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.

V.

Education and Culture

Ipswich School, founded in 1390, is the oldest in Suffolk, followed by Woodbridge School (1662), and Framlingham College (1864). At Holbrook, south of Ipswich, is the Royal Hospital School, moved here from Greenwich in 1933, where the sons of sailors are trained for the navy.

Most traditional Suffolk dishes are based on flour and yeast, a reminder of hard times when agricultural families could afford little else and dumplings were a staple food. Suffolk dumplings are made of yeast rather than suet, which means that they float; they are known as “swimmers” and, since they take 20 minutes to cook, sometimes as “20-minute swimmers”. Lowestoft kippers are still cured in the traditional manner over an oak fire. Herring and sole are caught off the Suffolk coast, and there is a famous oyster farm and smokery at Orford. Suffolk hams are sweet-cured with black treacle, brown sugar, and hot beer. Cider, derived from the Anglo-Saxon seider, has been made in the region for over 600 years, but declined in popularity with the introduction of beer in the 18th century.

The county’s only professional football club, Ipswich Town FC, plays its home games at Portman Road in Ipswich. Non-league AFC Sudbury is based at the King’s Marsh Stadium in Sudbury.

VI.

Places of Interest

The many picturesque villages of half-timbered thatched cottages, their walls often painted deep pink or peach; the flint-decorated churches; the town houses, embellished with the fine plasterwork special to East Anglia and known as pargetting; and a wealth of historic and stately homes, combine to make Suffolk one of the most varied and visually attractive of the English counties. The greater part of the coast between Felixstowe and Lowestoft has been designated the Suffolk Heritage Coast and remains unspoiled, apart from at Sizewell, which has become Great Britain's main nuclear power site, its huge steel dome visible for miles around. Newmarket is the centre of English horse racing and training. The internationally famous Aldeburgh Music Festival takes place annually in June.

Suffolk has no single tourist centre, but caters for visitors of all tastes. The Maltings at Snape is a draw for musicians; East Bergholt, Flatford Mill, and the beautiful Dedham Vale for Constable and art enthusiasts; Newmarket National Horseracing Museum for racegoers. Christchurch Mansion, at Ipswich, has the finest collection of paintings by Constable and Thomas Gainsborough outside London. Gainsborough's birthplace, in Sudbury, is a museum and gallery. At Woodbridge there is the Suffolk Horse Museum and nearby, at Sutton Hoo, the burial site of an Anglo-Saxon king (see History below). Woodbridge itself, on the River Deben, once noted for shipbuilding and sailmaking, is today a yachting centre, and the famous Tide Mill is open to visitors. Boats may be hired at Beccles on the north-east Suffolk-Norfolk border, for trips along the Norfolk Broads.

Historic houses of interest include Ickworth House, Helmingham Hall, Somerleyton Hall, Wingfield College, and the Priory and other buildings at Lavenham. Bungay Castle and Framlingham Castle, in 1553 home to Mary Tudor, are worth visiting, but the old abbey of Bury St Edmunds is a ruin apart from two gateways. There is a Museum of East Anglian Life at Stowmarket. The Tolly Cobbold brewery at Ipswich contains many interesting exhibits, including the oldest known brewing vessel in the world. There is a visitors' centre at Sizewell B power station. Walkers and open-air enthusiasts may enjoy the Suffolk Coast Path, among other walks, as well as a number of nature reserves, including the Suffolk Wildlife Park at Kessingland.

Suffolk is rich in superstitions and ghosts, such as the jockey Fred Archer, who may be seen thundering down the Newmarket racecourse. One strange legend is that of the “Green Children”, a boy and a girl with green skins who appeared at Woolpit, a place where, long ago, wolves were taken to be destroyed and buried. The children spoke no English, but once they had learned it said they had come from St Martin's Land, a place of perpetual twilight, that they had lost consciousness on hearing the bells of Bury St Edmunds, and had woken up in a Suffolk cornfield. The boy eventually died, but, according to the legend, the girl married a young man from King's Lynn in Norfolk. Another legend featuring the vicious dog known as “Black Shuck”, who haunts the coasts of Suffolk and Norfolk, is said to have been the inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes story The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Ronald Blythe chose the Suffolk village of Charsfield, to the north of Woodbridge, for his classic portrait of East Anglian village life, Akenfield.

