58 Best Sights in East Anglia, England

From the outside, this moated castle looks much as it would have in the 12th century. Upon entering, however, you'll notice that the keep is missing, although it still has 13 towers along the curtain wall. Most of the chimneys along the same wall are fake; they were Tudor additions meant to give the impression to passersby that this was a great mansion. Framlingham gradually fell into disrepair in the mid-1500s but not before it played its part in a pivotal moment in English history. After the death of Edward VI (Henry VIII's 15 year-old son), a succession crisis ensued, as, for the first time in English history, the only heirs to the throne were women. This sparked a battle between Mary (Edward's Catholic older sister) and Jane Grey, her teenage cousin, who was declared Queen by Protestant lords hoping to stage a coup. Mary, who was hopelessly outnumbered, fortified herself at Framlingham. Within just nine days she had rallied the great lords and ordinary folk alike to her cause, won the war, and taken back the crown. Today Framlingham is a peaceful place, except in summer, when it's an occasional venue for open-air concerts.

The birthplace and family home of Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88) contains many paintings and drawings by the artist and his contemporaries. Although the facade is Georgian, with touches of the 18th-century neo-Gothic style, the building is mostly Tudor. The walled garden has a mulberry tree planted in 1620 and a printmaking workshop. The house now has a £10 million gallery space that hosts seasonal exhibitions.  

Known as the "university church," Great St. Mary's has its origins in the 11th century, although the current building dates from 1478. The main reason to visit is to climb the 113-foot tower, which has a superb view over the colleges and marketplace (though it may be closed in bad weather). Also here is the Michaelhouse Centre, a small café, gallery, and performing arts venue with frequent free lunchtime concerts. Tours must be booked in advance.

This largely 15th-century church, founded by the rich clothiers of Long Melford, stands on a hill at the north end of the village. Close up, the delicate flint flush-work (shaped flints set into a pattern) and huge Perpendicular Gothic windows that take up most of the church's walls have great impact, especially because the nave is 150 feet long. The Clopton Chapel, with an ornate (and incredibly rare) painted medieval ceiling, predates the rest of the church by 150 years. The beautiful Lady Chapel has an unusual cloister; the stone on the wall in the corner is an ancient multiplication table, used when the chapel served as a school in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Tours can be arranged in advance; email [email protected] for more details and to make reservations.

The creation of the eccentric Frederick Hervey, fourth earl of Bristol and bishop of Derry, this unusual 18th-century home was owned by the Hervey family until the 1960s. Inspired by his travels, Hervey wanted an Italianate palace and gardens. The two wings are arranged around a striking central rotunda. The east wing now contains a hotel, while the west has paintings by Hogarth, Titian, and Gainsborough. Behind the house, the rose gardens and vineyards spread out to join a vast, 1,800-acre wood. A stroll over the hills gives the best views of the house, which is 7 miles southwest of Bury St. Edmunds.

Europe's leading aviation museum houses a remarkable collection of 180 aircrafts from Europe and the United States. The former airfield is effectively a complex of several museums under one banner. The Land Warfare Hall features tanks and other military vehicles. The striking American Air Museum honors the 30,000 Americans killed in action flying from Britain during World War II. It contains the largest display of American fighter planes outside the United States. AirSpace holds a vast array of military and civil aircraft in a 3-acre hangar. Directly underneath is the Airborne Assault Museum, which chronicles the history of airborne forces, such as the British Parachute Regiment, which played a pivotal role in the Normandy Landings. One of the most popular exhibits is a Spitfire plane that was shot down over Calais during World War II and recovered in 1986. After a massive restoration project, the plane was restored to full airworthiness in 2014. There are also hangars where you can see restoration work taking place on other WWII planes and exhibitions on maritime warfare and the Battle of Britain. See the planes in action with the historic air shows that are held on a handful of dates every summer; check the website for details.

A wide moat surrounds this redbrick Tudor manor house with tall chimneys and domed turrets. Built between 1520 and 1550, it was heavily restored inside after a fire in the early 19th century. On some weekends, costumed "servants" and "farmworkers" perform reenactments of Tudor life or life during World War II. There are also evening events, such as open-air theater performances. Check the website for notice of the spring lambing days. The house and farm are a half mile north of Long Melford Green. Always call ahead, as this place has notoriously variable opening times and sometimes contradictory listings.

