town (parish), Waveney district, administrative and historic county of Suffolk, England, on the River Waveney. The land was given to St. Edmund's Church at Bury about 956, and Beccles was established as a fishing village, responsible for supplying the Benedictine abbey in Bury with tens of thousands of herring per annum. By the 14th century, however, wool trading and agriculture had begun to predominate. In recent decades light engineering has been associated with agriculturally based industries. Sailing and angling are the chief recreational activities, and the town is noted for its crayfish. The ancient streets on the north and east sides of Beccles are dominated by striking Georgian-style houses (built after a great fire). The 14th-century St. Michael's Church, with its detached campanile, is a fine example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture. Pop. (2001) 9,746.