Talk:Southwold

What large stones?
"Long shore drift causes the large stones broken off the cliffs to the north to become pebbles along the beach." The cliffs in this region are made out of earth, not stone. You'd have to go hundreds of miles north to find stone cliffs. The writer may have thought that the large rocks or stones which have been placed on the beach in many places in East Anglia are natural: in fact they have been placed there as a defense against coastal erosion and have been imported from Scandinavia.

I also find the comment saying there are different proportions of sand/shingle over the year doubtful as I've never heard of this before, but I could be wrong. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.253.48.2 (talk • contribs) 01:02, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

PM vacation in Southwold
Why did someone delete the fact that the PM went on vacation to Southwold. The individual claimed it is not a notable event. How is some minor b list having a house in the area a thing that should be included on the page, yet the PM going on vacation for a month to the area where from which he made important decisions on how to run the country, where he was co-ordinating government policy from. How is that not an important historical fact for the town. In my town if the PM went on vacation for a few weeks to my town it would be a major major historical event for thwe town. It was almost a de facto capital for a few weeks. Pleae explain why it is not an important fact for a small town that the leader of the nation went on vacation for weeks and made government polcy there, in what is not a very big city. That is a major major event for the area, and was reported in the press aboth nationally and internationally. I had never even heard of the town before that. Please do not delete history just because you do not like the people involved in it. We include a super author like Orwell living in the town as a fact, I understand that. So how is the bloomin leader of the country staying there not an important fact. If he had stayed there when he was not leader fair enough but he was running the country at the time. That is a massive historical fact for the town and it is tory churlishness to ignore that. Like him or hate him it is an important issue he went to the town. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.152.187 (talk) 11:11, 28 August 2008 (UTC)


 * See my response on your talk page. I do not agree that a single holiday by a single politican is notable, after all many politicians take many holidays - they cannot all be notable! -- MightyWarrior (talk) 15:20, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

No it was a major holiday that lasted a month, it is important. I do not see how it is not an issue you are just a right winger. It is not a single politican it is the PM. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.155.130.119 (talk) 16:05, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

It would be more relevant to include the information about the PM IF he did holiday AT or IN Southwold. In fact, he resided for some 2 weeks at a house about 9 miles by road distant from the town, at Shadingfield and closer to BECCLES. Thus it would be more correct to say he was on holiday there. Apparently he went to the cinema in LOWESTOFT and visited the Maize Maze at REYDON.

Well I am soooo sorry but virtually every major paper reported the holiday as being in Southwold. It seems Time reported it as a holiday to Sohtwold. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1827401,00.html "a deck chair in the Suffolk resort of Southwold, he might even claim he's giving back to Britain's beleaguered businesses." While the telegrpah reported it as a vacation to Southwold. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/2490309/Was-Gordon-Browns-summer-outfit-at-Southwold-really-that-bad.html I aplogise I am not up to speed on the exacty area. I do not understand why the media reported he went on holiday to Southwold when it seems he went to somewhere 9 miles away, nearer another town.

It is not certain from the information available whether he did (or did not) visit the town of Southwold briefly. There was no press coverage of this (unlike the Lowestoft and Reydon visits) so it remains conjectural. In these circumstances I cannot agree with the assertions and remarks by the anonymous author that the PM's holidaying where he did is important regarding Southwold. It is certainly hyperbolic to say that Southwold was the de facto capital of the country when IN FACT the stand-in for 10 Downing Street was Shadingfield Hall. It is even said in the Fenlaand citizen newspaper he boosted tourism. OK so he did not live in the town. Then it was reported he visited Soutwold. He inmfact visited Halesworth. Is ther a page for Halesworth. OK then it was anot where he went on holiday I was missinformed by the media. Anyway it would have been a de factor capital if he sepnt two weeks there.

I also fail to see the need for mudslinging about editors' conjectured political views - especially in the form of unsigned remarks.Roaringboy (talk) 10:48, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

I did sign the marks. what are you on about.

Orwell would be proud of this suppression of the truth
The PM did holiday in the town. It was reported in TIME. So what if it was 9 miles away. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1827401,00.html It was reported accross intenational newspaper as a vacation to the town. The telegraph reports it as a holiday Southwold. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/2496869/Gordon-Brown-hires-personal-trainer-to-get-fit-for-leadership-fight.html

9 miles away so what is this is seen as the southwold area then it is a holiday to southwold.

Plus also the house he holidayed in is seen as being in the area look at this page. case closed. http://www.heritagehideaways.com/displayproperty.asp?id=11 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cleaneuropeansocialist (talk • contribs) 20:50, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

Facts-not suppression of the truth!
The media sources you quote are not accurate in their description. For these, the only places they are aware of in Suffolk are - Ipswich (prostitute murders), Southwold and Aldeburgh (second home centres, fancy house prices). However others I have seen correctly identify the place as Shadingfield. There was initially considerable speculation here about where Brown would stay in Southwold, and it then transpired that he would be at Shadingfield and not in Southwold.

There is a high snob value in identifying a place as being near Southwold when geographically it is not. Also, as Southwold is so well known (when compared with Shadingfield or Beccles) it is frequently used as a form of shorthand location description when describing properties in this part of East Suffolk. This is favoured by estate agents and letters of holiday homes.

