Ellough is a civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk, located approximately south-east of Beccles. The area is sparsely populated with a mid-2005 population estimate of 40. The parish, which has an area of , borders Worlingham, North Cove, Mutford, Weston, Sotterley, Willingham St Mary and Henstead with Hulver Street. The parish council operates to administer jointly the parishes of Shadingfield, Willingham St Mary, Sotterley and Ellough.Shadingfield, Sotterley, Willingham and Ellough Parish Council Website, 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.

The parish was the site of a World War II airfield built in 1943, with part of it still operating today as Beccles Airfield. Other parts of the former airfield are used as a kart racetrack and as an industrial estate, including the main production site of local printing firm William Clowes Ltd. The village itself is dispersed and has few services.Shadingfield, Sotterley, Willingham & Ellough, Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2020. The A145 road, forming part of the Beccles southern bypass, runs along part of the northern border of the parish.

History At the time of the Domesday survey, Ellough, known then as Elga, was a small settlement of four or five households.Ellough, Domesday Map. Retrieved 25 June 2011. (Archived, 13 March 2012.)Ellough, Domesday Book online. Retrieved 25 June 2011. It formed part of the lands of Roger Bigot and was held by Robert of Vaux, having been confiscated from Ralph Guader, former Earl of Norfolk, following a failed rebellion.Suckling AI (1846) 'Ellough, or Willingham All Saints', The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk: volume 1, pp. 53–57. Ipswich: WS Crowell. (Available online at British History Online. Retrieved 25 June 2011.) It is recorded as El'gh prior to 1400 and as Ellowe on a map of 1610.Ellough, The Suffolk Real Ale Guide, Suffolk CAMRA. Retrieved 25 June 2011.

The manor passed through a number of owners, including the Playters of Sotterley, before being owned by the Earl of Gosford in the 1840s.Lewis S (ed) (1848) 'Ellough, or Willingham (All Saints)' in A Topographical Dictionary of England, pp. 158–161. (Available online at British History Online. Retrieved 25 June 2011.) The church held some of the glebe land of St Mary's church in Willingham. The population of the parish was 155 in 1848, falling to 125 in 1871, at which time the parish was worth £1,687 and consisted of 1,097 acres of land. The population declined dramatically following the second world war and now stands at less than 50.Ellough AP/CP: Historical statistics – population, Vision of Britain. Retrieved 25 June 2011.A profile of Waveney, Waveney District Council, February 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.

All Saints Church

Ellough church is dedicated to All Saints and stands in an exposed position on a ridge overlooking the parish.Wilson JM (1872) 'Ellough' in Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, quoted at Ellough, Suffolk, Vision of Britain. Retrieved 25 June 2011.Knott S (2021) All Saints, Ellough, Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 4 March 2021. It is medieval in origin, was heavily restored in the late 19th century, and is now a Grade I listed building.Church of All Saints, Ellough, British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 25 June 2011. It stands to the south of the valley of the Hundred River which has its mouth at Kessingland.

RAF Beccles

Ellough Airfield was completed in 1943 and served as an RAF Bomber Command and RAF Coastal Command airfield during World War II as RAF Beccles.Shaw F History of Beccles (Ellough) Airfield, Rainair website. Retrieved 19 April 2009. (Archived, 29 June 2008.) The airfield was decommissioned after the war and the land is now used as an industrial estate, a farmers marketBeccles Farmers Market. Retrieved 19 April 2009. and for Ellough Park Raceway, a kart racing circuit. William Clowes Ltd. printers moved to the industrial park in 2004 and the park has one of the UK's largest solar roof installation sited on the roof of a Promens warehouse and with a generating capacity of 1.65MW.Beccles: Promens Packaging’s solar power generation hits the roof, Eastern Daily Press, 12 August 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2021. A series of solar farms have been built around the southern and western edges of the site.Judge overrules Pickles over solar farm refusal, Planning, 24 June 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2021.Pickles approves Suffolk solar farm rejected in 2013, ITV News, 15 March 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2021.Planning application, East Suffolk District Council, 15 July 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2021.

A basic airstrip, known as Beccles Airfield, remains at the site, used as a training base and private airfield. For a time a heliport operated to service oil and gas rigs in the North Sea.

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