Alpheton is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in the
Babergh district of
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, England. Located on the
A134 road
List of A roads in Great Britain, A roads in List of A roads zones in Great Britain, zone 1 in Great Britain beginning north of the River Thames, east of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 (roads beginning with 1).
Single- and double-digit road ...
about six miles north of
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sudbury Reef, Queensland
Canada
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes)
** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...
, in 2005 it had a population of 260, reducing to 256 at the 2011 Census. According to
Eilert Ekwall
Bror Oscar Eilert Ekwall (born 8 January 1877 in Vallsjö (now in Sävsjö, Jönköpings län), Sweden, died 23 November 1964 in Lund, Skåne län, Sweden), known as Eilert Ekwall, was Professor of English at Sweden's Lund University from 1909 to ...
the meaning of the village name is the homestead of Aelfled.
History
Background
Alpheton is a small but active and welcoming community. The garage on Tye Green is a well-known landmark for those passing through on the A134. Homes, both old and new, are situated along the main road (also known as Old Bury Road), Church Lane and Roseacre to the south-west of Tye Green, The Glebe and Old Bury Road to the north of the village. To the south of the Alpheton is the hamlet of
Bridge Street which is also transected by the A134.
Early records
Although the records are sketchy, Alpheton was founded, it is believed, by Aefflead, whose husband Byrthnoth, Earl of Essex, was killed at the battle of Maldon, on the Blackwater River in Essex, in AD 991.
Aefflead was the sister-in-law of the Saxon king Edmund the Elder, and following the battle and the death of her husband, she moved north from Maldon and settled in what was originally called Aefflead's Tun (estate) and probably lived in Alpheton Hall. The name was altered through the ages and is described as Alfreton in the Domesday Book. The origin of the present name is not known, but it would appear that it was a variation on the previous ones.
Later history
The village has changed little over the centuries and has maintained a rural farming existence. There are now four farms in the village, Alpheton Hall, Clapstile Farm, Tye Farm and the largest, Lavenham Lodge. Before the war many of the properties in the village were occupied by people working on the farms. Housing is now a mixture of local authority and privately owned homes.
Two World Wars
![Former airfield buildings at Clapstile Farm - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Former_airfield_buildings_at_Clapstile_Farm_-_geograph.org.uk_-_199074.jpg)
Many of the young men of the village fought in The First World War and the names of those who died are inscribed on a marble tablet in the Church. In 1936 the School in the Glebe closed and all the Alpheton pupils had to go to
Shimpling
Shimpling is a village and civil parish in south Suffolk, England. About from Bury St Edmunds, it is part of Babergh district. The village is formed from two halves, the newer Shimpling Street and about away the old village of Shimpling. T ...
. The school building initially became the Village Hall and then a private house when the new hall was built.
In 1939, the Land Girls of the Women's Land Army appeared in Alpheton. They came to help with the work in the fields and they were billeted in homes around the village. The Old Rectory alone had 30 living in all the rooms, which were converted to make dormitories and a sitting room. Other newcomers were the evacuees from the East End of London.
In 1941 construction of the
Alpheton/Lavenham Airfield began on the land belonging to Lavenham Lodge Farm. Many Irish workers moved in to work for the construction giant Laings and were accommodated in the Old School. Work on the airfield was completed by 1943 and operational aircraft arrived in 1944. They were B24H and B24J Liberator bombers of 487th Bombardment Group, part of 8th Airforce of the United States. They were later reinforced by B17 Flying Fortresses who remained for a year until the end of the war.
Post-war changes
The Red Lion, known as "The 'alf eaton lion", suffered so much loss of trade from the diversion of the road that it could not keep going and closed in 1964. The closure of the Post Office and the village shop followed in 1975.
Governance
![A134 curving north through Alpheton - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/A134_curving_north_through_Alpheton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_971172.jpg)
Alpheton lies in the
Babergh district of the shire county of
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
. The three tiers of local government are administered by
Suffolk County Council
Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
History
Establ ...
,
Babergh District Council Babergh may refer to the following places in England:
* Babergh Hundred, a defunct hundred of the county of Suffolk, named for a "mound of a man called Babba"
* Babergh District
Babergh District (pronounced , ) is a Non-metropolitan district, lo ...
, and the 7-member Alpheton Parish Council. The parish does not currently have a
Parish Plan or
Village Design Statement
Village design statement (VDS) is a term of English rural planning practice. A VDS is a document that describes the distinctive characteristics of the locality, and provides design guidance to influence future development and improve the physical q ...
.
Community facilities
![Alpheton church porch - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Alpheton_church_porch_-_geograph.org.uk_-_971868.jpg)
The church of St Peter and St Paul, at the end of Church Lane next to Alpheton Hall, is believed to date from the 10th century. Although there is no indication of its dedication prior to the Reformation, it probably served as a Chapel for the residents of the Hall. The Village Hall was built in 1977 for the
Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and is the focal point for many village activities. There is a small recreation ground next to the Village Hall.
Listed buildings
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
lists the following
listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
within the parish of Alpheton.
