Editing East Anglia

{{Short description|Region of England}}
{{About|the modern region|the Anglo-Saxon kingdom|Kingdom of East Anglia}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                     = East Anglia
| other_name               = 
| settlement_type          = [[Historical and alternative regions of England|Region]]
| subdivision_type         = [[Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name         = [[United Kingdom]]
| subdivision_type1        = [[Home nations|Country]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[England]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[Regions of England|Region]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[East of England]]
| parts_type         = [[Ceremonial counties of England|Ceremonial counties]]
| parts              = {{unbulleted list
| [[Cambridgeshire]]
| [[Essex]]
| [[Norfolk]]
| [[Suffolk]]}}
| seat1_type = Largest city
| seat1=[[Norwich]]
| image_skyline            = 
| image_caption            = 
| image_flag               = Flag of East Anglia.svg
| flag_alt                 = 
| etymology                = Kingdom of the East Angles
| image_map = East Anglia UK Locator Map.svg
| map_caption = East Anglia: with the ceremonial counties of [[Norfolk]] and [[Suffolk]] (in red) to the north and south and [[Cambridgeshire]] and [[Essex]] (in pink) to the west
}}

'''East Anglia''' is an area of the [[East of England]],<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=15 May 2016 |title=Jade Goody and the many faces of East Anglia |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36130219 |access-date=15 May 2016 |work=BBC News}}</ref> often defined as including the counties of [[Norfolk]], [[Suffolk]] and [[Cambridgeshire]],<ref name="NUTS">{{cite web |date=25 March 2010 |title=East of England |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/other/nomenclature-of-units-for-territorial-statistics/east-of-england/index.html |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160108070746/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/other/nomenclature-of-units-for-territorial-statistics/east-of-england/index.html |archive-date=8 January 2016 |access-date=26 November 2017 |website=Office for National Statistics |publisher=The National Archives |language=en}}</ref> with parts of [[Essex]] sometimes also included. 

The name derives from the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Heptarchy|kingdom]] of the [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Angles]], a people whose name originated in [[Angeln|Anglia (Angeln)]], in what is now [[Northern Germany]]. East Anglia is a predominantly rural region and contains mainly flat or low-lying and agricultural land.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Marinet – Marine Conservation For The UK |url=https://www.marinet.org.uk/campaign-article/the-disappearing-east-anglian-coast |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20211027193321/http://www.marinet.org.uk/campaign-article/the-disappearing-east-anglian-coast |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=www.marinet.org.uk |date=28 November 2005 |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=#peripheries: East Anglia Culture Feature {{!}} United Kingdom |url=https://culture360.asef.org/insights/peripheries-east-anglia-culture-feature-united-kingdom/ |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=ASEF culture360 |language=en}}</ref> The area is known for considerable natural beauty. It shares a long [[North Sea]] coastline and contains one of the ten [[National parks of the United Kingdom|national parks]] in England, [[The Broads]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Why East Anglia has become a surprise holiday destination in 2025 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/east-anglia-holiday-tourism-2025-b2639015.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250111062209/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/east-anglia-holiday-tourism-2025-b2639015.html |archive-date=2025-01-11 |access-date=2025-02-01 |work=The Independent |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Norwich]] is the largest city in the region.

