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Woodbridge, Suffolk

 
Woodbridge, Suffolk

 
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Woodbridge, Suffolk
 
 
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Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk
Suffolk

Suffolk is a Non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south....
, East Anglia
East Anglia

East Anglia is a region of eastern England. It was named after one of the ancient Heptarchy, the Kingdom of the East Angles, which was in turn named after the homeland of the Angles, Angeln, in northern Germany....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben
River Deben

The River Deben is a medium length river in Suffolk rising in Debenham, passing through Woodbridge, Suffolk, turning into a tidal estuary before entering the North Sea at Felixstowe Ferry....
, with a population of about 7,480 although this seems larger due to the number of surrounding villages. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station
Woodbridge railway station

Woodbridge railway station is a railway station serving the town of Woodbridge, Suffolk in Suffolk. The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line....
 on the Ipswich
Ipswich

Ipswich is a non-metropolitan district and the county town of Suffolk, England on the estuary of the River Orwell. Nearby towns are Felixstowe in Suffolk, Harwich in Essex and Colchester also in Essex....
-Lowestoft
Lowestoft

Lowestoft is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, lying between the eastern edge of The Broads National Park at Oulton Broad and the North Sea....
 East Suffolk Line
East Suffolk Line

The East Suffolk Line is a railway line from Ipswich to Lowestoft in Suffolk. It was once part of the Great Eastern Railway, but is now a secondary line....
. Woodbridge is twinned with Mussidan
Mussidan

Mussidan is a Communes of the Dordogne department in the Dordogne Departments of France in Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is twinned with Woodbridge, Suffolk, England...
 in France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
.
History
The earliest record of Woodbridge is in the mid 10th century, when it was acquired by St.






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Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk
Suffolk

Suffolk is a Non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south....
, East Anglia
East Anglia

East Anglia is a region of eastern England. It was named after one of the ancient Heptarchy, the Kingdom of the East Angles, which was in turn named after the homeland of the Angles, Angeln, in northern Germany....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben
River Deben

The River Deben is a medium length river in Suffolk rising in Debenham, passing through Woodbridge, Suffolk, turning into a tidal estuary before entering the North Sea at Felixstowe Ferry....
, with a population of about 7,480 although this seems larger due to the number of surrounding villages. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station
Woodbridge railway station

Woodbridge railway station is a railway station serving the town of Woodbridge, Suffolk in Suffolk. The station is located on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line....
 on the Ipswich
Ipswich

Ipswich is a non-metropolitan district and the county town of Suffolk, England on the estuary of the River Orwell. Nearby towns are Felixstowe in Suffolk, Harwich in Essex and Colchester also in Essex....
-Lowestoft
Lowestoft

Lowestoft is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, lying between the eastern edge of The Broads National Park at Oulton Broad and the North Sea....
 East Suffolk Line
East Suffolk Line

The East Suffolk Line is a railway line from Ipswich to Lowestoft in Suffolk. It was once part of the Great Eastern Railway, but is now a secondary line....
. Woodbridge is twinned with Mussidan
Mussidan

Mussidan is a Communes of the Dordogne department in the Dordogne Departments of France in Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is twinned with Woodbridge, Suffolk, England...
 in France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
.

History


The earliest record of Woodbridge is in the mid 10th century, when it was acquired by St. Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be a Lord Spiritual regardless of their length of service....
, who made it a part of the endowment of the monastery
Monastery

Monastery , a term derived from the Greek language word ???ast?????, neut. of ???ast????? - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of Monk, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in Cenobium or alone ....
 he helped to refound at Ely, Cambridgeshire in AD 970. Woodbridge did not acquire its own monastery until about 1193, when a small priory
Priory

A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows headed by a prior or prioress.Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monastery of monks or nuns ....
 of Austin Canons was founded by Ernald Rufus.

