perfection. The Woodland Districts of Suffolk are not extensive, and are confined chiefly to the central and south-western parts of the county. Here are but few ancient woods, though, in the Parks of some of the nobility and gentry, there are still to be seen many large oak and other timber trees, especially at Ickworth, Euston, Livermere, Heveningham, and Oakley. Framlingham Park, now divided into farms, was celebrated for the largest oaks in England, and produced the enormous tree which afforded the beams of the "Royal Sovereign." (See page 188.) During the last fifty years, large Plantations have been made in various parts of the county, especially in the sand districts, where, through the encouragement of leases of from 7 to 21 years, many extensive tracts have been converted from warren and sheep-walks into productive enclosures. The silk, worsted, linen, and other manufactures of Suffolk, are trivial compared with its agricul tural importance, and are already noticed at page 16. The imports of the county are coal, timber, iron, groceries, wine, spirits, and such other produce as are wanted for internal consumption; and its exports consist chiefly of corn and malt, for which the principal Ports are Ipswich, Woodbridge, Southwold, Lowestoft, and Yarmouth. The mineral productions of the county are few and unimportant, except chalk, lime, flint, and the fertilizing marine deposit called crag. (See page 31.) Stone, suitable for building purposes, is scarce;; but the beds of clay in various places make excellent bricks, and here are a few coarse earthenware manufactories. The Woolpit bricks are white, and nearly as beautiful and durable as stone. The botanical productions of Suffolk are as various as those of any county in England, and among them are a great number of rare plants, found in various parts of the county, especially near the sea-coast. RIVERS. Suffolk is a well-watered county. Its boundaries on the north and south are rivers navigable to a considerable extent; and it is everywhere intersected with streams, which, if the practice of irrigation was more generally adopted, would be productive of incalculable benefit. The STOUR, which rises in Cambridgeshire, and forms the boundary of Suffolk and Essex, flows eastward to the sea at Harwich, and during the last ten miles of its course, forms a broad estuary, which, in the lower part, is about two miles across. It was made navigable as high as Sudbury in 1706. In its course from that town it receives the Brett from Hadleigh, and many smaller streams. The tide flows up it to Manningtree, whence it presents a broad expansive sheet of the briny element at high water, but the effect is considerably diminished by its muddy channel and contracted stream during the ebb. It meets the Orwell from Ipswich, and their united waters fall into the German Ocean, between Harwich and Landguard Fort. The GIPPING has its sources in the centre of the county, near Stowmarket, up to which town it was made navigable in 1793. Running southward to Ipswich, it takes the name of ORWELL, and part of it, on the south side of that town, has recently been formed into the largest Wet Dock in the kingdom, comprising no less than 32 acres, as noticed at pages 62 and 63. From Ipswich, the Orwell flows in a noble tide stream (in many places nearly a mile in breadth,) to Harwich, where it falls, with the Stour, into the ocean. It is navigable for ships of considerable burthen, and its banks rise into pleasing elevations, beau tifully fringed with wood, and adorned with several fine seats. The DEBEN, which has its source in a central part of the county, near Debenham, is supposed to have been anciently navigable for barges up to that town, though it is now only a small stream, till it reaches Melton and Woodbridge, nearly 20 miles below, where it becomes a fine tide stream, navigable for vessels of 120 tons burthen, and extending ten miles southward, where it falls into the sea between Bawdsey and Walton, where it is sometimes called Bawdsey Haven. The ALDE rises near Framlingham, and runs south-east nearly to Aldeburgh, on the coast, where, having approached within a short distance of the ocean, it suddenly takes a southerly direction, and passing Orford, receives the Butley, and falls with the latter into Hollesley Bay, about 9 miles S.S.W. of Aldeburgh. (See p. 155.) It is navigable for small craft to Snape Bridge, 5 miles above Aldeburgh. The small river Ore, which falls into the Alde at Snape Bridge, is supposed to have been anciently navigable to Framlingham. (See p. 186.) The river BUTLEY, which falls into the Alde below Orford, is another tide river, but is navigable only for small craft from Orford Haven to Butley, a distance of about three miles. The BLYTHE, which rises near Laxfield, runs thence east-north-east to Halesworth, and from that town proceeds almost due east to Blythburgh and Southwold, where it falls into the sea. Though it receives many tributary streams, it is but a small river. It was, however, made navigable for small craft to Halesworth, by an act passed in 1756, and there are upon it several wharfs and quays, where much business is done in corn, coal, &c. (Vide p. 371.) The small river Yox, or Minsmere, flows eastward from Yoxford to Minsmere Haven, on the coast, about 2 miles S. of Dunwich. The Norwich and Lowestoft Navigation, for sea-borne vessels, and the Beccles Navigation with which it communicates, are described at pages 412 and 498. They were completed in 1833, but have recently undergone considerable