Founded in 1441 by Henry VI, King's College has a magnificent late-15th-century chapel that is its most famous landmark. Other notable architecture includes the neo-Gothic Porters' Lodge, facing King's Parade, which was a comparatively recent addition in the 1830s, and the classical Gibbs Building. Head down to the river, from where the panorama of college and chapel is one of the university's most photographed views.

Past students of King's College include the novelist E. M. Forster, the economist John Maynard Keynes, and the World War I poet Rupert Brooke.

Also known as the Guildhall of Corpus Christi, this higgledy-piggledy timber-frame building dating from 1529 dominates Market Place, an almost flawlessly preserved medieval square. Upstairs, exhibitions cover the lives of the historical figures who worked in the local agriculture, the wool trade, and Lavenham's old prison, although just looking around the building itself is worth the admission charge.

This Augustinian abbey, founded in 1186, was one of the most important religious orders in the area until it fell victim to Henry VIII's troops during the dissolution of the monasteries. It has a highly unusual feature—a 17th-century church built inside (and partially out of) the abbey ruins, effectively making it a church-within-a-church. Just opposite the row of little cottages leading up to the abbey, you'll see a small sign for a walking path to Leiston Beach. The track starts rather unpromisingly by crossing a pig farm, but persevere, because the ¼-mile trail across fields, woods, and cliffs is the only way to access this beautiful sandy beach, one of the area's best-kept secrets. The water here is good for swimming, and the seclusion can be heavenly. There are no facilities whatsoever, but plenty of locals make the trek on a sunny day. Look out for the scattered remains of a few brick houses on your way down. These are all that's left of a village that was completely destroyed by coastal erosion in the 1960s. Leiston Abbey is 5½ miles north of Aldeburgh.

This timber-frame wool merchant's house (brightly painted on the outside, in the local custom) contains a display showing the building's progress from its creation in the 14th century to its subsequent "modernization" in the 17th century. It also has a beautiful garden at the back.

Distinguished from the outside by its turrets and topiaries, Melford Hall is an Elizabethan house with its original banqueting room, a fair number of 18th-century additions, and pleasant gardens. Much of the porcelain and other fine pieces here come from the Santisima Trinidad, a ship loaded with gifts from the emperor of China and bound for Spain that was captured in the 18th century. Children's writer Beatrix Potter, related to the owners, visited often; there's a small collection of Potter memorabilia.

Surrounding the cathedral on three sides, Minster Yard contains buildings of different periods, including graceful Georgian architecture. A statue of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who was born in Lincolnshire, stands on the green near the chapter house.

Moot Hall was the place where local elders met to debate and make decisions about the locality. Built of flint and timber, the 16th-century building once stood in the center of a thriving town; the fact that it's now just a few steps from the beach is testament to the erosive powers of the North Sea. Today, it contains the Aldeburgh Museum, a low-key collection that includes finds from an Anglo-Saxon ship burial.

This 12th-century building, probably the oldest extant building in East Anglia, is a rare surviving example of a Norman house. The rooms hold exhibitions on Suffolk throughout the ages. One macabre display relates to the Red Barn Murder, a grisly local case that gained notoriety in a 19th-century play.

The decorated stone facade of this castle, now a museum on the hill in the center of the city, makes it look like a children's-book illustration. Dating from 1130, the castle is Norman, but a stone keep replaced the original wooden bailey (wall). The thick walls and other defenses attest to its military function. Galleries contain a somewhat eclectic mix of artifacts and interactive displays, covering everything from ancient Egypt to Norman Norfolk and even the history of teapots. One gallery is devoted to the Norwich School of painters who, like John Constable, focused on the everyday landscape and seascape. While the castle is currently closed as part of a restoration and redevelopment project likely to last until 2024, the galleries remain open to the public and display significant exhibits. Admission is £2.50 the last hour before closing.

This half-timber medieval building stands in the shadows of Ely Cathedral. During the 10 years he lived here, Cromwell (1599–1658) was leading the rebellious Roundheads in their eventually victorious struggle against King Charles I in the English Civil War. A hero to some, a tyrant to others, he remains a controversial figure today. The house contains an exhibition about its former occupant, who was Britain's Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658. It's also the site of Ely's tourist information center.

Small and squat, this castle surveys the flatlands from atop a green mound favored by picnickers in summer. Its splendid triple-tower keep was built from 1165 to 1173 as a coastal defense. Climb it for a view over what was once a medieval port; the 6-mile shingle (small pebbles) bank of Orford Ness eventually cut off direct access to the sea. Below ground are medieval tunnels and an original well, while the upper hall holds Orford's museum and its collection of Roman brooches.

