Easton Bavents
Encyclopedia
Easton Bavents is a hamlet
in Waveney District
and the ceremonial county of Suffolk
in England
. It was once the most easterly ecclesiastical parish in England; a map of Suffolk dated around 1610 shows a headland projecting eastwards into the sea there. However, it is now restricted to a stretch of the Suffolk
coast to the east of Reydon
, as coastal erosion
has caused the former village to be under the North Sea
over 1 miles (1.6 km) east of that stretch. The remaining area is now part of the civil parish
of Reydon.
During the Middle Ages Easton Bavents was a Parish of some importance and in the 14th Century it was granted a weekly market as well as a three-day long fair on the feast day of St Nicholas. Records indicate that the parish church
, also dedicated to St Nicholas was in use in 1639 and a rector was appointed as late as 1666. However, around that time, the cliff on which the village was built collapsed and the church itself seems to have gone under the sea during the latter part of the 17th Century. A Chapel dedicated to St Margaret
was also erected but that too is now long gone. The Battle of Sole Bay took place off the coast of Eastion Bavents. Easton Bavents survived as a fishing village until the 19th Century. The continuing receding of the cliffs makes the area a popular, albeit hazardous, area for fossil
hunters who access the area by walking along the beach from Southwold
.
Population of Easton Bavents
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in Waveney District
Waveney
Waveney is a local government district in Suffolk, England, named after the River Waveney that forms its north-west border. The district council is based in Lowestoft, the major settlement in Waveney, which is the only unparished area in the district...
and the ceremonial county of Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was once the most easterly ecclesiastical parish in England; a map of Suffolk dated around 1610 shows a headland projecting eastwards into the sea there. However, it is now restricted to a stretch of the Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
coast to the east of Reydon
Reydon
Reydon is a village and civil parish, north-west from Southwold and south east of Wangford in Waveney District and the ceremonial county of Suffolk in England. It has a population of 2,567....
, as coastal erosion
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
has caused the former village to be under the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
over 1 miles (1.6 km) east of that stretch. The remaining area is now part of the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Reydon.
During the Middle Ages Easton Bavents was a Parish of some importance and in the 14th Century it was granted a weekly market as well as a three-day long fair on the feast day of St Nicholas. Records indicate that the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, also dedicated to St Nicholas was in use in 1639 and a rector was appointed as late as 1666. However, around that time, the cliff on which the village was built collapsed and the church itself seems to have gone under the sea during the latter part of the 17th Century. A Chapel dedicated to St Margaret
Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
was also erected but that too is now long gone. The Battle of Sole Bay took place off the coast of Eastion Bavents. Easton Bavents survived as a fishing village until the 19th Century. The continuing receding of the cliffs makes the area a popular, albeit hazardous, area for fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
hunters who access the area by walking along the beach from Southwold
Southwold
Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...
.
Population of Easton Bavents
- 1801: 17
- 1901: 16
- 1971: 19
External links
- Details of the church
- Census information
- Easton Broad and Wood - Stacey Peak Media
- c20 King Canute - NVCC