now-complete restoration to her original state has been carried out by volunteers over several years. The river can be crossed on foot or bicycle by a public

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

upstream from ''The Harbour Inn'', which leads to the village of

. This bridge is known as the

Bailey Bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, Prefabrication, pre-fabricated, Truss Bridge, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British Empire in World War II, British for military use during the World War II, Second World War and saw ...

and rests on the

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

and footings of the original iron Southwold Railway swing bridge. It had a central swinging section to allow the passage of wherries and other shipping on the Blyth Navigation, but this was largely removed at the start of World War II under the precautions against German invasion. Towards the mouth of the Blyth, a rowed ferry service runs between the Walberswick and Southwold banks. It has been operated by the same family since the 1920s, when it was a

chain ferry A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

that could take cars. The chain ferry ceased working in 1941, but some vestiges remain at the Walberswick slipway.

Beach

The beach is a combination of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

and shingle. In 2005/06 it was further protected by a

coastal management Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

scheme which includes

beach nourishment Beach nourishment (also referred to as beach renourishment, beach replenishment, or sand replenishment) describes a process by which sediment, usually sand, lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from other sources. A wider beach c ...

, new

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid aquatic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concrete ...

s on the south side of the pier and

riprap Riprap (in North American English), also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour (in British English) or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. ...

to the north. It is overlooked by brightly painted

beach hut A beach hut (also known as a beach cabin, beach box or bathing box) is a small, usually wooden and often brightly coloured, box above the high tide mark on popular bathing beaches. They are generally used as a shelter from the sun or wind, c ...

Culture

Film and television

The fictional Southwold Estate, seat of the equally fictional Earls of Southwold, is the

country estate An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which generates income for its owner. British context In the United Kingdom, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, tenanted buildings, and ...

of the family of

Lady Marjorie Bellamy The Lady Marjorie Helen Sybil Bellamy (née Talbot-Carey; 6 May 1860 or 12 July 1864 – 15 April 1912) is a fictional character in the ITV Network, ITV drama ''Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), Upstairs, Downstairs''. The character w ...

in the ITV British drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. The town and its vicinity has been used as the setting for numerous films and television programmes, including '' Iris'' about the life of

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

starring

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

, ''

Drowning by Numbers ''Drowning by Numbers'' is a British-Dutch crime comedy-drama 1988 film directed by Peter Greenaway. It won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the Cannes Film Festival of 1988. Plot The film opens with a little girl jumping rope and ...

'' by

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

, ''

Kavanagh QC ''Kavanagh QC'' is a British television series made by Central Television for ITV between 3 January 1995 and 25 April 2001. All five series are available on DVD in both Region 1 and Region 2. Plot The series starred John Thaw as barrister J ...

'' starring

John Thaw John Edward Thaw (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor in television, stage and cinema, best known for his television roles starring as Detective Inspector Jack Regan in '' The Sweeney'' (1975—78) and as Detective Chief ...

, ''East of Ipswich'' by

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...

, ''

Little Britain Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (TV series), a British radio and then television series ** '' Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album ''Second ...

'' with

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...

and

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...

, and a 1969 version of ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

''. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

children's series ''

Grandpa in My Pocket ''Grandpa in My Pocket'' is a British children's comedy-drama television series created by Mellie Buse and Jan Page and commissioned by Michael Carrington (television executive), Michael Carrington for CBeebies, the BBC's dedicated pre-school a ...

'' was filmed in Southwold, Walberswick and

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...

. Only exteriors of buildings were filmed, e.g. the Lighthouse – no acting was done there. An ITV1 drama, '' A Mother's Son'', first broadcast in September 2012, was filmed on location in Southwold.

Novels

Julie Myerson set her 2003 murder novel ''Something Might Happen'' in an unnamed Southwold – "a sleepy, slightly self-satisfied seaside town". She said that setting a murder in the car park made her feel as if she were "soiling something really good". She holidayed in the town as a child and remarked in an interview that everything else in her life had changed, but her mother and Southwold had stayed the same. She still owns a second home there. Other books set in Southwold include

Esther Freud Esther Freud is a British novelist, known for her autobiographical novel '' Hideous Kinky'' (1992). She is the daughter of the painter Lucian Freud. Early life and education Born in London in 1963, Freud is the daughter of Bernardine Coverle ...

