Population 26 (2001 census) Postcode district IP13 Local time Friday 2:28 AM | Sovereign state United Kingdom | |
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Weather 3°C, Wind S at 11 km/h, 95% Humidity | ||
Boulge is a hamlet and civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal district of Suffolk, England. It is about 3 miles (5 km) north of Woodbridge. The population remained only minimal at the 2011 Census and was included in the civil parish of Debach.
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Map of Boulge, Woodbridge, UK
The place-name is French and probably means `bag-shaped piece of land', rather than the `rough overgrown land' previously assumed.
Boulge church is the burial place of the local poet and writer Edward Fitzgerald, whose most famous work was his translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
Boulge Hall
John Fitzgerald bought Boulge Hall in 1801 for his daughter Mary and her new husband, John Purcell (later John Fitzgerald), Edward's parents. The purchase was on the understanding that the hall would remain in the possession of the aged previous owner until death, but this did not happen for another 35 years. The couple lived instead at nearby Bredfield House but eventually moved into Boulge Hall. Edward occupied a cottage in the grounds until the estate was inherited by his elder brother in 1852.
The hall was later purchased by Sir Robert Eaton White, 1st Baronet (1864–1940), Chairman of the Suffolk County Council, whose descendants held it until c.1950.
It was demolished in 1955 owing to its general dereliction.