==Area==
Definitions of what constitutes East Anglia vary. The [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Kingdom of East Anglia]], established in the 6th century, originally consisted of the modern counties of [[Norfolk]] and [[Suffolk]] and expanded west into at least part of [[Cambridgeshire]], typically the northernmost parts known as [[The Fens]]. The modern [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS 2]] statistical unit of East Anglia comprises Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire (including the [[City of Peterborough]] unitary authority).<ref name="NUTS"/> Those three counties have formed the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia]] since 1976, and were the subject of a possible government devolution package in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cambridgeshire and Peterborough devolution deal|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cambridgeshire-and-peterborough-devolution-deal|website=GOV.UK|access-date=26 November 2017|language=en|date=16 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lamy |first=Joel |url=http://www.fenlandcitizen.co.uk/news/latest-news/east-anglia-devolution-deal-could-be-just-days-away-with-talks-over-geography-and-elected-mayor-ongoing-1-7398286 |title=East Anglia devolution deal could be just days away with talks over geography and elected mayor ongoing |publisher=Fenland Citizen |date=24 May 2016 |access-date=25 May 2016 |archive-date=11 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811212224/http://www.fenlandcitizen.co.uk/news/latest-news/east-anglia-devolution-deal-could-be-just-days-away-with-talks-over-geography-and-elected-mayor-ongoing-1-7398286 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Essex]] has sometimes been included in definitions of East Anglia, including by the London Society of East Anglians.<ref group=note>The First World War memorial at Liverpool Street Station, erected by the London Society of East Anglians, is "to the men of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire".</ref> Although the [[Kingdom of Essex]] to the south was a separate element of the [[heptarchy]] of [[Anglo-Saxon England]] and did not identify as [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]] but [[Saxons]], many people in Essex today still consider themselves to be East Anglian. For example, [[Colchester United F.C.]] is one of the clubs competing for the informal football title [[Pride of Anglia]], but not [[Southend United F.C.]] from further south in the county. Culturally, north Essex has much more in common with [[Suffolk]] and the rest of East Anglia due to its similar rural landscape, when compared to the south which is much more urban given its proximity to [[London]]. However, the county of Essex by itself forms a [[International Territorial Level|NUTS 2 statistical unit]] in the [[East of England]] [[Regions of England|region]].
[[File:Anglo-Saxon England 2.svg|thumb|Great Britain around the year 800 showing the East Angles]]
 
[[File:England RedcliffeMaud Provinces.png|frame|Redcliffe-Maud proposed provinces; East Anglia is marked 7]]
Other definitions of the area have been used or proposed over the years. For example, the [[Redcliffe-Maud Report]] in 1969, which followed the [[Royal Commission]] on the Reform of Local Government, recommended the creation of eight provinces in England. The proposed East Anglia province would have included northern Essex, southern [[Lincolnshire]] and a small part of [[Northamptonshire]] as well as Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

===Cultural identity===

Despite being considered by some to be a sub-region of the [[East of England]], it is considered to have its own differing cultural identity and characteristics, with some considering it an informal region in its own right.{{cn|date=April 2025}} It has more distinct accents within the area compared to the rest of the East of England region, such as the Norfolk and Suffolk accents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Technically Speaking East Anglian |url=https://dialectandheritage.org.uk/stories/spotlight-on-east-anglia/technically-speaking-east-anglian/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=The Dialect and Heritage Project |language=en}}</ref> It is also considered a less commercialised area, with more agricultural business being based within East Anglia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-10 |title=Farming delivers in East Anglia |url=https://www.nfuonline.com/updates-and-information/farming-in-east-anglia/#:~:text=Farmers%20in%20East%20Anglia%20harvest,%25)%20of%20England's%20table%20chicken. |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=www.nfuonline.com |language=en-gb}}</ref> However, it must be noted that several areas of East Anglia are starting to experience a renaissance, with more frequent [[Decentralization|decentralisation]] and expansions of certain businesses taking place in several areas such as the recent introductions of commercial businesses such as [[Taco Bell]] and [[Odeon Cinemas]] into areas of East Anglia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home - New Anglia LEP |url=https://newanglia.co.uk/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250214183529/https://newanglia.co.uk/ |archive-date=2025-02-14 |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=New Anglia |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-15 |title=Odeon cinema in Peterborough will create 40 jobs, firm says |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjjej2dqz8wo |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-19 |title=Taco Bell plans set to be approved |url=https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/20673962.taco-bell-plans-set-approved/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Ipswich Star |language=en}}</ref> However, despite a recent economic renaissance, East Anglia is also still a poorer area than the rest of the East of England region, with several areas suffering from intense deprivation and poverty.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-01 |title=Map of richest and poorest areas reveals huge income divide |url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21278799.map-richest-poorest-areas-reveals-huge-income-divide/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=East Anglian Daily Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=East Anglia's Productivity Challenge |url=https://www.productivity.ac.uk/news/east-anglias-productivity-challenge/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=The Productivity Institute |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McNair |first=Stephen |date=2022-07-11 |title=East of England: growing but still unequal |url=https://eastangliabylines.co.uk/regions/anglia/east-of-england-growing-but-still-unequal/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=eastangliabylines.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref> 

