The Market Place. Focal point of town life.
Small charter market Mondays & Thursdays.
Amber Shop & Museum, Market Place.
The only purpose-built museum dedicated to the story and history of amber
Southwold Museum. Victoria Street.
Listed Dutch gabled cottage containing many exhibits of local interest.
The Parish Church of St. Edmund. Stands on the site of a far older church (AD 1200).
Its chief glory is the painted screen, dating from about 1500 and one of the most beautiful in England.
The Alfred Cory Museum. Former Cromer pier lifeboat shed now home to historic Southwold Lifeboat, adjacent Harbour car park.
The Sailors' Reading Room. East Cliff.
Items of maritime interest.
The Electric Picture Palace, Blackmill Road.
Run by the Southwold Film Society which anyone can join for £5.00 per year or £2.00 per season. Details from box office on 07815 769565.
The Harbour, River Blyth & RNLI Lifeboat Station.
Southwold Lighthouse, Stradbroke Road
Open : April 2 - 5: 11am-1pm, 2-4pm, April 7 - 31 October: Wed, Sat & Sun 2-4pm
Southwold Maize Maze, Old Hall Farm, Halesworth Road, Reydon, Southwold 07801 065845. Great outdoor adventure for all the family. A giant puzzle of pathways within 8 acres of maize. Picnic and play area, refreshments. July to September.
Southwold Pier, North Parade.
01502 722105, 623 feet of wacky amusements. Fabulous range of nautical gifts. www.southwoldpier.co.uk
High Lodge SS Leisure Ltd
Haw Wood, Hinton, Nr Darsham, Suffolk IP17 3QT.
Tel: 01986 784347. Fax: 01986 784347. Facilities
include Premier Plus Clay Shooting School, 9 Hole Pay & Play Golf
Course, Fishing Lakes, Function Suite for Weddings & Private
Functions, Corporate Hospitality & Conference Centre, Restaurant/
Cafe & Bar.
Email: info@highlodge.co.uk
Website: www.highlodge.co.uk
Southwold Putting Green, open weekends from Saturday 11th April, 7 days a week from Saturday 23rd May subject to weather.
Adults £2.50, OAPs £2.00, children £1.50 consecutive round half price. For further information or group bookings call 07887 862678.
Southwold Sailing Club, Blackshore, Southwold Harbour, IP18 6TA
Small, friendly club which encourages sailing on the Blyth and coastal waters. Competitions arranged. Further details and up to date programme from www.southwoldsailing.co.uk
Churches
For times of services, please see the Notice Board outside the relevant church.
Methodist Church
East Green, Southwold.
Revd. Mark Booth, 01728 830733
Email: mrbooth@talk21.com
Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart
The Common, Southwold.
Priest: Father Roger Spencer, 01502 723207.
St. Edmund’s Church
Southwold.
Email: joan.goldsmith.smf@googlemail.com
United Reformed Church
High Street, Southwold.
Minister: Revd. Charles Croll, 01728 684052
Email: minister@southwoldurc.co.uk
St. Margaret’s Church
Wangford Road, Reydon.
Vicar: Revd. Richard Henderson, 01502 722192
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In 2009 Southwold celebrated the 500th
Anniversary of William Godell who, in 1509, bequeathed to
the town land which included the Common and marshes.
This gift and the town’s famous Greens, formed after the
Great Fire of 1659, have enabled Southwold to retain its
charm.
Tucked away along the Suffolk Heritage Coast, this unique
town has an award winning pier, extensive beaches, a
promenade, panoramic views, quaint shops, hidden
alleyways, and traditional markets.
In fact, tradition is key to the town’s appeal with the annual
commemoration of significant historic events such as the Charter Fair held in May (Henry VII granted a charter in 1489), and
Beating the Bounds (to mark the town’s boundaries). The
Town Crier or Bellman makes regular announcements of
news in the Market Place, while the Thursday market dates
from the 13th century, and Monday’s market from the 11th
century.
Historically, the town gained prominence with the silting up
of the port of Dunwich, the former capital of East Anglia,
and the movement northwards of the mouth of the River
Blyth and the harbour entrance. A channel was also cut to
ease the passage of shipping.
The six guns on Gun Hill are another reminder of the town’s
history. Between 1625 and 1639 the Royal Armouries sent
Southwold guns to help protect coastal shipping against
Dunkirk pirates. Later, in 1745, the town petitioned George
II for replacement ordnance and was supplied with the 18-
pounder guns still in place.
In 1672, Southwold witnessed the Battle of Sole Bay, when
British and French ships fought the Dutch off its shores and
when the town played host to the Lord High Admiral of
England (James, Duke of York, and brother to King Charles
II) who was stationed at Sutherland House in the High
Street.
St. Edmund’s Church dates from 1460 (replacing an earlier
one from 1200) and is dedicated to the Christian martyr and
last King of East Anglia, St. Edmund. Its 16th century screen
is one of the finest in England. Guided tours of the church
are available.
The Lighthouse at 101 feet tall was erected in 1890 to give
safe passage and a safe haven to fishermen and sailors. Close
by on East Cliff, The Sailors’ Reading Room displays
nautical artefacts, while at the Harbour the Alfred Corry
Museum houses the town’s old sailing lifeboat. Between
1893-1918, the town’s lifeboatmen saved 47 lives.
Other records of the town’s history can be found at The
Southwold Museum in Victoria Street, a former weaver’s
cottage given to the town in 1932, and the Amber Museum,
located at the rear of the Amber Shop in the Market Place.
The town boasts a bustling High Street, with traditional
shops and boutiques, numerous tea rooms, restaurants, and
food outlets, plus several Adnams pubs, hotels and the
Adnams brewery. Other attractions include the eight greens,
a Model Yacht Pond, Boating Lake, Golf Course, Tennis
Courts, Putting Green, Electric Picture Palace, Maize Maze,
and Sports Pavilion. There is cycle hire and several options
for walks and bird spotting. At the Harbour, a foot ferry is
available to row you across to Walberswick, or you can walk
over the Bailey Bridge along the old railway line.
Over the years, Southwold has been the location for many
television and film productions, and the inspiration for
writers such as George Orwell and P. D. James. Annually it
plays host to a Literary Festival, Summer Theatre, Jazz
Festival, Lions Fete, Rugby Sevens, Model Yacht
Competition, Putting Championship and the nearby
Henham Steam Rally.
With an abundance of things to interest visitors of all ages,
we hope you enjoy this gem on the Heritage Coast.
William Godell: The five ton rock sited in Nursemaids’
Park is a dramatic representation of the benefice
to Southwold of William Godell who died more than
500 years ago. Godell was a prominent businessman,
landowner and farmer, and he also owned ships. The town
owes him an enormous debt as his will effectively created
the Southwold we know today with its Common, and the
revenue generated by the land he left has funded the
town’s exchequer. The rock’s blue commemorative plaque
notes that William Godell left land to the town, on trust, for
ever. It was presented to the town by the Dutch company
Van Oord and is similar to the rocks laid north of the Pier.
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