SUMMONING THE PAST IN SUFFOLK: THE DIG

 There are many interesting places to visit in Suffolk, as we discovered on a long weekend break a few years ago, but one place that particularly stands out in my memory is the site of the archaeological dig at Sutton Hoo and its museum full of replicas of Anglo-Saxon treasures.  The initial finds were made by amateur archaeologist Basil Brown on land owned by widow Edith Pretty.  Brown made the extraordinary discovery of a 7^th century ship burial, but a Cambridge archaeologist took over the excavation on realising its significance and Basil was left somewhat sidelined.  This is the subject of the Netflix film The Dig, starring Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty and Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown. 

Sutton Hoo ship-burial model. Photo by Steven J. Plunkett, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Suffolk coast, particularly the southern part of it, is characterised by a series of estuaries, and it is the River Deben that runs alongside the Sutton Hoo site.  In the opening scene of the film we see Basil taking his bike on a foot ferry across the River Deben – this was actually filmed on the Butley Foot Ferry on the Butley River near Orford.   Other coastal locations used in the filming include Thorpeness Beach, just up the coast from Aldeburgh, and Shingle Street, a hamlet midway between Orford and Felixstowe (which also featured heavily in Daughters-in-Law by Joanna Trollope, covered elsewhere in this blog). 

 

Butley Ferry - geograph.org.uk - 1303087. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons.

Two wildlife reserves make an appearance: the Boyton Marsh RSPB site and Snape Marshes, run by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.  Boyton Marsh is where we see the ruined house where Peggy Piggott (Lily James) has a fling with Edith Pretty’s cousin Rory Lomax (Johnny Flynn).  Snape Marshes is used for the scene in which Basil is seen smoking his pipe while sitting on the banks of the River Alde after making his first significant find, and a restored 19^th century sailing barge called the Cygnet is seen appearing before him. 

 

Boyton Marshes - geograph.org.uk - 1298304. Photo by Keith Evans, via Wikimedia Commons.

Pretty’s house, which in real life was part of the Sutton Hoo estate, and is now a museum, was actually in Surrey in the film, represented by a property called Norney Grange near Shackleford, which was used for both interior and exterior scenes.  The scenes of the actual dig were also shot near here.  As for the village scenes, the post office in Diss was played by the village shop in the village of Shackleford, and the hamlet of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire was used for the scenes of the inquest in Sutton.

 

The real-life Sutton Hoo site is run by the National Trust.  The objects on display are replicas; the real items are now housed in the British Museum.  Tranmer House , where Edith Pretty lived, houses a museum telling the story of the discoveries and her role in them.  Norney Grange is not open to the public, but a history of the property can be found on the Shackleford website.

The Butley ferry is currently closed, but is due to reopen on Easter weekend.

Map of Sutton Hoo.