From a geographical perspective, East Anglia also differs hugely from the rest of the East of England due to it being somewhat situated on the east coast of England, leading to several seaside towns being situated within the area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-06 |title=East Anglia {{!}} Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/East-Anglia |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> A more noticeable differing geographical feature is [[The Fens]], an area of low-lying marshland populated throughout East Anglia as well as, to a lesser extent, the [[East Midlands]].<ref name=":2" /> It has managed to define East Anglia, especially from a historical perspective, and help it stand out from the rest of the East of England, with several plans recently set up to restore The Fens to its initial state, prior to its drainage, as a big wetland area.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> East Anglia is also more likely than any other area in the East of England to be considered part of the [[Midlands]].{{dub|date=April 2025}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Midlands and East Anglia Discussion Circle {{!}} Genealogical Society of Victoria |url=https://www.gsv.org.au/midlands-and-east-anglia-discussion-circle |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.gsv.org.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-08 |title=Places that don't really fit in their region |url=https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/places-that-dont-really-fit-in-their-region.146507/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=RailUK Forums |language=en-GB}}</ref> This is mostly because East Anglia’s geographical location aligns with The Midlands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eurostat |url=https://circabc.europa.eu/webdav/CircaBC/ESTAT/regportraits/Information/ukh1_geo.htm#:~:text=East%20Anglia%20constitutes%20the%20northern,bordered%20by%20the%20North%20Sea. |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=circabc.europa.eu}}</ref> It is also likely due to several areas of East Anglia being situated above or on several somewhat common but unofficial borders that separate the Midlands and even the North in some cases, from [[Southern England]] such as [[River Great Ouse]], [[River Nene]] or even the [[Thames]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} East Anglia and the Midlands were also previously combined in a grouping known as “Central England” based on [[European Parliament constituencies in the United Kingdom]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} Similarly, some East Anglian citizens have expressed interests in turning East Anglia into its own independent state.{{dub|date=April 2025}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-30 |title=We, the proud people of East Anglia, declare our statehood |url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21708713.proud-people-east-anglia-declare-statehood/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=East Anglian Daily Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-20 |title=Is it time to revisit Home Rule for East Anglia? |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/lifestyle/20824641.time-revisit-home-rule-east-anglia/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Eastern Daily Press |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
{{Further|Kingdom of East Anglia}}
The kingdom of East Anglia initially consisted of [[Norfolk]] and [[Suffolk]], but the [[Isle of Ely]] also became part of it upon the marriage of East Anglian princess [[Æthelthryth]] (Etheldreda). It was formed around 520 by merging the North and South Folk, Angles who had settled in the former lands of the [[Iceni]] during the previous century, and it was one of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy kingdoms as defined in the 12th-century writings of [[Henry of Huntingdon]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Henry of Huntingdon|author-link=Henry of Huntingdon|translator-last=Greenway|translator-first=Diana|translator-link=Diana Greenway|title=Historia Anglorum: The History of the English People|date=1996|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780198222248|edition=Reprinted|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O6U5BTD0-rYC&q=heptarchy+historiography&pg=PR61|access-date=7 March 2017}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=March 2017}} East Anglia has been cited by a number of scholars as being a region where settlement of continental Germanic speakers was particularly early and dense,<ref>Catherine Hills, ''The Anglo-Saxon Migration to Britain: An Archaeological Perspective'' (2016)</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Coates|first=Richard|title=Celtic whispers: revisiting the problems of the relation between Brittonic and Old English|url=https://ul.qucosa.de/api/qucosa%3A31804/attachment/ATT-0/}}</ref><ref>Toby F. Martin, ''The Cruciform Brooch and Anglo-Saxon England'', Boydell and Brewer Press (2015), pp. 174–178</ref> possibly following a depopulation in the 4th century.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dark|first=Ken R.|title=Large-scale population movements into and from Britain south of Hadrian's Wall in the fourth to sixth centuries AD|year=2003|url=https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-2003-03_K._R._Dark,_Large-scale_population_movements_into_and_from_Britan_south_of_Hadrian's_Wall_in_the_fourth_to_sixth_centuries_AD.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605174112/https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/GCMS/RMS-2003-03_K._R._Dark,_Large-scale_population_movements_into_and_from_Britan_south_of_Hadrian's_Wall_in_the_fourth_to_sixth_centuries_AD.pdf |archive-date=2020-06-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2016 study found that modern East Anglians share a strong genetic affinity with Anglo-Saxon era skeletons, but differ substantially from Iron Age and Roman era ones, which are more similar to the Welsh. This was taken to support a major influence of the Anglo-Saxon migrations on the genetic makeup of East Anglia.<ref>Martiniano, R., Caffell, A., Holst, M. et al. "Genomic signals of migration and continuity in Britain before the Anglo-Saxons." Nat Commun 7, 10326 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10326</ref> In a 2022 study by Joscha Gretzinger et al., the populations of Norfolk and Suffolk were found to be the group with the lowest amount of Iron Age/Roman period [[Insular Celts|British Isles-related]] ancestry, with only about 11–12.7% of their ancestry being derived from that group, while having one of the highest amounts of [[North Sea Germanic|Continental North European]] (45.9–46.1%), and the highest amount of Continental West European (41.2–43.1%) ancestry in all of England.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Gretzinger, J., Sayer, D., Justeau, P. |display-authors=etal|title=The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool |journal=Nature |year=2022 |volume=610 |issue=7930 |pages=112–119 |url=https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05247-2 |publisher=Nature 610, 112–119 (2022) |access-date=4 February 2023 |location=Supplementary Table S5.20|doi=10.1038/s41586-022-05247-2 |pmid=36131019 |pmc=9534755 |bibcode=2022Natur.610..112G}}</ref>

