ounty of eastern England.

Suffolk County Council - Suffolk Coastal District Council - Ipswich Borough Council

Minsmere marshland bird reserve, near Aldeburgh; the Sandlings (heathlands and birds); bloodstock rearing and horse racing at Newmarket; Sutton Hoo (7th-century ship burial); Sizewell B, Britain's first pressurised-water nuclear reactor plant; Aldeburgh Festival, held every June at Snape Maltings during the 14th century Suffolk became one of the richest counties in England, based on its wool and cloth production, the latter developing with the influx of Flemish weavers. During the Civil War it was a stronghold of Parliament. Relics of prehistoric man have been found near Brandon. Suffolk derives its name from settlement by the South Folk in the latter part of the 5th century AD. The county suffered much from the later incursions of the Danes. Walton was the scene of the landing of the Earl of Leicester in 1173 when he marched against Henry II. Because Suffolk was settled at an early date and subsequently became prosperous, it is rich in buildings of architectural and historic interest. There are monastic remains at Bury St Edmunds (Benedictine); Leston (Premonstratensian); Kersey, Butley, and Ixworth (Augustinian); Sibton (Cistercian); and Clare (Austin Friary). There are castles at Framlingham and Orford; a Roman fort, known as Burgh Castle, near Yarmouth; and fortified manor-houses at Mettingham and Wingfield. The many large churches are frequently ornamented with patterns in flint work, and over 40 of them have round towers, many of which date from the 12th century. The village of Lavenham is probably unrivalled in Britain in its wealth of medieval buildings. Suffolk also has historic examples of domestic architecture, the earliest being Moyses' Hall, Bury St Edmunds (dating from the 12th century), and Little Wenham Hall (dating from the13th century). Tudor houses include Hengrave Hall, Hengrave, and Melford Hall and Kentwell Hall, Long Melford. Ickworth Hall (5 km / 3 miles from Bury St Edmunds) is an 18th-century mansion in the Classical style.