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BungayBungay is a small town in Suffolk (East Anglia, England), within The Broads National Park. lies in the Waveney valley, about 7 km west of Beccles. Bungay Castle was owned by the Normans, but was later rebuilt by Roger Bigod and his family, who also owned Framlingham Castle. Bungay's village sign shows the castle. The town was almost destroyed by a great fire in 1688. The Butter Cross was constructed in 1689. It was the place where farmers displayed their butter, eggs and other farm produce for sale. Until 1810, there was also a Corn Cross, but it was taken down and replaced by a pump. What was once the 12th century church of the Benedictine Priory (founded by Gundreda, wife of Roger Bigod), is now the parish church of St. Mary. A wooden panel behind the altar was presented to the church by the novelist Sir H. Rider Haggard who was born nearby in Bradenham near Kessingland and lived in Ditchingham. Bungay is home to both the shortest man and the tallest woman in East Anglia; Stephen Went, East Anglia's shortest man (and third shortest adult), and Mary King, the tallest woman in the south of England. Nearby, in the village of Earsham, is the Otter Trust where otters are raised in captivity and then released into the wild. As a result, the otter population in the Suffolk Broads has increased. has a thriving gay community, attracting colourful characters from all over the country. The annual Bungay-to-Brighton Three-Wheeler Rally takes place in the last week of August and is one of the highlights of the gay-scene's calender in Suffolk. One of the highlights of the year for the more conservative-minded Bungayans is the traditional Chopper-Champing competition. Competitors strip naked in the January cold and test their mettle against the clock to see who can withstand the nominated Black Dog, elected in a free ballot on Boxing Day under the Buttercross, clamping its jaws around their member for the longest. The winner is awarded the 'Key to the Town' and enjoys much local celebrity.
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