East Anglia was the most powerful of the kingdoms of [[Anglo-Saxon England]] for a brief period following a victory over the rival kingdom of [[Northumbria]] around 616, and its King [[Rædwald of East Anglia|Rædwald]] was [[Bretwalda]] (overlord of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms). However, this did not last; the [[Mercia]]ns defeated it twice over the next 40 years, and East Anglia continued to weaken in relation to the other kingdoms. [[Offa of Mercia]] finally had king [[Æthelberht II of East Anglia|Æthelberht]] killed in 794 and took control of the kingdom himself.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Michelle P.|last2=Farr|first2=Carol A.|title=Mercia: an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom in Europe|date=2005 |publisher=Continuum|location=New York|isbn=9780826477651|page=228}}</ref> Independence was temporarily restored by rebellion in 825, but the Danes killed [[Edmund of East Anglia|King Edmund]] on 20 November 869 and captured the kingdom. [[Edward the Elder]] incorporated East Anglia into the Kingdom of England, and it later became an [[Earl of East Anglia|earldom]].

Parts of East Anglia remained marshland until the 17th-century drainage of the Fens, despite some earlier engineering work during the Roman occupation. The [[alluvial]] land was converted into wide swaths of productive [[arable land]] by a series of systematic drainage projects, mainly using drains and river diversions along the lines of Dutch practice.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}} In the 1630s, thousands of [[Puritan]] families from East Anglia [[Puritan migration to New England (1620–40)|emigrated to New England]] in America, taking much East Anglian culture with them that can still be traced today.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fischer|first1=David Hackett|author-link=David Hackett Fischer|title=Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America|date=1991|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-506905-1|edition=Reissue|title-link=Albion's Seed|pp=31-33}}</ref> East Anglia based much of its earnings on wool, textiles, and arable farming and was a rich area of England until the [[Industrial Revolution]] caused a manufacturing and development shift to [[English Midlands|the Midlands]] and the North.

During the [[Second World War]], the [[Royal Air Force]] and the [[United States Army Air Force]] constructed many airbases in East Anglia for the heavy bomber fleets of the [[Combined Bomber Offensive]] against [[German-occupied Europe]]. East Anglia was ideally suited to airfield construction, as it includes large areas of open, level terrain and is close to mainland Europe. Many of the airfields can still be seen today, particularly from aerial photographs, and a few remain in use, the most prominent being [[Norwich International Airport]]. [[Pillbox (military)|Pillboxes]] were erected in 1940 to help defend the nation against invasion, and they can also be found throughout the area at strategic points.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pillboxesuk.co.uk/ |title=UK Pillbox, Pillboxes, Bunkers, Anti-tank traps and other Anti-Invasion Defences built in World War 2 |publisher=Pillboxesuk.co.uk |access-date=19 April 2016}}</ref> Similarly, but from the [[Napoleonic Wars]], a number of [[Martello tower]]s can be found along the coast.

==Geography==
