Reydon

Services

There are only two shops in Reydon. Strong local opposition did not prevent the sub-post office from closing on 11 February 2008, although the associated shop continues.

Reydon also has a public house (and hotel with restaurant), The Randolph Hotel, in Wangford Road. It was briefly renamed "The Cricketers", due to the adjacent locality of Southwold's former Eversley School cricket ground and playing fields, but reverted to its original name after a few years. The cricket ground has since been sold for housing.

Further along is a group of new houses on the site of a former senior school, Reydon Modern, renamed Reydon High after converting into a comprehensive in 1978, but closed in 1990.

Continuing towards Wangford, there is St Margaret's Church (see below), then Reydon Hall, at one time the home of the writers, Elizabeth Strickland, Agnes Strickland, Jane Margaret, Catharine Parr, Susanna Moodie and Samuel Strickland.

Reydon Wood is popular with walkers, especially in the springtime, when it has a carpet of bluebells. There is sheltered accommodation in Lowestoft Road.

Education

Reydon Primary School caters for 200 children aged three to eleven, from the village and the surrounding area. At age 11, the pupils move on to Sir John Leman High School in Beccles. Reydon High School closed in 1990, with students now being bussed to other schools in the area and the land sold for housing development. The school playing fields are still in use, with the original school canteen building being used for changing rooms. Plans to extend the fields have been adopted by Waveney District Council.

Saint Felix School on the Halesworth Road is an independent school. Founded as a girls' public school in 1897, it now takes pupils of both sexes from ages 1 to 18. The independent St George's School on the same site closed in 2004.

Development and building

Reydon has in recent years seen much new housing construction, due mainly to rising house prices in Southwold and the popularity of Reydon itself as a retirement village. This is likely to continue on sites such as the former Eversley School playing field and other vacant plots earmarked throughout the village.

The resultant increase in population means that Reydon now has many more permanent inhabitants than Southwold; where once the reverse was true.

The increasing number of homes has also led to the loss of much of Reydon's previous "small-village" feeling. Additionally, the inflated house prices in Southwold have led to a number of properties in Reydon being purchased for holiday homes and second homes. These are often unoccupied for long periods of time. However, it is unlikely that this will affect the increase in permanent population, at least in the short term.

In 2004 a 4400 m² distribution centre for Adnams Brewery was constructed on the western edge of Reydon on the site of an old open-cast sand quarry.

The Church of St Margaret

The parish church, dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, stands in Wangford Road, to the north-west of the village. One of the most striking features is a large, unnamed bronze angel inscribed "To Fanny my beloved wife". The present building is mainly from the early 14th century. The tower was built about 1325. The chancel was restyled in the 15th century, and has many niches for saints in the window splays. The church suffered damage during the Reformation and the Civil War and was much altered in succeeding centuries.

More drastic was the restoration and re-roofing of 1875–87, which robbed the church of most of its old furnishings and architectural detail. The replacement roof is of a plain, simple design. The royal arms displayed are those of Queen Anne and date from 1713. In 1988 a large extension was built onto the north side of the nave using the original north door which was reopened when the organ was moved into the chancel to allow for the building. The building is the frequently used parish room. The rood loft stairs, are open but are partly bricked up at the top.

The Victorian organ is in the chancel, for want of space in the nave, but it clutters the space and distracts attention from some wonderful Victorian stained glass. Behind the organ is a blocked entrance, also apparent from the outside. The small chapel to which it led has vanished. The font, of no great age, stands at the base of the tower, having been moved there from the nave in 1988, to improve access to the new parish room. The font cover, donated in 1922, used to be suspended from the ceiling in the nave and operated by a system of weights; the wood in the roof still shows this.

In 1999, the parish of Reydon became part of the Sole Bay Team Ministry.

The church bells

The tower originally held three bells, two of which were sold in 1792 to fund repairs to the church. In 1991 an appeal was launched for the restoration of the tower, replacement of the two missing bells, and procurement of a further three. These were dedicated at a service in December 1996. The original 15th-century bell, "Gabriel", has been joined by "Michael", "Raphael", "Peter", "Mary" and "Seraph", all cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1995 and 1996. The tenor (the largest) weighs 517 kg and the treble (the smallest) about a third of that. The bells hang in a two-tier steel frame, installed in 1995. The bells are hung for the traditional English art of change ringing. Ringing takes place from ground level with the font in the centre of the rope circle. The tower is affiliated to the Suffolk Guild of Ringers. The bells are rung regularly for practice, Sunday services, weddings and other special occasions.

Notable residents