's novel ''Sea House'' (2004), with Southwold as Steerborough. Southwold native Neil Bell in ''Bredon and Sons'' (1933) about boat-building people). ''Forgive us our Trespasses'' (1947), based on a true story of twin boys lost at sea, renames the town Senwich. '' The Bookshop'' by

Penelope Fitzgerald Penelope Mary Fitzgerald (17 December 1916 – 28 April 2000) was a Booker Prize-winning novelist, poet, essayist and biographer from Lincoln, England. In 2008 ''The Times'' listed her among "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945". ''The Ob ...

(1978) drew on her experiences working in a Southwold bookshop in the 1950s. An earlier book thought to be set in Southwold is ''Beside the Guns'' (1902) by the Christian author Mary Elizabeth Shipley. The German writer

W. G. Sebald Winfried Georg Sebald (18 May 1944 – 14 December 2001), known as W. G. Sebald or (as he preferred) Max Sebald, was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was according to ''The New Yorker'' ”widely recog ...

describes Southwold in ''

The Rings of Saturn ''The Rings of Saturn'' ( - An English Pilgrimage) is a 1995 novel by the German writer W. G. Sebald. Its first-person narrative arc is the account by a nameless narrator (who resembles the author in typical Sebaldian fashion) on a walking tour ...

'', an account of a walk through East Anglia. Two recent additions are ''A Southwold Mystery'' (2015) and ''Shot in Southwold'' (2017) by the Herefordshire author Suzette A. Hill, both murder mysteries set in the 1950s.

George Orwell

The writer

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

(real name Eric Blair) spent periods as a teenager and in his thirties in Southwold, living at his parents' home. A plaque can be seen next door to what is now a

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...

at the far end of the High Street. After his departure from

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

in December 1921, Orwell travelled to join his retired father, mother and younger sister Avril, who that month had moved to 40 Stradbroke Road, Southwold, the first of four homes in the town. In January–June 1922 he attended an educational crammer in Southwold to prepare for

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire. Along with the Indian Admini ...

exams and his career in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. In 1929, after 18 months in Paris, he returned to the family in Southwold and was based there for most of the next five years. He tutored a disabled child and a family of three boys and wrote reviews and developed ''

Burmese Days ''Burmese Days'' is the first novel and second book by English writer George Orwell, published in 1934. Set in British Burma during the waning days of empire, when Burma was ruled from Delhi as part of British India, the novel serves as "a po ...

''. He also spent nearly 18 months teaching in West London, until struck by a bout of pneumonia. His mother then insisted he stay at home instead of teaching. He spent the time writing ''

A Clergyman's Daughter ''A Clergyman's Daughter'' is a 1935 novel by English author George Orwell. It tells the story of Dorothy Hare, the titular clergyman's daughter, whose life is turned upside down when she suffers an attack of amnesia. It is Orwell's most formall ...

'', which is partly set in a fictionalised East Anglian town called "Knype Hill". His final visit to Southwold was in 1939.

Cultural events

The town has long hosted summer

repertory theatre A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

by various companies. For several years, Suffolk Summer Theatres have offered a varied programme of plays from July to September, staged in Southwold Arts Centre (formerly St Edmund's Hall). Every November the "Ways with Words" literature festival is held, with notable speakers appearing at various venues. In 2014 came the inaugural Southwold Arts Festival, which was repeated in future years. It offers a mix of literature, music, film and art exhibitions, with the main events over an eight-day period in the summer, bringing entertainers of diverse backgrounds together. In 2005, Southwold launched Suffolk's "answer to the Turner prize", the "Flying Egg" competition. This event also ran in 2006 and 2007, but not repeated in 2008.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire (including the City of Milton Keynes). It is headquartered in The Forum ...

and

ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

. Television signals are received from the

Tacolneston Tacolneston () is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk District of Norfolk with a population of around 700, measured at the 2011 Census as a population of 825. Its name occurs in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Tacoluestuna'' and is theo ...

