It is of interest to archaeologists as Palaeolithic and Neolithic implements have been found here;[2][3] the remains of an ancient forest lie buried on the seabed.

It extends from the edge of the Pontins holiday park south of Pakefield in the north to the Hundred River which marks the southern border of the parish.

During the early part of World War II, anti-tank defences and gun batteries were installed at Kessingland to help protect the adjacent stretch of vulnerable coastline and the south of Lowestoft itself.

The tower, built like many coastal churches to act as a beacon for ships out at sea, constitutes the majority of the medieval structure, the rest having been rebuilt in the ensuing centuries.

There is also a small tearooms housed in a repurposed and refurbished beach hut, which is next to a children's playground and a fish and chip shop.

[8] To counter the force of the North Sea and the winds off it, H. Rider Haggard sloped the cliff on the edge of his property and experimented with growing marram grass upon it.

Acclaimed social history photographer Hardwicke Knight visited Kessingland in the 1950s and documented aspects of the village in a series of vivid 35 mm Kodachrome slide images.

Most notably the village appeared (as Freshfield, but featuring many familiar landmarks) as the setting for his novel Vermilion Dawn.

[10] BBC Radio 4's Jan Zalasiewicz recorded a programme about geology on Kessingland's stony beach.