Nacton
| Nacton | |
 St Martin's church, Nacton |
|
  Nacton |
|
| OS grid reference | TM220403 |
|---|---|
| District | Suffolk Coastal |
| Shire county | Suffolk |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | IPSWICH |
| Postcode district | IP10 |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Coordinates: 52°01′01″N 1°13′59″E / 52.017°N 1.233°E
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, on the remains of which a substantial house was built.[1] This was used by Amberfield School as its main building until it closed in 2011. The more adventurous explorer can find the old burial ground opposite the entrance to a lane leading down to the school. The site of Alnesbourne Priory is close to Nacton.[2]
The village contains one of the few remaining active wildfowl decoys left in East Anglia.
History
In 1010 Earl of East Anglia, Ulfketel fought the Danes the area now called Seven Hills (there were more than seven barrows at one time) and is now mostly under junction 58 of the A14.
A former public house, The Anchor, appears to have been closed in controversial circumstances during the late 19th century.[3]
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.
Orwell Park Observatory, Nacton
An observatory, which had been commissioned at Orwell Park by Colonel George Tomline (1813-1889) has been in use as the base of the Orwell Astronomical Society, Ipswich (OASI) from the 1960s.[4]
In popular culture
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.[5]
References
- ↑ Edwards, Paul Historic Asset Assessment, Former Amberfield School, Nacton, Suffolk Report prior to proposed redevelopment, March 2013
- ↑ Wilson J. M. (1872) 'Nacton', Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (available online). Retrieved 2011-04-30.
- ↑ Nacton Anchor at The Suffolk Real Ale Guide, 8 December 2013. Accessed 21 February 2014
- ↑ Orwell Astronomical Society (Ipswich) Official website
- ↑ Nacton at The Suffolk Real Ale Guide. Accessed 21 February 2014
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nacton. |
- Reference on www.british-history.ac.uk
- Location and picture at www.geograph.org.uk
- Account of Nacton workhouse and riots at EASF radical history site