A charming market town, as peaceful as it is popular
Check out our handy ‘know before you go’ guide to make your visit a huge success!
Beccles town is made up of small market squares and winding streets nestled by the River Waveney. Around every corner you’ll find quirky, independent shops, restaurants and cafes. Look out for a host of community events, festivals and entertainment held throughout the year.
Did you know?
Beccles is a market town with a rich and varied history and has been home to many people of note through the years. Mary Grimstone, a novelist and poet was born in Beccles in 1796 and travelled as far afield and Hamburg and Australia in her lifetime. She was a prolific campaigner for women’s rights and her writing was compared to Jane Austen.
Another famous figure hailing from Beccles is Sir John Leman, a tradesman born in 1544 who became Mayor of London in 1616. He never forgot his birthplace and provided in his will a free school for the education of children from Beccles and the surrounding area.
Wander through the town and you cannot miss the imposing detached sixteenth century bell tower of St Michael's church. The 97 feet tall tower is perpendicular gothic in style and dominates the skyline. Inside there is a 13th Century font and the tower contains a peel of 10 bells which are rung each week.
Just outside of Beccles, Roos Hall is renowned for being one of Suffolk’s most haunted houses and legend says that at Christmas a ghostly carriage driven by a headless man careers down the driveway towards the house.
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