Aldringham

infobox UK place
country = England
static_

static_image_caption=
latitude= 52.18
longitude=01.56
official_name =Aldringham
population =
shire_district=
shire_county= Suffolk
region= East of England
constituency_westminster=
post_town=
postcode_district =
postcode_area=
dial_code=
os_grid_reference= TM4460

Aldringham is a village in Suffolk, England. The village is located 3 miles northwest of Aldeburgh. It lies near the coast and contains the hamlet of Thorpe.

History

Aldringham is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Alrincham'. [Jacek Fisiak, Peter Trudgill. "East Anglian English" (London: Boydell & Brewer, 2001) p. 43 ISBN 9780859915717] Its placename derivation is uncertain but Ekwall indicates that it probably means 'the home of Ealdhere' [E.V. Ekwall. "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place­ Names" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1960. 4th edition)] and any similarity to Aldeburgh is coincidental.

Aldringham was formerly a market town. [J.H.F. Brabner. "The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales" (London: William Mackenzie, 1880)] The oldest building in the village is "The Parrot and Punchbowl" pub, which contains many references to its heavily involvement in smuggling in the two centuries after its opening in the sixteenth century. [ [http://www.suffolkcamra.co.uk/pubs/pub/14 Nigel Smith and Tony Green. 'Aldringham Parrot & Punchbowl', "Suffolk Real Ale Guide" (Ipswich: CAMRA, 2005)] . Retrieved 30 August 2008.]

Community

There is little sense of community in the village because its population is spread thinly. Geographically it is closer to Leiston but socially it has become more associated with the richer communities of Aldeburgh and Thorpeness. The village has recently expanded with the building of a small housing estate, but this has done ittle to address the problem of affordable housing in the village. The rise in house prices has not been reflected in local wages and many young people have been forced to move out of the village.

References