Gisleham is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. It is on the edge 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 ...

, around south-west of the town centre. The parish is in the East Suffolk district, situated between

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

and

Kessingland Kessingland is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), 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 archaeologis ...

. The parish had a population of 778 at the

2011 United Kingdom census A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...

. The main A12 road cuts through the eastern portion of the parish close to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

coast. The coastal section of the parish to the east of the main road has developed as a series of holiday parks, including a large

Pontins Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. It was acquired by Britannia Hotels in 2011. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment at reso ...

park. The parish extends south as far as the Hundred River where it borders Henstead with Hulver Street and Rushmere parishes.

History

The place name of Gisleham derives from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

gysla and ham, meaning "Gysla's Village". Gisleham Manor is a moated site dating to the 13th-century. A house once existed that was enclosed within the moats, and is likely to have been a fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

. The house and associated buildings no longer exist.The site is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

.Gisleham Manor moated site, 400m south west of White House Farm
List entry,

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. Retrieved 2017-04-13. The lordship of Gisleham Manor was held by a number of families in succession.

Culture and community

Residential development at Bloodmoor Hill on the edge of Carlton Colville has led to a rapid growth in the parish population since the 1980s when it stood at 456.Gisleham
Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 2021-02-19.Gisleham
Suffolk Heritage Explorer,

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local 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 Governme ...

. Retrieved 2021-02-19. The South Lowestoft Industrial Estate, including a number of large retail stores, has also been built where the parish borders

Pakefield Pakefield is a suburb of the town of Lowestoft, in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is located around south of the centre of the town. It 2011 the ward had a population of 6,563. Pakefield has boundaries with Carlton Colvill ...

on the southern edge of Lowestoft. The traditional area of the village is centred around the parish church and extends in a linear style. It includes an area of housing at Black Street in the south of the parish and development to the north around the site of the former Gisleham Middle School. This was closed in 2011 as part of a reorganisation of schools in parts of Suffolk, and is now the site of Carlton Colville Primary School.

Holy Trinity church

Holy Trinity church is one of around 40 round-tower churches in Suffolk. The church has a late Saxon or early Norman round base topped with a 15th-century octagonal brick crown. The medieval church was restored in 1861 and 1887, and the chancel in 1902 to 1908.Knott S (2009
Holy Trinity, Gisleham
Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-02-19. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

.Church of Holy Trinity
List entry,

. Retrieved 2021-02-19.

Notes

References

External links

Website with photos of Gisleham Holy Trinity
a round-tower church {{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District