Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south of Lowestoft, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London, within the parliamentary constituency of Suffolk Coastal. At the 2021 Census, the population was 950.
History
The name Southwold derives from the Old English sūðwald meaning 'south forest'.
Southwold was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a fishing port, and after the "capricious River Blyth withdrew from Dunwich in 1328, bringing trade to Southwold in the 15th century",Norman Scarfe, Suffolk in the Middle Ages: Studies in Places and Place-Names, 2004:161 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.W. Whitaker, The Geology of Southwold, and of the Suffolk coast from Dunwich to Covehithe: (Explanation of sheet 49 N.) 1887: "Coast deposits" pp. 45ff; coastal spits and bars are discussed in J. Steers, "The East Anglian Coast", The Geographical Journal 69.1 January 1927.
Southwold was the home of a number of Puritan emigrants to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s, notably a party of 18 assembled under Rev. Young, which travelled in the Mary Ann in 1637.Roger Thompson, Mobility and Migration: East Anglian Founders of New England, 1629–1640 2009:188, et passim. Richard Ibrook, born in Southwold and a former bailiff of the town, emigrated to Hingham, Massachusetts, along with Rev. Peter Hobart, son of Edmund Hobart of Hingham, Norfolk. Rev. Hobart had been an assistant vicar of St Edmund's Church, Southwold, after graduating from Magdalene College, Cambridge. 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.
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 greens"Scarfe 2004:125. and the restriction of expansion by the surrounding marshes, have preserved the town's tidy appearance.
On the green just above the beach, descriptively named Gun Hill, six 18-pounder cannon commemorate the Battle of Sole Bay, fought in 1672 between English and French fleets on one side and the Dutch (under Michiel de Ruyter) 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, 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,Detailed account: Retrieved 8 October 2018. including the cricketer George Katinakis.
Governance
Up to 1 April 2019, Southwold was part of the Southwold and Reydon electoral ward in the Waveney District Council area. The ward population at the 2011 census was 3,680; the resident population of the neighbouring village of Reydon was more than double that of the town of Southwold. Although the town lost its independent Municipal Borough status in the Local Government reforms of 1974 and consequent incorporation in Waveney District, it continues to have an elected, non-partisan Town Council and Mayor, based at Southwold Town Hall.
With the 1 April 2019 amalgamation of the Waveney and Suffolk Coastal districts into a new East Suffolk district, Southwold became an expanded ward with Reydon and Walberswick, 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, beverages and clothing to take over the formerly independent units. There has also been an increase in the number of charity shops in the town.
Adnams 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 and Middleton Primary School, near Dunwich.
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 in Beccles 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 on changes to free school transport, the default 11–16 secondary school for Southwold and Reydon students is Pakefield High School at Lowestoft.
Private education for pupils aged 2–18 is offered at Saint Felix School, a private school in nearby Reydon.
Landmarks and features Railway
The narrow-gauge Southwold Railway connecting the town to Halesworth 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 and Henham Park, to link the town to the nearest mainline service at Halesworth. 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 Waveney and by Suffolk Coastal 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, 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.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. 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.The sea – Southwold's lighthouse, 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 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 2 January 2013.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 Brewery of the Year Award.Adnams claims national title , Eastern Daily Press, 7 October 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
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 and the occasional berth of paddle steamers such as PS Waverley and the MV Balmoral.
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 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 Adnams for a number of years.
Electric Picture Palace The Electric Picture Palace cinema was opened in 2002, as a pastiche 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