Ashfield cum Thorpe

infobox UK place

country = England
latitude= 52.22
longitude= 1.23
official_name= Ashfield-cum-Thorpe
population = 187 (2001 Census)
shire_district= Mid Suffolk
region= East of England

shire_county = Suffolk
constituency_westminster= Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
post_town= IPSWICH
postcode_district = IP14
postcode_area= IP
dial_code= 01728
os_grid_reference= TM210627

Ashfield cum Thorpe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, between the town of Framlingham to the East and the village of Debenham to the West.

It is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book, when it had a population of around 45 adult men (and total population probably similar to the current figure). It has a church and a village hall, and used to have a school, a pub and two shops. Some of the houses in the village date back to the 1400's.

The name "Ashfield cum Thorpe" (Ashfield with Thorpe) refers to the civil parish, which consists of the village of Ashfield and the nearby hamlet of Thorpe. The church of St Mary existed in Ashfield at the time of the Domesday Book, and at some time after, St Peter's church was built at Thorpe. This latter fell into ruins by around 1600, and the church at Ashfield was used by both sets of villagers. Thorpe church was rebuilt in 1739, retaining its late Saxon tower. By the late 18th Century, Ashfield church was in disrepair, and it was the turn of Ashfield villages to use Thorpe church. This went on until 1853, when Lord Henniker of Thornham Magna paid for a new St Mary church in Ashfield. Alas, Thorpe church is now in ruins, only part of the tower remaining.

Nearby villages include Earl Soham, Monk Soham, Kenton, Debenham and Framsden.

External links

* [http://www.stedmundsbury.anglican.org/ashfield/home.htm Parish website]
* [http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/ashfield.html Ashfield church history]
* [http://www.simonknott.co.uk/suffolkchurches/thorpepeter.htm St Peter, Thorpe church history]