TV transmitter and via a local relay transmitter in

. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Suffolk BBC Radio Suffolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Suffolk. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Matthews Street in Ipswich. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...

Heart East Heart East was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four Heart station ...

, Greatest Hits Radio Ipswich & Suffolk and East Point Radio, a community-based station. The town's local newspaper is the ''

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 ...

''.

Notable people

In alphabetical order: *

William Alwyn William Alwyn (born William Alwyn Smith; 7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was a prolific English composer, Conducting, conductor, and music teacher who composed over 200 cinematic scores, of which some 70 were for full-length features, ...

(1905–1985), composer, lived in Southwold for his last 25 years, with his second wife, the composer

Doreen Carwithen Doreen Mary Carwithen (15 November 19225 January 2003) was a British composer of classical and film music. She was also known as Mary Alwyn following her marriage to William Alwyn.Lewis Foreman'Carwithen, Doreen', in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001)/ ...

. * James Barker (1622–1702) was an early leader and deputy governor of the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...

. *

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 and artist * Jessie Forbes Cameron (1883–1968), a famed Scottish mathematician, died in Southwold. * Colin Cook (born 1954), English motorcycle speedway rider *

Mark Crowe Mark Crowe is an American video game designer, artist, and writer who developed several adventure games for Sierra On-Line and its subsidiary Dynamix. He later worked at Pipeworks Software as Studio Design Director. Crowe is best known for cre ...

(born 1965), professional footballer with over 100 professional appearances *

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 and bibliographer, founded the British Institute of Recorded Sound. *

Michael Imison Michael Imison (born in Hoylake, Cheshire, 9 February 1935) is a retired British television director and literary agent. He directed several productions for the BBC in the 1960s, including ''Doctor Who'', and subsequently served as the story edit ...

(born 1935), retired television director and literary agent *

P. D. James Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park (3 August 1920 – 27 November 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuri ...

(1920–2014), crime writer * Mother Maribel of Wantage (1887–1970), Anglican nun and artist *

Margaret Mellis Margaret Nairne Mellis (22 January 1914 – 17 March 2009) was a Scottish artist, one of the early members and last survivors of the group of modernist artists that gathered in St Ives, in Cornwall, in the 1940s. She and her first husband, Adr ...

(1914–2009), a modernist artist of the

St Ives School The St Ives School refers to a group of artists living and working in the Cornish town of St Ives.John Miller (1932–2020), a journalist and writer whose work was based mainly in Russia, served as Mayor of Southwold in 2002. * Geoffrey Munn (born 1953), television presenter for BBC's ''

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 ( ...

'' lives near Southwold. *

(1903–1950), writer *

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition in the role of Ray Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the ti ...

(1875–1958), theatre producer, composer and conductor * Stephen Southwold (pseudonym, 1887–1964), schoolmaster and prolific writer *

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 ...

(1796–1874), historical writer and poet * Felix Swinstead (1880-1959), pianist and composer, died in Southwold * Henry Winslow Woollett (1895–1969), World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

* John Youngs (c. 1598–1672), a Puritan minister, founded

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 ...

References

External sources

*Geoffrey Munn, ''Southwold: An Earthly Paradise'', Antique Collectors Club, (Woodbridge, 2006)

External links

Southwold Museum
{{authority control Towns in Suffolk Populated coastal places in Suffolk Seaside resorts in England Ports and harbours of Suffolk Port cities and towns of the North Sea Beaches of Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District

History

Governance

Economy

Education

Primary

Secondary

Landmarks and features

Railway

Lighthouse

Brewery

Pier

Water towers

Electric Picture Palace

Museum

Sailors' Reading Room

Golf club

St Edmund's Church

Harbour

Beach

Culture

Film and television

Novels

George Orwell

Cultural events

Media

Notable people

See also

References

External sources

External links