Pakefield is a suburb of the town of

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

in the north of the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

. It is located around south of the centre of the town. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1774. Pakefield has boundaries with

Carlton Colville Carlton Colville is a civil parish and suburb of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. It is south-west of the centre of the town, in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district. The area lies along the A146 road, A146 Lowestoft to ...

and

Kirkley Kirkley is a district within the town of Lowestoft in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located south of the centre of Lowestoft and the town's harbour and Lake Lothing. Kirkley was originally an independent vill ...

. It also borders the parish of

Gisleham Gisleham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is on the edge of Lowestoft, around south-west of the town centre. The parish is in the East Suffolk district, situated between Carlton Colville and Kessingland. The ...

. The village of

Kessingland Kessingland is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around south of Lowestoft on the east coast of the United Kingdom. It is of interest to archaeologists as Palaeolithic and Ne ...

is to the south.

History

Pakefield is the site of one of the earliest known areas of human habitation in the United Kingdom. In 2005 flint tools and teeth from the water vole ''Mimomys savini'', a key dating species, were found in the cliffs. This suggests that hominins can be dated in England to 700,000 years ago, potentially a cross between '' Homo antecessor'' and ''

Homo heidelbergensis ''Homo heidelbergensis'' (also ''H. sapiens heidelbergensis''), sometimes called Heidelbergs, is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human which existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was subsumed as a subspecies of '' H. erectus'' i ...

''.Parfitt.S et al (2005) 'The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe', ''Nature'' 438 pp.1008-1012, 2005-12-15. Retrieved 2011-04-16.Roebroeks.W (2005) 'Archaeology: life on the Costa del Cromer', ''Nature'' 438 pp.921-922, 2005-12-15. Retrieved 2011-04-16.Parfitt.S et al (2006
'700,000 years old: found in Pakefield'
''British Archaeology'', January/February 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-24.Good. C & Plouviez. J (2007
The Archaeology of the Suffolk Coast
Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service nline Retrieved 2009-11-28.Tools unlock secrets of early man
BBC news website, 2005-12-14. Retrieved 2011-04-15. Bloodmoor Hill, between Pakefield and Carlton Colville, was the site of settlement in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and the 7th and 8th centuries.Cambridge Archaeological Uni

. Retrieved 2009-11-28. The Saxon period consisted of a relatively dense settlement as well as a cemetery which included at least one rich barrow burial. Artefacts were discovered at the site in the 18th Century and the Saxon cemetery site was the subject of archaeological investigations between 1998 and 2006.English Heritage (2008
Historic Environment Enabling Programme Online - Report Detail: Bloodmoor Hill
. Retrieved 2009-11-28. In the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, Pakefield is called "Pagefella", Suckling. A. (1846
''The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk'': volume 1
nline Retrieved 2009-11-25. the name probably coming from the

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

settlement name of Pagga's or Pacca's field.EDP24: Pakefield
Retrieved 2009-11-25. The village was part of the King's holdingsPakefield
, Domesday Map. Retrieved 2011-04-16.''Domesday Book: folio 283r'', National Archives. and was part of the Hundred of Lothing. It had a population of about 17 households, including a number of freemen.''Domesday Book: folio 302v'', National Archives.''Domesday Book: folio 407v'', National Archives. Part of the tax payment made by the village was 600 herrings. Pakefield later developed as a

fishing community A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...

. The former terminus of the Tram Service from Lowestoft is located in the centre of Pakefield and is now the site of the Tramway Hotel. In the modern era, the area played an important role in the

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

programme nine months before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Many children who had not found prearranged

foster families Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family me ...

were given temporary shelter in the local holiday camp.Grenville. A (2008
The Kindertransports 70 years on
Association of Jewish Refugees Journal, November 2008 nline Retrieved 2009-11-28. On 1 April 1914 the parish was abolished and merged with Lowestoft, Carlton Colville and Gisleham.

Coastal erosion

Coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwar ...

has been an issue in the area for a number of years,The Suffolk Churches site
Retrieved 2009-11-10 although this may have begun to stabilise. A former lighthouse still stands on the coastline and is used by Pakefield Coastwatch.Suffolk Tourist Guide - Pakefield
Retrieved 2009-11-28.

Gallery

File:Pakefield-erosion.jpg, File:Pake-erosion1.jpg, File:Pake-erosion2.jpg, File:Pake-erosion3.jpg,

Governance

Pakefield sends two

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s to

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Est ...

and Waveney District Council. The

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

is elected through the Waveney seat. For county council elections Pakefield is part of a larger constituency with the neighboring suburb of

. The current East Suffolk council seat is held by the Labour Party.

Modern Pakefield

The coast is an important tourist destination with a number of holiday destinations, including a

Pontins Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. Since 2011, it has been owned by Britannia Hotels. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment ...

holiday camp.Pakefield Holiday Park
Pontins. Retrieved 2011-04-05. In November 2010 Pontins entered

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

, being taken over by the Britannia Hotel Group.Pontins to get 'Disney' makeover
BBC news website, 2011-02-06. Retrieved 2011-04-05. The area has a number of local shops and businesses, including

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises ...

theatre and cinema. As well as the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

All Saints' Church and St Margaret's Church, Pakefield has a Catholic church dedicated to St Nicholas.The Suffolk Churches site - Pakefield St Nicholas
Retrieved 2009-11-10. It also has a primary school and a high school. The primary school was awarded a grant by the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 2009 to develop a project called 'What has the sea ever done for us'.Pakefield Primary School
The Royal Society, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-20.

Pakefield High School Pakefield High School is a co-educational secondary school located in Pakefield, a suburb of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. The school opened in September 2011, initially with Years 7 and 8 only, using buildings which were previously ...

opened in September 2011 as part of a reorganisation of education in Lowestoft. This involved the closure of Pakefield Middle School and an extension of the primary school to take children up until the end of year 6. The high school took over the middle school site and buildings.Schools in Lowestoft and the surrounding area
Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 2009-09-11
Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 2009-09-11. The Promoting Pakefield Group was formed in 2004 to attempt to promote the area and its interests. A variety of local improvements have been made, including providing a Christmas tree, noticeboards and making improvements to the local war memorial.Lowestoft Network
pp.3-4. Retrieved 2009-09-12. The group is made up of a number of local businesses and other organisations.

Notable people

The author and illustrator Michael Foreman was born in Pakefield in 1938 and attended Pakefield Primary School. He has written about Pakefield in his books.

References

External links

Love Pakefield Tourist Information
* {{Authority control Populated coastal places in Suffolk Former civil parishes in Suffolk Lowestoft Stone Age sites in England Paleoanthropological sites