Sotterley
Encyclopedia
Sotterley, originally Southern-lea from its situation south of the river, is a parish in the English
county
of Suffolk
, located approximately 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Beccles
and 1.5 miles (2 km) east of Willingham St Mary
and Shadingfield
. The parish is primarily agricultural with a dispersed population of 110 (mid-2008 population estimate). The parish council operates to administer jointly the parishes of Shadingfield, Willingham St Mary, Sotterley and Ellough
.
Sotterley Hall remains at the centre of the parish which now has very few basic services. A saw mill operates in the village, often making use of wood from the 160 hectares of mixed woodland managed by the Sotterley estate.
Sotterley school, which was built in 1873 to replace a parochial school built in 1840 and supported by charitable contributions, closed in 1971. Children now attend primary school in Brampton
, middle school in Worlingham
and high school in Beccles
.
Sotterley Estate is centred around a Georgian mansion house built in 1744, Sotterley Hall, overlooking a lake. The hall is a Grade I listed building
and is H shaped with two wings and a central facade with 9 windows. A number of associated buildings close to the hall, including stables, a water tower and cowsheds, are grade II listed buildings.
The estate surrounding the house, Sotterley Park, was laid out in the 18th Century and includes some ancient semi-natural woodland including pollarded oak trees and trees of significant size and age. It is believed to have previously been a medieval deer park. The majority of the estate is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
of 121 hectares. The park is particularly important in that the trees "support the richest epiphytic Lichen flora in East Anglia" with 92 species of lichen
and 14 of bryophytes.
The estate is managed with a mixture of agricultural, woodland and field sports use. A 12 miles (19.3 km) horse trail is available on land around the estate and village. The estate has been used as a film and TV location.
in 1086 Sotterley was known as Soterlega and was part of the estate of Earl Hugh of Chester
in Wangford Hundred
. The village had a population of about 21 households and was held by Mundred the Sherrif who also held the lost village of Croscroft in Wangford Hundred.
Sotterley was held by Roger de Soterley in 1242 and continued in the family until about 1470 when it was confiscated due to the family's involvement in a rebellion led by the Earl of Warwick
during the Wars of the Roses. Edward IV
then gave the manor to Thomas Playters
. A stained glass window in Sotterley Church commemorated the death of Thomas Playters in 1479.
A descendant, also called Thomas, was High Sheriff of Suffolk
in 1606 at which time the estate was valued at £2000 per annum and was the last Baron created by King James
I in August 1623. In 1642 Playters' son, Sir William Playters
was M.P.
for Oxford
and Vice Admiral of Suffolk,. During the Civil War
Sir Lionel Playters was rector of Uggeshall
and Sotterley. John Walker
in chronicling the sufferings of the clergy records that when 'rebels brake open the stable doors and stole two horses' from the parsonage he challenged them, whereupon one said 'Pistoll the Parson' and two pistols were discharged at him.
In 1744 Sotterley manor was sold to Miles Barne, the son of a London merchant, who rebuilt Sotterley Hall following a fire. The parish was enclosed in 1796 leaving Miles Barne, with 1085 acres (4.4 km²), as the largest landholder. The Barne family still owns the house. Notable members of the Barne family to have lived at Sotterley include Frederick Barne
, M.P. for the rotton borough of Dunwich
at the time of the 1832 Reform Act, his son Frederick St John Newdigate Barne
, M.P. for East Suffolk from 1876 to 1885 and his son Michael Barne
, Royal Navy officer and the last surviving member of the 1901–04 Discovery Expedition
to Antarctica.
The census of 1801 records Sotterley had a population of 254 inhabitants. The population remained reasonably steady throughout the 19th Century and stood at 221 in 1901, at which time the village school had an average attendance of 80 children. From the 1920s onwards the population began to decline more quickly and stood at 142 by the census of 1961. The mid-2008 population estimate for the parish was 110, a reduction of 10 since the census of 2001.
The village has very limited basic services today. The public house, the Falcon, closed during the 20th Century. National cycle route 31
, from Beccles to Southwold, passes through the village.
