Suffolk

I

Introduction

Suffolk, county, eastern England, bordered on the north by Norfolk, on the east by the North Sea, on the south by Essex, and on the west by Cambridgeshire. A small part of the original county was incorporated into Norfolk and into Cambridgeshire under the local government reforms of 1974. The land area is now 3,800 sq km (1,467 sq mi). Ipswich is the seat of local government.

Traditionally an agricultural county and famed for its Suffolk Punch breed of heavy horses, Suffolk began to develop industrially in the 20th century, due partly to North Sea oil and gas exploration; the electrification of the main railway line from Norwich via Ipswich to London; and the development of the international container port at Felixstowe. Local planning policy confines this growth to the larger towns, chiefly Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, and Lowestoft, with the aim of maintaining the character and beauty of the countryside painted by John Constable.

II

Land and Resources

Mainly low-lying, its rivers draining into the North Sea, Suffolk has been described as neither hilly nor totally flat. In a very few places it reaches 122 m (400 ft). The chalky heathlands of the west, known as Breckland, slope eastwards to an area largely covered in boulder clay, which long ago was forested but is today rich farmland. Sand and gravel deposits along the coast form the area called Sandlings which, together with the Breckland, are planted with conifers. The flat coastline is known for its shingle spits, such as Orford Ness. The principal rivers of Suffolk are the Little Ouse and the Waveney in the north, and the Deben, Orwell, and Stour; other lesser rivers drain the rest of the county. Natural resources are few; there is a lack of building stone, but flint and thatch are much in evidence in local architecture. Dedham Vale, on the Suffolk-Essex border, and Suffolk Coasts and Heath, an area of heathland and salt marshes stretching south from Lowestoft to the Stour, have been designated by the Countryside Agency as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

III

Climate

Suffolk enjoys a generally moderate, temperate climate, but is subject to strong winds at any season of the year. The average annual rainfall is less than 635 mm (25 in) on the coast and in a few inland areas it may reach 635-760 mm (25-30 in). Storms are not infrequent along the coast, which in parts has been drastically eroded by the sea over the centuries. The most dramatic storm took place in 1326, when the old seaport of Dunwich was swept away.

IV

Population and Administration

The population of Suffolk was estimated in 2001 at 668,548. The main towns are Ipswich (2001, 117,074), the seat of local government; Bury St Edmunds (1991, 31,237); and Felixstowe (1991, 28,606).

Suffolk has a county council and seven district councils: Babergh, Forest Heath, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, St Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal, and Waveney. The county's administrative structure was left unchanged by the Local Government Commission, which from 1992 to 1994 reviewed the structure of local administration in England. The police authority is the Suffolk Constabulary, which has its headquarters at Martlesham Heath, Ipswich. Crown Courts sit at Ipswich and at Bury St Edmunds.