Editing Beccles (section)

==Landmarks==
[[File:Becclesbeltower.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|St Michael's Church and bell tower]]
Many of the streets in the town centre have the suffix 'gate', for example, Ballygate, Smallgate and Blyburgate. This is derived from the Old Norse for 'street' and is similar to the modern [[Danish language|Danish]] word ''gade''.<ref name=con21>Ganther S (2014) [https://www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/assets/Planning/Design-and-Conservation/Conservation-Area-Appraisals/Beccles-Conservation-Area-Character-Appraisal-with-Mangement-Plan.pdf Beccles Conservation Area Character Appraisal], [[Waveney District Council]], p.21. Available online at [[East Suffolk District|East Suffolk Council]]. Retrieved 1 November 2020.</ref>

The townscape is dominated by the detached 16th-century [[Beccles bell tower]] of St Michael's Church.<ref name=con15>Ganther, p.15.</ref> Like the main body of the church, the tower is [[Perpendicular Gothic]] in style and is {{convert|97|ft|m}} tall. The church was built in the 14th century but was rebuilt after being badly damaged by fire in 1586. It has a 13th-century octagonal [[baptismal font]] and 14th-century south porch.<ref name=con25>Ganther, p.25–26.</ref> Both the church and the tower are [[Grade I listed building]]s.<ref name=shechurch>[https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSF1710 Building record BCC 013 - Church of St Michael], Suffolk Heritage Explorer, [[Suffolk County Council]]. Retrieved 1 November 2020.</ref>

[[Catherine Suckling]] married the [[Reverend Edmund Nelson]], a former curate of Beccles, at the church in 1749. Their son, the naval hero [[Horatio Nelson]], was born in 1758 in [[Norfolk]].<ref name=con25/> The [[Suffolk]] poet [[George Crabbe]] married Sarah Elmy at the church in the 18th century.
[[Image:BecclesTownHallc.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|[[Beccles Town Hall]]]]
Opposite the church is [[Beccles Town Hall]], built on the site of the town's [[market cross]].<ref name=con21/><ref name=con27>Ganther, p.27.</ref> This is at the centre of the Newmarket area, which still features a weekly market.

Beccles Museum is housed in Leman House, a Grade I listed building to the south of the town centre on Ballygate. The building dates from the 16th century and was the original site of the town's [[Grammar School]], named after John Leman who endowed it following his death in 1631.<ref name=lemanlist>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1205376 Leman House], list entry, [[Historic England]]. Retrieved 1 November 2020.</ref><ref name=ganther49>Ganther, p.49.</ref><ref name=ganther55>Ganther, p.55.</ref><ref name=bmhistory/>

Beccles Common is an area of [[common land]], to the north west of the town. In the centre of Beccles Common sits a [[World War II|World War Two]] era [[Pillbox (military)|Pillbox]] built in 1940 or 1941.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pillbox FW3/22 Beccles - Beccles - TracesOfWar.com|url=https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/21910/Pillbox-FW3-22-Beccles.htm|access-date=2021-10-22|website=www.tracesofwar.com|language=en}}</ref>  The area hosts Boney's Island, a man-made mound on the common. The name comes from [[Napoleon|Bonaparte's]] Island. There are two different sources of the name Boney's Island. the more popular origin is that it was a [[Prisoner-of-war camp|prisoner of war camp]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars|Napoleonic wars]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=BCC 023 - Boney's Island; Bonaparte's Island (1838) (PMed) - Suffolk Heritage Explorer|url=https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSF16248|access-date=2021-10-22|website=heritage.suffolk.gov.uk}}</ref> The less popular origin is that a large bonfire was lit on the island to celebrate the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1814.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Geograph:: Moat around Boney's Island, Beccles... © Adrian S Pye|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2164529|access-date=2021-10-22|website=www.geograph.org.uk|language=en}}</ref>

The old [[Corn Exchange, Beccles|Corn Exchange]] in Exchange Square, which dates from the early 19th century, now accommodates a branch of [[Lloyds Bank]].<ref>{{NHLE|desc= Premises occupied by Lloyds Bank |num=1298984|access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref>