Beccles

The place-name 'Beccles' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ‘Becles’, located in the ancient hundred of Wangford.[https://opendomesday.org/place/TM4290/beccles/ Open Domesday: Beccles]. Accessed 22 December 2024. It appears as ‘Beacles’ circa 1095 in a document from Bury St Edmunds Abbey, and as ‘Beclis’ in 1157 and ‘Becclis’ in 1158 in the Pipe Rolls. The name is probably from the Old English ‘bec-laes’ meaning ‘pasture on the stream’, cognate with the German word ‘Bach’ meaning ‘stream’, and the English word ‘lea’ meaning ‘meadow’.Eilert Ekwall, ‘The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names’, p.33.

Once a flourishing Anglian riverport, Beccles lies in the Waveney valley and is a popular boating centre.

The town was first granted its Charter on 2 July 1584 by Elizabeth I, under the name of the Corporation of Beccles Fen. This was subsequently confirmed by James I on 19 May 1605.{{cite book |title=The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk: Volume 1. |publisher=W. S. Cowell |location=Ipswich |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/suffolk-history-antiquities/vol1/pp1-35}}

Sir John Leman (died 1632) was a tradesman from Beccles who became Lord Mayor of London.

Long associated with Beccles (including recent mayors) is the Peck family.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EakHAAAAQAAJ&q=%22robert+peck%22+beccles&pg=PA25 |title=An account of the corporation of Beccles Fen, with a tr. of their charter ... – Beccles Fen |access-date=30 April 2015|year=1826 |last1=Fen |first1=Beccles }} Among those Pecks who have made a place in history is the Rev. Robert Peck,{{acad|id=PK598R2|name=Peck, Robert}} described by Blomfield in his history of Norfolk as a man with a 'violent schismatic spirit' who led a movement within the church of St Andrew's in nearby Hingham, Norfolk, in opposition to the established Anglicanism of the day.[https://books.google.com/books?id=wIgAAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22robert+peck%22+beccles&pg=PA194 The Nonconformist's Memorial: Being An Account of the Ministers, Who Were Ejected or Silenced After the Restoration], Samuel Palmer, London, 1775. The Puritan Peck was eventually forced to flee to Hingham, Massachusetts, founded by many members of his parish, where he resided for several years, until King Charles I had been executed and Oliver Cromwell had taken the reins of government.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B2ElTqsiebMC&q=%22rev+robert+peck%22+beccles+hingham&pg=PA107 |title=History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts |access-date=30 April 2015|year=1893 |location=Hingham, Mass.}} Robert Peck then elected to return to Hingham, Norfolk, and resumed as rector of St Andrew's Church. He died in Hingham but left descendants in America, including his brother Joseph Peck, who settled in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Robert's daughter Ann Peck (16 November 1619 – 30 June 1672) also remained in Massachusetts, and married John Mason, who led colonial forces in the Pequot War.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u1_YBp_mnkMC&q=seaconk+gillman+pecke&pg=PA29 |title=A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Joseph Peck: Who Emigrated with ... – Ira Ballou Peck |access-date=30 April 2015|last1=Peck |first1=Ira Ballou |year=1868 }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NdxdH4HoSVcC&q=%22rev+robert+peck%22+beccles+hingham&pg=PA329 |title=Old Houses of the Antient Town of Norwich [Conn.] 1660–1800 – Mary Elizabeth Perkins |access-date=30 April 2015|last1=Perkins |first1=Mary Elizabeth |year=1895 }}{{cite book|last=Mason|first=John|title=A Brief History of the Pequot War|date=1736|publisher=printed and sold by S. Kneeland and T. Green|location=Boston|url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofpe00maso}}

In 1794, French émigré François-René de Chateaubriand worked in Beccles as a French teacher. While there, he fell in love with Charlotte Ives, daughter of a clergyman who lived in nearby Bungay.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/chateaubriandhis00grib/mode/2up|title=Chateaubriand and his court of women|first=Francis|last=Gribble|publisher=Chapman and Hall Ltd|location=London|date=1909|page=51-56}}

Under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 the borough was reformed which became part of the administrative county of East Suffolk in 1889, the district contained the parish of Beccles.{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10025552|title=Relationships and changes Beccles MB through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=10 September 2024}} On 1 April 1974 the district and parish were abolished and became part of Waveney district in the non-metropolitan county of Suffolk.{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1972/2039/schedule/part/35/made|title=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972|publisher=legislation.gov.uk|accessdate=10 September 2024}} A successor parish was formed covering the same area as the former district and its parish.{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1973/1110/made|title=The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973|publisher=legislation.gov.uk|accessdate=10 September 2024}} The successor civil parish has adopted town status.