[[File:Guildhall, Cathedral Square, Peterborough.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Peterborough]], with an urban population of 217,000, is the largest settlement in East Anglia.]]
[[File:Norwich Skyline.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Norwich]], with an urban population of 210,000, is the second largest settlement in East Anglia.]]
[[File:The Ipswich Dock aerial image (19412961574).jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Ipswich]], with an urban population of 180,000, is the third largest settlement in East Anglia.]]East Anglia is bordered to the north and east by the [[North Sea]], to the south by the [[Estuary|estuaries]] of the rivers [[River Orwell|Orwell]] and [[River Stour, Suffolk|Stour]], and shares an undefined land border to the west with the rest of England. Much of northern East Anglia is flat, low-lying and marshy (such as [[the Fens]] of [[Cambridgeshire]] and [[Norfolk]]), although the extensive drainage projects of the past centuries actually make this one of the driest areas in the UK.{{clarify|date=August 2022}}{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}} Inland, much of the rest of Suffolk and Norfolk is gently undulating, with glacial moraine ridges providing some areas of steeper relief. The highest point in Norfolk is the {{convert|103|m}} [[Beacon Hill, Norfolk|Beacon Hill]];<ref>http://norfolk.gov.uk/-/media/norfolk/downloads/out-and-about/norfolk-trails/walking-routes/romancamp.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> the supposed flatness of Norfolk is noted in literature, including [[Noël Coward]]'s ''[[Private Lives]]'' – "Very flat, Norfolk".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coward |first1=Noël |title=Private lives : an intimate comedy in three acts |date=1947 |publisher=S. French |location=London |isbn=9780573013577 |edition=Acting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uZ0XAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2 February 2022}}</ref>{{rp|23}}

On the north-west corner East Anglia is bordered by a bay known as [[The Wash]], where owing to deposits of sediment and [[land reclamation]], the coastline has altered markedly within historical times; several towns once on the coast of the Wash (notably King's Lynn) are now some distance inland. Conversely, over to the east on the coast exposed to the North Sea the coastline is subject to rapid erosion and has shifted inland significantly since historic times.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hanrahan |first1=Luke |title='Tearing this nation apart': Coastal erosion tears away homes in eastern England |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/12/08/tearing-this-nation-apart-coastal-erosion-tears-away-homes-in-eastern-england |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=www.euronews.com |date=12 August 2023}}</ref>

Major rivers include the [[River Nene]] and Suffolk's [[River Stour, Suffolk|Stour]], running through country beloved of the painter [[John Constable]]. The [[River Cam]] is a tributary of the [[Great Ouse]] and gives its name to Cambridge, whilst Norwich sits on the [[River Yare]] and [[River Wensum]]. The [[River Orwell]] flows through Ipswich and has its mouth, along with the Stour at [[Felixstowe]]. The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads form a network of [[waterway]]s between Norwich and the coast and are popular for recreational boating. The Ouse flows into the Wash at King's Lynn.

