Southwold Higham Bulwark (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Hiham Bulwark; Fort Sussex

In the civil parish of Southwold.
In the historic county of Suffolk.
Modern Authority of Suffolk.
1974 county of Suffolk.
Medieval County of Suffolk.

OS Map Grid Reference: TM509769
Latitude 52.33345° Longitude 1.68256°

Southwold Higham Bulwark has been described as a probable Artillery Fort.

There are no visible remains.

Description

During the invasion scare of 1588, Southwold was defended by an earthen wall constructed along the cliff, with a 2-gun battery on Gun Hill, and a battery at the north end called the Higham Bulwark, just south of the present boating lake. The defences were ruinous in 1626 when a privateer captured a ship in full view of the town, drove the gun crews from the battery and bombarded the town. (PastScape)

Fort Sussex?–Large moated fort of triangular plan with large quadrangular corner bastions shown on map of 1588(?). Shown as being probably situated in area of present Boating Lake just north of Southwold. According to Eversley (school) boys project on Southwold, the fort was planned as a precaution against the Spanish Armada in 1588 but was never actually built although the source of this information is unknown. The area is marked 'brickfield' on OS 1st edition map, and later as 'boating lake' but the N side and parish boundary, both follow a sharp angular course reflecting part of the fort plan of 1588. (Suffolk HER)

Comments

It would seem these defences were started, although it would they may not have been finished. The Fort Sussex name is tentatively given the northern fort by the Suffolk HER - presumably named for the Henry Radclyffe, Earl of Sussex, who was a prime figure in the Armada defenses. A marked kink in the northern parish boundary and course of an waterway is ravelin shaped, in the right location and is suggested as a relic of the forts plan in the Suffolk HER.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 1394888.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) SWD 013.

Books
- Kent, Peter, 1999 (3edn), 'Coastal Fortifications, 1500-1900'' in Dymond, David and Martin, Edward (eds) An Historical Atlas of Suffolk (Lavenham) p. 184-5
  Kent, Peter, 1988, Fortifications of East Anglia (Lavenham: Ternence Dalton) p. 149-152
  Gardner, T., 1754, An Historical Account of Dunwich p. 188 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Lemon, Robert (ed), 1865, Calendar of state papers, Domestic series, of the reign of Elizabeth 1581-90 Vol. 2 (London: Longman) p. 569 (Vol. 219 f.62) online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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