Nacton is a village and civil parish in the

East Suffolk East Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * East Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * East Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * East Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...

district of

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 Lowes ...

, England. The parish is bounded by the neighbouring parishes of Levington to the east and Bucklesham in the north. It is located between the towns of Ipswich and Felixstowe. Nacton abuts the River Orwell opposite the village of Pin Mill. Riverside features covered by this parish are (from east to west) Buttermans Bay, Potter's Point, Downham Reach, Mulberry Middle and Pond Oose. Nacton parish is the mother for the villages of Levington and Bucklesham and was sufficiently large to have a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

, on the remains of which a substantial house was built. This was used by Amberfield School as its main building until it closed in 2011. The more adventurous explorer can find the old burial ground opposite the entrance to a lane leading down to the school. The site of Alnesbourne Priory is close to Nacton.Wilson J. M. (1872) 'Nacton', ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales''
available online
. Retrieved 2011-04-30. The village contains one of the few remaining active wildfowl

decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lur ...

s left in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

History

The name means Hnaki or Nokkvi's homestead. In 1010 Ulfcytel, Ealdorman of East Anglia, fought the Danes in the area now called Seven Hills (there were more than seven barrows at one time) which is now mostly under junction 58 of the A14. A country house in the parish, Broke Hall, was the seat of the Broke family, including Admiral Sir Philip Broke. A former public house, the Anchor, appears to have been closed in controversial circumstances during the late 19th century. From 1877 to 1959 the village was served by the Orwell station.

Notable inhabitants

* Margaret Catchpole, who became legendary in the 19th century after the publication of 'The History of Margaret Catchpole: A Suffolk Girl' by

Richard Cobbold Richard Cobbold (1797 – 5 January 1877) was a British writer. Life Richard Cobbold was born in 1797 in the Suffolk town of Ipswich, to John (1746–1835) and the poet and writer Elizabeth (née Knipe) Cobbold (1764–1824). The Cobbolds we ...

in 1845. It is a classic story of young girl falling in love with a villain (a smuggler called Will Laud) and suffering the consequences. She stole her employer's horse and rode to London to be with Laud. She was convicted of theft and sentenced to death, but managed to escape. She was recaptured and transported to Australia for life. * Edward Vernon, a naval hero. * George Tomline, a politician

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches north east to

Waldringfield Waldringfield is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is situated on the bank of the River Deben within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south of the tow ...

and at the 2011 census had a population of 4,602.

Orwell Park Observatory

An observatory, which had been commissioned at

Orwell Park Orwell Park was an estate in the village of Nacton developed by Edward Vernon, who lived there from 1725 until he died in the mansion on 30 October 1757. It was further developed by George Tomline during the late nineteenth century. It has been t ...

by Colonel George Tomline (1813-1889) has been in use as the base of the Orwell Astronomical Society, Ipswich (OASI) from the 1960s.

In popular culture

Nacton's name was used as a word coined by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...

to describe the letter 'N' when inserted between two other words as an abbreviation for 'and', as in ''rock 'n' roll'' and ''fish 'n' chips''.Nacton
at The Suffolk Real Ale Guide. Accessed 21 February 2014

References

External links

Reference on www.british-history.ac.ukLocation and picture at www.geograph.org.ukAccount of Nacton workhouse and riots
at EASF radical history site {{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk