is an ancient town in the
Waveney district in
Suffolk ,
East Anglia ,
England , at the mouth of the
River Blyth .
Southwold was mentioned in the
Domesday Book as an important fishing port, and it received a charter from
Henry VII in
1489 . Over the following centuries, however, a
Shingle bar built up across the harbour mouth, and ruined any chance of the town becoming a major port.
In
1659 , a fire devastated most of the town and damaged the Church of St Edmund, whose original structure dated from
12th Century . The fire created a number of open spaces within the town which were never rebuilt, and today the various "greens" as they are known give the town a pleasant atmosphere.
Southwold
Pier was built in
1900 , was practically destroyed by a
Gale in
1934 , and had a major refurbishment in
2001 . Whilst many English seaside piers are in decline, Southwold Pier is enjoying renewed popularity. The town also contains an unusual
Amber Museum , and the famous
Adnams Brewery .
Southwold Lighthouse was constructed in
1887 by
Trinity House . It stands as a landmark in the centre of the town. It replaced three local lighthouses which were under serious threat from
Coastal Erosion . It started to operate in
1890 . It was electrified and de-manned in
1938 . Trinity House organises visits to the lighthouse during the summer.
In a square just beside the beach, descriptively named Gun Hill, the defensive cannon are still in their places, commemorating 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. A museum collects mementoes of the event.
A narrow-gauge railway ran from Southwold to
Halesworth from
24 September 1879 to
April 11 1929 . There are plans to revive the Southwold Railway, partly on the original trackbed and partly on a new formation.
Six eighteen-pounder guns standing on the cliff were captured from the
Scots at
Culloden and given to the town by the
Duke Of Cumberland .
During
World War II , these cannon meant Southwold gained the status of "fortified town". Despite the cannon being filled with concrete and unable to fire, Southwold became the target of many bombing raids by Germany.
A further memento of maritime heritage is the
1912 Looe lugger named "Girl Sybil".
Southwold harbour, which is on the mouth of the River Blyth, lies south of the town centre, and contains mainly fishing and small pleasure boats. Many huts sell freshly caught fish, and at the upstream end of the harbour the public house "The Harbour Inn" can be found.
In summer, towards the mouth of the River Blyth, a rowing boat acts as a ferry across the river to the nearby town of
Walberswick .
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The beach is a combination of sand and shingle, and fluctuates between the two over the year.
Long Shore Drift causes the large stones broken off the cliffs to the north to become pebbles along the beach. During the Summer less shingle is brought south along the coast by this effect and thus towards the Summer the beach becomes more sandy. The beach is looked down upon by two rows of brightly painted
Beach Hut s.
On the first Friday of December, the annual switching-on of the Christmas lights takes place. Thousands of people come to the town to see
Santa Claus switch the lights on from the Town Hall balcony.