improvements. The WAVE NEY, which forms more than half of the boundary line between Norfolk and Suffolk, rises from a copious spring in the swampy grounds near Lopham and Redgrave, (vide page 342,) and after running about forty miles in an easterly direction, to the vicinity of Oulton Broad and Lake Lothing, within five miles of the sea, it is opposed by rising grounds, which give it a direction due north, and cause it to flow to the YARE, near Burgh Castle, three miles west of Yarmouth, where the united streams take the name of Breydon Water, but do not enter the ocean till they have passed, three miles southward, through Yarmouth Haven, to the termination of the narrow tongue of land upon which Yarmouth is built. (See p. 515.) The meadows through which the Waveney passes, in an even and gentle course, are supposed to be among the richest in England, and upon them are fattened yearly numerous herds of starved cattle, from the highlands of Scotland. Yare is properly a Norfolk river, and is navigable to Norwich for large keels and small steamers. The LITTLE OUSE, which has its source from a copious spring near that which gives rise to the Waveney, flows westward in a winding course along the northern boundary of Suffolk, past Thetford and Brandon, to the fens of Lakenheath, where, turning northward, it enters Norfolk, and is soon lost in the Great Ouse, which runs to the sea below Lynn. It is navigable for boats to Thetford. The The LARK, or Burn, is a small river which rises from several rivulets, south of Bury St. Edmund's, and flows past that town to Mildenhall, and the north-west angle of the county, where it enters Cambridge. shire, and is soon lost in the Great Ouse, which communicates with Lynn and several of the Midland Counties, by means of collateral rivers and canals. The Lark was made navigable for small craft, to Fornham, near Bury, under acts passed in 1698 and 1817, as noticed at page 603. The Turnpike Roads in every part of the county are excellent, and so are most of the cross-roads, but many of the bye-lanes are narrow and miry, especially in the marshy and clayey districts. The highway rates, for three years ending 1814, show an average annual expenditure of £42,833, on 322 miles of paved streets and turnpike roads, and 2962 miles of other highways used for wheeled carriages, in this county. The amount of highway rates, in 1827, was £24,848. The returns of turnpike trusts for 1839, shew a total expenditure of £10,583, by 14 trusts. In thirteen of these trusts, the roads were reported in 1840 to be in good repair, and the other was said to be in tolerable repair. Suffolk is not yet connected with the great chain of Railways which now traverse the kingdom from north to south. Though the act for the EASTERN COUNTIES' RAILWAY received the royal assent on the 4th of July, 1836, it was only opened as far as Colchester, in March, 1843, and no progress has been made in the remainder of the line, which was to have entered Suffolk between Stratford St. Mary and Manningtree, about nine miles north of Colchester, and have passed northward through the centre of the county, by Ipswich, Ashbocking, Yaxley, Eye, and Scole, to Norwich and Yarmouth. The compulsory powers for completing this line expired some time ago, and the company of proprietors have determined not to carry it beyond Colchester, but to apply to Parliament for powers to make a railway from the terminus at Colchester, by way of Hadleigh, Bury, and Thetford, and thence to Norwich by a line to be made from Brandon to that city. They also propose to make a branch from Hadleigh to Ipswich, but with this arrangement, the inhabitants of Ipswich and the eastern parts of Suffolk are not satisfied, and they are now taking active measures to induce the Eastern Counties Railway Company to adhere to the original line; and in the event of their refusal, a new company is to be formed with the intention of completing the line under the name of the Eastern Union Railway. That part of the line extending from Norwich to Yarmouth, was intrusted some time ago to another company, who are vigorously proceeding with the undertaking. By means of a line from Scole or Diss, through Thetford or Brandon, to join the Peterborough Railway, it is in contemplation to form a junction with the Birmingham and Midland Counties Railways, which will be of great advantage to Norfolk and Suffolk, as it will connect them with the midland, western, and northern parts of the kingdom, with which their present channels of communication are circuitous and expensive. It is very probable that both lines now contemplated in Suffolk will ultimately be made, and that branches will be extended from the eastern line to Harwich, Woodbridge, Bungay, and some other towns, as well as one from Ipswich to Bury. OPENING OF A ROMAN TUMULUS: The antiquities of Suffolk will be described at subsequent pages in the histories of the parishes where they are situated, and have been briefly noticed in the preceding outline of the General History of the County, in the Roman, Saxon, Danish, and Norman eras. Near Nacton, Barrow, Barnham, and Rougham, and in other parts of Suffolk, are to be seen many tumuli or barrows, covering the ashes of Roman, Saxon, or Danish chieftains. On September 30th, 1843, Professor Henslow superintended the opening of a tumulus at Rougham, and the following is abridged from his account of the investigation, communicated to the editor of the Bury Post. "The Barrow explored on this occasion, covered a space 82 feet in diameter, but was