Major urban areas in East Anglia include the cities of [[Norwich]], [[Cambridge]] and [[Peterborough]], and the town of [[Ipswich]]. Other towns and cities include [[Bury St Edmunds]], [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]], [[Lowestoft]], [[Great Yarmouth]], [[King's Lynn]], and [[Newmarket,_Suffolk|Newmarket]]. Much of the area is still rural in nature with many villages surrounded by a mixture of [[breckland]], [[The Fens|fens]], [[The Broads|broads]] and agricultural land.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/historic-farmsteads-preliminary-character-statement-east-of-england/historic-farmsteads-east-england-part1/|title=Historic Farmsteads Preliminary Character Statement: East of England Region|last=Landscape Access Recreation}}</ref>

===Climate===
{{main|Climate of East Anglia}}

The climate of East Anglia is generally dry and mild. Temperatures range from an average of 1–10&nbsp;°C in the winter to 12–22&nbsp;°C in the summer, although it is not uncommon for daily temperatures to fall and rise significantly outside these averages. Although water plays a significant role in the [[The Fens|Fenland]] and [[Broadland]] landscapes, the area is among the driest in the United Kingdom and during the summer months, tinder-dry conditions are frequently experienced, occasionally resulting in field and heath fires.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/heathland-fire-emergency-foxhall-road-1-6264859|title=Heathland fire prompts huge emergency response in Ipswich|last=Jefford|first=Will|website=Ipswich Star|date=11 September 2019|language=en|access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref> Many areas receive less than 700&nbsp;mm of rainfall a year and this is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. Sunshine totals tend to be higher towards the coastal areas.<ref name="climate">{{cite web |title=Eastern England: climate |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/regional-climates/eastern-england_-climate---met-office.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122023605/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/regional-climates/eastern-england_-climate---met-office.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-22 |url-status=live |website=Met Office |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Felixstowe port.JPG|thumb|right|[[Port of Felixstowe]] – Landguard Terminal in the foreground with Trinity Terminal in the background]]
{{main|Transport in East Anglia|Roads in the United Kingdom}}
Transport in East Anglia consists of an extensive road and rail network. Main A roads, such as the [[A12 road (England)|A12]] and [[A47 road|A47]] link the area to the rest of the UK, and the [[A14 road (England)|A14]] links the Midlands to the [[Port of Felixstowe]]. This is the busiest container port in the UK, dealing with over 40% of UK container traffic and is a major gateway port into the country.<ref name="felixstowe">{{cite web |title=UK's Top 5 Major Ports |url=https://www.icontainers.com/us/2020/01/24/5-major-ports-uk/ |website=iContainers |access-date=25 October 2022 |language=en |date=24 January 2020}}</ref> There is very little motorway within East Anglia.

Rail links include the [[Great Eastern Main Line]] from [[Norwich railway station|Norwich]] to [[Liverpool Street railway station|London Liverpool Street]] and the [[West Anglia Main Line]] connecting [[Cambridge railway station|Cambridge]] to London. Sections of the [[East Coast Main Line]] run through the area and [[Peterborough railway station|Peterborough]] is an important interchange on this line. The area is linked to the Midlands and north-west England by rail and has a number of local rail services, such as the [[Bittern Line]] from Norwich to [[Sheringham railway station|Sheringham]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-industry/global-trade/top-50-world-container-ports |title=Top 50 World Container Ports |publisher=World Shipping Council |access-date=20 February 2017 |archive-date=27 August 2013 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20130827191609/http://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-industry/global-trade/top-50-world-container-ports |url-status=dead }}</ref>