It was a centre for boat-building
Boat building

Boat building, one of the oldest branches of engineering, is concerned with constructing the hull of boats and, for sailboats, the mast s, spars and rigging....
, rope-making
Rope

A rope is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength ....
 and sail-making
Sail

A sail is any type of surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind—in essence a vertically-oriented wing. Sails are used in sailing....
 since the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
. Edward III
Edward III of England

Edward III was one of the most successful List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Englands of the Britain in the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II of England, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe....
 and Sir Francis Drake
Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral , was an England sea captain, privateer, navigation, slaver, and politics of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581....
 had Elizabethan era
Elizabethan era

The Elizabethan era is associated with Elizabeth I of England's reign and is often considered to be the Golden Age in History of England. It was the height of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of English poetry and English literature....
 fighting ships built in Woodbridge.

Around the town there are various buildings from the Tudor, Georgian
Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking world to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom, and George IV of the...
, Regency and Victorian
Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly employed during the Victorian era. As with the latter, the period of building that it covers may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 ? 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom after whom it is named....
 eras. The town has a restored tide mill
Tide mill

A tide mill is a specialist type of watermill driven by Tide rise and fall.A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a Reservoir ....
, one of only 4 in the UK, and one of the earliest — a mill was first recorded on this site in 1170, operated by the Augustinian Canons. In 1536, it passed to King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
. In 1564, Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was List of English monarchs and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the House of Tudor....
 granted the mill to Thomas Seckford
Thomas Seckford

Thomas Seckford was an official at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England.Born near Woodbridge, Suffolk, Suffolk, England, Seckford was educated at Cambridge and in 1540 entered Gray's Inn, Thomas became one of Queen Elizabeth I?s two Master of Requests which dealt with poor men?s causes....
. In 1577 he founded Woodbridge School
Woodbridge School

Woodbridge School is an independent school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Trust....
 and the Seckford Almshouse
Almshouse

Almshouses are Charitable organization houses provided to enable people to live in a particular community. They are often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain forms of previous employment, or their widows, and are generally maintained by a charity or the trustees of a bequest....
s, for the poor of Woodbridge.

Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo

Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge, Suffolk, Suffolk, England, is the site of two Anglo-Saxons cemeteries of the 6th century and early 7th century, one of which contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of artifacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance....
, a group of low grassy mounds famous for turning up Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading tribes in the south and east of Great Britain starting from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, lasting until the Norman conquest of England of 1066....
 treasure of one of the earliest English kings, Rędwald, overlooks Woodbridge from the Eastern Bank of the Deben.

The so-called Rendlesham Forest Incident
Rendlesham Forest Incident

The Rendlesham Forest Incident is the name given to a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights and the alleged landing of an extraterrestrial life spacecraft in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England in late December 1980....
 took place in nearby Rendlesham Forest in 1980. Unexplained lights were seen in the sky close to RAF Woodbridge
RAF Woodbridge

RAF Woodbridge is a former Royal Air Force station situated to the east of Woodbridge, Suffolk in the county of Suffolk, England. It is famous for its wide runway which, along with the two at the former RAF bases at Kent International Airport and Carnaby in Yorkshire were originally constructed to assist damaged aircraft to land on their retu...
, a United States Airforce base, and there were claims that a UFO had landed in the forest. The incident continues to interest ufologists and vigorous debates take place between those who believe that an alien spacecraft landed there and the sceptics who offer alternative explanations.

Woodbridge has its own Brass Band
Brass band

A brass band is a musical group generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles which include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert bands, wind bands or wind ensembles....
, the , who were formed in 1846 and are the oldest community brass band in East Anglia.

There is a museum devoted to the Suffolk Punch
Suffolk Punch

The Suffolk Punch, also historically known as the Suffolk Horse or Suffolk Sorrel, is an English list of horse breeds of Draft horse....
, a breed of heavy working horse, in the Shire Hall on the Market Hill.

Local folklore
Folklore

Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, superstitions, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group ....
 has it that the route from the river to the top of Drybridge Hill (via Church Street, the Market Hill and Seckford Street) is the hill which was marched up by the Grand Old Duke of York in the popular Nursery Rhyme
Nursery rhyme

The term nursery rhyme is used for ?traditional? songs for young children in Britain and many English speaking countries, but usage only dates from the nineteenth century and in North America the older ?Mother Goose Rhymes? is still often used....
.

