Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
SUFFOLK
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: STE-SUS
del.icio.us it!
|
SUFFOLK , an eastern See also:county of See also:England, bounded N. by See also:Norfolk, E. by the See also:North See also:Sea, S. by See also:Essex and W. by See also:Cambridge-See also:shire. The See also:area is 1488.6 sq. m. The See also:surface is as a whole but slightly undulating. In the extreme north-See also:west near See also:Mildenhall, a small area of the Fen See also:district is included. This is bordered by a See also:low range of See also:chalk hills extending from See also:Haverhill northwards along the western boundary, and thence by See also:Bury St See also:Edmunds to See also:Thetford. The See also:coast-See also:line has a length of about 62 m., and is comparatively See also:regular, the bays being generally shallow and the headlands rounded and only slightly prominent. The estuaries of the Deben, Orwell and See also:Stour, however, are between to and 12 m. in length. The See also:shore is generally low and marshy, with occasional See also:clay and See also:sand cliffs. It includes, in the declivity on which Old See also:Lowestoft stands, the most easterly point of See also:English See also:land. Like the Norfolk coast, this shore has suffered greatly from incursions of the sea, the demolition of the See also:ancient See also:port of See also:Dunwich (q.v.) forming the most noteworthy example. The See also:principal seaside resorts are Lowestoft, Southwold, See also:Aldeburgh and See also:Felixstowe. The See also:rivers flowing northward are the See also:Lark, in the north-west corner, which passes in a north-See also:westerly direction to the See also:Great See also:Ouse in Norfolk; the Little Ouse or See also:Brandon, also a tributary of the Great Ouse, flowing by Thetford and Brandon and forming See also:part of the See also:northern boundary of the county; and the Waveney, which rises in Norfolk and forms the northern boundary of Suffolk from See also:Palgrave till it falls into the mouth of the Yare at See also:Yarmouth. The Waveney is navigable from See also:Bungay, and by means of Oulton Broad also communicates with the sea at Lowestoft. The rivers flowing in a See also:south-easterly direction to the North Sea are the See also:Blyth; the Alde or Ore, which has a course for nearly to m. parallel to the seashore; the Deben, from Debenham, flowing past See also:Woodbridge, up to which it is navigable; the Orwell or Gipping, which becomes navigable at See also:Stowmarket, whence it flows past Needham See also:Market and See also:Ipswich; and the Stour, which forms nearly the whole See also:southern boundary of the county, receiving the Brett, which flows past Lavenham and See also:Hadleigh; it is navigable from See also:Sudbury. At the See also:union of its See also:estuary with that of the Orwell is the important port of See also:Harwich (in Essex). The county has no valuable minerals. Flints are worked, as they have been from pre-historic times; a considerable quantity of clay is raised and See also:lime and See also:whiting are obtained in various districts. See also:Geology.—The principal See also:geological formations are the Chalk and the See also:Tertiary deposits. The former occupies the surface, except where covered by superficial See also:drift, in the central and north-west portions of the county, and it extends beneath the See also:Tertiaries in the south-See also:east and east. In the extreme north-west See also:round Mildenhall the Chalk See also:borders a See also:tract of fen land in a range of low hills from Haverhill by See also:Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds to Thetford. The Chalk is quarried near Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Mildenhall and elsewhere; at Brandon the chalk flints for See also:gun-locks and See also:building have been exploited from See also:early times. The Tertiary formations include See also:Thanet sand, seen near Sudbury; and See also:Reading Beds and See also:London Clay which extend from Sudbury through Hadleigh, Ipswich, See also:Wood-See also:bridge and thence beneath younger deposits to the extreme north-east of the county. Above the See also:Eocene formations See also:lie the See also:Pliocene " Crags," which in the north overlap the Eocene boundary on to the chalk. The See also:oldest of the See also:crag deposits is the Coralline Crag, See also:pale sandy and marly beds with many fossils; this is best exposed west and north of Aldeburgh and about Sudbourne and See