Eye, Suffolk
Encyclopedia
Eye is a small market town
in the county
of Suffolk
, East Anglia
, England, south of Diss
, and on the River Dove
.
Eye is twinned with the town of Pouzauges
in the Vendée
Departement of France.
The town of Eye derives its name from the Old English word for 'island' and it is believed that the first settlement on the site would have been almost entirely surrounded by water and marshland formed by the River Dove to the east and south east; its tributary to the north; and by the low land, part of which now forms the Town Moor, to the south and west. Even today, the area is still prone to flooding in areas close to the River Dove, a tributary of the River Waveney
which forms the boundary between Suffolk
and Norfolk
.
Earliest habitation
There have been Palaeolithic, Mesolithic
, Neolithic
and Bronze Age
finds in and around Eye but the earliest evidence of settlement in the town dates from the Roman
period and includes buildings and coins dated circa 365 A large Anglo-Saxon
cemetery including many urned cremations and some furnished inhumations, in use during the 6th century, was excavated near the Waterloo Plantation, Eye, in 1818.
In 1781 some labourers unearthed a lead box by the river at Clint Farm in Eye, 4.8 km (3 mi) south of Scole and 3.2 km (2 mi) south–west of Hoxne
. The box contained about 600 Roman gold coins dating to the reigns of Valens
and Valentinian I (reigned 364–375), Gratian (375–383), Theodosius I
(378–395), Arcadius (395–408), and Honorius (393–423). This was the largest hoard of Roman gold coins ever discovered in Britain.
Norman Eye
In Saxon
Britain, before the Norman Conquest, Eye was one of the numerous holdings of Edric of Laxfield, a wealthy and influential Saxon and the third largest land holder in Suffolk
. After the Norman Conquest, the importance of the town was firmly established in the region when the Honour
of Eye was granted to William Malet
, a Norman Lord, and continued to be held by royal or noble families until 1823. Between 1066 and 1071, Malet constructed a castle, to establish his military and administrative headquarters, and started a highly successful market thus initiating the urbanisation of the settlement
. Later in 1086-7, Robert Malet
, William's son, founded the Benedictine
Priory of St Peter, a cell of the Abbey of Bernay
in Normandy
.
The castle
Eye began to lose its strategic importance after 1173 when the castle
was attacked by Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk
, during the rebellion against Henry II
, and later during the Second Barons' War
of 1265 after which it never regained its former status. Its prison continued in use up until the early 17th century despite a programme of demolition of most of the castle buildings during the 14th century. A windmill
, built in 1561-62, stood on the motte
until the circular mock keep was built in 1844. The ruins of the keep are still in place today, and Castle Street and Church Street trace the elliptical shape of the former outer bailey
.
The church
There has been a church in Eye at least since 1066 but the present building, the Church of St Peter and St Paul, dates from the 14th century; it is considered one of the finest churches in the county. A 13th century Early English doorway, from a former building, was retained in the construction of the church. In the 15th, and again the 16th century, there were periods of new work and of renovation, including the installing of an Altar Tomb to William Honnyng
in the South Chapel, or Lady Chapel; and one to Nicholas Cutler to the north west of the nave. The church was restored in 1868 by James Colling, a London architect. A particular feature of the church is the magnificent late-15th century rood screen
which has a loft and rood designed by Ninian Comper
in 1925. The screen is reputed to originate from Great Massingham
Priory
in Norfolk
.
Commerce
The earliest mention of industry in Eye records that in 1673 'the women's employ in this town is making of bone lace
' and in 1830, 'the humbler class of industrious females employ themselves in lace making'. It would appear that Eye was at the centre of a localised lace making industry for many years; the last lacemaker in the town died in 1914. Lace was not the only industry, however, and the County Directories list the many trades and occupations of the people of Eye over the 18th and 19th centuries. They included blacksmith
s, wheelwright
s, cooper
s, clockmaker
s, tailor
s, milliners and printer
s.
