Surlingham
| Surlingham | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 Surlingham St Mary | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TG314065 |
| Location: | 52°36’24"N, 1°24’55"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 725 (2011) |
| Post town: | Norwich |
| Postcode: | NR14 |
| Dialling code: | 01508 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South Norfolk |
Surlingham is a village in Norfolk, amongst the Norfolk Broads, six and a half miles south-east of Norwich on the south bank of the River Yare between Bramerton and Rockland St Mary.
The 2011 Census recorded a population of 725.
Name
The village's name origin is uncertain. 'Homestead/village of the south Herlingas ('Herela's people)' or possibly, 'of the Sutherlingas'. In both cases, the point of reference is probably the River Yare.[1]
Churches
The church of St Mary in Surlingham is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk.[2]
St Saviour's Church, less than half a mile north-east of St Mary's, stands in ruin, overlooking Church Marsh. Dating from the 12th century, St Saviour's was in regular use until 1705. A campaign has been launched by local villagers to save the site from further deterioration and to make it safe for visitors. Norfolk naturalist Ted Ellis is buried here.
About the village
The village has two pubs, both in the north of the village on the bank of the river, the Coldham Hall Tavern and The Ferry House Inn. The latter marks the site of a ferry across the Yare to Postwick which stopped operating around 1939 following a collision with a coaster.[3]
Church Marsh nature reserve is leased to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and is overlooked by the ruins of St Saviour's Church.
Surlingham Broad
Lying between Surlingham Ferry and Coldham Hall Tavern is Surlingham Broad, a maze of waterways and swamp over 1 km2 in area leased by Norfolk Wildlife Trust. One of the central lakes, Bargate, is connected to the Yare by two dykes; the area is known as the 'wherry graveyard' as 13 wherry hulls have been sunk here.
It was in the Yare valley and in particular on Surlingham Broad in the 1950s that Dr Joyce Lambert, helped by schoolboys from the City of Norwich School, began taking peat borings which led her to conclude that the Broads were the result of human activity, peat digging.[4]
Wheatfen Broad
A well known and widely respected local figure, the writer, broadcaster and naturalist Ted Ellis (1909–1986) lived near Surlingham with his wife Phyllis for 40 years at Wheatfen Cottage near Wheatfen Broad. Ellis, who was known in print as E.A. Ellis, set up and developed his own nature reserve at the broad which is today known as Wheatfen Nature Reserve and is managed by the Ted Ellis Trust. A study centre was opened at the nature reserve in 2011.[5]
From 1928 to 1956 Ellis was Keeper of Natural History at Norwich Castle Museum, but aged 47 he resigned to focus on his work as a naturalist.[6] He wrote a nature column in the local newspaper, the Eastern Daily Press, above the byline 'E.A.E'. (for Edward Augustine Ellis). As E. A. Ellis, he wrote books including the volume on The Broads in Collins' New Naturalists series. He often appeared on local television (on BBC Look East and 'Weekend') and on radio (on BBC Radio 4's Nature Postbag) and he was active in many nature and conservation organisations.[6][7]
A naturalist with a national reputation whose painstaking research was respected and admired by the academic world, he communicated his enthusiasm to a wide audience through his writing and broadcasting. Ellis and his wife are buried among the ruins of St Saviour's Church.[8]
David Bellamy compared the significance of Wheatfen Broad to that of "Mount Everest or the giant redwood forests of North America". He went on, "It is probably the best bit of fenland we have because we know so much about it... purely because one man gave his life trying to understand it – Ted Ellis."[9]
Sport and recreation
- Coldham Hall Sailing Club which was founded in 1951 is situated in the grounds of Coldham Hall Tavern.[10]
- Football: Surlingham Tornadoes[11]
- Cycling: The Ghostriders (so named because of their tendency to cycle in the evenings). In 2015, five Ghostriders cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats via the Isle of Arran, a distance of 1030 miles over 14 days.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Surlingham) |
- Surlingham Village
- St Mary's: European Round Tower Churches
References
- ↑ Surlingham: Key To English Place-Names
- ↑ Surlingham: Round Tower Churches of Europe
- ↑ Surlingham – Ferry House: Norfolk Pubs
- ↑ Page, Mike (2005). A Broads-Eye View: The Norfolk Broads through Aerial Photography, Halsgrove, Tiverton.
- ↑ Wheatfen study centre vision becomes a reality, Eastern Daily Press, 14 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 A-Z of Norfolk science – T: Ted Ellis, BBC Norfolk website. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ↑ BBC Norfolk, Friday 22 May 2009 – Ted Ellis Remembered
- ↑ "Surlingham". http://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/surlingham.htm.
- ↑ "Welcome | Wheatfen Nature Reserve | Broads National Park". http://www.wheatfen.org.
- ↑ Coldham Hall Sailing Club
- ↑ Surlingham Tornadoes homepage