Whether you’re into railways or timber-framed buildings, sailors’ knots or Anglo-Saxon ‘hoards’; aviation or archaeology; waterways or wars, there’s historical interest for everyone. Local museums can be found in Halesworth. Laxfiled and Southwold.
Suffolk is renowned for its abundance of medieval churches many of which are found hereabouts.
The archaeology of the district is well documented at both the Halesworth & Laxfield District Museums. The two towns respectively received Market Charters in 1222 and 1226. By the 17th century, Halesworth was one of the fastest growing towns in East Anglia and from the early 18th to 20th centuries, malting and brewing were its major industries.
The Heritage Lottery-funded MALT Project includes a visitor experience at The Cut Arts Centre and an informative Trail through the town.
The area’s history is profoundly linked to the Blyth Navigation, one of the earliest canalised navigations, which connected the towns of Halesworth and Southwold in 1761. Used sporadically until 1911, its demise was accelerated by attempts to reclaim land resulting in the silting up of the Blyth estuary. This is mirrored by another attempt to link Halesworth and Southwold, this time by rail. The Southwold Railway opened in 1879 in an effort to reignite commerce in Southwold by connecting to the main line at Halesworth. The fact that it was built as a 3 foot narrow gauge didn’t help its long term prospects and it faded away only 50 years later. There is a local move to reinstate the railway.