Great Wratting

Great Wratting is a village and civil parish in England, about four miles from Haverhill, Suffolk, in the valley of the River Stour. There is a ford across the Stour in the centre of the village, where bathing and fishing are common pursuits.The river here is heavily populated by crayfish, a non native species long since sescaped from farms near the mouth of the Stour.

Many of the older houses in the village were once estate cottages on the Thurlow Estate, now owned by the Vestey family, and date to the sixteenth century or earlier. A large proportion are thatched, a mixture of traditional Suffolk straw thatch, with some Norfolk reed thatch. The village boasts a vibrant and successful pub, the Red Lion, a thriving Anglican church, St Mary's, and a church room purchased by the village which is used for meetings and concerts. The old vicarage, the old school and the old post office are now - long since - family homes, as are the old forge and the old bell pub. The village is well known for its large and hugely successful annual summer fete - held either at Great Wratting Hall or Rook Tree Farm on the first Saturday in June. A local silver band plays all afternoon and people attend from miles around. The village also has a well attended carol service and festival of readings on the Friday before Christmas. The flint walled church is Saxon in origin, it's interior Victorian but with a wooden rood screen which waspossibly put in by W H Smith of book-selling fame (once a resident of the Hall).

The origins of the name of the village are uncertain. There is a Little Wratting nearby, and a West Wratting about 10 miles away. One theory is that the name originates in the process of candle-making, where 'wratting' refers to part of the process of preparing tallow. Others think the name may refer to catching rats.

Great Wratting was once at the centre of England's history. It was roughly here that Boudicca (or Boadicea), marching West from having sacked Colchester, met the Roman ninth legion who had marched south from Lincoln to challenge her. She defeated them roundly - it is believed that the battle site was the Red Field, just behind the houses of the Street. True or not it is certainly possible - the Icknield Way passes along the Stour Valley, Icenia and Roman gold coins have been found in quantity in the area, and residents have reported seeing ghostly Roman soldiers marching knee deep in soil, to a battle they would never leave. Why would they march knee deep? Possible because the ground level was lower then. A fragment of a Roman road can still be seen - at knee depth - beneath the floor of Kedington church, about two miles away.

The fields around the village are cultivated, and in some cattle and occasionally sheep are grazed. There is no heavy industry in the village,although like other rural villages traffic does pass through and occasionally disturb the peace.The nearest schools are the Church of England Primary in Thurlow, Samuel ward comprehensive, in Haverhill, and Barnardiston Hall, a private Prep School at the end of the Street.