There were several slaughterhouse
s, two breweries, and two retteries for the processing of flax
. Iron and brass founders, agricultural implement makers, and church bell frame makers and hangers remained in operation into the 20th century. Businesses recorded in Eye in 1937 included auctioneers, booksellers & printers, boot & shoemakers, corn chandler
s, draper
s, surgeon
s and watchmaker
s as well as banks, bakers, butchers and grocers.
The borough
Eye was once the smallest borough in the country, its claim based on the 1205 Charter
of King John
. The charter was renewed in 1408 then many more times by successive monarchs. However, in 1885 the town clerk of Hythe
proved that the original charter belonged only to Hythe
in Kent
, the error having arisen from the similarity of the early English names. The error was confirmed by archivists in the 1950s but borough status was not discontinued until 1974 after government reorganisation when Eye became a civil parish but retained a Town Council, a Mayor and the insignia. From 1571 to 1832 Eye returned two MP
s, then, following the Reform Act 1832
, a single MP until 1983 after which the Eye Constituency
became the Suffolk Central constituency
.
The railway
In 1846 Eye Borough Council failed in its attempt to route the new London-Norwich
railway line through Eye. The line, completed in 1849, went instead through Diss
ensuring its growth in prosperity and population while the importance of Eye waned. Eye railway station, located at the end of a branch line from Mellis
, closed in 1964. Today Eye retains its character as a small market town
, with a population of around 2,000. Diss is more than three times the size.
Through the years Eye has had a deer park, a leper hospital, a gaol, a workhouse, a David Fisher theatre, a coaching inn
with posting establishment, a working men's hall and reading room, an Esther, a guildhall, a grammar school
, 20 pubs (including beer houses) and an airfield which was occupied by the 480th and 490th
USAAF
Bomb Groups during World War II.
Present
Eye today has a hospital, a health centre, two schools including Hartismere High School
, three churches, a library, police station, fire station, an industrial estate on the former airfield, a WI market and a picnic site (The Pennings) beside the River Dove. The Town Moors recreation site has play areas including a skateboard
park, football pitches and a large area of woodland walks. Eye also boasted one of the smallest professional theatres in the country which inhabited the Assembly Room of the former White Lion coaching inn. The Somershey Theatre (1988–1990) became Eye Theatre (1991–2005). The building is now in private hands and the former booking office, fronting onto Broad Street, is a secondhand bookshop. Indeed, the town's range of shops is refreshingly traditional; free of charity shops, coffee shops and retail chains. That said, there are many times when the observations of author Leonard P. Thompson, writing in 1946, ring true when he said the town "wears an atmosphere of having been deserted . . . the empty streets would suggest a town from which the inhabitants have fled overnight."
, one of the 'Rogue Architects' of the mid-Victorian period. The town hall rather divides opinion locally, between those determined that it has to be preserved and others who agree with Pevsner that the building is out of scale and character to the surrounding townscape. The building is in an increasingly fragile state, but funds have been secured to preserve it, with major building work scheduled to take place during much of 2010. The weekly country market, held in the town hall on Wednesdays between 10 and 11am, was shortlisted for the 2009 BBC Food and Farming Awards.
(1904-1988), choreographer with The Royal Ballet, lived at Chandos Lodge in Eye and at Yaxley, where he is buried alongside his sister.
Janet Frame
(1924-2004), New Zealand author, lived for a short period in 1963-64 in a rented cottage in Braiseworth
, near Eye, where she began her novel An Adaptable Man, inspired by the local area, with Eye being fictionalised as 'Murston'.
Actor Brian Capron
was born in Eye.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
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...
, East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, England, south of Diss
Diss
Diss is a town in Norfolk, England close to the border with the neighbouring East Anglian county of Suffolk.The town lies in the valley of the River Waveney, around a mere that covers . The mere is up to deep, although there is another of mud, making it one of the deepest natural inland lakes...