File:Becclesbeltower.jpg

Many of the streets in the town centre have the suffix 'gate', for example, Ballygate, Smallgate and Blyburgate. This is derived from the Old Norse for 'street' and is similar to the modern Danish word gade.Ganther S (2014) [https://www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/assets/Planning/Design-and-Conservation/Conservation-Area-Appraisals/Beccles-Conservation-Area-Character-Appraisal-with-Mangement-Plan.pdf Beccles Conservation Area Character Appraisal], Waveney District Council, p.21. Available online at East Suffolk Council. Retrieved 1 November 2020.

The townscape is dominated by the detached 16th-century Beccles bell tower of St Michael's Church.Ganther, p.15. Like the main body of the church, the tower is Perpendicular Gothic in style and is {{convert|97|ft|m}} tall. The church was built in the 14th century but was rebuilt after being badly damaged by fire in 1586. It has a 13th-century octagonal baptismal font and 14th-century south porch.Ganther, p.25–26. Both the church and the tower are Grade I listed buildings.[https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSF1710 Building record BCC 013 - Church of St Michael], Suffolk Heritage Explorer, Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 1 November 2020.

Catherine Suckling married the Reverend Edmund Nelson, a former curate of Beccles, at the church in 1749. Their son, the naval hero Horatio Nelson, was born in 1758 in Norfolk. The Suffolk poet George Crabbe married Sarah Elmy at the church in the 18th century.

Image:BecclesTownHallc.jpg]]

Opposite the church is Beccles Town Hall, built on the site of the town's market cross.Ganther, p.27. This is at the centre of the Newmarket area, which still features a weekly market.

Beccles Museum is housed in Leman House, a Grade I listed building to the south of the town centre on Ballygate. The building dates from the 16th century and was the original site of the town's Grammar School, named after John Leman who endowed it following his death in 1631.[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1205376 Leman House], list entry, Historic England. Retrieved 1 November 2020.Ganther, p.49.Ganther, p.55.

Beccles Common is an area of common land, to the north west of the town. In the centre of Beccles Common sits a World War Two era Pillbox built in 1940 or 1941.{{Cite web|title=Pillbox FW3/22 Beccles - Beccles - TracesOfWar.com|url=https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/21910/Pillbox-FW3-22-Beccles.htm|access-date=2021-10-22|website=www.tracesofwar.com|language=en}} The area hosts Boney's Island, a man-made mound on the common. The name comes from Bonaparte's Island. There are two different sources of the name Boney's Island. the more popular origin is that it was a prisoner of war camp during the Napoleonic wars.{{Cite web|title=BCC 023 - Boney's Island; Bonaparte's Island (1838) (PMed) - Suffolk Heritage Explorer|url=https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSF16248|access-date=2021-10-22|website=heritage.suffolk.gov.uk}} The less popular origin is that a large bonfire was lit on the island to celebrate the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1814.{{Cite web|title=Geograph:: Moat around Boney's Island, Beccles... © Adrian S Pye|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2164529|access-date=2021-10-22|website=www.geograph.org.uk|language=en}}

The old Corn Exchange in Exchange Square, which dates from the early 19th century, now accommodates a branch of Lloyds Bank.{{NHLE|desc= Premises occupied by Lloyds Bank |num=1298984|access-date=4 August 2023}}

Bus services in the area are operated predominantly by First Eastern Counties and Borderbus; routes link the town with Norwich, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Bungay and Southwold, along with surrounding villages.{{Cite web |title=Beccles Bus Services |url=https://www.bustimes.org/localities/cromer-norfolk| website=Bustimes.org| access-date=14 May 2024}}

The town is served by Beccles railway station on the East Suffolk Line between {{rws|Ipswich}} and {{rws|Lowestoft}}. Services run hourly in each direction on weekdays, following the completion of the Beccles rail loop in 2012; the disused island platform was rebuilt and the track relaid to allow trains to pass, the only point north of Halesworth where this is possible. Services are operated by Greater Anglia.{{Cite web |work=Greater Anglia |title=Timetables |date=10 December 2023 |access-date=14 May 2024 |url= https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/timetables |quote=}}

The town was formerly the southern terminus of the Yarmouth to Beccles Line, which ran across the River Waveney marshes to Great Yarmouth and the eastern terminus of the Waveney Valley Line, linking to the Great Eastern Main Line at Tivetshall in Norfolk. Both lines closed, in 1954 and 1966 respectively; the latter as a result of the Beeching Cuts.

