| Walberswick | |
|---|---|
 Walberswick in July 2012 | |
  Walberswick Location withinSuffolk | |
| Area | 7.89 km2 (3.05 sq mi) |
| Population | 380 (2011)[1] |
| • Density | 48/km2 (120/sq mi) |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Southwold |
| Postcode district | IP18 |
| Dialling code | 01502 |
| 52°18′47″N1°40′01″E / 52.313°N 1.667°E /52.313; 1.667 | |
Walberswick is a village andcivil parish on theSuffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of theRiver Blyth on the south side of the river. The town ofSouthwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, around 1 mile (1.6 km) away. Walberswick is around 11 miles (18 km) south ofLowestoft on theNorth Sea coast. It is 7 miles (11 km) east ofHalesworth and 28 miles (45 km) northeast of the county town ofIpswich.
Coastal erosion and the shifting of the mouth of the River Blyth caused the neighbouring town ofDunwich, 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south, to be lost as a port in the last years of the 13th century. Following a brief period of rivalry and dispute withDunwich, Walberswick became a major trading port from the 13th century until theFirst World War. Almost half of the village's properties are holiday homes.
The name Walberswick is believed to derive from theSaxon Waldbert[2] – probably a landowner – and "wyc", meaning shelter or harbour. At the top of the village is the 15th-centurySt Andrew's Church, which has been reduced in size since its medieval heyday. The size of the remaining St Andrew's ruins demonstrate how large the parish church once was.[3]
The name 'Walleburyswyke', appearing in a Latin legal record, dated 1440, may refer to the village.[4]
In 1914 Scottish architect and watercolouristCharles Rennie Mackintosh retired to the village with his wifeMargaret Macdonald Mackintosh. She was also an artist, as well as being a designer well known in theGlasgow style movement.
Thedefences constructed around Walberswick during theSecond World War have been documented. They included a number ofpillboxes,landmines andflame fougasse installations. The beaches were protected with extensivebarriers of scaffolding.[5]
Walberswick forms part of the parliamentary constituency ofSuffolk Coastal. The local government district isEast Suffolk District Council, and Walberswick is part of the Southwoldelectoral ward.
The parish's population was 380 at the 2011 census.[1] A large proportion of the homes in the village are second homes or rentedholiday homes and are not permanently occupied.[6]
With over 1,000 acres (4 km2) of heath and marshland protected within theSuffolk Coast and HeathsArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Walberswick has good varied local habitats for birds.
A derelictwindmill stands on the marshes near Walberswick. The area around the village makes up theSuffolk Coast National Nature Reserve, a protected area on 1,340 hectares (3,300 acres) with a range of wetland and heathland habitats.[7]
The ornate metalworkvillage sign on the Green is a replica of one erected in 1953, at the village's main road entrance, to commemorate thecoronation ofQueen Elizabeth II. The original sign went missing in the 1980s, but after changing hands has since been returned and restored to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. It was reinstalled opposite the church.
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 withPhilip Wilson Steer and his circle of EnglishImpressionists. It was home to the noted artist andarchitectCharles Rennie Mackintosh from 1914. It was also thebirthplace of Oscar-nominated documentary film makerHumphrey Jennings, famous for hisSecond World War documentaries.
Considering its size, an inordinate number of British celebrities own or have owned holiday homes in the village including the lateClement Freud and his wife Jill, and their daughterEmma Freud and her partnerRichard Curtis.Anna Freud (the daughter ofSigmund Freud) andDorothy Burlingham (the daughter ofLouis Comfort Tiffany) kept a weekend retreat there from the late 1940s until the early 1980s. Film directorPaul Greengrass,Martin Bell and ITV's DirectorPeter Fincham have houses in the village, as did the lateGeoffrey Palmer.Paul Heiney andLibby Purves live nearby.
The village is the setting forEsther Freud's novelThe Sea House, thinly disguised as 'Steerborough'—presumably a coded reference, or in-joke, towards one-time residentPhilip Wilson Steer (see above).Esther Freud, the cousin ofEmma Freud and daughter of painterLucian Freud, also has a house in the village with her husband, actorDavid Morrissey.
The village was famous for its annual crabbing competition, the British Open Crabbing Championship, last held in August 2010. The person who caught the heaviestcrab within a period of 90 minutes was declared the winner. The proceeds supported many charitable causes.
Walberswick is reputedly haunted by a phantomcoach, drawn by headless horses and driven by the murderer Tobias Gill, who was hanged in the area in the 18th century.[8]
Walberswick is on the B1387 road which runs from theA12 south ofBlythburgh to the village where it terminates. It is at the mouth of theRiver Blyth which forms part of Southwold Harbour. Some mooring points for smaller craft in the harbour lie on the Walberswick side of the river. The river is crossed by the Bailey Bridge, a footbridge, to the west of the village. This provides pedestrian and bicycle access across the river to Southwold. Apassenger ferry, operated by a rowing boat, operates across the river closer to the centre of the village during the tourist season.
Walberswick railway station was on the narrow-gaugeSouthwold Railway which ran fromHalesworth (railway station) toSouthwold (railway station). The station was located to the west of the village around 400 metres (440 yd) south of the crossing at the Bailey Bridge. The line and station closed on 11 April 1929. The nearest railway stations are inHalesworth andDarsham.
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