Nestled by the River Deben, a characterful Suffolk harbour town combines a rich history with colourful streets and a waterside mill
ON A COLD morning in January, a pearly mist rises over the broad estuary of the River Deben at Woodbridge in East Suffolk. Tall masts of anchored yachts pierce the sky as noisy seagulls and raucous crows flap over the expanse of water, fringed by woodland and rolling fields at either side. Large and small vessels form a colourful mass in the harbour; some bobbing on the water; others tethered in the marina. The white-painted clapboard Tide Mill presides over the busy harbour scene, as it has done for at least 800 years. Outside this famous landmark, a scarlet coffee van is open for business, dispensing steaming cups of hot chocolate, fragrant lattes, and thick slices of cake to chilly dog walkers out early on the popular riverside path.
Approximately 8 miles from the sea, situated on the estuary of a tidal river, Woodbridge has a distinctive maritime feel. It is not just the briny air or the buzzing quayside, with its busy marina, boatyards, yacht clubs and timber-clad buildings; throughout the winding streets of handsome houses and characterful cottages, painted pistachio green, pink, saffro-nyellow and pale blue, there is a palpable sense of the town’s history as a centuries-old port and market town, surrounded by rich agricultural land.
Once noted for industries such as ship building and rope weaving, and known as an important trade centre, it is easy to imagine the large merchant ships setting sail with their valuable cargoes of tea, cheese, coal and grain. Sir Francis Drake had his fighting ships built here to face the Spanish Armada, and Man-of-War ships were launched off Lime Kiln Quay in the time of Oliver Cromwell. Later, Woodbridge played a defensive role in the Napoleonic Wars, serving as a garrison for 4,000 troops, who thronged through the streets and spilled out of the inns, and swigged their way through 635 barrels of beer a day. Elegant buildings – some partially concealed behind old flint walls – quaint beamed pubs, twisting alleyways, and atmospheric street names provide clues to the town’s rich past.
The earliest record of Woodbridge dates to 970 AD, when King Edgar the Peaceful re-established a monastery there. The Domesday Book of 1086 refers to the settlement as ‘the Port of Loes Hundred’. Much of the area was granted to the Bigod family, who built a castle at nearby Framlingham, but it was in Elizabethan times that boom time came. A thriving wool trade and salt manufacturing, alongside timber, weaving and sailcloth industries, meant