The parish church
, a Grade I listed building with many medieval elements, is located on the Sotterley estate and is dedicated to St Margaret
. Access by vehicle is limited to the times of services. The church has more figure brasses than any other in Suffolk as well as medieval glasswork. A carved oak rood screen also remains. Kelly's directory of 1900 notes that the church register held at the time dated from 1547. The roll of honour in the church records that 15 men from Sotterley died during World War I, including two Barne's.
The parish was consolidated in 1873 with the neighbouring parish of Willingham St Mary which had lacked a church for many years.
An unusual octagonal cemetery chapel and cemetery were established outside the estate in about 1883. The brick built chapel is a Grade II listed building which may have been designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield. Each face of the building has a gothic window. The chapel was threatened with demolition but is now owned by the parish council and restoration was begun in 2007 by the Sotterley Chapel Preservation Trust.
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 4 miles (6 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...
and 1.5 miles (2 km) east of 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...
and 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...
. The parish is primarily agricultural with a dispersed population of 110 (mid-2008 population estimate). The parish council operates to administer jointly the parishes of Shadingfield, Willingham St Mary, Sotterley and Ellough
Ellough
Ellough is a parish in the English county of Suffolk located approximately 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...
.
Sotterley Hall remains at the centre of the parish which now has very few basic services. A saw mill operates in the village, often making use of wood from the 160 hectares of mixed woodland managed by the Sotterley estate.
Sotterley school, which was built in 1873 to replace a parochial school built in 1840 and supported by charitable contributions, closed in 1971. Children now attend primary school in Brampton
Brampton, Suffolk
Brampton is a village in Suffolk, England, located approximately four miles north east of Halesworth, five miles south of Beccles and nine miles south west of Lowestoft. The mid-2005 population estimate for Brampton with Stoven parish was 460...
, middle school in Worlingham
Worlingham
Worlingham is a village and civil parish in the Waveney district of Suffolk, England about east of Beccles. As of 2008 it is effectively a suburb of Beccles...
and high school in Beccles
Sir John Leman High School
Sir John Leman High School is currently a mixed-sex, 13-18 comprehensive school serving part of the Waveney region in north Suffolk, England. The school is located on the western edge of the town of Beccles and serves the surrounding area, including Worlingham and parts of Lowestoft...
.
Sotterley Hall and Estate
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";...
and is H shaped with two wings and a central facade with 9 windows. A number of associated buildings close to the hall, including stables, a water tower and cowsheds, are grade II listed buildings.
The estate surrounding the house, Sotterley Park, was laid out in the 18th Century and includes some ancient semi-natural woodland including pollarded oak trees and trees of significant size and age. It is believed to have previously been a medieval deer park. The majority of the estate is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
of 121 hectares. The park is particularly important in that the trees "support the richest epiphytic Lichen flora in East Anglia" with 92 species of lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
and 14 of bryophytes.
The estate is managed with a mixture of agricultural, woodland and field sports use. A 12 miles (19.3 km) horse trail is available on land around the estate and village. The estate has been used as a film and TV location.
History
At the Domesday SurveyDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086 Sotterley was known as Soterlega and was part of the estate of Earl Hugh of Chester
Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester
Hugh d'Avranches , also known as le Gros and Lupus was the first Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.-Early career:...
in Wangford Hundred
Wangford (hundred)
Wangford was a hundred of Suffolk, consisting of .Wangford Hundred was an area of around twelve miles from west to east and five across. The River Waveney formed its northern border separating it from Norfolk...
. The village had a population of about 21 households and was held by Mundred the Sherrif who also held the lost village of Croscroft in Wangford Hundred.
Sotterley was held by Roger de Soterley in 1242 and continued in the family until about 1470 when it was confiscated due to the family's involvement in a rebellion led by the Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...
during the Wars of the Roses. Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
then gave the manor to Thomas Playters
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...
. A stained glass window in Sotterley Church commemorated the death of Thomas Playters in 1479.
