Sailors' Reading Room is a Grade II listed building in the East Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 22 November 1971. Reading room. 3 related planning applications.

Sailors' Reading Room

WRENN ID
ruined-doorway-wax
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
East Suffolk
Constituency
Suffolk Coastal MP: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
22 November 1971
Type
Reading room
Address
Sailors' Reading Room, East Cliff, Southwold, IP18 6JJ
OS grid reference
TM 509 760
Coordinates
52.32553, 1.6814
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

A sailor's reading room of 1864, designed by Benjamin Carter for Mrs Charles Rayley. The building is constructed of red brick with gault-brick dressings and has a slate roof. It is a single-storey building with a gable end facing the street. The front features a gabled glazed porch protecting double half-glazed doors. To either side of the entrance are windows set beneath gauged skewback arches, one being a blind window with painted glazing bars in the gable head. Four tall windows are located on the left return, also set under gauged skewback arches. Inside, the space is divided into two rooms by a timber partition consisting of planks and muntins. The roof features large king-post trusses with tie beams on arched braces, supporting a boarded ceiling. A fireplace is located on the north wall.

Local climate

Sailors' Reading Room receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 62% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 79% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 6 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 96% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • Sale history — 2 transactions since 2008
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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