AD 1900-2000 Modern

Until AD 1939, eastern England suffered from agricultural depression and a decline in village populations. World War II saw more land being cultivated and the region was dotted with airfields for British and American planes flying on bombing raids against Germany.

In the 1960s and 1970s, population grew slowly and, although there was still a drift away from the villages, new industries were sited in towns. In the 1960s the universities of Essex and East Anglia were founded, part of the wave of new ‘plate-glass’ universities. Cuts to the railways and the petrol crisis of 1973 affected the region, and the purchase of second homes by rich in-comers increased house prices. In the 1980s, agriculture was helped by European subsidies. Large fields were created for single crops (losing the old hedgerows), and market gardening got a boost. Felixstowe became a major container port and a nuclear power station was built at Sizewell in Suffolk. Financial services moved to Norwich and Peterborough, and Cambridge became a centre of the British computer industry.

From the later 1950s onwards the Norfolk Broads and coastal resorts became popular holiday destinations. The region continues to attract in-comers and holiday makers, for its country, seaside and cultural attractions like the Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk and the Sainsbury Arts Centre outside Norwich.