Reydon

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Please improve this article if you can. (March 2007)

Reydon
Reydon shown within Suffolk
Population	2,567 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	TM499774
District	Waveney
Shire county	Suffolk
Region	East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SOUTHWOLD
Postcode district	IP18
Dialling code	01502
Police	Suffolk
Fire	Suffolk
Ambulance	East of England
European Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Suffolk Coastal
List of places: UK • England • Suffolk

Coordinates: 52°20′15″N 1°40′10″E / 52.3376, 1.6695

Reydon is a village adjacent to but inland from Southwold in Suffolk, England. The name roughly means Rye Hill (Rey meaning Rye and Don as an old English word for hill or rise).^[1]

The parish church is St Margarets.

Reydon High School closed some years ago, with students now being bussed to other schools in the area and the land sold for housing development. However, Reydon Primary School is still running with many children from the village, Wrentham, Wangford and Southwold going there.

Another major school in Reydon is St. Felix. This was an all girls public school but now takes pupils of both sexes from ages 1 to 18.

There are three main roads through Reydon, around which the village is based. These are:

Halesworth Road (Leading to Halesworth)
Wangford Road (Leading to Wangford)
Lowestoft Road (Leading to Lowestoft)

There are only two shops in Reydon. One is the former Post Office, also known as "Barbrooks" (after the owners) which stocks many groceries, magazines and other general goods. The other, also eponymous, is "Boydens Stores".

In 2007 the Royal Mail decided to remove the post office facilities at Barbrook's, as part of a plan to reduce the Royal Mail's financial losses. Although this retrograde move was strongly opposed (throughout a "consultation" exercise) by most people living in Reydon, together with local and national politicians, the Post Office in Reydon nonetheless closed on 11th February, 2008. However, Barbrook's continue, in the same premises, as one of the two village stores.

Reydon also has one Public House (and hotel with restaurant) known as The Randolph Hotel. It was briefly (and controversially) renamed "The Cricketers", due to the adjacent locality of Southwold's former Eversley School cricket ground and playing fields. It reverted to its original name after a few years.

Since the closure of Eversley School, this land has been unused and is likely to be the site for more building development.

Reydon has in recent years been flooded with new housing construction, due mainly to the rising house prices in Southwold and the popularity of Reydon as a retirement village. The increase in population means that Reydon now has many more inhabitants than Southwold; where once the reverse was true.

The increasing number of homes has also led to the loss of much of Reydon's previous "small village" feeling. Additionally, the inflated house prices in Southwold have led to a number of properties in Reydon being purchased for holiday homes and second homes. These are often unoccupied for long periods of time; and this has also contributed to the loss of community.

A major build in 2004 has been a 4400 m² distribution center for Adnams Brewery constructed and built with the environment in mind on the site of an old open cast sand quarry.