Beccles Airfield is located at Ellough, around {{convert|3|mi|km}} south-east of the town. Originally built in 1942 as a wartime airfield,[http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MSF22016&resourceID=1017 Beccles (Ellough) Airfield], Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 25 June 2011. it was used as a heliport servicing the North Sea petrochemical industry and is now a base for light aircraft and parachuting.[http://www.rainair.co.uk/skywatch.html No. 28 (Suffolk) Civil Air Patrol Unit] . ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110721222518/http://www.rainair.co.uk/skywatch.html Archived], 21 July 2011), RainAir (Beccles). Retrieved 25 June 2011.[http://www.ukparachuting.co.uk/history History], UK Parachuting. Retrieved 25 May 2011.

National Cycle Route 1, which runs from London to the Orkney Islands, passes through Beccles. Regional Route 30, which runs between Wells-next-the-Sea and Brandon, and Regional Route 31, from Reedham Ferry to Southwold, also pass through the town.[https://www.opencyclemap.org/ OpenStreetMap Cycle Map. Retrieved 24 December 2018.]

The town is by-passed to the north by the A146 road between Norwich in Norfolk and Lowestoft in Suffolk. The by-pass was built in the 1980s and the main road previously ran through the town, crossing the River Waveney at the narrow Beccles bridge. The link road between the A146 and the town is George Westwood Way, in memory of a Deputy Mayor, George Lionel Westwood, who fought hard for the construction of the by-pass.

The A145 used to run from the A146 through the town centre to link with the A12 at Blythburgh, {{convert|11|mi|km}} to the south of Beccles. The official route of the road now runs via the Beccles Southern Relief Road to indicate to drivers, particularly those of HGVs, that they can avoid the town; this is intended to make the relief road effective in keeping unnecessary traffic out of the town.

In 2006, a southern relief road for Beccles was approved, running from a roundabout just south of the town towards Ellough where the A145 connects with an industrial area, before joining with the A146 at North Cove.[http://www.becclesandbungayjournal.co.uk/news/another_step_forward_for_relief_road_project_1_3044738 Another step forward for relief road project], Beccles and Bungay Journal, 27 November 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2014. The completion cost was around £7.0 million and the road forms part of Suffolk County Council traffic management plans.[http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CD2B4C34-11A5-4F28-8330-8DD1D0B1E208/0/20062011FullLTP.pdf Suffolk Local Transport Plan 2006–11] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928072714/http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CD2B4C34-11A5-4F28-8330-8DD1D0B1E208/0/20062011FullLTP.pdf |date=28 September 2011 }}, Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 1 July 2009. It allows north–south industrial traffic to by-pass the narrow streets of the town centre, reducing congestion and increasing safety and officially opened on 25 September 2018.{{cite web |last1=Matchett |first1=Conor |title=Hundreds explore new Relief Road ahead of official opening |url=http://www.becclesandbungayjournal.co.uk/news/hundreds-explore-new-relief-road-ahead-of-official-opening-1-5707408 |website=Beccles and Bungay Journal |access-date=23 September 2018}}

Beccles is served by Sir John Leman High School (age 11–18) and SET Beccles School (11–16) for secondary education, both of which admit children from the town and the surrounding area, including from primary schools in Norfolk. Until 2012 a middle school system operated in the town, with most children moving to middle school at age 9 and on to high school at age 13.Wood R (2012) [https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/education/new-era-for-education-across-beccles-bungay-and-halesworth-1-1508501 New era for education across Beccles, Bungay and Halesworth], Eastern Daily Press, 7 September 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2020.Wood R (2012) [https://www.becclesandbungayjournal.co.uk/news/new-chapter-for-sir-john-leman-high-school-in-beccles-1-1508527 New chapter for Sir John Leman High School in Beccles], Beccles and Bungay Journal, 7 September 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2020.[https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-organisation-review/background-to-the-school-organisation-review-and-archive/ Background to the School Organisation Review and archive], Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 31 October 2020.[https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-organisation-review/information-for-parents-and-carers/beccles/ Beccles], Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 31 October 2020. The Sir John Leman High School dates from 1632 when it was established in the town after the death of John Leman.[https://becclesmuseum.org.uk/building-history/ History of the Building], Beccles and District Museum. Retrieved 31 October 2020. It was a grammar school between 1914 and 1971.

Three primary schools operate in Beccles providing education from age 5 to 11: Beccles Primary Academy (formerly Crowfoot Primary School); St Benet's Catholic Primary School; and The Albert Pye School which is federated with Ravensmere Infants School (5–8). Children from the town also attend primary school in Worlingham as well as surrounding villages.[https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/results.page?areaserved=beccles&schoolstype=6&communitychannelnew=4-1-1 Suffolk infoLink]. Retrieved 31 October 2020.

