Suffolk is a ceremonial county in East Anglia, on the North Sea coast of eastern England. It covers 1,466 square miles (3,798 km2) and had a population of 763,349 at the 2021 census. Ipswich is the county town and by far the largest settlement.
The county is run in two tiers: Suffolk County Council plus five district and borough councils. Its coast, its Breckland heaths and its medieval wool towns give Suffolk three quite different faces.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | East of England |
| Area | 1,466 sq mi (3,798 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 763,349 |
| Density | 201 people per km2 (521 per sq mi) |
| County town | Ipswich |
| Largest town | Ipswich (144,957) |
| Districts | Babergh, East Suffolk, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, West Suffolk |
| Postcode areas | IP, CO, CB, NR |
| Council | Suffolk County Council |
Towns and Villages in Suffolk
The GeoNames gazetteer records 800 named places in Suffolk, most of them hamlets, greens and farm ends. The 250 listed below cover the county’s towns and larger villages, alphabetically from Acton to Yoxford.
- Acton
- Aldeburgh
- Allwood Green
- Ash Street
- Ashbocking
- Assington
- Audley End
- Bacton
- Badingham
- Badwell Ash
- Bardwell
- Barking
- Barnardiston
- Barnby
- Barningham
- Barton Mills
- Battlies Green
- Beccles
- Bedingfield
- Bentley
- Beyton
- Bildeston
- Blaxhall
- Bobby Hill
- Botesdale
- Boxford
- Boyton
- Braiseworth
- Bramfield
- Bramford
- Brampton
- Brandon
- Brightwell Heath
- Brockley
- Brome Street
- Bromeswell
- Bucklesham
- Bucks Horn Place
- Bungay
- Bures Saint Mary
- Burstall
- Bury St Edmunds
- Butley High Corner
- Camps Heath
- Capel Saint Mary
- Carlton
- Cavendish
- Cavenham
- Charles Tye
- Charsfield
- Chedburgh
- Chelmondiston
- Chevington
- Chilton
- Clare
- Claydon
- Clopton Green
- Coddenham
- Colchester Green
- Coney Weston
- Cook’s Green
- Cookley
- Cove Bottom
- Cransford
- Cross Green
- Crowfield
- Culford
- Dandy Corner
- Debenham
- Dennington
- Denston
- Dublin
- Dunwich
- Earl Soham
- East Bergholt
- East End
- Ellough
- Elmswell
- Exning
- Eye
- Eyke
- Falkenham
- Felixstowe
- Felsham
- Finningham
- Flempton
- Fornham St. Genevieve
- Forward Green
- Framlingham
- Freckenham
- Fressingfield
- Frostenden
- Gazeley
- Gisleham
- Gislingham
- Glemsford
- Great Barton
- Great Cornard
- Great Finborough
- Great Livermere
- Great Waldingfield
- Great Wratting
- Gromford
- Grundisburgh
- Hadleigh
- Halesworth
- Hanningfield Green
- Hartest
- Haughley
- Haverhill
- Hawkedon
- Hemp Green
- Henley
- Hepworth
- Hessett
- Heveningham
- Hinderclay
- Hitcham
- Holbrook
- Hollesley
- Holton St Mary
- Honington
- Hopton
- Horham
- Horringer
- Humble Green
- Hundon
- Icklingham
- Ilketshall St Margaret
- Ipswich
- Ixworth
- Kedington
- Kenton
- Kesgrave
- Kessingland
- Kingshall Street
- Lackford
- Lady’s Green
- Lakenheath
- Lavenham
- Lawshall
- Laxfield
- Leiston
- Letheringham
- Lidgate
- Little Cornard
- Little Stonham
- Little Wratting
- Long Melford
- Lower Street
- Lowestoft
- Market Weston
- Mellis
- Melon Green
- Mendlesham
- Metfield
- Mickley Green
- Mildenhall
- Mill Street
- Monks Eleigh
- Moulton
- Nacton
- Nayland
- Nedging
- Needham Market
- Newbourne
- Newmarket
- Newton
- Nowton
- Occold
- Old Newton
- Orford
- Otley
- Oulton
- Pakenham
- Parham
- Peasenhall
- Pinford End
- Poslingford
- Rattlesden
- Raydon
- Red Lodge
- Redgrave
- Rendlesham
- Rickinghall
- Ringsfield Common
- Risby
- Rougham
- Sackers Green
- Saxham Street
- Saxmundham
- Shelland
- Shotley
- Shotley Common
- Shotley Gate
- Sizewell
- Sotterley
- Southwold
- Sproughton
- St Peter South Elmham
- Stanway Green
- Stoke by Clare
- Stoke-by-Nayland
- Stonecross Green
- Stonham Aspal
- Stowmarket
- Stradbroke
- Stratford St Andrew
- Stuston
- Stutton
- Sudbury
- Swilland
- Temple End
- Thorington
- Thorndon
- Thorpeness
- Thurlow
- Thurston
- Trimley St Martin
- Troston
- Tuddenham St Mary
- Tunstall
- Upper Street
- Walberswick
- Waldringfield
- Walton
- Wangford
- Wattisfield