, and on the River Dove
River Dove, Suffolk
The River Dove is a river in the county of Suffolk.-References:...
.
Eye is twinned with the town of Pouzauges
Pouzauges
Pouzauges is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France....
in the Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
Departement of France.
History
An islandThe town of Eye derives its name from the Old English word for 'island' and it is believed that the first settlement on the site would have been almost entirely surrounded by water and marshland formed by the River Dove to the east and south east; its tributary to the north; and by the low land, part of which now forms the Town Moor, to the south and west. Even today, the area is still prone to flooding in areas close to the River Dove, a tributary of the River Waveney
River Waveney
The Waveney is a river which forms the border between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads.-Course:The source of the River Waveney is a ditch on the east side of the B1113 road between the villages of Redgrave, Suffolk and South Lopham, Norfolk...
which forms the boundary between 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...
and Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
.
Earliest habitation
There have been Palaeolithic, Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
, Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
finds in and around Eye but the earliest evidence of settlement in the town dates from the Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
period and includes buildings and coins dated circa 365 A large Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
cemetery including many urned cremations and some furnished inhumations, in use during the 6th century, was excavated near the Waterloo Plantation, Eye, in 1818.
In 1781 some labourers unearthed a lead box by the river at Clint Farm in Eye, 4.8 km (3 mi) south of Scole and 3.2 km (2 mi) south–west of Hoxne
Hoxne
Hoxne is an anciently established village in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about five miles east-southeast of Diss, Norfolk and one-half mile south of the River Waveney...
. The box contained about 600 Roman gold coins dating to the reigns of Valens
Valens
Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne...
and Valentinian I (reigned 364–375), Gratian (375–383), Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
(378–395), Arcadius (395–408), and Honorius (393–423). This was the largest hoard of Roman gold coins ever discovered in Britain.
Norman Eye
In Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
Britain, before the Norman Conquest, Eye was one of the numerous holdings of Edric of Laxfield, a wealthy and influential Saxon and the third largest land holder in 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...
. After the Norman Conquest, the importance of the town was firmly established in the region when the Honour
Honour
Honour or honor is an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or corporate body such as a family, school, regiment or nation...
of Eye was granted to William Malet
William Malet (Norman conquest)
William Malet is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have been present at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, as recorded by the contemporary chronicler William of Poitiers...
, a Norman Lord, and continued to be held by royal or noble families until 1823. Between 1066 and 1071, Malet constructed a castle, to establish his military and administrative headquarters, and started a highly successful market thus initiating the urbanisation of the settlement
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
. Later in 1086-7, Robert Malet
Robert Malet
Robert Malet was an English/ Norman baron and a close advisor of Henry I.-Biography:Malet was the son of William Malet, and inherited his father's great honour of Eye in 1071. This made him one of the dozen or so greatest landholders in England...
, William's son, founded the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Priory of St Peter, a cell of the Abbey of Bernay
Bernay
- Communes :*Bernay, Eure, in the Eure département*Bernay-en-Champagne, in the Sarthe département*Bernay-en-Ponthieu, in the Somme département*Bernay-Saint-Martin, in the Charente-Maritime département...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
.
The castle
Eye Castle
Eye Castle is a motte and bailey medieval castle with a prominent Victorian addition in the town of Eye, Suffolk. Built shortly after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the castle was sacked and largely destroyed in 1265...
was attacked by Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk
Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk
Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk was born in Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, England.He was the second son of Roger Bigod , Sheriff of Norfolk, who founded the Bigod name in England...
, during the rebellion against Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, and later during the Second Barons' War
Second Barons' War
The Second Barons' War was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort, against the Royalist forces led by Prince Edward , in the name of Henry III.-Causes:...
of 1265 after which it never regained its former status. Its prison continued in use up until the early 17th century despite a programme of demolition of most of the castle buildings during the 14th century. A windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
, built in 1561-62, stood on the motte
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
until the circular mock keep was built in 1844. The ruins of the keep are still in place today, and Castle Street and Church Street trace the elliptical shape of the former outer bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
.