East Anglia is ideal for [[Cycling infrastructure|cycling]] and [[National Cycle Route 1]] passes through it. Cambridge has the largest proportion of its residents in the UK cycling to work with 25% commuting by bicycle.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=Mark|title=Cambridge Announced As National Cycling Town|url=http://www2.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/db/pressrel.nsf/cac74a2aba838b5d80256b56004e53ab/8ec01df74e10d3968025746d0049e5cf?OpenDocument|website=Cambridge County Council|publisher=Wayback Machine|access-date=27 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717010429/http://www2.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/db/pressrel.nsf/cac74a2aba838b5d80256b56004e53ab/8ec01df74e10d3968025746d0049e5cf?OpenDocument|archive-date=17 July 2011|date=19 June 2008}}</ref> The city is also home to the [[Cambridgeshire Guided Busway]], which at 13.3 miles (21.4&nbsp;km) was the longest stretch of guided bus-way in the world when it opened in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-14401265 |title=Cambridgeshire guided busway opens to passengers |work=BBC News |date=7 August 2011 |access-date=15 May 2016}}</ref>

The only major commercial airport is [[Norwich Airport]], although [[London Stansted Airport]], the fourth busiest passenger airport in the UK, lies just south of Cambridge in north-west Essex.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Norwich Airport |url=https://www.norwichairport.co.uk/about-norwich-airport/ |website=norwichairport.co.uk |access-date=2 November 2019}}</ref>

==Universities==
The [[University of Cambridge]], established at the start of the 13th century and in the town of the same name, is East Anglia's best-known institution of higher learning and is among the oldest and most famous universities in the world. Other institutions include the [[University of East Anglia]] (in [[Norwich]]), [[University of Essex]], [[Norwich University of the Arts]], [[Anglia Ruskin University]] (based in Cambridge), [[University of Suffolk]] (based in Ipswich) and [[University Centre Peterborough]].

==Enterprise zones==
Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Enterprise Zone, an [[enterprise zone]] initiated by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership,<ref name=Pullinger>{{cite news |url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/energy_jobs_boom_fuelled_by_great_yarmouth_and_lowestoft_enterprise_zone_1_3783992 |title=Energy jobs boom fuelled by Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Enterprise Zone |last=Pullinger |first=Stephen |work=EDP24 |publisher=[[Eastern Daily Press]] |date=25 September 2014 |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402093021/http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/energy_jobs_boom_fuelled_by_great_yarmouth_and_lowestoft_enterprise_zone_1_3783992 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was announced in 2011 and launched in April 2012.<ref name=Dickson>{{cite news |url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/great_yarmouth_and_lowestoft_enterprise_zone_interest_from_around_the_world_1_1174961 |title=Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft enterprise zone interest from around the world |last=Dickson |first=Annabelle |work=EDP24 |publisher=[[Eastern Daily Press]] |date=12 January 2012 |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923233908/http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/great_yarmouth_and_lowestoft_enterprise_zone_interest_from_around_the_world_1_1174961 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It includes six sites with a total area of {{convert|121|ha}}, which have attracted a number of energy-related businesses.<ref name=Pullinger/> The sites are Beacon Park and South Denes in Great Yarmouth, Mobbs Way, Riverside Road and South Lowestoft Industrial Estate in Lowestoft and Ellough Business Park in [[Ellough]] near Beccles.<ref name=Dickson/> There is also an enterprise zone in Cambridgeshire, [[Alconbury Enterprise Campus]] in [[Huntingdon]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Alconbury-Weald-Project/story-22802676-detail/story.html |title=The Alconbury Weald Project |newspaper=[[Cambridge News]] |date=24 June 2014 |access-date=13 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150718070008/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Alconbury-Weald-Project/story-22802676-detail/story.html |archive-date=18 July 2015 }}</ref>

