Woodbridge

An historic riverside market town within the county of Suffolk, East Anglia, England – located opposite an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town lies on the banks of the River Deben – an ideal setting with a long history of boatbuiding and historic links dating back to the early 10th century. Opposite Woodbridge across the banks of the river Deben is the most important Anglo-Saxon site in the Europe, the Sutton Hoo burial ship.

Sutton Hoo

Just across the river Deben from Woodbridge in the early 7th century King Rædwald of East Anglia was Bretwalda, at the time the most powerful king in England – who died in 624, is believed to be the king buried at Sutton Hoo. Its treasures were discovered in 1939 and are now kept in the British Museum in London. Replicas of some impotant items including the famous mask, including a replica long ship can now be seen at a new National Trust site: National Trust Sutton Hoo

History and Heritage

The area surrounding Woodbridge was under Roman occupation for 300 years following Queen Boadicca’s failed rebellion in 59 A.D., very few Roman remains are now to be found. When the Romans returned to Rome in 410 A.D., this lead to a large Anglo-Saxon settlement – the Angles who gave East Anglia its name.

Directly across the river Deben from Woodbridge in the 7th century King Rædwald of East Anglia, the most powerful king in England is believed to be buried at Sutton Hoo, the world famous Heritage Site. Discovered in 1939 in a burial ship 89 feet long with treasures taht were the richest ever found in British soil. Now the findings are kept in the British Museum in London, recenlty the National Trust has built a Visitor Centre on the original site.

The earliest record of Woodbridge dates from the mid-10th century – acquired by St Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester. Mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 describes Woodbridge as part of the Loes Hundred. The town has been a centre for boat-building since the Middle Ages; Edward III and Sir Francis Drake had fighting ships built in Woodbridge.

In and around the historic Woodbridge town there are many buildings dating from the Tudor, Georgian, Regency and Victorian eras. Woodbridge has a Tide Mill which is in working order and one of only two in the UK.