Sotterley, originally ''Southern-lea'' from its situation south of the river, Suckling, A.I., (1846). 'Sotterley', in ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk'', 2 vols (W.S. Cowell, Ipswich 1846), I
pp. 81–96
(British History Online). Retrieved 2011-04-06. is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

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, in 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 L ...

, located approximately south-east of

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town A market town is a Human settlement, settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular marketplace, market; this d ...

and east of Willingham St Mary and Shadingfield. The parish is primarily agricultural with a dispersed population of 113 at the 2011 census.Village profile: Sotterley

East Suffolk District Council East Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England, which was established on 1 April 2019, following the merger of the existing Suffolk Coastal and Waveney districts. At the 2011 census, the two districts had a combined population ...

, 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-10.'Sotterley and Benacre plateau'
''Waveney District landscape character assessment'' pp.191–195, Waveney District Council, April 2008. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
Archived
2011-07-19.)''A profile of Waveney''
Waveney District Council, February 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-18. The parish council operates to administer jointly the parishes of Shadingfield, Willingham St Mary, Sotterley and Ellough.Shadingfield, Sotterley, Willingham and Ellough Parish Council Website
2021. Retrieved 2021-02-10. Sotterley Hall remains at the centre of the parish which now has very few basic services.Shadingfield, Sotterley, Willingham & Ellough
Healthy Suffolk,

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 Estab ...

, 2016. Retrieved 2020-02-10. A saw mill operates in the village,The Sawmill
Sotterley Estate. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
Archived
2012-03-22.) often making use of wood from the of mixed woodland managed by the Sotterley estate.Woodlands
Sotterley Estate. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
Archived
2012-03-22.)

History

At the

Domesday Survey 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 Wil ...

in 1086 Sotterley was known as Soterlega and was part of the estate of Earl Hugh of Chester in Wangford Hundred.Sotterley
The Domesday Book online. Retrieved 2011-04-18. The village had a population of about 21 households and was held by Mundred the Sheriff who also held the lost village of Croscroft in Wangford Hundred.Sotterley
Open Domesday. Retrieved 2021-02-19.Croscroft
Open Domesday. Retrieved 2021-02-10. Sotterley was held by Roger de Soterley in 1242Page, A. (1844). 'Satterley Parish', ''Topographical and genealogical, The County of Suffolk''.

Retrieved 2011-04-06.) and continued in the family until about 1470 when it was confiscated due to the family's involvement in a rebellion led by the

Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation ...

during the Wars of the Roses.

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

then gave the manor to Thomas Playters. A stained glass window in Sotterley Church commemorated the death of Thomas Playters in 1479. A descendant, also called Thomas, was High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1606 at which time the estate was valued at £2000 per annum and was the last Baron created by King James I in August 1623. In 1642 Playters' son, Sir William Playters was

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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

and Vice Admiral of Suffolk. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

Sir Lionel Playters was rector of Uggeshall and Sotterley. John Walker in chronicling the sufferings of the clergy records that when 'rebels brake open the stable doors and stole two horses' from the parsonage he challenged them, whereupon one said 'Pistoll the Parson' and two pistols were discharged at him. In 1744 Sotterley manor was sold to Miles Barne, the son of a London merchant, who rebuilt Sotterley Hall following a fire. The parish was enclosed in 1796 leaving his son Miles Barne, with , as the largest landholder. The Barne family still owns the house.Lake work benefits Beccles newts
BBC news website, 2009-09-15. Retrieved 2011-04-06. Notable members of the Barne family to have lived at Sotterley include Frederick Barne, M.P. for the rotten borough of

Dunwich Dunwich is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon period, Dunwich was ...

at the time of the 1832 Reform Act,Watson J (1815) ''The treble almanack for the year 1815'' Dublin: Authority.
Available online
Retrieved 2011-04-06.) his son

Frederick St John Newdigate Barne Frederick St John Newdigate Barne (5 September 1842 – 25 January 1898) was a British army officer and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1876 to 1885. Barne was the eldest son of Frederick Barne of Sotterley HalI, n ...

, M.P. for

from 1876 to 1885 and his son Michael Barne, Royal Navy officer and the last surviving member of the 1901–04 Discovery Expedition to Antarctica.