==Symbols and culture==
[[File:Three crowns emblem.jpg|thumb|Three crowns emblem at [[Saxmundham]]'s parish church]]
[[File:Memorial to East Anglians who died during The Great War - geograph.org.uk - 628576.jpg|thumb|Memorial to East Anglians who died during the [[World War I|First World War]] in [[Liverpool Street Station]]. The memorial, erected by the London Society of East Anglians, displays the flag]]
A shield of [[three golden crowns]], placed two above one, on a blue background has been used as a symbol of East Anglia for centuries. The [[coat of arms]] was ascribed by medieval heralds to the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia and the [[Wuffingas]] dynasty which ruled it. The arms are effectively identical to the [[coat of arms of Sweden]].

The three crowns appear, carved in stone, on the [[baptismal font]] (c.1400) in the parish church of [[Saxmundham]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saxmundham.org/aboutsax/parishchurch.html |title=The Parish Church |publisher=Saxmundham |access-date=19 April 2016 |archive-date=24 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224062029/http://www.saxmundham.org/aboutsax/parishchurch.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and on the 15th-century porch of [[Woolpit]] church, both in Suffolk. They also appear in local heraldry and form part of the arms of the [[diocese of Ely]] and the arms of the borough of [[Bury St Edmunds]], where the crowns are shown pierced with arrows to represent the martyrdom of [[Edmund the Martyr]], the last king of East Anglia. Other users of the arms include the former [[Isle of Ely County Council]], the [[Borough of Colchester]] and the [[University of East Anglia]]. The [[flag of Cambridgeshire]] (adopted in 2015) includes the three gold crowns on a blue field.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cambridgeshire |url=https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/flags/cambridgeshire/ |website=Flaginstitute.org/ |publisher=Flag Institute |access-date=4 June 2018}}</ref>

The East Anglian flag as it is known today was proposed by George Henry Langham and adopted in 1902 by the London Society of East Anglians (established in 1896). It superimposes the three crowns in a blue shield on a [[St George's cross]].

East Anglia features heavily in English literature, notably in [[Noël Coward]]'s ''[[Private Lives]]'' and the history of its waterways and drainage forms the backdrop to [[Graham Swift]]'s novel ''[[Waterland (novel)|Waterland]]''. The area also figures in works by [[L.P. Hartley]], [[Arthur Ransome]] and [[Dorothy L. Sayers]], among many others.

"Suffolk pink" and similar pastel colours of [[whitewash]] are commonly seen on houses in Suffolk, Norfolk and their neighbouring counties.

==Tourism==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2020}}
[[File:AngliaPlusDayRanger.jpg|thumb|Anglia day ranger [[travel card]]]]
East Anglia has holiday resorts that range from the traditional coastal towns of [[Felixstowe]] and [[Lowestoft]] in Suffolk and Great Yarmouth and [[Hunstanton]] in Norfolk, to towns like [[Aldeburgh]] and [[Southwold]] in Suffolk. Other tourist attractions include historic towns and cities like Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge and Ely as well as areas such as [[Constable Country]], [[the Broads]] and the [[North Norfolk]] coast.

==See also==
* [[Earls of East Anglia]]
* [[Historical and alternative regions of England]]
* [[Kings of East Anglia]]
* [[Middle Angles]]
* [[Parish Pump (CGA series)]]
* [[Royal Anglian Regiment]]
* [[East Anglian English]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.newanglia.co.uk/enterprise-zone/ Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Enterprise Zone]
*[http://www.alconbury-weald.co.uk/enterprise-campus Alconbury Enterprise Campus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116095307/http://www.alconbury-weald.co.uk/enterprise-campus |date=16 January 2016 }}

{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|52.5|N|1|E|type:adm2nd_region:GB_scale:5000000|display=title}}

[[Category:East Anglia| ]]
[[Category:NUTS 2 statistical regions of the United Kingdom]]