Walton, Suffolk
Walton is a small village in Suffolk, between the rivers Orwell and Deben. It is often considered to be part of Felixstowe and forms part of Felixstowe parish, however it is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The 19th century terraces of Walton High Street are just a few hundred yards from Hamilton Square in the middle of Felixstowe.The village High Street has a few shops including: Butchers; Bakers; Indian Restaurant; 2 Co-ops; Furniture shop; Post office; Chemist; Carpet shop & Hair dressers. The windmill has been conserved.History of WaltonRecent archaeological findings shows evidence of Bronze Age field systems in use. In Roman times a Roman fort enclosing about 6 acres (24,000 m2), similar to Burgh Castle, stood on high land near Brackenbury Fort and Bull's Cliff, now in Felixstowe. Probably built in the third or fourth centuries AD, it formed part of the coastal defences of the eastern shore of Britain, and overlooked the mouth of the river Deben. It is often referred to as Walton Castle. The walls and foundations finally slid down the cliff during the 18th century, but large portions of the walls still lie under the sea.The name Walton comes from settlement/farmstead of Wealas - native Celts which is what the new Anglo Saxon speaking peoples called the native inhabitants of England. There is strong evidence that in many areas of England taken over by Germanic speaking settlers, the native British (Wealas) remained undisturbed, farming the same land they did when the Romans left. Over time they just adopted or forgot their Celtic tongue (similar to Old Welsh/Cornish) for the language and culture of the newcomers in order to climb the social ladder or were coerced to do so. It was in the Anglo Saxon interest that the native British carry on as usual to ensure the economy produced food and goods for the new landowners.
