Walberswick

Walberswick
Walberswick, Church of St Andrew
Walberswick  Walberswick shown within Suffolk
Shire county	Suffolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Southwold
Postcode district	IP18
Dialling code	01502
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places: UK • England • Suffolk

Walberswick is a village on the Suffolk coast in England, across the River Blyth from Southwold. Coastal erosion and the shifting of the mouth of the River Blyth meant that the neighbouring town of Dunwich was lost as a port in the last years of the 13th century. Following a brief period of rivalry and dispute with Dunwich, Walberswick became a major trading port from the 13th century until World War I. The British Open Crabbing Championship is held yearly to raise funds for charities. Almost half of the properties in the village are holiday homes. There is a ferry across the river Blyth to Southwold.

Highlights

The name Walberswick is believed to derive from the Saxon Waldbert – probably a landowner – and “wyc” meaning shelter or harbour. At the top of the village is the 15th century St. Andrew's Church. The size of the St. Andrew's ruins demonstrate how large the parish once was.

With over 1,000 acres (4 km²) of heath and marshland protected within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Walberswick has good varied local habitats for birds. The village and surrounding beach and marshland have long attracted residents drawn from the arts, film and media. In the 1890s and 1900s the village became associated with Philip Wilson Steer and his circle of English Impressionists. It was home to the noted artist and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh from 1914. It was also the birthplace of Oscar nominated documentary film maker Humphrey Jennings famous for his World War II documentaries.

The World War Two defences constructed around Walberswick have been documented. They included a number of pillboxes, landmines and flame fougasse installations. The beaches were protected with extensive barriers of scaffolding.

The ornate metalwork sign to the village was erected in 1953 in commemoration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Considering its size, an inordinate number of British celebrities own or have owned holiday homes in the village including the late Sir Clement Freud and his wife Jill, and their daughter, Emma Freud and her husband Richard Curtis. Martin Bell, and Geoffrey Palmer, maintain properties here while Paul Heiney and Libby Purves live nearby. The village is the setting for Esther Freud's novel, The Sea House, thinly disguised as 'Steerborough' - presumably a coded reference, or in-joke, towards one-time resident, Philip Wilson Steer (see above). Esther Freud is the cousin of Emma Freud and the niece of Sir Clement Freud has a house in nearby Southwold.

The village is famous for its annual crabbing competition - The British Open Crabbing Championship, held every August. The person who catches the single heaviest crab within a period of 90 minutes is declared the winner. The proceeds go towards strengthening Walberswick's sea defences.

A derelict windmill stands on the marshes near Walberswick.

Railway

Walberswick had a railway station on the Southwold Railway but the line and station closed on 11 April 1929.

References

• Foot, William (2006). Beaches, fields, streets, and hills ... the anti-invasion landscapes of England, 1940. Council for British Archaeology. ISBN 1-902771-53-2. 

External links

• Walberswick.ws

• British Open Crabbing Championship [1]