Holton, Suffolk

:"This article is about the village also known as Holton St. Peter. For the other Holton in Suffolk, see Holton St. Mary."Holton, in Suffolk, England, is a village near to the town of Halesworth with a population of around 1,100. Holton is split into two parts, Upper Holton and Holton.

History

Although it often referred to as Holton St. Peter, such as in the name of its primary school, the 'St Peter' suffix was adopted bv some village institutions to prevent confusion with the other Suffolk 'Holton' of Holton St. Mary. However, a proposed name change was rejected at the time by the Parish Council and the village officially remains to this day 'Holton'. Holton is an Anglo-Saxon place name meaning 'village in a hollow' and the site was likely inhabited from neolithic times. A few Roman artefacts have been found locally and it is possible that the Blyth river was forded here (at Mells) as it lay on the ancient trackway from Dunwich to Beccles.

Holton Hall was demolished to become a caravan park but the house had many famous connections to the anti-slavery movement and Barclays Bank. [ [http://www.batesuk.cwc.net/ Holton Hall Park] ]

Features

The church of Holton St Peter [ [http://www.blythvalleychurches.org.uk Holton St Peter - Official Website] ] is one of 38 existing round-tower churches in Suffolk built by the Normans in the 11th century. [ [http://www.roundtowerchurches.de/Suffolk/Holton_St_Peter/holton_st_peter.html Holton St Peter] , Round Tower Churches]

Holton has a primary school, two shops: Market Fields Farm Shop and Holton Orchards Farm Shop; the Lord Nelson pub closed early in 2008. Apart from Bernard Matthews, there is a small industrial site at the airfield with small workshops and a feed store.The post mill was restored and its sails started working again in 1996. The community produces a bi-monthly magazine 'The Holton Post'.

Holton also boasts a post mill, parts of which date back to the 18th century. The mill had been left in a terrible state of disrepair back in the 1960s but was rescued and has been repaired/restored on numerous occasions since. The mill is now under private ownership but is sometimes opened to the public.

Avian flu outbreak

On February 3, 2007 an outbreak of avian influenza of the H5N1 strain was confirmed at a farm near Holton owned by Bernard Matthews. [cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6328161.stm
title = Bird flu virus is Asian strain
accessmonthday = 3 February
accessyear = 2007
author = BBC News]

References

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