The church
William Honnyng
William Honnyng was an English Member of Parliament and Tudor Court official who served as Clerk of the Signet and Clerk of the Privy Council under Henry VIII and Edward VI.-Early life:...
in the South Chapel, or Lady Chapel; and one to Nicholas Cutler to the north west of the nave. The church was restored in 1868 by James Colling, a London architect. A particular feature of the church is the magnificent late-15th century rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
which has a loft and rood designed by Ninian Comper
Ninian Comper
Sir John Ninian Comper was a Scottish-born architect. He was one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects, noted for his churches and their furnishings...
in 1925. The screen is reputed to originate from Great Massingham
Great Massingham
Great Massingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It has a primary school , a village shop, a pub , a village hall and a church . It is also notable for the number of ponds in the village - two large ones in the village centre and more in the outskirts...
Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
.
Commerce
The earliest mention of industry in Eye records that in 1673 'the women's employ in this town is making of bone lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
' and in 1830, 'the humbler class of industrious females employ themselves in lace making'. It would appear that Eye was at the centre of a localised lace making industry for many years; the last lacemaker in the town died in 1914. Lace was not the only industry, however, and the County Directories list the many trades and occupations of the people of Eye over the 18th and 19th centuries. They included blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
s, wheelwright
Wheelwright
A wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...
s, cooper
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
s, clockmaker
Clockmaker
A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to repairing clocks and watches...
s, tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
s, milliners and printer
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
s.
There were several slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
s, two breweries, and two retteries for the processing of flax
Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
. Iron and brass founders, agricultural implement makers, and church bell frame makers and hangers remained in operation into the 20th century. Businesses recorded in Eye in 1937 included auctioneers, booksellers & printers, boot & shoemakers, corn chandler
Chandlery
A chandlery was originally the office in a medieval household responsible for wax and candles, as well as the room in which the candles were kept. It was headed by a chandler. The office was subordinated to the kitchen, and only existed as a separate office in larger households...
s, draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
s, surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
s and watchmaker
Watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since virtually all watches are now factory made, most modern watchmakers solely repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their parts, by hand...
s as well as banks, bakers, butchers and grocers.
The borough
Eye was once the smallest borough in the country, its claim based on the 1205 Charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
of King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. The charter was renewed in 1408 then many more times by successive monarchs. However, in 1885 the town clerk of Hythe
Hythe, Kent
Hythe , is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place....
proved that the original charter belonged only to Hythe
Hythe, Kent
Hythe , is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place....
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, the error having arisen from the similarity of the early English names. The error was confirmed by archivists in the 1950s but borough status was not discontinued until 1974 after government reorganisation when Eye became a civil parish but retained a Town Council, a Mayor and the insignia. From 1571 to 1832 Eye returned two MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s, then, following the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
, a single MP until 1983 after which the Eye Constituency
Eye (UK Parliament constituency)
Eye was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election...
became the Suffolk Central constituency
Suffolk Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Central Suffolk was a county constituency in the county of Suffolk. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
.
The railway
In 1846 Eye Borough Council failed in its attempt to route the new London-Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
railway line through Eye. The line, completed in 1849, went instead through Diss
Diss
Diss is a town in Norfolk, England close to the border with the neighbouring East Anglian county of Suffolk.The town lies in the valley of the River Waveney, around a mere that covers . The mere is up to deep, although there is another of mud, making it one of the deepest natural inland lakes...
ensuring its growth in prosperity and population while the importance of Eye waned. Eye railway station, located at the end of a branch line from Mellis
Mellis
Mellis is a small village in Suffolk, England. It has the largest area of unfenced common land in England. Oliver Cromwell exercised his troops in Mellis. It once had a railway station on the main line between London and Norwich, and a small branch line that ran to nearby Eye.In summer rare...