A short boat ride beyond Orford Quay lies mysterious Orford Ness, a 5-mile-long causeway of beaches and salt marshes that make up the longest shingle spit in Europe. Its past is cloaked in secrecy—from 1913 until the mid-1980s it served as a military site, and the first experiments with radar were carried out here in the 1930s. Today Orford Ness is a great place to see migrating and native sea birds. If you'd rather sit than walk, take the tractor-drawn trailer tour on the first Saturday of the month, July through September, but be sure to make reservations, as tours book up quickly.

Abandoned and overgrown for more than 40 years after World War II, these beautiful Victorian gardens have been painstakingly returned to their former glory by a team of volunteers. Originally planted in 1856, the 2-acre site, dotted with fanciful Gothic follies, includes original features like an Italianate terrace and a huge rockery. It's a particularly tranquil spot when the spring and summer flowers are in full bloom—bring a picnic if the weather's good, or have a bite in the café. The entrance is somewhat hard to find; look for the little gate next to the Beeches Hotel. There's no car park, but you can use the lot at the nearby Black Horse Pub.

One of the most eye-catching colleges, with a secluded "cloister court" look, Queens' is named after Margaret, wife of Henry VI, and Elizabeth, wife of Edward IV. Founded in 1448 and completed in the 1540s, the college is tucked away on Queens' Lane, next to the wide lawns that lead down from King's College to The Backs. The college's most famed piece of architecture is the wooden lattice Mathematical Bridge, first built in 1749. The original version is said to have been built without any fastenings, though the current bridge (reconstructed in 1902) is securely bolted.

Although the main body of this cathedral dates from the 15th century, its brilliant ceiling and gleaming stained-glass windows are the result of 19th-century restoration by architect Sir Gilbert Scott. Be sure to look near the altar to see the memorial to an event in 1214 when the barons of England took an oath here to force King John to grant the Magna Carta. There was a war, he lost, and the rest, as they say, is history. The cathedral's original Abbey Gate was destroyed in a riot, and it was rebuilt in the 14th century with defense in mind—you can see the arrow slits. From Easter to September, guided tours are available Monday to Saturday at 11:30. There's also a small but popular café. A separate tower tour lasts 85 minutes and takes visitors up 202 steps, rewarding with epic views of the town's skyline.

Built in the 15th century, St. Mary's has a blue-and-gold embossed "wagon" (barrel-shape) roof over the choir. Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's sister and queen of France, is buried here.

Built in 1819, the Theatre Royal is an outstanding example of Regency design. Guided tours can be booked at the box office.

Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, Trinity replaced a 14th-century educational foundation and is the largest college in either Cambridge or Oxford, with nearly 1,000 undergraduates. In the 17th-century great court, with its massive gatehouse, is Great Tom, a giant clock that strikes each hour with high and low notes. The college's true masterpiece is Sir Christopher Wren's library, colonnaded and seemingly constructed with as much light as stone. Among the things you can see here is A. A. Milne's handwritten manuscript of The House at Pooh Corner. Trinity alumni include Sir Isaac Newton, William Thackeray, Lord Byron, Lord Tennyson, and 34 Nobel Prize winners (to date).

This family-friendly museum past the outskirts of Bury St. Edmunds has indoor galleries displaying finds from the Anglo-Saxon period (410–1066) and a reconstruction of a village from that period with thatched-roof houses. Costumed performers give demonstrations of traditional crafts. There's also a small farm that's home to rare breeds of pigs and chickens. It's best to call ahead in winter as the hours can vary.

This rather delightful, dusty old cupboard of a museum contains all manner of scientific artifacts, instruments, and doodads from the medieval period to the early 20th century. Most fun is the section on astronomy, including a beautiful 18th-century grand orrery—an elaborate three-dimensional model of the solar system, minus the planets that had yet to be discovered at the time.

A five-minute stroll down the path from Bridge Cottage brings you to this 16th-century structure that is instantly recognizable from Constable's painting The Hay Wain (1821). Although the house is not usually open to the public, the road is a public thoroughfare, so you can just walk right on up to see the famous—and completely unchanged—view for yourself. Just stand across from the two trees on the far bank, with the mill on your right, and look upstream. On the outside wall of the mill is a handy reproduction of the painting to help you compose your own photo.