Famous residents

  • Thomas Clarkson
    Thomas Clarkson

    Thomas Clarkson , abolitionism, was born at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England, and became a leading campaigner against the Atlantic slave trade in the British Empire....
    , campaigner for the abolition of the Slave Trade lived in Playford
    Playford, Suffolk

    Playford is a small village in Suffolk, England, on the outskirts of Ipswich. It has about 220 residents in 90 households. The River Fynn runs through the village, and many footpaths from Playford lead into the Fynn Valley....
    , near Woodbridge
  • Edward FitzGerald
    Edward FitzGerald (poet)

    Edward Marlborough FitzGerald was an England writer, best known as the poet of the first and most famous English translation of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam....
    , translator of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
    Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

    Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in the Persian language and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayy?m , a Persian literature, Mathematics in medieval Islam and Astronomy in medieval Islam....
  • Thomas Churchyard
    Thomas Churchyard (painter)

    File:Thomas Churchyard Woodbridge Suffolk portrait ca-1825.jpgFile:Haugh Lane Woodbridge Suffolk Thomas Churchyard.jpgThomas Churchyard was an English lawyer and painter of Woodbridge, Suffolk....
    , the painter
  • Bernard Barton
    Bernard Barton

    Bernard Barton was known as the Quaker poet,Born of Quaker parentage in London, educated at a Quaker school in Ipswich, passed nearly all his life at Woodbridge, Suffolk, for the most part as a clerk in a bank....
    , Quaker poet
  • Brian Eno
    Brian Eno

    Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno , is an England musician, composer, record producer, music theory and singer, who, as a solo artist, is best known as the People known as the father or mother of something of ambient music....
     from Roxy Music
    Roxy Music

    Roxy Music are an English art rock group founded in the early 1970s by art school graduate Bryan Ferry . The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson ....
  • Charlie Simpson
    Charlie Simpson

    Charles Robert Simpson , is an English musician. He was the youngest member of Pop music group Busted , and is now the vocalist and guitarist in post-hardcore band Fightstar....
     from Busted and Fightstar
    Fightstar

    Fightstar are a four-piece rock music band from London, England. Formed in late 2003, Fightstar have since recorded and released an EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead, two full-length albums, Grand Unification and One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours, as well as a b-side compilation album Alternate Endings....


  • Sir Ian Jacob
    Ian Jacob

    Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Ian Claud Jacob Order of the British Empire, Order of the Bath, , known as Ian Jacob, was the Military Assistant Secretary to Winston Churchill's war cabinet and later a distinguished broadcasting executive, serving as the Director-General of the BBC from 1952 to 1960....
    , Director-General
    Director-General of the BBC

    The Director is chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC and is now appointed by the BBC Trust....
     of the BBC
  • Brian Capron
    Brian Capron

    Brian Capron, born 11 February 1947 at Eye, Suffolk in Suffolk, is a United Kingdom actor, who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art ....
     who portrayed Richard Hillman
    Richard Hillman

    Richard Charles Hillman was a fictional character in the British television soap opera, Coronation Street, played by Brian Capron. Hillman is now rated as one of the best soap villains of all time....
     in Coronation Street
    Coronation Street

    Coronation Street is an award-winning soap opera created by Tony Warren. It is one of the longest-running television programmes in the United Kingdom, first broadcast on 9 December 1960, made by Granada Television and broadcast in all regions of ITV almost throughout its existence....
     from 2001-2003
  • Nate James
    Nate James

    The boxer with the name Nate James is listed under Nathaniel JamesNathaniel James Harold Speas, commonly known as Nate James, is a United Kingdom Soul music singer-songwriter....
    , singer/songwriter
  • Thomas Seckford
    Thomas Seckford

    Thomas Seckford was an official at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England.Born near Woodbridge, Suffolk, Suffolk, England, Seckford was educated at Cambridge and in 1540 entered Gray's Inn, Thomas became one of Queen Elizabeth I?s two Master of Requests which dealt with poor men?s causes....
    , official at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England.


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