Ellough
Encyclopedia
Ellough is a parish in the English
county
of Suffolk
located approximately 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Beccles
. The area is sparsely populated with a mid-2005 population estimate of 40. Neighbouring villages include North Cove
, Weston
, Sotterley
and Henstead
. The parish council operates to administer jointly the parishes of Shadingfield
, Willingham St Mary
, Sotterley and Ellough.
The village was the site of a second world war airfield built in 1943 and operated today as Beccles Airport
. Part of the former airfield is used as a kart racetrack and as an industrial estate, including the main production site of local printing firm William Clowes Ltd.
The village itself is dispersed and has few services.
Ellough church
is dedicated to All Saints
and stands in an exposed position on a ridge overlooking the parish. It is medieval in origin, although heavily restored
in the late 19th century, and is a Grade I listed building
. It stands to the south of the valley of the Hundred River which has its mouth at Kessingland
.
The manor passed through a number of owners, including the Playters of Sotterley
, before being owned by the Earl of Gosford
in the 1840s. The church held some of the glebe land of St Mary's church in Willingham. The population of the parish was 155 in 1848, falling to 125 in 1871, at which time the parish was worth £1,687 and consisted of 1,097 acres of land. The population declined dramatically following the second world war and now stands at less than 50.
and RAF Coastal Command
airfield during the Second World War as RAF Beccles. The airfield was decommissioned after the war and the land is now used as an industrial estate, a farmers market and for Ellough Park Raceway, a kart racing cicuit. William Clowes Ltd.
printers moved to the industrial park in 2004 and the park has the UK's largest solar roof installation sited on the roof of a Promens
warehouse and with a generating capacity of 1.65MW. For a time a heliport operated to service oil and gas rigs in the North Sea.
A basic airstrip, known as Beccles Airport
, remains at the site, used as a training base and private airfield.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
located approximately 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Beccles
Beccles
Beccles is a market town and civil parish in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 Blythburgh and A12 road, northeast of London as the crow flies, southeast of Norwich, and north northeast of the county town of...
. The area is sparsely populated with a mid-2005 population estimate of 40. Neighbouring villages include North Cove
North Cove
North Cove is on the A146, in between Beccles and Lowestoft in Suffolk. The local church is called St. Boltoph and contains medieval wall paintings....
, Weston
Weston, Suffolk
Weston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk located approximately south of Beccles in the District of Waveney. The parish lies either side of the A145 and is crossed by the Ipswich to Lowestoft railway line. Neighbouring villages include Ellough, Ringsfield, Willingham St...
, Sotterley
Sotterley
Sotterley, originally Southern-lea from its situation south of the river, is a parish in the English county of Suffolk, located approximately south-east of Beccles and east of Willingham St Mary and Shadingfield. The parish is primarily agricultural with a dispersed population of 110...
and Henstead
Henstead
Henstead is near Kessingland and the A12 in Suffolk in England. It has a church called Church of St Mary which is a Grade I listed building.In 1771 the landscape artist, Thomas Hearne spent six weeks with the young George Beaumont in Henstead at the home of the latters tutor at Eton, Revd Charles...
. The parish council operates to administer jointly the parishes of Shadingfield
Shadingfield
Shadingfield is a village in the English county of Suffolk located approximately 4 miles south of Beccles along the A145. The village is joined with Willingham St Mary and 1½ miles west of Sotterley. The mid-2005 population estimate for Shadingfield parish was 170...
, Willingham St Mary
Willingham St Mary
Willingham St Mary is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk located about south of Beccles along the A145 in the District of Waveney. The village is joined with Shadingfield and west of Sotterley. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 155...
, Sotterley and Ellough.
The village was the site of a second world war airfield built in 1943 and operated today as Beccles Airport
Beccles Airport
Beccles Airfield is located in Ellough, southeast of Beccles in the English county of Suffolk. Built during the second world war, it has operated as a heliport servicing the North Sea oil and gas industry and currenty operates as a base for private flights and flight training.Beccles Aerodrome...