also:Orford. Resting upon the Coralline beds, or upon other formations in their See also:absence, is the Red Crag, a See also:familiar feature above the London Clay in the cliffs at Felixstowe and Baudsey, where many fossils used to be found ; inland it appears at See also:Bentley, Stutton and Chillesford, where the " Scrobicularia Clay " and Chillesford beds of See also:Prestwich appear above it. The last-named beds probably correspond with the See also:Norwich Crag, the name given to the upper, paler portion of the Red Crag, together with certain higher beds in the north part of east Suffolk. The Norwich Crag is visible at Dunwich, Bavent, See also:Easton and Wang-See also:ford. In the north the See also:Cromer See also:Forest beds, gravels with fresh-See also:water fossils and mammalian remains, may be seen on the coast at Corton and Pakefield. Between the See also:top of the London Clay and the See also:base ofthe Crags is the " Suffolk See also:Bone See also:Bed " with abundant mammalian bones and phosphatic nodules. Glacial See also:gravel, sand add chalky See also:boulder clay are scattered over much of the county, generally forming stiffer soils in the'west and lighter sandy soils in the east. Pebble gravels occur at Westleton and Halesworth, and later gravels, with See also:palaeolithic implements, at Hoxne; while old See also:river-gravels of still later date border the See also:present river valleys. The chalk and See also:gault have been penetrated by a See also:boring at Stutton, revealing a hard palaeozoic slaty See also:rock at the See also:depth of about See also:I000 ft. See also:Agriculture.—Suffolk is one of the most fertile counties in England. In the 18th See also:century it was famed for its See also:dairy products. The high prices of See also:grain during the See also:wars of the See also:French Revolution led to the extensive breaking up of its pastures, and it is now one of the principal grain-growing counties in England. There is considerable variety of soils, and consequently in modes of farming in different parts of the county. Along the sea-coast a sandy See also:loam or thin sandy See also:soil prevails, covered in some places with the See also:heath on which large quantities of See also:sheep are fed, interspersed with tracts, more or less marshy, on which See also:cattle are grazed. The best land adjoins the rivers, and consists of a See also:rich sandy loam, with patches of lighter and easier soil. In the south-west and the centre is much finer grain-land having mostly a clay subsoil, but not so tenacious as the clay in Essex. In See also:climate Suffolk is one of the driest of the English counties; thus, the mean See also:annual rainfall at Bury St Edmunds is rather less than 24 in. Towards the north-west the soil is generally poor, consisting partly of sand on chalk, and partly of See also:peat and open heath. Some four-fifths of the See also:total area of the county is under cultivation. See also:Barley, oats and See also:wheat are the most important of the grain crops. The breed of horses known as Suffolk punches is one of the most valued for agricultural purposes in England. The breed of cattle native to the county is a polled variety, on the improvement of which great pains have been bestowed. The old Suffolk cows, famous for their great milking qualities, were of various See also:colours, yellow predominating. The improved are all red. Much See also:milk is sent to London, Yarmouth, &c. Many cattle, mostly imported from See also:Ireland, are grazed in the See also:winter. The sheep are nearly all of the blackfaced improved Suffolk breed, a See also:cross between the old Norfolk horned sheep and Southdowns. The breed of pigs most See also:common is small and See also:black. Manufactures and See also:Trade.—The county is essentially agricultural, and the most important manufactures relate to this See also:branch of See also:industry. They include that of agricultural implements, especially at Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, and that of artificial See also:manures at Ipswich and Stowmarket, for which See also:coprolites are dug. Malting is extensively carried on throughout the county. There are chemical and gun-See also:cotton manufactories at Stowmarket and gun flints are still made at Brandon. At other towns small See also:miscellaneous manufactures are carried on, including See also:silk, cotton, See also:linen, woollen, and horsehair and coco-See also:nut See also:matting. The principal ports are Lowestoft, Southwold, Aldeburgh, Woodbridge and Ipswich. Lowestoft is the See also:chief fishing See also:town. See also:Herrings and See also:mackerel are the See also:fish most abundant on the coasts. Communications.