Eastern England

Introducing Eastern England

Flat in geography but not in atmosphere, the sprawling counties of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincolnshire unfurl gently eastwards to the sea, forming a barely wrinkled carpet of rich farmland, vast fens, sparkling rivers and lakes. Its fabric is flecked with stunning cathedral cities and medieval village gems, Edwardian seaside resorts and windmills, and of course, one rather famous university.

The region’s very smoothness is at turns eerie, mind-expanding, monotonous, and at sunset, an uncluttered canvas for the sublime. So too, it highlights the soaring churches and cathedrals that whisper of the region’s once-flourishing wool and weaving industry. What placid hills and valleys there are shelter pretty market towns, slow-flowing rivers and the same bucolic scenes that once inspired painters like Constable and Gainsborough.

Top of every visitor’s list is Cambridge, the ancient seat of learning that awes not only for its academia but also for its architecture, atmosphere and all-round beauty. In the same county, Ely and Peterborough boast superb cathedrals, and the Imperial War Museum lets you follow the flight path of WWII bombers. To the east, largely rural Suffolk is littered with implausibly pretty medieval towns, half-timbered inns and a coastline of well-heeled resorts and nature reserves. Rolling north, sleepy Norfolk is riddled with waterways and the glistening Broads beckon boaters from around England. Its tranquil coastline is lined by crisp beaches and wildlife-rich marshes. And still further north, lovely laid-back Lincolnshire is home to a dramatic hilltop capital, softly undulating landscape and a medley of film-friendly towns and mansions.

East Anglia was a major Saxon kingdom and the treasures unearthed in the Sutton Hoo burial ship proved that they enjoyed something of the good life here.

The region’s heyday, however, was in the Middle Ages, during the wool and weaving boom. Flemish weavers settled in the area, and the region’s long drainage canals, windmills and architecture also illustrate the cultural crossover with the Continental lowlands. Not to mention the grand churches and world-famous university that the new wealth helped to fund.

By the 17th century the emergence of a work-happy urban bourgeoisie coupled with a strong sense of religious duty resulted in the parliamentarianism and Puritanism that would climax in the Civil War. Oliver Cromwell, the uncrowned king of the parliamentarians, was a small-time merchant residing in Ely when he answered God’s call to take up arms against the fattened and corrupt monarchy of Charles I.

Eastern England’s fortunes waned in the 18th century, however, when the real Industrial Revolution action was taking place up north. The cottage industries of East Anglia dwindled and today crops have replaced sheep as the rural mainstay.

Last updated: Apr 17, 2009