Nacton

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Nacton is a civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal region of Suffolk, England, taking its name from the village within it. The parish is bounded by the neighbouring parishes of Levington to the east and Bucklesham in the north. It is located between the towns of Ipswich and Felixstowe.

Nacton abuts the River Orwell opposite the village of Pin Mill. Riverside features covered by this parish are (from east to west) Buttermans Bay, Potter's Point, Downham Reach, Mulberry Middle and Pond Oose.

Nacton parish is the mother for the villages of Levington and Bucklesham and was sufficiently large to have a workhouse. This is now used by Amberfield School as their main building. The more adventurous explorer can find the old burial ground opposite the entrance to lane leading down to the school.

The village public house is the Shepherd and Dog, outside the village proper alongside the A1156 (formerly A45) road at the far northern edge of the parish.

The village contains one of the few remaining active wildfowl decoys left in East Anglia.

Nacton's name was used as a word coined by Douglas Adams to describe the letter 'N' when inserted between two other words as an abbreviation for 'and', as in rock 'n' roll and fish 'n' chips.

[edit] History

The original public house, The Anchor, was in the centre of the village. This was closed by order of a local dignitary during the Great War (1914-18). Local legend has it that the wife of the main landowner, Mr Tomlin MP, was accosted by a group of somewhat happy members of the soldiery while riding her horse and invited in for a drink. Being of good character, she declined, but her husband was less happy and decided the place should be closed. As a result he was on occasion greeted in parliament with the opposition cry of "Who closed the Nacton Anchor then?"

Nacton's most famous inhabitant was probably Margaret Catchpole, who became legendary in the 19th century. This followed the publication of 'The History Of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk Girl' by Richard Cobbold in 1845. It is a classic story of young girl falling in love with a villain (a smuggler called Will Laud) and suffering the consequences. She stole her employer's horse and rode to London to be with Laud. She was convicted of theft and sentenced to death, but managed to escape. She was recaptured and transported to Australia for life.

Other famous residents included Philip Broke and Edward Vernon, both naval heroes.