—The See also:main line of the Great Eastern railway, entering the county from the south, serves Ipswich and Stowmarket, continuing north into Norfolk. The east Suffolk branch from Ipswich serves Woodbridge, Saxmundham. Halesworth, and See also:Beccles, with branches to Felixstowe, to See also:Framlingham, to Aldeburgh, and to Lowestoft; while the Southwold See also:Light railway connects with that town from Halesworth: The other principal branches are those from Stowmarket to Bury St Edmunds and westward into Cambridge-shire, from Essex into Norfolk by See also:Long Melford, Bury St Edmunds and Thetford, and from Long Melford to Haverhill, which is the northern See also:terminus of the See also:Colne Valley railway. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 952,710 aces, with a population in 1891 of 371,235 and in 1901 of 384,293. Suffolk comprises 21 hundreds, and for administrative purposes is divided into the counties of East Suffolk (557,854 acres) and West Suffolk (390,914 acres). The following are municipal boroughs and See also:urban districts. (I) EAST SUFFOLK. Municipal boroughs—Aldeburgh (pop. 2405), Beccles (6898), See also:Eye (2004), Ipswich, a county See also:borough and the county town (66,630), Lowestoft (29,850), Southwold (2800). Urban districts—Bungay (3314), Felixstowe and See also:Walton (5815), Halesworth (2246), Leiston-cum-Sizewell (3259), Oulton Broad (4044), Saxmundham (1452), Stowmarket (4162), Woodbridge (4640). (2) WEST SUFFOLK. Municipal boroughs—Bury St Edmunds (16,255), Sudbury (7109). Urban districts—Glemsford (1975), Hadleigh (3245), Haverhill (4862), Newmarket (10,688), which is mainly in the ancient county of Cambridge. Small market and other towns are numerous, such are Brandon, See also:Clare, Debenham, Framlingham, Lavenham, Mildenhall, Needham Market and Orford. For See also:parliamentary purposes the county constitutes five divisions, each returning one member, viz. north or Lowestoft See also:division, north-east or Eye, north-west or See also:Stow-market, south or Sudbury, and south-east or Woodbridge. Bury St Edmunds returns one member and Ipswich two; part of the borough of Great Yarmouth falls within the county. There is one See also:court of See also:quarter sessions for the two administrative counties, which is usually held at Ipswich for east Suffolk, and then by See also:adjournment at Bury St Edmuuas for west Suffolk. East Suffolk is divided into 11 and west Suffolk into 8 See also:petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, Sudbury, Eye, Lowestoft and Southwold have See also:separate commissions of the See also:peace, and the three first-named have also separate courts of quarter sessions. The total number of See also:civil parishes is 519. The ancient county contains 465 ecclesiastical parishes and districts, wholly or in part ; it is situated partly in the See also:diocese of See also:Ely and partly in that of Norwich. See also:History.—The county of Suffolk (Sudfole, Suthfolc) was formed from the south part of the See also:kingdom of East Anglia which had been settled by the Angles in the latter See also:half of the 5th century. The most important Anglo-Saxon settlements appear to have been made at Sudbury and Ipswich. Before the end of the See also:Norman See also:dynasty strongholds had arisen at Eye, Clare, Walton and Framlingham. Probably the See also:establishment of Suffolk as a separate shire was scarcely completed before the See also:Conquest, and although it was reckoned as distinct from Nor-folk in the Domesday Survey of 'o86, the fiscal administration of Norfolk and Suffolk remained under one See also:sheriff until 1575• The boundary of the county has undergone very little See also:change, though its area has been considerably affected by coast erosion. Parts of Gorleston and Thetford, which formerly belonged to the ancient county of Suffolk, are now within the administrative county of Norfolk, and other slight alterations of the administrative boundary have been made. Under the See also:Local See also:Government See also:Act of 1888 Suffolk was divided into the two administrative counties of east and west Suffolk. At first the whole shire See also:lay within the diocese of Dunwich which was founded c. 631. In 673 a new bishopric was established at See also:Elmham to comprise the whole of Norfolk which had formerly been included in the see of Dunwich. The latter came to an end with the incursion of the Danes, and