Welcome to the website of the Suffolk Institute

Bob Malster, a journalist and historian who published a great amount on both Suffolk and Norfolk, died on 16 April aged 91 (not 90 as in the Eastern Daily Press item below). He was a long-standing member of both the SIAH, the Suffolk Records Society, and the Suffolk Local History Council.

An obituary by Paul Botwright is here: Obituary_-_Bob_Malster_-_by_Paul_Botwright.pdf

This is the obituary in the Eastern Daily Press: https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23472127.obituary-robert-malster-90-historian-journalist/.

A large collection of transcriptions of Hollesley documents made by Val Dudley is now available in the SIAH document archive. Posted 2023-02-06.

Blackbourne Community Centre, Elmswell IP30 9UH (Saturdays, starting at 1400 except for Wednesday Zoom meetings)

2022
12 Oct A Voyage of Discovery through Suffolk in 1922 (Wed at 1000, Alan Mackley, by Zoom)
22 Oct Southwold Lighthouse (Christopher Cardwell, by Zoom)
12 Nov How to be a fisherman in late-medieval Suffolk (Tom Johnson, at Elmswell. Followed by Council)
30 Nov A Virtual Tour of Bildeston (Wed at 1000, Sue Andrews, by Zoom)
10 Dec Excavations at Walton (Richard Mortimer, at Elmswell)

2023
14 Jan Elizabeth Cobbold (Vivienne Aldous, at Elmswell. Followed by Council)
28 Jan The Secord World War and Suffolk’s Coastal Air Defences (John Greenacre, by Zoom)
11 Feb Africans in East Anglia (Richard Maguire, at Elmswell)
22 Feb Union Farm, Bulcamp (Wed at 1000, Simon Roberts and others, by Zoom)
11 Mar Update on archaeological work at Lakenheath (Jo Caruth, at Elmswell, followed by Council)
25 Mar The Prunier Award for the largest herring catch (Ivan Bunn, by Zoom)

Travelling through Time: Suffolk on the move

This one-day conference was held at The Hold, Ipswich on 2022-09-24. It considered aspects of travel in the past and their impact on Suffolk’s heritage from Roman Roads to the Age of Steam.

Program:

Dr James Albone - Roman Roads in Suffolk and their landscape legacy.
Prof Richard Smith - Suffolk’s waterways, roads and railways in national comparative historical perspective: A GIS-based study.
Prof Craig Lambert - Maritime Suffolk: Ships, Trade, and Maritime Communities, c.1565-c.1585.
Michelle Mandry - River Stour Navigation: the spirit of a working river and its legacy.
Dr Simon Bradley - Suffolk's railways: a historical excursion.

Speakers:

Dr James Albone: an archaeologist and historian, now an Inspector of Ancient Monuments with Historic England, whose PhD research was on the ‘Roman Roads in the Changing Landscape of Eastern England. c.410 – 1850’.
Richard Smith: Emeritus Professor of Historical Geography and Demography and fellow of Downing College, Cambridge. Past President of the Economic History Society.
Craig Lambert: Associate Professor in Maritime History at the University of Southampton who has written extensively on maritime logistics, maritime trade, merchant shipping, and maritime communities, c.1300-c.1600.
Michelle Mandry: Administrative Assistant with the River Stour Trust.
Simon Bradley: joint editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides, and author of several volumes in the revised Buildings of England series, as well as the Sunday Times 2015 history book of the year The Railways: Nation, Network and People.