Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for BUNGAY

BUNGAY, a town, two parishes, and a subdistrict, in Wangford district, Suffolk. The town stands on the verge of the county, within a fold of the river Waveney, on the Waveney Valley railway, 6 miles W of Beccles. The name of it is said to be a corruption of Le Bon Eye, "the beautiful island." A castle at it was the seat and stronghold of the Bigods, Earls of Norfolk; was garrisoned by one of them for Stephen, and thought to be impregnable; passed to the Crown in the time of Edward I.; was afterwards given to the Mortimers; and reverted to the Crown in the time of Edward IV. Remains of it still exist on a fine site, with pleasant views, but are compacted with wretched habitations of the poor. An old ballad represents one of the Bigod owners of the castle, the troublesome Earl Hugh, as saying, on his retreat from Framlingham,-

Were I in my strong castle of Bungay,
Upon the water of Waveney,
I would ne care for the King of Cockayne,
Nor all his bravery.

A Benedictine nunnery was founded on a spot between the two parish churches, in 1160, by Roger de Glanville and his wife the Countess Gundreda; and given, at the dissolution, to the Duke of Norfolk. The town, excepting one street, was destroyed by fire in 1688; and most of it now is modern, and consists of spacious well built streets. The market house is octagonal. The market place has a cross, and formerly had two. The corn exchange was formerly a theatre. St. Mary's church is large and stately; was rebuilt in 1696; and has a fine tower. Holy Trinity Church is small and ancient; and has a round tower. There are chapels for Independents, Baptists, Methodists, and Roman Catholics. The grammar school dates from a remote period; has £64 from endowment; and sends four scholars to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Town lands yield £438 a year for charitable uses; an enclosed common is adjacent; and mineral springs exist, of medicinal repute. The town has a head post office,‡ a railway station, three banking offices, and three chief inns; and is a seat of petty sessions. A weekly market is held on Thursday; and fairs on 14 May and 25 Sept. The Waveney is navigable hither; and a considerable trade is carried on in grain, flour, malt, and lime. Business is done also in malting, lime-burning, iron-founding, paper-making, letter-press printing, and the making of hemp fabrics. Real property of Bungay borough, £6,702; of Bungay-Boyscott, £5,996. Pop. of the town, 3,805. Houses, 867.-The two parishes are St. Mary and Holy Trinity; and they are regarded as jointly conterminate with the town. Acres of St. Mary, 758. Rated property, £4,316. Pop., 1,996. Houses, 436. Acres of Holy Trinity, 1,332. Rated property, £3,892. Pop., 1,809. Houses, 431. St. Mary is a vicarage, and Holy Trinity a vicarage, in the diocese of Norwich. Value of St. Mary, £115;* of Holy Trinity, £256. Patron of St. Mary, the Duke of Norfolk; of Holy Trinity, the Bishop of Norwich.-The subdistrict contains fifteen parishes. Acres, 16,898. Pop., 6,398. Houses, 1,417.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, two parishes, and a subdistrict"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Bungay CP       Bungay SubD       Wangford RegD/PLU       Suffolk AncC
Place: Bungay

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