Kessingland

Coordinates: 52°25′08″N 1°43′23″E / 52.419°N 1.723°E / 52.419; 1.723

Kessingland is a large village in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around 4 miles (6 km) south of Lowestoft. It is of interest to archaeologists as Palaeolithic and Neolithic implements have been found here; the remains of an ancient forest lie buried on the seabed.

There has been a settlement here since Palaeolithic times. Between the Hundred River and Latmer Dam was once a large estuary which was used by the Vikings and Romans. The sea provided the village with its main livelihood, and at one time the village paid a rent of 22,000 herrings to their Lords, which then made it more important than nearby Lowestoft.

The Domesday Book entry reads 'Kessingalanda / gelanda: King's land, kept by Roger Bigot; Earl Hugh and Hugh FitzNorman from him; Hugh de Montfort Mill (100 herrings). 43 pigs.' Roger Bigod or Bigot was a Norman Knight who came to England in the Norman Conquest.

The village comprised two separate communities: the "beach" and the "street" and it was not until the 1960s that more housing united the village into a single community. The population is little over 4,000 - though this can double due to the holiday-makers in the many chalets and holiday villages in the area.