Great Waldingfield is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England about two miles (3 km) north-east of Sudbury and two miles (3 km) south-west of its sister village, Little Waldingfield. The village is split into two separate parts; the older and smaller part around the St. Lawrence Church, and the newer and larger section along the B1115 road between Sudbury and Lavenham. Most of the houses in the newer section were built after World War II, including much council housing. The parish also includes the hamlets of Upsher Green and part of Washmere Green.[1] The population is estimated to be 1,460, reducing to 1,431 at the 2011 Census.[2]
The village hall was the normal location of the halfway feeding station on the Dunwich Dynamo overnight bicycle ride until 2010, whilst an episode of Lovejoy ("Fruit of the Dessert") was filmed in the village.
The discovery of a number of artefacts suggests that the village existed during the Bronze Age and the Roman occupation of Britain, but the first record of the village's existence is from the Domesday Book of 1086, in which the village was listed as Walingafella Magna with three Saxon manors and an area of around 3,000 acres (12 km²).
Located on the major thoroughfare between the wool town of Lavenham and Sudbury, the village was well-placed to benefit from the trade boom in the late Middle Ages.
An outbreak of Bubonic plague in 1626 reduced the population by at least 10%, going from 513 in 1611 to 459 in 1631.
In 1648, during the siege of Colchester (part of the English Civil War) Cromwell's Ironsides were billeted in the village, an area which became Garrison Lane. Soldiers were stationed in the village after the war before being demobilised.
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a steady decline in population, caused by out-migration and a flu epidemic, from 659 in 1851 to 348 in 1931.
During World War II an airfield was built adjacent to the village. The airfield was completed in 1943 and handed over to the USAAF on 23 March 1944. For security reasons named Station 174 by the United States Army Air Force, the airfield was later more commonly known as RAF Sudbury. With three runways, the airfield was home to the 486th Bombardment Group.
Governanceedit
Great Waldingfield is part of the Suffolk County Council electoral division of Sudbury East and Waldingfield, and is represented by Philip Faircloth-Mutton (Conservative).
It is also part of the Babergh District Council electoral ward called Lavenham, and is represented by Councillors Margaret Maybury (Conservative) and Paul Clover (Conservative).
Notable residentsedit
John Hopkins: Village rector who, together with Thomas Sternhold, produced the first national English hymn book in 1562. The book has gone through over 600 editions, and has been outsold only by the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.
Thomas Crooke, a leading Calvinist cleric. He also served as village rector from 1571 to 1598, and his sons, of whom three became famous, grew up in the village:
^. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 13 September 2015.
^Ian Miller, Other lives: Neville Armstrong, The Guardian, 26 September 2008, accessed 27 July 2021
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Waldingfield.
Village website
School website
St Lawrence's Church Suffolk Churches
January 01, 1970
great, waldingfield, village, civil, parish, babergh, district, suffolk, england, about, miles, north, east, sudbury, miles, south, west, sister, village, little, waldingfield, village, split, into, separate, parts, older, smaller, part, around, lawrence, chur. Great Waldingfield is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk England about two miles 3 km north east of Sudbury and two miles 3 km south west of its sister village Little Waldingfield The village is split into two separate parts the older and smaller part around the St Lawrence Church and the newer and larger section along the B1115 road between Sudbury and Lavenham Most of the houses in the newer section were built after World War II including much council housing The parish also includes the hamlets of Upsher Green and part of Washmere Green 1 The population is estimated to be 1 460 reducing to 1 431 at the 2011 Census 2 Great WaldingfieldSt Lawrence church Great WaldingfieldGreat WaldingfieldLocation within SuffolkPopulation1 431 2011 OS grid referenceTL9043Civil parishGreat WaldingfieldDistrictBaberghShire countySuffolkRegionEastCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townSUDBURYPostcode districtCO10Dialling code01787PoliceSuffolkFireSuffolkAmbulanceEast of EnglandUK ParliamentSouth SuffolkList of places UK England Suffolk 52 03 21 N 0 46 29 E 52 0558 N 0 77462 E 52 0558 0 77462 The village hall was the normal location of the halfway feeding station on the Dunwich Dynamo overnight bicycle ride until 2010 whilst an episode of Lovejoy Fruit of the Dessert was filmed in the village Contents 1 History 2 Governance 3 Notable residents 4 Location grid 5 References 6 External linksHistory editThe discovery of a number of artefacts suggests that the village existed during the Bronze Age and the Roman occupation of Britain but the first record of the village s existence is from the Domesday Book of 1086 in which the village was listed as Walingafella Magna with three Saxon manors and an area of around 3 000 acres 12 km Located on the major thoroughfare between the wool town of Lavenham and Sudbury the village was well placed to benefit from the trade boom in the late Middle Ages An outbreak of Bubonic plague in 1626 reduced the population by at least 10 going from 513 in 1611 to 459 in 1631 In 1648 during the siege of Colchester part of the English Civil War Cromwell s Ironsides were billeted in the village an area which became Garrison Lane Soldiers were stationed in the village after the war before being demobilised The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a steady decline in population caused by out migration and a flu epidemic from 659 in 1851 to 348 in 1931 During World War II an airfield was built adjacent to the village The airfield was completed in 1943 and handed over to the USAAF on 23 March 1944 For security reasons named Station 174 by the United States Army Air Force the airfield was later more commonly known as RAF Sudbury With three runways the airfield was home to the 486th Bombardment Group Governance editGreat Waldingfield is part of the Suffolk County Council electoral division of Sudbury East and Waldingfield and is represented by Philip Faircloth Mutton Conservative It is also part of the Babergh District Council electoral ward called Lavenham and is represented by Councillors Margaret Maybury Conservative and Paul Clover Conservative Notable residents editJohn Hopkins Village rector who together with Thomas Sternhold produced the first national English hymn book in 1562 The book has gone through over 600 editions and has been outsold only by the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer Thomas Crooke a leading Calvinist cleric He also served as village rector from 1571 to 1598 and his sons of whom three became famous grew up in the village Sir Thomas Crooke 1st Baronet Helkiah Crooke Samuel Crooke Neville Armstrong 1914 2008 literary agent and publisher 3 Location grid editReferences edit Archived copy Archived from the original on 29 November 2013 Retrieved 28 October 2010 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Civil Parish population 2011 Retrieved 13 September 2015 Ian Miller Other lives Neville Armstrong The Guardian 26 September 2008 accessed 27 July 2021External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Waldingfield Village website School website St Lawrence s Church Suffolk Churches Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Great Waldingfield amp oldid 1201991065, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