VII.

Economy

Sheep farming and wool were traditionally the mainstays of the county; today arable farming is the most important. Cereals and sugar beet are the main crops. Horse breeding is an old-established trade, the famous Suffolk Punch heavy horses, chestnut in colour, with powerful round bodies and short legs, are still used by breweries for local haulage. Felixstowe is an international port and Lowestoft a major fishing port and frozen food processing centre. Other industries include brewing and malting; electronics; the manufacture of agricultural machinery, fertilizers, and motor vehicle components; printing; telecommunications research and development; and North Sea oil and gas exploration. The major seaside resorts are Lowestoft, Felixstowe, Southwold, and Aldeburgh. Tourism has been much boosted by the international reputation of the Aldeburgh Music Festival.

At Sizewell twin Magnox reactors (Sizewell A) began operating in 1966 and are scheduled to stop generating electricity in 2006. After considerable controversy Sizewell B, Great Britain's first pressurized water-cooled reactor, began working in January 1995. Plans for a further two pressurized water-cooled reactors, to be known jointly as Sizewell C, were announced in the early 1990s. In 2002, the site that had been designated as the location of the proposed plant was returned to heathland, casting doubt over the future of the project.

VIII.

History

There is considerable evidence of early settlement in Suffolk, and it is known that Stone, Bronze, and Iron Age peoples all lived in the region. At the time of the Roman invasion of Britain it was occupied by a British tribe called the Iceni. The Romans buried a quantity of silverware at Thistley Green, near Mildenhall, probably in the face of invasion by the Saxons; it was unearthed during ploughing in 1946 and is now housed in the British Museum, London, where it is known as the Mildenhall Treasure. Under Anglo-Saxon domination, the region was part of the kingdom of East Anglia. Proof of the great wealth of the Anglo-Saxon rulers was contained in the ship burial mound discovered at Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, in 1939. Many fine gold and silver objects were buried in the tomb, which is thought to be that of King Raedwald; these too are housed in the British Museum. In 870 the last of the East Anglian kings, Edmund, was killed by Danish invaders for refusing to deny Christianity. He was hailed as a martyr and his remains were transferred to a monastery in what was then called Beodricsworth (now Bury St Edmunds). The monastery was a place of pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages and, as a result, became extremely rich.

Between the 11th and 18th centuries Suffolk enjoyed great prosperity on account of the wool trade. Kersey, Lavenham, Long Melford, and Sudbury became centres for the production of woollen cloth and garments. Their wealth at this time is reflected in the splendour of their parish churches, built in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles.

Newmarket first became famous for horse racing in the early 17th century, in the reign of James I. It later came under the patronage of Charles II, whose nickname “Old Rowley” was derived from that of his favourite horse; the course at Newmarket was named the Rowley Mile. In 1752 the Jockey Club leased land at Newmarket on which to build their premises and subsequently expanded to cover all the land used for racing and training, including a second course, the July course. The 1,000 Guineas and the 2,000 Guineas races are today the first two classics of the season; they are run in late April. The Cambridgeshire and the Cesarewitch are run at an autumn meeting. Also at Newmarket is the National Stud, a breeding centre for English horses, opened by Elizabeth II in 1967.

During World War II servicemen from the 8th United States Air Force (USAF) were stationed at bases throughout East Anglia, of which 19 were located in Suffolk. Although these wartime bases are no longer in use, the USAF presence remains in the county, with two active American airbases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath.

The Aldeburgh Music Festival was founded in 1948 by the composer Benjamin Britten, who was born in Lowestoft, and the tenor Peter Pears. An old industrial building, The Maltings, at Snape, 6.5 km (4 mi) inland, was converted into an opera house in 1967. Destroyed by fire in 1969, it was rebuilt and reopened the following year.