Great Waldingfield

infobox UK place

country = England
official_name= Great Waldingfield
latitude= 52.0558
longitude= 0.77462
population = 1,460 [http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/38314C3E-02A0-4515-92FE-8909C6FDB3A3/0/Parishestimates01to05.pdf Estimates of Total Population of Areas in Suffolk] Suffolk County Council]
shire_district= Babergh
shire_county = Suffolk
region= East of England

constituency_westminster= South Suffolk
post_town= SUDBURY
postcode_district = CO10
postcode_area= CO
dial_code= 01787
os_grid_reference= TL9043

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 Hadleigh. Most of the houses in the newer section were built after World War II, including much council housing. The population is estimated to be 1,460.

The village hall is the normal location of the halfway feeding station on the Dunwich Dynamo overnight bicycle ride, whilst an episode of Lovejoy (Fruit of the Dessert) was filmed in the village.

History

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 demobbed.

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. Initially called Airfield 174, it was later renamed RAF Sudbury. The airfield was completed in 1943 and handed over to the USAAF on 23 March 1944. With three runways, the airfield was home to the 486th Bomber Group.

Notable residents

*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.

References

External links

* [http://www.greatwaldingfield.co.uk/ Village website]
* [http://www.greatwaldingfield.suffolk.sch.uk/ School website]
* [http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/greatwaldingfield.htm St Lawrence's Church] Suffolk Churches