- Wattisham
- Wenhaston
- West Row
- Westerfield
- Westleton
- Wetherden
- Wetheringsett
- Wherstead
- Wickham Market
- Wickham Skeith
- Wickhambrook
- Willisham Tye
- Withersdale Street
- Witnesham
- Woodbridge
- Woolpit
- Wootten Green
- Worlington
- Worlingworth
- Wortham
- Wrentham
- Yoxford
Ipswich (144,957 in its built-up area at the 2021 census) is the only large town. Lowestoft (73,800) is Britain’s most easterly town, and Bury St Edmunds (40,664) serves the west of the county. Haverhill, Felixstowe, Sudbury, Stowmarket and Newmarket each hold 20,000 to 27,000 people.
Geography
Suffolk faces the North Sea along roughly 50 miles of low, shifting coast. The River Waveney marks the boundary with Norfolk to the north, and the Stour marks the boundary with Essex to the south. Cambridgeshire lies to the west.
Inland, the land is gently rolling boulder clay, cut by the Gipping, Deben, Alde, Blyth and Lark. The north-west corner falls inside Breckland, a belt of sandy heath and conifer plantation shared with Norfolk. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths and part of Dedham Vale are protected as National Landscapes.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 763,349 residents, up 33,216 on 2011. That works out at about 201 people per square kilometre, well below the English average. Suffolk also has one of the older age profiles in the East of England.
Growth has concentrated on Ipswich and its ring of commuter villages, and on the western towns within reach of Cambridge. Coastal East Suffolk has grown more slowly, with retirement moves offsetting the loss of younger residents.
Economy and Local Life
The Port of Felixstowe handles more container traffic than any other British port, and it anchors a haulage and logistics industry along the A14. Arable farming, sugar beet, pigs and poultry dominate the countryside.
Newmarket is the headquarters of British flat racing, with training yards, stud farms and two racecourses. Sizewell on the coast has generated nuclear power since the 1960s, and construction of Sizewell C is now the county’s largest single project. Adastral Park at Martlesham holds BT’s main research campus.
History
Suffolk takes its name from the “south folk” of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia; Norfolk holds the north folk. The ship burial at Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge, is the richest early Anglo-Saxon find in Britain.
Medieval cloth money built Lavenham, Long Melford and Kersey, whose timber-framed streets survive because the trade collapsed and left them too poor to rebuild. The abbey at Bury St Edmunds held the shrine of the martyred King Edmund and drew pilgrims for five centuries.
Getting There
The A14 crosses the county from the Midlands to Felixstowe and carries most of the freight. The A12 runs up from London through Ipswich to Lowestoft, the A11 clips the north-west corner towards Norwich, and the A140 links Ipswich to Diss.
The Great Eastern Main Line reaches Ipswich from London Liverpool Street in about 70 minutes. Branches run to Lowestoft, Felixstowe, Cambridge, Peterborough and Bury St Edmunds. The nearest airports are Norwich and London Stansted.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Suffolk?
763,349 at the 2021 census, an increase of 33,216 since 2011.
What is the largest town in Suffolk?
Ipswich, with 144,957 people in its built-up area. Lowestoft (73,800) and Bury St Edmunds (40,664) come next.
How many towns and villages are in Suffolk?
The GeoNames gazetteer lists 800 named places. Most are hamlets; the county has around 25 settlements of town size.
Which councils cover Suffolk?
Suffolk County Council, plus Babergh, East Suffolk, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk and West Suffolk at district level.
What postcode areas cover Suffolk?
Mostly IP. The south-west uses CO around Sudbury, Newmarket uses CB8, and Lowestoft uses NR32 and NR33.
Where is Suffolk?
In eastern England, on the North Sea, between Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south.