Eye, Suffolk
| Eye | |
| Suffolk | |
|---|---|
 Eye Town Hall | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TM144739 |
| Location: | 52°19’16"N, 1°8’49"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,716 (2001) |
| Post town: | Eye |
| Postcode: | IP23 |
| Dialling code: | 01379 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Mid Suffolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Central Suffolk and North Ipswich |
Eye is a small market town in Suffolk. It sits south of Diss, and on the River Dove.
The town of Eye derives its name from the Old English ieg, meaning 'island' and it is believed that the first village on the site would have been almost entirely surrounded by water and marshland formed by the River Dove to the east and south east; its tributary to the north; and by the low land, part of which now forms the Town Moor, to the south and west. Even today, the area is still prone to flooding in areas close to the River Dove, a tributary of the River Waveney which forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk.
Contents
Parish church
There has been a church in Eye at least since 1066 but the present building, the Church of St Peter and St Paul, dates from the 14th century; it is considered one of the finest churches in the county. A 13th century Early English doorway, from a former building, was retained in the construction of the church. In the 15th, and again the 16th century, there were periods of new work and of renovation, including the installing of an Altar Tomb to William Honnyng in the South Chapel, or Lady Chapel; and one to Nicholas Cutler to the north west of the nave.
The church was restored in 1868 by James Colling, a London architect. A particular feature of the church is the magnificent late-15th century rood screen which has a loft and rood designed by Ninian Comper in 1925. The screen is reputed to originate from Great Massingham Priory in Norfolk.
History
There have been Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age finds in and around Eye but the earliest evidence of settlement in the town dates from the Roman period and includes buildings and coins dated circa 365[1] In 1781 some labourers unearthed a lead box by the river at Clint Farm in Eye, 3 miles south of Scole and 2 miles southwest of Hoxne. The box contained about 600 Roman gold coins dating to the reigns of Valens and Valentinian I (reigned 364–375), Gratian (375–383), Theodosius I (378–395), Arcadius (395–408), and Honorius (393–423).[1] This was the largest hoard of Roman gold coins ever discovered in Britain.
A large Anglo-Saxon cemetery including many urned cremations and some furnished inhumations, in use during the 6th century, was excavated near the Waterloo Plantation, Eye, in 1818.
Before the Norman Conquest, Eye was one of the numerous holdings of Edric of Laxfield, the third largest land holder in Suffolk. After the Norman Conquest, the importance of the town was firmly established in the region when the Honour of Eye was granted to William Malet, a Norman Lord, and continued to be held by royal or noble families until 1823. Between 1066 and 1071, Malet constructed a castle, to establish his military and administrative headquarters, and started a highly successful market thus initiating the urbanisation of the village. Later in 1086-7, Robert Malet, William's son, founded the Benedictine Priory of St Peter, a cell of the Abbey of Bernay in Normandy.
In 1173 Eye Castle was attacked by Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk, during the rebellion against King Henry II, and later during the Second Barons' War of 1265 after which it never regained its former status. Its prison continued in use up until the early 17th century despite a programme of demolition of most of the castle buildings during the 14th century. A windmill, built in 1561-62, stood on the motte until the circular mock keep was built in 1844. The ruins of the keep are still in place today, and Castle Street and Church Street trace the elliptical shape of the former outer bailey.
The earliest mention of industry in Eye records that in 1673 'the women's employ in this town is making of bone lace' and in 1830, 'the humbler class of industrious females employ themselves in lace making'. It would appear that Eye was at the centre of a localised lace making industry for many years; the last lacemaker in the town died in 1914. Lace was not the only industry, however, and the County Directories list the many trades and occupations of the people of Eye over the 18th and 19th centuries. They included blacksmiths, wheelwrights, coopers, clockmakers, tailors, milliners, and printers.
Industry
There were several slaughterhouses, two breweries, and two retteries for the processing of flax. Iron and brass founders, agricultural implement makers, and church bell frame makers and hangers remained in operation into the 20th century. Businesses recorded in Eye in 1937 included auctioneers, booksellers & printers, boot & shoemakers, corn chandlers, drapers, surgeons and watchmakers as well as banks, bakers, butchers and grocers.
Charter
Eye was once the smallest borough in the country, its claim based on the 1205 Charter of King John. The charter was renewed in 1408 then many more times by successive monarchs. However, in 1885 the town clerk of Hythe proved that the original charter belonged only to Hythe in Kent, the error having arisen from the similarity of the early names. The error was confirmed by archivists in the 1950s but borough status was still recognised. From 1571 to 1832 Eye returned two Members to Parliamentm until reduced to one by the Reform Act 1832.
Listed buildings
Eye has three Grade I listed buildings: the Guildhall (now a private house); the castle and the Church of St Peter and St Paul. There are seven Grade II* and 152 Grade II buildings in the town.
Eye Town Hall, an imaginative and unorthodox building dating from 1856 was designed by Edward Buckton Lamb, one of the 'Rogue Architects' of the mid-Victorian period. The town hall rather divides opinion locally, between those determined that it has to be preserved and others who agree with Pevsner that the building is out of scale and character to the surrounding townscape. The building is in an increasingly fragile state, but funds have been secured to preserve it, with major building work scheduled to take place during much of 2010. The weekly country market, held in the town hall on Wednesdays between 10 and 11am, was shortlisted for the 2009 BBC Food and Farming Awards.
Outside links
- Eye Community Website
- Town Web Site
- Diss Express Eye's local newspaper website
- Eye profile from the independent Suffolk Tourist Guide website
- 490th Bomb Group
- Fine Art Canvas prints
- Eye Bookshop
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Robertson, Anne S. (2000), Hobbs, Richard, ed., An Inventory of Romano-British Coin Hoards p.404., Royal Numismatic Society, ISBN 0-901405-48-5.
- The History of Eye, Clive Paine ISBN 0-9522509-0-X
- S.E. West, 1998, A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon material from Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, 35-6.
