Walberswick was once a busy port. Today, it is a popular seaside village, with a long tradition of attracting artists, writers and intellectuals. Among them, P H Emerson, Walter Osborne, Philip Wilson Steer and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The village green has remained largely unchanged. At its centre is a children's play area and around this are period cottages, gift shops, a heritage centre and a café. The name Walberswick probably comes from the Saxon name, Waldbert, and wyc, which is Anglo Saxon for shelter or harbour.