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Norfolk and Suffolk. Cambridgeshire lies to the west and Essex to the south.

East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of the East Anglian princess Etheldreda, the Isle of Ely also became part of the kingdom. Formerly a standard statistical region, for administrative purposes East Anglia now forms part of the East of England government office region and is defined as a Level 2 Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, comprising the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire including the city of Peterborough unitary authority area.^[1]

History[link]

The Kingdom of the East Angles, formed about the year 520 by the merging of the North and the South Folk (Angles who had settled in the former lands of the Iceni during the previous century) was one of the seven Anglo-Saxon heptarchy kingdoms (as defined in the 12th century writings of Henry of Huntingdon). For a brief period following a victory over the rival kingdom of Northumbria around the year 616, East Anglia was the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England, and its king Raedwald was Bretwalda (overlord of the Anglo-Saxons kingdoms). But this did not last: over the next forty years, East Anglia was defeated by the Mercians twice, and it continued to weaken relative to the other kingdoms until in 794, Offa of Mercia had its king Æthelberht killed and took control of the kingdom himself.

The independence of the East Anglians was restored by a successful rebellion against Mercia (825–827), in the course of which two Mercian kings were killed attempting to crush it. On 20 November 869 the Danes killed King Edmund and took the kingdom, which they named East Anglia (see Ivar the Boneless). The Anglo-Saxons retook the area in 920, only to lose it again in 1015–1017, when it was conquered by Canute the Great and given as a fiefdom to Thorkell the Tall, who was made Jarl of East Anglia in 1017.

Much of East Anglia (including parts of Lincolnshire) consisted of marshland and bogs until the 17th century, despite the construction of early sea barriers by the Roman Empire. During the 17th century the alluvial land was converted into arable land by means of systematic drainage using a collection of drains and river diversions. In the 1630s thousands of Puritan families from East Anglia settled in the American region of New England, taking much East Anglian culture with them.^[2] East Anglia, with much of its earnings based on wool and textiles, was a rich area of England until the effects of the Industrial Revolution moved manufacturing to the Midlands and the North.

During the Second World War, the RAF and the United States Air Force constructed many air bases in East Anglia for the heavy bomber fleets of the Combined Bomber Offensive against Nazi-occupied Europe. East Anglia was chosen because it had considerable open space and level terrain and it was relatively close to mainland Europe, thus shortening flights and allowing for greater bomb loads. Remnants of some of these bases are still visible. Pillboxes which were erected in 1940 to help defend the nation against invasion can also be found throughout the region at strategic points.^[3]

Population[link]

Norfolk has a population of about 850,000, Suffolk 715,000 and Cambridgeshire 769,000, giving a total population of approximately 2.3 million.

Essex is a NUTS2 region in its own right. Together with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire (another NUTS2 region), East Anglia and Essex form the East of England.

Geography[link]

Parts of this region of England are characterised by the flatness of the land, partly consisting of fenland and reclaimed marshland, though much of Suffolk and Norfolk is gently undulating.

The East Anglian cities are Norwich, Peterborough, Ely and Cambridge. Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, and Huntingdon are major towns. The East of England Regional Assembly was seated in Bury St. Edmunds until its abolition.

Although water plays a significant role in the fenland and broadland landscapes, the area is among the driest in the United Kingdom. During the summer months, tinder-dry conditions are frequently experienced, occasionally resulting in field and heath fires.

Maximum temperature ranges from 5–10 °C (41–50 °F) in the winter to 20–25 °C (68–77 °F) in the summer, although temperatures have been known to reach 35 °C (95 °F) in recent years. Sunshine totals tend to be higher towards the coastal areas.^[4]

Major rivers include Suffolk's Stour, running through country beloved of the painter John Constable, and the Nene. The River Cam is a tributary of the Great Ouse and gives its name to Cambridge. The Orwell and its source the Gipping together find the sea at Ipswich. The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads form a network of waterways between Norwich and the coast and are popular for recreational boating.

The supposed flatness of the Norfolk landscape is noted in Noël Coward's Private Lives— "Very flat, Norfolk" — and the history of its waterways and drainage forms the backdrop to Graham Swift's novel Waterland. The region also figures in works by L.P. Hartley, Arthur Ransome and Dorothy L. Sayers, among many others.

Agriculture has always been important in this fertile region. The landscape of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk has been heavily influenced by Dutch technology, from the use of red clay roof tiles to the draining of The Fens.

The region has a wide range of small-scale holiday resorts ranging from the traditional coastal towns of Felixstowe and Lowestoft in Suffolk and Great Yarmouth in Norfolk to small fishing villages like Aldeburgh and Southwold in Suffolk. Other tourist attractions include historic towns like Bury St. Edmunds, Cambridge and Ely.

The Royal Air Force constructed many airfields in this area during the Second World War and a few remain in use; one, near Norwich, has become Norwich International Airport.

Universities[link]

The University of Cambridge, established at the start of the 13th century and situated in the town of the same name, is East Anglia's most well-known institution of higher learning, and is among the oldest and most famous universities in the world. Other institutions include the University of East Anglia (in Norwich), Anglia Ruskin University (with campuses in Cambridge and Chelmsford), University Campus Suffolk (in Ipswich) and University Centre Peterborough.

Three Crowns[link]

Unofficial flag of East Anglia

The East Anglian flag as it is known today was invented by George Henry Langham and adopted by the London Society of East Anglians. It was first mentioned in print in 1900 and was flown locally in various places in Norfolk, but has no official status.^{[citation needed]} It draws upon the coat of arms of the Wuffingas dynasty: three crowns in a blue shield, the colour of the Swedish flag, superimposed on a St. George's cross. The device refers to an old legend of the three crowns of East Anglia, and the blue colour represents the Anglo-Scandinavian heritage of much of East Anglia.^{[citation needed]}

The three crowns of East Anglia appear, carved in stone, on the baptismal font(c.1400) in the parish church of Saxmundham, in Suffolk.^[5]

Three crowns emblem at Saxmundham's parish church.

The crowns also appear in the arms of the borough of Bury St. Edmunds and the University of East Anglia.

See also[link]

• Kings of East Anglia
• Earls of East Anglia
• Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia
• University of East Anglia
• East Anglian Brigade
• East Anglian English
• Parish Pump (CGA series)
• Bury St Edmunds
• St Edmund
• Suffolk
• Norfolk
• Essex

References[link]

External links[link]

Coordinates: 52°30′N 1°00′E / 52.5°N 1°E / 52.5; 1