, closed in 1964. Today Eye retains its character as a small market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
, with a population of around 2,000. Diss is more than three times the size.
Services and amenities
HistoricalThrough the years Eye has had a deer park, a leper hospital, a gaol, a workhouse, a David Fisher theatre, a coaching inn
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
with posting establishment, a working men's hall and reading room, an Esther, a guildhall, a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, 20 pubs (including beer houses) and an airfield which was occupied by the 480th and 490th
VIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
Bomb Groups during World War II.
Present
Eye today has a hospital, a health centre, two schools including Hartismere High School
Hartismere High School
Hartismere High School is a co-educational academy, 6th Form, music and sports college for pupils aged 11-18 in Eye, a town in High Suffolk. The headmaster is Jim McAtear who joined the School in 2006.-History:...
, three churches, a library, police station, fire station, an industrial estate on the former airfield, a WI market and a picnic site (The Pennings) beside the River Dove. The Town Moors recreation site has play areas including a skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
park, football pitches and a large area of woodland walks. Eye also boasted one of the smallest professional theatres in the country which inhabited the Assembly Room of the former White Lion coaching inn. The Somershey Theatre (1988–1990) became Eye Theatre (1991–2005). The building is now in private hands and the former booking office, fronting onto Broad Street, is a secondhand bookshop. Indeed, the town's range of shops is refreshingly traditional; free of charity shops, coffee shops and retail chains. That said, there are many times when the observations of author Leonard P. Thompson, writing in 1946, ring true when he said the town "wears an atmosphere of having been deserted . . . the empty streets would suggest a town from which the inhabitants have fled overnight."
Listed buildings
Eye has three Grade One listed buildings: the Guildhall (now a private house); the castle and the Church of St Peter and St Paul. There are seven Grade Two* and 152 Grade Two buildings in the town. Eye Town Hall, an imaginative and unorthodox building dating from 1856 and listed Grade Two*, was designed by Edward Buckton LambEdward Buckton Lamb
Edward Buckton Lamb was a British architect who exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1824. Lamb was labelled a 'Rogue Gothic Revivalist', and for breaking with convention, his designs were roundly criticised, especially by The Ecclesiologist....
, one of the 'Rogue Architects' of the mid-Victorian period. The town hall rather divides opinion locally, between those determined that it has to be preserved and others who agree with Pevsner that the building is out of scale and character to the surrounding townscape. The building is in an increasingly fragile state, but funds have been secured to preserve it, with major building work scheduled to take place during much of 2010. The weekly country market, held in the town hall on Wednesdays between 10 and 11am, was shortlisted for the 2009 BBC Food and Farming Awards.
Notable residents
Sir Frederick AshtonFrederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM, CH, CBE was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, but also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues.-Early life:Ashton was born at...
(1904-1988), choreographer with The Royal Ballet, lived at Chandos Lodge in Eye and at Yaxley, where he is buried alongside his sister.
Janet Frame
Janet Frame
Janet Paterson Frame, ONZ, CBE was a New Zealand author. She wrote eleven novels, four collections of short stories, a book of poetry, an edition of juvenile fiction, and three volumes of autobiography during her lifetime. Since her death, a twelfth novel, a second volume of poetry, and a handful...
(1924-2004), New Zealand author, lived for a short period in 1963-64 in a rented cottage in Braiseworth
Braiseworth
Braiseworth is a village in Suffolk, England. It has never reached any great size, and no longer has its own parish church. The medieval church was dismantled in the 1850s, parts being incorporated into the new church, consecrated in 1857 and designed by the Victorian 'rogue' architect Edward...
, near Eye, where she began her novel An Adaptable Man, inspired by the local area, with Eye being fictionalised as 'Murston'.
Actor Brian Capron
Brian Capron
Brian Capron, born 11 February 1947 at Eye in Suffolk, is a British actor, who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . His father was an Algerian pilot, of French descent, who died in a plane crash before Brian was born....
was born in Eye.