of low elevation, not being raised more than six feet above the general level of the soil. When I arrived at the spot, the workmen had already dug a trench about four feet wide, directly opposite the middle of the Barrow, and nearly down to a level with the surface of the field. This trench rauged nearly N. E. and S. W., its direction being a little more than this to the E. and W. Upon digging a little deeper, about the middle part of the trench, we struck upon some masonry, and on clearing away the soil, we laid bare a sort of low doine covered with a thin layer of mortar, and not very unlike the top of a cottager's oven, but of larger dimensions and flatter. The mortar was spread over a layer of pounded brick about one inch and a half thick, which had been reduced to a coarse powder, intermixed with small fragments. Under this was a layer of light brown loamy clay, which was probably some of the very brick earth from which the bricks had been fabricated. The three layers together averaged about two and a half or three inches in thickness, and formed a crust which had been spread over an irregular layer of broken tiles and bricks, which lay confusedly piled round the sides and over the top of a regular piece of masonry within them. Rad time permitted, we might have levelled the Barrow, or at least have dug fairly round the brickwork, and thus have exposed it entirely, before we proceeded to examine the contents; but the public having been invited to attend by three o'clock, it became impossible for us to proceed otherwise than by inmediately penetrating from above. The result of this part of the investigation was the discovery of a chamber of brickwork, covered by broad tiles seventeen inches long, twelve broad, and two thick. The general character of the masonry was the same as that which is described in the Archæologia, vol. 25, and figured at plate 3. by the late excellent antiquary, and greatly regretted John Gage Rokewode, Esq., in his first paper on the Barrows at Bartlow. The floor of the chamber was two feet two and a half inches from N.E. to S.W., extending (singularly enough) in the very direction of the trench which crossed the Barrow; and it was nearly square. The walls were composed of five courses of brickwork, cemented by rather thick layers of mortar. The roof was formed by four ranges of tiles laid horizontally, so that each range lapped over and projected on every side by about 1 to 2 inches more inwardly than the one beneath it, until the opening was finally closed by two narrow strips of tile, filing in the space left in the last range. The height of the chamber from the floor to the top was 2 feet 3 inches. The whole was covered by an additional layer of four broad tiles; and a bed of mortar and clay between each layer had received the impressions from the tiles above it in a manner which at first conveyed a notion that they had been painted. On removing one of the smaller tiles in the upper range, I had the satisfaction of peeping into a chamber, with its furniture as beautifully arranged as that in the one described by Mr Rokewode; with the unlucky exception, that a large glass vase, owing to the joint effects of time and corruption, had fallen to pieces, and its fragments were now lying towards the north corner, in a confused heap, intermixed with the burnt human bones it had contained. Upon the heap was lying a beautiful glass lachrymatory, slightly injured in its projecting rim. Everything else was entire, and eight pieces of pottery appeared still to retain the very positions in which they had been placed by the sorrowing friends and attendants of the deceased, 16 or 17 centuries before." Among the societies and institutions which have references to the county at large, and are not previously noticed, are the Suffolk Humane Society, of which Sir T. S. Gooch, Bart., is president, (see p. 500 ;) the Suffolk Benevolent Medica Society, of which Mr. C. C. Smith is honorary secretary; the Suffolk Clergy Charity, of which the Revs. H. Hasted and S. Croft are secretaries; the Diocesan Societies, for promoting the education of the poor in the Archdeaconries of Suffolk and Sudbury; the Suffolk and General Country Amicable Insurance Company; and the Suffolk Banking Company, which has establishments at Bury and Ipswich. D 38 SEATS OF THE NOBILITY, GENTRY, AND CLERGY Of Suffolk. There are above 200 ACTING MAGISTRATES in Suffolk; and they are distinguished by Asterisks (*) appended to their names, in the following pages; except those not resident in the County, who will be found, at page 46. Acton, 3 miles N. by E. of Sudbury, Rev. L. Ottley, M. A., vicar. Aldeburgh, 5 miles N. E. of Orford, Rt. Shafto Adair, Esq., Little Cassino; Alderton Rectory, 74 m. S. E. of Woodbridge, Rev. Wm. A. Norton, M. A.* Aldringham, 2 miles N. by W. of Aldeburgh, Fras. Hayle, Esq. Alton Hall, (Stutton,) 7 miles S. of Ipswich, William Deane, Esq. Ampton Hall, 5 miles N. of Bury, Lord Calthorpe, and Hon. Frederick Calthorpe, (brothers.) Ashfield Lodge, 5 miles E.S.E. of Ixworth, Lord Thurlow. Ashmans, (Barsham,) I mile W. of Beccles, Rev. Rede Rede. Aspall House, 2 miles N. of Debenham, Rev. John Chevallier, M. D.*; and Assington Hall, 41⁄2 miles N. W. of Nayland, John Gurdon, Esq.* Barton Hall, 3 miles N. E. of Bury, Sir H. E. Bunbury, Bart., K. C. B.*; Barton Mills, I mile S. E. of Mildenhall, Capt William T. Squire; and Rev. J. Fox, B. A. Baylham, 6 miles N. W. of Ipswich, Rev. W. Colvile, M. A.* Beacon Hill House, 2 miles S.W. of Woodbridge, Edw. S. Gooch, Esq.* |