. Part of the former airfield is used as a kart racetrack and as an industrial estate, including the main production site of local printing firm William Clowes Ltd.
William Clowes Ltd.
William Clowes Ltd. is a British printing company founded in London in 1803 by William Clowes. It grew from a small, one press firm to one of the world's largest printing companies in the mid-19th century. The company merged with Caxton Press, operated by William Moore in Beccles, Suffolk in the...
The village itself is dispersed and has few services.
Ellough church
All Saints Church, Ellough
All Saints Church, Ellough, is a redundant Anglican church in the parish of Ellough in the English county of Suffolk. The church is medieval in origin and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust...
is dedicated to All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
and stands in an exposed position on a ridge overlooking the parish. It is medieval in origin, although heavily restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in the late 19th century, and is a Grade I listed building
Grade I listed buildings in Waveney
There are 51 Grade I listed buildings in Waveney, a non-metropolitan district of in the county of Suffolk in England.In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of "exceptional architectural or historic special interest";...
. It stands to the south of the valley of the Hundred River which has its mouth at Kessingland
Kessingland
Kessingland is a large village in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around south of Lowestoft. It is of interest to archaeologists as Palaeolithic and Neolithic implements have been found here; the remains of an ancient forest lie buried on the seabed.There has...
.
History
At the time of the Domesday survey Ellough, known as Elga, was a small settlement of 4 or 5 households. It formed part of the lands of Roger Bigot and was held by Robert of Vaux, having been confiscated from Ralph Guader, former Earl of Norfolk, following a failed rebellion. It is recorded as El'gh prior to 1400 and as Ellowe on a map of 1610.The manor passed through a number of owners, including the Playters of Sotterley
Playters Baronets
The Playters Baronetcy, of Sotterley in the County of Suffolk, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 13 August 1623 for Thomas Playters and was the last baronetcy created by King James I. The second Baronet was Vice-Admiral of Suffolk between 1640 and 1649. The fifth Baronet...
, before being owned by the Earl of Gosford
Earl of Gosford
Earl of Gosford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford. The Acheson family descends from the Scottish statesman Sir Archibald Acheson, 1st Baronet of Edinburgh, who later settled in Markethill, County Armagh...
in the 1840s. The church held some of the glebe land of St Mary's church in Willingham. The population of the parish was 155 in 1848, falling to 125 in 1871, at which time the parish was worth £1,687 and consisted of 1,097 acres of land. The population declined dramatically following the second world war and now stands at less than 50.
RAF Beccles
Ellough Airfield was completed in 1943 and served as a RAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
and RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
airfield during the Second World War as RAF Beccles. The airfield was decommissioned after the war and the land is now used as an industrial estate, a farmers market and for Ellough Park Raceway, a kart racing cicuit. William Clowes Ltd.
William Clowes Ltd.
William Clowes Ltd. is a British printing company founded in London in 1803 by William Clowes. It grew from a small, one press firm to one of the world's largest printing companies in the mid-19th century. The company merged with Caxton Press, operated by William Moore in Beccles, Suffolk in the...
printers moved to the industrial park in 2004 and the park has the UK's largest solar roof installation sited on the roof of a Promens
Promens
Promens hf is an Icelandic holding company with primary interests in rigid plastics manufacturing.It is majority owned by Icelandic investment companies Horn Invest and The Enterprise Investment Fund.Promens' headquarters are in Kópavogur, Iceland....
warehouse and with a generating capacity of 1.65MW. For a time a heliport operated to service oil and gas rigs in the North Sea.
A basic airstrip, known as Beccles Airport
Beccles Airport
Beccles Airfield is located in Ellough, southeast of Beccles in the English county of Suffolk. Built during the second world war, it has operated as a heliport servicing the North Sea oil and gas industry and currenty operates as a base for private flights and flight training.Beccles Aerodrome...
, remains at the site, used as a training base and private airfield.