The Early History

The early history of the formation of Orford Ness, and the construction of the river walls, both very significant in the development of any sort of a settlement at Orford, is unknown. Two documents predating the construction of the castle refer to a market and a causeway, so it seems that there was certainly a village of sorts in the early 12th century.

The Castle and the development of the town of Orford

Orford’s fortunes changed dramatically when King Henry II chose Orford as the site on which to build a new castle. Development of the town followed the castle. Trade increased and merchant guilds were formed during the Middle Ages. Orford’s market was held on Mondays with an annual fair on August 24th, St Bartholomew’s day. On July 7th 1579, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the burgesses of Orford acquired a charter which incorporated the town as a free borough with a common seal and with power to hold property and to hold a court.

The corporation was to consist of a mayor, eight portmen (in most boroughs called aldermen), and twelve capital burgesses. Orford began sending two representatives to Parliament and the town continued to send two MPs to Westminster until 1832. Orford castle was the property of the Kings of England for just over 150 years until 1336 when King Edward III sold it to Robert of Ufford, Earl of Suffolk and it remained in private hands until Sir Arthur Churchman bought it in 1928 and presented it to the nation. The first mayor of Orford was James Coe who acquired property in Orford, including the lease on Chantry and Raydon Marshes. When he died in 1591 he left the leases, money and land in Castle Hill to the corporation to be used for charitable purposes. He also gave a silver gilt mace still owned by the Orford Town Trust. The Orford Town Trust became the custodian trustees of the castle and it was opened to the public in 1930. In 1962 the castle and the responsibility for its upkeep were transferred to the Ministry of Works, later the Department of the Environment and then English Heritage.

Signs of decline

The first office-holders under the 1579 charter were a group of men who had worked hard to raise the money needed to petition the Queen for the charter. The petition stated that the town was in a state of ruin and decay as economic conditions had undoubtedly worsened over the previous 50 or so years, due to the downturn in the fishing industry, continental wars disrupting trade, and piracy. Access to the river through the shifting shingle bar at the tip of Orford Ness became more difficult as boats increased in size. The corporation was responsible for the quay and for regulating the fisheries and oyster beds in the river and they took pains to keep outsiders away. Many boats were engaged in the coastal trade exporting wool and dairy produce and importing coal. Keeping the quay in repair was a constant preoccupation and great expense to the inhabitants until it was let on a repairing lease in 1743 and sold in 1813 to the Marquis of Hertford. It is now back in the ownership of the New Orford Town Trust. The quay along with the river and the river bed, which, unusually for a tidal river, are also owned by the Town Trust, are a source of revenue from mooring, fishing and landing charges to this day.

Hard times

The difficult trading conditions hinted at when Orford acquired its charter became a reality within 100 years. In 1673 Orford was described as “in former times a Town of good account for fishing, but that trade being lost, the Town cannot find itself”. The hearth tax returns of the following year record 5 empty properties, 20 households too poor to pay the tax and only 37 households able to pay. Daniel Defoe described Orford in 1722 as “once a good Town, but now decayed” .

Later history

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Orford, having lost the outstanding economic prosperity it had enjoyed in the later Middle Ages, became more and more dependent on the owners of the Sudbourne Estate, the principal landowners and employers in the district. The town assumed much of the character of an estate village, but the population climbed steeply to over 1200, almost twice that of today. The Orford Town Trust was constituted in 1889 to hold and administer the property of the old corporation and in 1996 the New Orford Town Trust was formed from the former Orford Town Trust and three other Orford charities.

The Town Lands and relief of the poor

The rent income from houses and land belonging to the corporation was applied to poor relief thus reducing the amount of rates paid by the householders. Some of the Town Lands were sold to private individuals, but much has been used for the provision of housing including Bakers Lane and the Town Farm Estate. The Town Marsh, now the Quay Street car park, continues to be a useful source of revenue to this day. In 1902, after the old corporation had been dissolved and the Orford Town Trust set up in its place, the present Town Hall was built on the Market Square. Additional rooms were added in 2001 along with extensive refurbishment to allow the building to continue to be used for village functions.