If you look up on a map the precise location of Shadingfield, you will see from Google maps that it is nearer Beccles and that the postal address is Shadingfield Hall, London Rd, Shadingfield, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 8DE (NR is the postcode for Norwich, and Southwold is in IP-Ipswich).

The FACT remains that HE DID NOT HOLIDAY IN SOUTHWOLD. This is not the same statement as saying that he holidayed in the area of Southwold; although as I have said it would be more accurate to say that he was in the area of Beccles - that being the nearest large town to Shadingfield (4 miles or so distant).

In any event, I do not agree that his (non-existent) stay in Southwold, had it actually happened, is of any permanent interest in an article concerning the town. Other political figures of all parties have stayed in Southwold over the years, yet they do not rate inclusion. You may or may not know that during the time that Brown was in Suffolk, HRH Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall very publicly visited Southwold (where they walked about the town), Blythburgh and Snape. It may be that that visit is more important than Brown staying 9 miles away - certainly in terms of the effect on tourism. I am considering whether it should be mentioned.

As you admit, you are not familiar with the area, whilst I am as I come from it and live in it. I am quite happy to defer to people with superior knowledge of a place or subject, but that does not apply in this case. Roaringboy (talk) 09:59, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

Lead Para
The edits I have just done have only removed the mention of the district 'Waveney' in two consecutive sentences. See my talk a_boardley (talk) 09:48, 27 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Yeah, you're probably right actually - sorry :-) -- Blue Square Thing (talk) 10:51, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Culture, artists etc.
Given the recent death of Margaret Mellis, Geoffrey Munn's recent book and so forth, I think that the article needs to be expanded to incorporate additonal information; especially where the town had an important influence on the artist's work q.v. Margaret Mellis. Roaringboy (talk) 16:35, 1 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Possibly, but there's an awful lot of stuff in the article already which could use referencing and/or editing. At some point, for example, the church element of the article needs to have the external links turned into refs and, to be honest, imo it needs a bit of trimming as it's awfully long. If we can reference stuff that's going in then that's great - if it manages to deal with notability and whathaveyou -- Blue Square Thing (talk) 17:01, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree entirely. The church section has been added by an author who has also expanded that section in other entries e.g. Reydon. I've had a first stab at correcting some of it and making it a bit more factual, but it could be better done in a succinct form with external references. In its present form it's not detailed enough to satisfy a "Pevsner" type architectural entry; nor is it short and externally pointing. It also jars with the History section. The same applies to other parts of the Southwold article. The "Cultural Events" section at present speaks only of the Flying Egg competition of blessed memory. Should we have a separate list of all the other things expunged - Regatta, Pram Race, Jazz on the proper Green etc.-perhaps not? I also think there is room to expand the Southwold Museum article (retitled to Museums in Southwold or the like) to draw in the Alfred Corry and the Reading Room. The Amber Museum could also be cut from "Other Town Features" and added in there.

I'm always concerned about any section dealing with recent/current events and dates, as any failure to keep them bang up to date reminds me of last year's circus posters hanging on to telegraph poles for dear life. I also do not much care for the listing of supposed second home owners, which is more a magazine article thing in my view. Civic matters like the mayoralty, Trinity Fair etc. should also be described.

My views only, of course - open to suggestion! Roaringboy (talk) 09:24, 2 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Let's have a look at the WP:TOWNS guidelines and, perhaps, some GA's and see what they do? I'll see if I can make a start later perhaps -- Blue Square Thing (talk) 12:01, 2 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Intervening with regards to the church of St Edmund, if I can provide my bit of advice the best thing would probably be to cut it as proposed by Blue quite drastically; but I would also add that the best solution would be creating a stand alone article on the church - i.e. Church of St Edmund, Southwold - since all Grade I listed buildings are beyond any doubt notable; and I would also add, that even among Waveney's most eminent buildings few if any can stand a comparison with St Edmund's.--Aldux (talk) 22:37, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Planning permission
I removed the statement that planning permission has been sought to rebuild the pavilion. Anyone can lodge a planning application to do anything, so the statement adds nothing to an article in providing information about the town. If permission is granted, that fact might be notable enough to be included, but until then it is totally meaningless as far as the article is concerned.--Shantavira|feed me 17:47, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Southwold. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20130424120949/http://southwoldharbour.co.uk/south.htm to http://www.southwoldharbour.co.uk/south.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080514195049/http://www.randomhouse.co.uk:80/offthepage/guide.htm?command=Search&db=/catalog/main.txt&eqisbndata=0099453525 to http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/offthepage/guide.htm?command=Search&db=/catalog/main.txt&eqisbndata=0099453525

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 03:10, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Education section - needs expansion
Quite rightly, a separate section on Education, describing Southwold Primary, has recently been added. However, if education in and for the town's children is to be fully covered, then it should also make reference to secondary education, which is provided in places other than Southwold. Once I have established the facts about the default schools, which have changed due to Suffolk County Council's school bus policies, I will add the necessary details. Roaringboy 08:23, 27 March 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roaringboy (talk • contribs)

Update:- I've now added in the secondary information. Although a couple of the schools are 11-16, and therefore pupils after 16 will go on to Sixth Form colleges in the area, I feel that detailing this aspect further is excessive, and have not done so.

Roaringboy 10:31, 27 March 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roaringboy (talk • contribs)