Geography

Sotterley lies on an area of clay plateau in a wider area averaging between 20 and 25 metres above sea level. The underlying rock is crag-sand with overlying glacial till deposits and clay soils. The landscape is mainly arable with Sotterley Park and its associated woodland providing the main variation. The village is dispersed around a crossroads with a road pattern of unlit lanes which is largely unchanged from that seen on Hodgkinson's map of 1783. The census of 1801 records Sotterley had a population of 254 inhabitants.Sotterley CP/AP: Historical statistics – Population
Vision of Britain. Retrieved 2011-04-18. The population remained reasonably steady throughout the 19th century and stood at 221 in 1901, at which time the village school had an average attendance of 80 children. From the 1920s onwards, the population began to decline more quickly and stood at 142 by the census of 1961. The 2011 census recorded the population of the parish as 113, a reduction of seven since the census of 2001. The village has very limited basic services today. The public house, the Falcon, closed during the 20th century.Sotterley: Falcon
Suffolk Pubs,

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is ...

. Retrieved 2011-04-18. Regional Cycle Route 31, from Reedham to Southwold, passes through the village.Beccles and Southwold linked by new cycle route
''Eastern Daily Press'', 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-05-22. Sotterley school, which was built in 1873 to replace a parochial school built in 1840 and supported by charitable contributions, closed in 1971.White W (1855) 'Sotterley', ''History, Gazetteer & Directory of Suffolk, 1855'', pp.673–674. Sheffield: Robert Leader.'Sotterley', ''Kelly's Directory of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, 1892'', p.1208. London: Kelly and Co.'Sotterley', ''The post office directory of Cambridge, Norfolk and Suffolk, 1869'', p.898. London: Kelly and Co.Unseen archive
Archant Newspapers Children now attend primary school in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it the ...

and high school in

Sotterley Hall and estate

Sotterley Estate is centred on a Georgian mansion house built in 1744, Sotterley Hall, overlooking a lake. The hall is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

and is H shaped with two wings and a central facade with nine windows.Sotterley Hall
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-04-06. A number of associated buildings close to the hall, including stables, a water tower and cowsheds, are grade II listed buildings.Listed Buildings in Sotterley, Suffolk, England
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-04-18. The estate surrounding the house,

Sotterley Park Sotterley Park is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Sotterley in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. This park was laid out in the eighteenth century, but it goes back at least to the early medieval per ...

, was laid out in the 18th Century and includes some ancient semi-natural woodland including pollarded oak trees and trees of significant size and age.Sotterley Park: SSSI citation
Natural England. Retrieved 2011-04-17.South Norfolk and High Suffolk Claylands
Natural England. Retrieved 2011-04-17. It is believed to have previously been a medieval deer park. The majority of the estate is a Site of Special Scientific Interest of . The park is particularly important in that the trees "support the richest epiphytic Lichen flora in East Anglia" with 92 species of lichen and 14 of

bryophytes The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited i ...

. The estate is managed with a mixture of agricultural, woodland and field sports use. A horse trail is available on land around the estate and village.Equestrian
Sotterley Estate. Retrieved 2011-04-18. The estate has been used as a film and TV location.Film/TV Location
Sotterley Estate. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
Archived
2012-03-22.)

Churches

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

, a Grade I listed building with many medieval elements,Church of St Margaret, Sotterley
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-04-06. is located on the Sotterley estate and is dedicated to

St Margaret Saint Margaret, St. Margarets, or St. Margaret's may refer to: People In chronological order: * Saint Margaret the Virgin of Antioch (died 304) * Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045–1093) * Saint Margaret of England (died 1192) * Saint Margare ...

. Access by vehicle is limited to the times of services.St Margaret, Sotterley
The Suffolk Churches site. Retrieved 2009-04-19Sotterley
Hundred River Benefice. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
Archived
2012-03-22.) The church has more figure brasses than any other in Suffolk as well as medieval glassworkSt Margaret's Church
Sotterley Estate. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
Archived
2012-03-22) and a carved oak rood screen. Kelly's directory of 1900 notes that the church register held at the time dated from 1547.'Sotterley', ''Kelly's directory of Suffolk, 1900'', p. 306. London: Kelly's Directories Limited. The roll of honour in the church records that 15 men from Sotterley died during World War I, including two Barnes. The parish was consolidated in 1873 with the neighbouring parish of Willingham St Mary which had lacked a church for many years. An unusual octagonal cemetery chapel and cemetery were established outside the estate in about 1883.Sotterley Chapel
Parish Council Website, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-19.Sotterley Cemetery Memorial Chapel, Sotterley
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-04-06. The brick built chapel is a Grade II listed building which may have been designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield. Each face of the building has a gothic window. The chapel was threatened with demolition but is now owned by the parish council and restoration was begun in 2007 by the Sotterley Chapel Preservation Trust.

References

External links

Sotterley Estate
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District