on the revival of See also:Christianity in this district Suffolk was included in the diocese of Elmham, subsequently removed from South Elmham to Thetford and thence to Norwich. In '835-1836 the archdeaconry of Sudbury was transferred by the ecclesiastical commissioners to the diocese of Ely. This archdeaconry had been separated from the See also:original archdeaconry of Suffolk in 1127. In 1256 the latter included thirteen deaneries which have since been sub-divided, so that-at present it contains eighteen deaneries; Sudbury archdeaconry which comprised eight deaneries in 1256 now includes eleven. There were also three districts under See also:peculiar See also:jurisdiction of See also:Canterbury and one under that of See also:Rochester. The shire-court was held at Ipswich. In 183' the whole county contained twenty-one hundreds and three municipal boroughs. Most of these hundreds were identical with those of the Domesday Survey, but in 1086 Babergh was rated as two hundreds, Cosford, Ipswich and Parham as half hundreds and Samford as a See also:hundred and a half. Hoxne hundred was formerly known as See also:Bishop's hundred and the vills which were included later in Thredling hundred were within Claydon hundred in 1086. Two large ecclesiastical liberties extended over more than half of the county; that of St See also:Edmund included the hundreds of Risbridge, Thedwastry, Thingoe, Cosford, Lackford and Blackbourn in which the See also: It was from Suffolk that See also:Mary See also:drew the army which supported her claim to the See also:throne. In the Civil Wars the county was for the most part parliamentarian, and joined the Association of the Eastern Counties for See also:defence against the Papists.
The county was constantly represented in See also:parliament by two knights from 1290, until the Reform See also:Bill of 1832 gave four members to Suffolk, at the same See also:time disfranchising the boroughs of Dunwich, Orford and Aldeburgh. Suffolk was early among the most populous of English counties, doubtless owing to its proximity to the See also:continent. Fishing fleets have See also:left its ports to bring back See also:cod and See also:ling from See also:Iceland and See also:herring and mackerel from the North Sea. From the 14th to the 17th century it was among the chief manufacturing counties of England owing to its See also:cloth-See also:weaving industry, which was at the height of its prosperity during the 15th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries its agricultural resources were utilized to provide the rapidly-growing See also:metropolis with See also:food. In the following century various textile See also:industries, such as the manufacture of See also:sail-cloth, See also:cocoa-nut fibre, See also:horse-See also:hair and clothing were established; silk-weavers migrated to Suffolk from See also:Spitalfields, and early in the 19th century an important See also:china factory flourished at Lowestoft.
Antiquities.—Of monastic remains the most important are those of the great See also:Benedictine See also:abbey of Bury St Edmunds, noticed under that town; the See also:college of Clare, originally a See also:cell to the abbey of Bec in See also:Normandy and afterwards to St See also:Peter's See also:Westminster, converted into a college of See also:secular canons in the reign of Henry VI., still retaining much of its ancient See also:architecture, and now used as a boarding-school ; the Decorated gateway of the Augustinian priory of Butley; and the remains of the See also:Grey Friars monastery at Dunwich. A peculiarity of the See also: The Decorated is well represented, but by far the greater proportion of the churches are Perpendicular, See also:fine examples of which are so numerous that it is hard to select examples. But the church of Blythburgh in the east and the exquisite ornate building at Lavenham in the west may be noted as typical, while the church of Long Melford,another fine example, should be mentioned on See also:account of its remarkable See also:lady See also:chapel. See also:Special features are the open See also:roofs and woodwork (as at St Mary's, Bury St Edmunds, Earl Stonham and Stonham Aspall, Ufford and Blythburgh), and the fine fonts.
The remains of old castles are comparatively unimportant, the principal being the entmnchments and part of the walls of Bungay, the ancient stronghold of the Bigods; the picturesque ruins of Mettingham, built by See also: Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] SUEZ CANAL |
[next] SUFFOLK, CHARLES BRANDON, 1ST DUKE OF (c. 1484–'5... |