| Nacton | |
|---|---|
 St Martin's church, Nacton | |
  Nacton Location withinSuffolk | |
| Population | 757 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TM220403 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | IPSWICH |
| Postcode district | IP10 |
| Dialling code | 01473 |
| 52°01′01″N1°13′59″E / 52.017°N 1.233°E /52.017; 1.233 | |
Nacton is a village andcivil parish in theEast Suffolk district ofSuffolk, England. The parish is bounded by the neighbouring parishes ofLevington to the east andBucklesham in the north. It is located between the towns ofIpswich andFelixstowe.
Nacton abuts theRiver Orwell opposite the village ofPin 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 ofLevington andBucklesham and was sufficiently large to have aworkhouse, on the remains of which a substantial house was built.[2] This was used byAmberfield 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 ofAlnesbourne Priory is close to Nacton.[3]
The village contains one of the few remaining active wildfowldecoys left inEast Anglia.
The name means Hnaki or Nokkvi's homestead.[4] In 1010Ulfcytel, Ealdorman of East Anglia, fought the Danes in the area now called Seven Hills (there were more than seven barrows at one time) which is now mostly under junction 58 of the A14.
A country house in the parish,Broke Hall, was the seat of the Broke family, includingAdmiral Sir Philip Broke.
A former public house, the Anchor, appears to have been closed in controversial circumstances during the late 19th century.[5]
From 1877 to 1959 the village was served by theOrwell station.[4]
Anelectoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches north east toWaldringfield and at the 2011 census had a population of 4,602.[6]
An observatory, which had been commissioned atOrwell Park by ColonelGeorge Tomline (1813-1889) has been in use as the base of the Orwell Astronomical Society, Ipswich (OASI) from the 1960s.[7][8]
Nacton's name was used as a word coined byDouglas Adams to describe the letter 'N' when inserted between two other words as an abbreviation for 'and', as inrock 'n' roll andfish 'n' chips.[9]