Grade I
* St Peter and St Paul â€
Images of England
Grade II*
* Mill House, Bridge Street â€
Images of England
Grade II
* Alpheton Hall â€
Images of England* Barn at Old Hall Farm â€
Images of England* Elms Farmhouse â€
Images of England* Old Rectory
* Post Office and House adjoining â€
Images of England* Clapstile Farmhouse â€
Images of England* Bridge Cottage, Bridge Street â€
Images of England* Wash Farmhouse, Bridge Street â€
Images of England* Tye Farmhouse, Church Lane â€
Images of England* Thatched Cottage, Church Lane â€
Images of England* Tallage, The Tye â€
Images of England* Woodhall, The Green â€
Images of England* Smithy Cottage, Tye Green
* Tye Green Cottage, Tye Green â€
Images of England
''NB: The above property details represent the names and addresses that were used at the time that the buildings were listed. In some instances the name of the building may have changed over the intervening years''
Planning
![Fields north of Church Lane, Alpheton - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Fields_north_of_Church_Lane%2C_Alpheton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_971875.jpg)
In the adopted Babergh Local Plan Alteration No. 2 (2006) Alpheton does not have a defined Built-up area boundary on the Proposals Map and there are no sites allocated for new residential development.
Much of the parish is within an area defined as Special Landscape Area.
Landscape
Within the Suffolk Landscape Character Assessment the parish of Alpheton is within an area defined as
* Rolling valley farmlands – This landscape has small and medium-sized fields on the valley sides with an organic form which was created by the piecemeal enclosure of common arable and pasture lands. As with the other valley side landscapes the field size tends to increase on the upper sides and plateaux edges of these valleys. Overall the growth and development of villages and small towns in this landscape has been driven by the quality of the land and the agricultural prosperity that it brought. Ancient woodland is mainly confined to the upper slopes of the valleys and is mostly in relatively small parcels.
* Ancient rolling farmlands – This is a rolling arable landscape of chalky clays and loams. The enclosure over a lot of the landscape retains much of the organic pattern of ancient and species-rich hedgerows and associated ditches. There are however some areas of field amalgamation and boundary loss, especially on the interfluves between the small valleys. The settlement pattern is dispersed farmsteads of mediaeval origin interspersed with some larger hamlets and occasional villages. The farms are large but are mainly owner-occupied rather than estate owned. The hedgerow trees are of typical clayland composition: oak, ash and field maple, with suckering elm. Although there are some areas of extensive field amalgamation, overall the landscape is largely intact, and accessible thorough a dense network of winding roads with wide verges.
Economy
Notable local businesses in the parish of Alpheton include.
* Alpheton Garage – sells cars and commercial vehicles, and does MOT testing.
D.J. Goode & Associates– is a firm of consulting engineers, specialising in Blast and Ballistic effects on buildings and other structures. They are based within the control tower at
Lavenham Airfield.
Transport
Shimpling is served by one bus service operated by
Hedingham & Chambers
Hedingham & Chambers is a bus operator, part of the larger Go East Anglia unit within Go-Ahead, consisting of the Hedingham and Chambers brands. The group was formed when Go-Ahead purchased the two firms in June 2012. Since the sale, the two ...
:
*375:
Glemsford
Glemsford is a village in the Babergh district in Suffolk, England, near the town of Sudbury. Glemsford is located near the River Glem and the River Stour also flows nearby. Glemsford is surrounded by arable farmland and is not far from his ...
/
Long Melford
Long Melford, colloquially and historically also referred to as Melford, is a large village and civil parish in the Babergh District, Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is on Suffolk's border with Essex, which is marked by ...
–
Alpheton
Alpheton is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. Located on the A134 road about six miles north of Sudbury, in 2005 it had a population of 260, reducing to 256 at the 2011 Census. According to Eilert Ekwall t ...
–
Shimpling
Shimpling is a village and civil parish in south Suffolk, England. About from Bury St Edmunds, it is part of Babergh district. The village is formed from two halves, the newer Shimpling Street and about away the old village of Shimpling. T ...
–
Lawshall
Lawshall is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around a mile off the A134 between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, it is part of Babergh district. The parish has nine settlements comprising the three main settlements of The S ...
–
Hawstead
Hawstead is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located south of Bury St. Edmunds between the B1066 road, B1066 and A134 roads, in a fork formed by the River ...
–
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
(sponsored by
Suffolk County Council
Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
History
Establ ...
)
Education
The village is served by All Saint's CEVCP School, Lawshall, a primary school currently catering for pupils aged 5–11.
Older children attend Hardwick Middle School and King Edward VI CEVC Upper School in
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
.
Local Organisations
* Alpheton Women's Institute
Demography
According to the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
, at the time of the
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
, Alpheton had a population of 242 with 96 households.,
increasing to 256 at the 2011 Census.
Patrick Jordan
Albert Patrick Jordan (10 October 1923 – 10 January 2020) was a British stage, film and television actor.
Biography
He was born and raised in Harrow, Middlesex, the son of Margaret, a cook, and Albert Jordan, a regimental sergeant major. An ...
, tv and film character actor, died here, on January the 10th., 2020
Population change
Location grid
References
External links
Alpheton parish council
{{authority control
Villages in Suffolk
Civil parishes in Suffolk
Babergh District