Location
This landscape character type occurs in eastern Suffolk on the indented edge of the central clay plateau. The rivers draining east and south have divided the edge of the plateau into a series of ‘fingers’ and this landscape is found on those residual areas of plateau. These interfluves are in a series from the Hundred River and the River Brett
Geology, soils and landform
The dissected plateau is composed of glacial till or boulder clay left behind by the ice-sheet of the great Anglian Glaciation. The flatter parts have heavy, poorly-drained clay soils such as the Beccles series, but on the more undulating edges there are some better drained soils such as the Hanslope series.
Landholding and enclosure pattern
The enclosure pattern is generally ancient and organic in appearance, where the estate influence is stronger, as around Helmingham, there has been some rationalisation of the field pattern into more easily managed units with straighter boundaries in the 18th and 19th centuries. The fields are medium to large and the hedges vary from large hedges with a mix of trees and shrubs to single-species hedges that are more tightly controlled. The introduction of clay pipes for under-drainage in the late 18th century, coinciding with an upswing in grain prices, meant that a lot of pasture was converted to arable during the 19th century.
Some of the flatter, poorly-drained interfluves were used for large common pastures, eg Sotterley Common, Frostenden Green and Clay Common, Otley Green, Crowfield Green, Barham Green etc. Many of these were enclosed in the 18th and early 19th centuries and only their outlines survive as landscape features. Other interfluves were used for medieval and Tudor deer parks, eg. Kelsale Park, Helmingham Park and Glemham Park. Later landscape parks occur at Coddenham, Heveningham, Easton and Benacre.
In the 20th century the flat landscape was used for World War II airfields at Halesworth, Leiston, Parham, Debach and Raydon. At all those places the wartime use has left a legacy of runway remains and buildings, and some have been converted to modern industrial use.
Settlement
The settlement pattern consists of occasional villages and numerous dispersed hamlets and farmsteads. Many of the farmsteads are medieval in origin and some are surrounded by moats. The vernacular buildings consist of timber-framed buildings interspersed with brick ones, though the brick appearance is frequently just a façade added to an earlier timber-framed structure. Roofs of flat peg-tiles or curved peg-tiles are common. In a few places the estate character is very strong, as at Helmingham, where there are numerous estate cottages in a very distinctive 19th-century style.
Trees and woodland cover
There are blocks of ancient semi-natural woodland scattered throughout the area, made up of oak ash field maple, hornbeam and small-leaved lime. Hedgerow trees are ubiquitous and in many places this landscape can feel well wooded
Visual experience
Despite the reasonably well-wooded landscape the plateau landform means that the views are open and can be long. However, the comprehensive network of winding lanes and tall hedges means that many areas can be much more intimate.
Condition
These landscapes are subject to considerable change that is promoted by their relationship with the A12 trunk road and the creation of airfields in the 1940’s. There is considerable intrusion of suburbanisation with horse paddocks, barn conversions and ranch-style fencing. As on other parts of the plateau claylands industrial agricultural buildings make a significant impact, especially where there is inadequate screening.