A descendant, also called Thomas, was High Sheriff of Suffolk
High Sheriff of Suffolk
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. He was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county and presided at the Assizes and other important county meetings...
in 1606 at which time the estate was valued at £2000 per annum and was the last Baron created by King James
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
I in August 1623. In 1642 Playters' son, Sir William Playters
Sir William Playters, 2nd Baronet
Sir William Playters, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648.Playters was the son of Sir Thomas Playters, 1st Baronet of Sotterley and his wife Anne Swan, daughter of Sir William Swan....
was M.P.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and Vice Admiral of Suffolk,. During the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
Sir Lionel Playters was rector of Uggeshall
Uggeshall
Uggeshall is a village in Suffolk, England, located approximately 6 miles south of Beccles and 4 miles north east of Halesworth close to the A145. The mid-2005 population estimate for Uggeshall parish was 170. Sotherton is located just to the south-west, Wangford to the south-east and Brampton...
and Sotterley. John Walker
John Walker (clerical historian)
John Walker was an English clergyman and ecclesiastical historian, known for his biographical work on the Church of England priests during the English Civil War and Interregnum.-Life:...
in chronicling the sufferings of the clergy records that when 'rebels brake open the stable doors and stole two horses' from the parsonage he challenged them, whereupon one said 'Pistoll the Parson' and two pistols were discharged at him.
In 1744 Sotterley manor was sold to Miles Barne, the son of a London merchant, who rebuilt Sotterley Hall following a fire. The parish was enclosed in 1796 leaving Miles Barne, with 1085 acres (4.4 km²), as the largest landholder. The Barne family still owns the house. Notable members of the Barne family to have lived at Sotterley include Frederick Barne
Frederick Barne
Frederick Barne was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1830 to 1832.In 1830 Barne was elected Member of Parliament for the rotten borough of Dunwich and held the seat until 1832 when it was abolished under the 1832 Reform Act...
, M.P. for the rotton borough of Dunwich
Dunwich
Dunwich is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Dunwich was the capital of East Anglia 1500 years ago but the harbour and most of the town have since disappeared due to coastal erosion. Its decline began in 1286 when a sea surge hit the East Anglian coast, and...
at the time of the 1832 Reform Act, his son Frederick St John Newdigate Barne
Frederick St John Newdigate Barne
Frederick St John Newdigate Barne was a British army officer and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1876 to 1885....
, M.P. for East Suffolk from 1876 to 1885 and his son Michael Barne
Michael Barne
Michael Barne was an officer of the 1901-04 Discovery Expedition and was the last survivor of the expedition.-Early life:...
, Royal Navy officer and the last surviving member of the 1901–04 Discovery Expedition
Discovery Expedition
The British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, generally known as the Discovery Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since James Clark Ross's voyage sixty years earlier...
to Antarctica.
Geography
Sotterley lies on an area of clay plateau in a wider area averaging between 20 and 25 metres above sea level. The underlying rock is crag-sand with overlying glacial till deposits and clay soils. The landscape is mainly arable with Sotterley Park and it's associated woodland providing the main variation. The village is dispersed around a crossroads with a road pattern of unlit lanes which is largely unchanged from that seen on Hodgkinson's map of 1783.The census of 1801 records Sotterley had a population of 254 inhabitants. The population remained reasonably steady throughout the 19th Century and stood at 221 in 1901, at which time the village school had an average attendance of 80 children. From the 1920s onwards the population began to decline more quickly and stood at 142 by the census of 1961. The mid-2008 population estimate for the parish was 110, a reduction of 10 since the census of 2001.
The village has very limited basic services today. The public house, the Falcon, closed during the 20th Century. National cycle route 31
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
, from Beccles to Southwold, passes through the village.
Sotterley Church and Chapel
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, a Grade I listed building with many medieval elements, is located on the Sotterley estate and is dedicated to St Margaret
Saint Margaret of England
Saint Margaret of England, O.Cist., was born in Hungary to an Englishwoman who was related to St. Thomas Beckett, the murdered Archbishop of Canterbury....
. Access by vehicle is limited to the times of services. The church has more figure brasses than any other in Suffolk as well as medieval glasswork. A carved oak rood screen also remains. Kelly's directory of 1900 notes that the church register held at the time dated from 1547. The roll of honour in the church records that 15 men from Sotterley died during World War I, including two Barne's.
The parish was consolidated in 1873 with the neighbouring parish of Willingham St Mary which had lacked a church for many years.
An unusual octagonal cemetery chapel and cemetery were established outside the estate in about 1883. The brick built chapel is a Grade II listed building which may have been designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield. Each face of the building has a gothic window. The chapel was threatened with demolition but is now owned by the parish council and restoration was begun in 2007 by the Sotterley Chapel Preservation Trust.