Summary
It could be said that the best days of Beccles were over a thousand
years ago, when this market town was a prosperous Saxon port, but that
would be terribly unkind, for Beccles has a lot to offer a modern visitor.
The town lies at the southernmost extremity of the Norfolk Broads, though
the town itself is across the county border in Suffolk.
What to see
Beccles suffered from extensive fires in the 16th and 17th centuries,
and much of the oldest parts of the town were destroyed. As a result,
most of what can be seen today dates from the Georgian period and later.
An exception to this is the Tudor manor of Rose Hall (alternately spelled
"Roos" Hall).
The parish church of St Michael's is a lovely building, with a humorous
legend. The quick-witted visitor (this means you!) will notice that
the church tower has clock faces on only three sides. Local legend has
it that the west side, facing Norfolk, was intentionally left blank
because the inhabitants of Beccles did not want to give the time for
free to their neighbours in Norfolk!
The church was built in the years 1350-1400 by the Abbots of Bury St
Edmunds. The unusual detached tower was begun later, in about 1500.
The bulk of the church is in the Decorated style, with the tower being
more in the Perpendicular vernacular. The church was badly burned by
a fire in 1586, with the result that the hammer-beam roof lacks some
of the beauty of its Suffolk neighbours. The elaborately carved Chancel
Screen dates from 1919. The Chancel itself is largely Victorian, with
beautifully carved choir stalls.
We know that there was a settlement at Beccles at least as early as
the year 960, when King Edwy granted it to the Monastery
of St Edmundsbury. By the time of the Domesday survey (1086), the
Abbot of St Edmundsbury paid a rent of 60,000 herrings to the crown,
emphasizing the rich fishing to be had in the region. At that time the
holding of Beccles stretched to only 10 acres, but by 1391 over 1400
acres had been reclaimed from the surrounding marshlands through a gradual
program of drainage.
The name "Beccles" comes from a combination of two words;
"Beck", meaning "stream", and "Leas",
meaning meadow. So, loosely translated, Beccles is the "meadow
by the stream".
Beccles hosts an annual regatta on the first weekend of August.
Resources
The Quay
Fen Lane
Beccles
Suffolk
NR34 9BH
Tel: 01502 713196
Fax: 01502 713196
Email: beccles@eetb.info Map
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