The annual Beccles Carnival and Family Fun weekend is held during the third weekend in August, which includes the popular Duck Race on the River Waveney.

The town's local newspaper is the weekly Beccles & Bungay Journal, formed in 1933.{{Cite web|title=Digital and Print Advertising - Beccles and Bungay Journal|url=https://www.archanthub.co.uk/beccles-and-bungay-journal|access-date=2020-06-04|website=www.archanthub.co.uk|language=en}}

Two Scout Association groups, 2nd Beccles and 5th Beccles, operate in the town,{{Cite web|url=https://scouts.org.uk/get-involved/map-page/|title=Scouts – Map page|website=Scouts|language=en|access-date=23 December 2018}} as do Girlguiding groups. Beccles Sea Cadets and Beccles Royal Marines Cadets run Training Ship Brave{{cite web|url=http://www.sea-cadets.org/beccles/home.aspx |title=Home – Beccles |publisher=Sea-cadets.org |access-date=30 April 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.sea-cadets.org/beccles/rmc-who-we-are.aspx |title=Who We Are – Beccles |publisher=Sea-cadets.org |access-date=30 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609000137/http://www.sea-cadets.org/beccles/rmc-who-we-are.aspx |archive-date=9 June 2015 |url-status=dead }} and the town is also home to 759 (Beccles) Air Cadets.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060825033133/http://www.becclesaircadets.co.uk/ Beccles Air Cadets]

Beccles Cricket Club, founded in 1955, play on Beef Meadow on Beccles Common.{{Cite web |title=Beccles CC Roll of Honour |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.pitchero.com%252Fclubs%252F15728%252Frollofhonour_158534.doc&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=view.officeapps.live.com}} They run two senior men's teams - the 1st team play in Division Two of the Norfolk Cricket Alliance and the 2nd team play in Division Six. They also run a women's softball team and junior teams from the under-11 age group through to under-15.{{Cite web |title=Beccles Town CC |url=https://beccles.play-cricket.com/Teams |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=beccles.play-cricket.com}}

Beccles' main football club is Beccles Town, established in 1919. As of the 2023–24 season, they are members of the Anglian Combination Premier Division. Beccles also has a football team called Beccles Caxton, with "Caxton" being a name commonly found in Beccles, including the Caxton Club social club, the Caxton Arms pub and Caxton Road.

Ellough Park Raceway is south-east of Beccles on the site of the old Ellough airfield. It is a local centre for kart racing.[http://www.elloughparkraceway.co.uk/index.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015013625/http://www.elloughparkraceway.co.uk/index.htm|date=15 October 2013}}

• Claude Auchinleck, general in India and North Africa during the Second World War
• Martin Bell, retired BBC journalist and newsreader
• Tim Buck, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Canada between 1929 and 1962
• Hester Burton, author of children's historical fiction, whose father served as Mayor three times
• Jordan Catchpole, British Paralympic swimmer. He won gold at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
• Grantly Dick-Read (1890-1959), obstetrician and a leading advocate of natural childbirth
• William Ellard, swimmer{{cite web |last1=Cunningham |first1=Alice |title=Paralympic record-breaking swimmer Will Ellard claims he can go faster |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9dpje5pk1o |website=BBC |access-date=6 September 2024 |date=4 September 2024}}
• William Fiske, goalkeeper for Blackpool{{cite book |first=Michael|last=Joyce |title=Football League Players' Records 1888–1939 |publisher=SoccerData |year=2004| page=90 |isbn=1-899468-67-6}}
• David Frost, broadcaster
• Charles Hartley, educationist and the Principal of Royal College, Colombo{{acad|id=HRTY884C|name=Hartley, Charles}}
• Dorothy Hodgkin, Nobel Prize winner
• Chris Martin, forward for Bristol City F.C.[http://www.canaries.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10355~37496,00.html]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812192713/http://www.canaries.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0%2C%2C10355~37496%2C00.html|date=12 August 2012}}
• William Aldis Wright, writer, editor and philologist

• Beccles Airport
• Beccles bell tower
• Beccles Lido
• Beccles railway station
• Beccles Town F.C.
• Alan of Beccles

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Beccles}}

{{Wikivoyage}}

{{wiktionary|Beccles}}

• {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Beccles |volume=3 |short=x}}

{{East Suffolk}}

{{Suffolk}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Market towns in Suffolk

Category:Towns in Suffolk

Category:Civil parishes in Suffolk

Category:Waveney District