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Blythburgh is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is west of Southwold and south-east of Halesworth and lies on the River Blyth. The A12 road runs through the village which is split either side of the road. At the 2011 census the population of the parish was 297. The parish includes the hamlets of Bulcamp and Hinton.
Blythburgh is best known for its church, Holy Trinity, known as the Cathedral of the Marshes. The church has been floodlit since the 1960s and is a landmark for travellers on the A12. The village is the site of Blythburgh Priory which was founded by Augustine monks from St Osyth's Priory in Essex in the 12th century. Blythburgh Priory ruins hosts first service in 500 years, BBC news website, 2011-08-02. Retrieved 2014-03-09. Blythburgh Priory, Blythburgh, Suffolk. Archaeological evaluation and assessment of results , Wessex Archaeology, September 2009. Retrieved 2014-03-09. The priory was suppressed in 1537 and ruins remain at the site.Page.W (1975) 'Houses of Benedictine monks: Priory of Blythburgh', A History of the County of Suffolk: Volume 2, pp. 91-94 ( available online). Retrieved 2014-03-09.
The village is in the area of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the area known as the Suffolk Sandlings. It is close to the Suffolk heritage coast located close to an area of marshland and mudflats along the River Blyth which were flooded in 1940 as part of British anti-invasion preparations at the start of the Second World War.
At the Domesday Book in 1086 Blythburgh was a very large village with 42 households. It was called Bledeburo, Blieburc or Blideburc and formed part of King William's holdings. Blythburgh , Open Domesday. Retrieved 2014-03-09. Blythburgh, The Domesday Book Online. Retrieved 2014-03-09. It was an important port at this time and was taxed 3000 herring each year. Bulcamp and Hinton were both listed separately with eight households each. Both were held by Roger Bigot. Bulcamp , Open Domesday. Retrieved 2014-03-09. Hinton , Open Domesday. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
Blythburgh Priory was founded by Augustinians monks from St Osyth's Priory in Essex in the 12th century. The priory was suppressed in 1537 and ruins remain at the site. The site is a scheduled monument. It was partially excavated in 2008 by Channel Four's Time Team programme.
The River Blyth had largely silted by the 18th century. By the 1750s merchants from the nearby town of Halesworth were keen to open the river for trade. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1757 and, after four locks were built, the river was open for vessels by 1761. By the end of the 19th century silting of the river downstream from Blythburgh made trade difficult and the locks were finally closed in 1934. Bulcamp, on the northern edge of the parish, was the site of the Blything Union workhouse. It was built in 1765-66 and later became a geriatric hospital. Blythburgh and District Hospital, Blythburgh, British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-03-09. It has now been converted to residential use. The Workhouse in Blything The Workhouse website.
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., eldest brother of US President John F. Kennedy, was killed when his aircraft exploded around south of the village during World War II. Kennedy and Lieutenant Wilford John Willy were piloting a BQ-8 "robot" aircraft (a converted B-24 Liberator) for the U.S. Navy's first mission in Operation Aphrodite.
The village is noteworthy for the large area of flooded marshes around the estuary of the River Blyth. The river flows from west of Halesworth to the North Sea between Southwold and Walberswick, although it originally reached the sea at Dunwich. Southwold is reached by the A1095 road with views over the river and the adjacent Hen Reedbeds bird reserve.
Blythburgh railway station linked the village to Halesworth and Southwold on the Southwold Railway. The railway was a narrow gauge line which operated between 1879 and 1929.
Blythburgh Station is in the process of being restored, currently there is a period platform, with a length of operating track, sidings and other infrastructure. The once derelict coal shed has been completely restored and is used for railway operations.
A 3ft gauge battery electric locomotive 'Greenbat' hauls replica rolling stock on open days.
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