Shotley 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 ...

south-east of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

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 in the Babergh district and gives its name to the

Shotley peninsula The Shotley Peninsula is a rural area east of the A137 Ipswich-Colchester road located between the rivers River Stour, Suffolk, Stour and River Orwell, Orwell in Suffolk, England. The peninsula is named after the settlements of Shotley and Sh ...

between the Rivers Stour and

Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

. The parish includes the village of Shotley and the settlements of

Shotley Gate Shotley Gate is a settlement in the civil parish of Shotley, in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is located at the tip of Shotley Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the parish of Shotley, in 2020 it had an esti ...

and Church End. In 2011 civil parish had a population of 2,342. In reference to the 2021 census, the population of Shotley was 550. The village of Shotley is about a mile northwest from the tip of the peninsula, and lies either side of the B1456 road (the Street). In 2018 it had an estimated population of 854. The Stour immediately south of the village and opposite Bathside Bay,

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

, is a possible location for the first of the two

Battles of the River Stour A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

in 885. There are two entries for Shotley (Scoteleia) and an adjacent settlement of Kirkton (Cherchetuna) listed 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. A school is located outside the village (half of 1 km east) opposite the turning into Oldhall Road. Oldhall Road is located east of the village leading north to St Mary's Church. The church is adjacent to a large naval cemetery cared for by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

. It has graves from both World Wars, not only those of

HMS Ganges Two ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Ganges'' after the river Ganges in India. * was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1782 and broken up in 1816. * was an 84-gun second rate launched in 18 ...

trainees, but also of Harwich-based warships killed in action with the Germans. There is a memorial to the dead from the 14-18 Harwich submarines. Shotley Hall is located near to the church. Rose Farm lies to the south of the village. The Shotley Parish Council holds its main meeting at the village hall at 19.15 hours every third Thursday of every month (except August), and meetings are open to the public. Shotley Gate is a settlement to the south of the village of Shotley at the tip of the peninsula. Shotley Gate also harbours

, a former Royal Navy training establishment (

RNTE Shotley Royal Naval Training Establishment Shotley, known in the Royal Navy as , was a naval training establishment at Shotley, near Ipswich in Suffolk. Starting in 1905, it trained boys for naval service until 1973 (The school-leaving age was raised ...

) for boys.

Amenities and places of interest

''The Rose'' public house is situated in the village of Shotley. ''The Bristol Arms'' public house lies in Shotley Gate near

Shotley Pier Shotley Pier is a disused long railway pier in Shotley Gate, Shotley, Suffolk. Built in 1894 by Frederick Hervey, 3rd Marquess of Bristol the structure was used to service a ferry across the River Stour to Harwich, Essex. The ferry carried m ...

, the east pier and the

Martello towers Martello towers are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up to high (with two floors) and typica ...

. ''The Shipwreck'' public house is located at Shotley Marina, also in Shotley Gate at the end of King Edward VII Drive – a popular tourist destination. In the summer months a foot and cycle ferry service licensed to carry up to 12 passengers operates between Shotley Marina, Harwich and Felixstowe. There are a few listed buildings located in Shotley, including Martello towers and the ceremonial mast from the former ''HMS Ganges''. Shotley Cottage (half of 1 km southeast of the village of Shotley) was a World War I radio telegraphy station. The Suffolk Historic Environment Record lists more than 200 sites and monuments in Shotley. St Mary's Church Walking Club, Shotley, meets on the second Sunday of every month.

HMS ''Ganges'' site redevelopment

Redevelopment of the former HMS ''Ganges'' was first proposed in 2000, with a series of retirement homes planned for the site. The site remains undeveloped and its future is uncertain. The site has had planning permission granted in principle.

Notable people

Admiral Sir Charles Dare spent his last years in Shotley and died there in 1924.

In popular culture

The area features in

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...

's children's novels of the late 1930s '' We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea'' and ''

Secret Water ''Secret Water'' is the eighth book in Arthur Ransome's ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books. It was published on 28 November 1939. This book is set in and around Hamford Water in Essex, close to the resort town of Walton-on-th ...

''. The character Commander Walker is a naval officer stationed at Shotley. Alan Peck's murder mystery of 2007 ''The Shotley Incident'' revolves around the former HMS ''Ganges'' site and the village and marina feature in the 2011–2012

Strong Winds trilogy The Strong Winds series is a series of children's books written by English author Julia Jones. The books reference many of the settings and characters of the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome. The books use adventure stories about s ...

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

s by

Julia Jones Julia Jones (born January 23, 1981) is an American actress. She may be best known for playing Leah Clearwater in '' The Twilight Saga'' film series and Angela Bishop in the television series '' Dexter: New Blood''. Early life and education Jul ...

. Scenes in the 1956 British war film Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst were shot off of Shotley Gate and the 2011 TV series ''A Farmer's Life for Me'' hosted by Jimmy Doherty was filmed at Hill House farm in the parish.

References

External links

*
Shotley Parish CouncilShotley Gate Conservation Area Appraisal
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Babergh District River Orwell