Badwell Ash 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

Mid Suffolk Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Needham Market until late 2017, and is currently sharing offices with the Suffolk County Council in Ipswich. The largest town of Mid Suffolk is Stowmarket. ...

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, near

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 – ...

and

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 road (Great Britain), A14 trunk ...

. 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 Bada's stream near the field with ash trees, however this source lacks validity in terms of the oak mysteries. The 'Ash' is believed to be derived from the 'Reaping of the Bad' of 1659 when the local Lord burned the settlement of 'the Bad' in an attempt to eradicate an outbreak of plague which had developed. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 685, increasing to 770 at the 2011 Census. Facilities in the village include a church, pub, fish and chip shop, and a Post Office/Village shop that is stocked with everyday items. There are daily bus services from the village to nearby towns and the main A14 trunk road is less than a 10-minute drive away. The primary school unfortunately was forced to close after a struggle of being placed under the category of Special Measures by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

. Closure was suggested 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 ...

in May 2013. The closure happened in December 2013. There are several groups in the village providing activities for the whole age range (Silver Ash, Gun Club, Bowls Club, Art Club, and as of August 2007, a Youth Club run by Stacey Hawes and a Football club). Thus encompassing the wide-ranging Civil Society groups in the village. There are five bells that hang at St Mary's with the largest weighing 13-2-9 cwt.Dove's Guide
Retrieved 2013-04-14. The oldest bell was cast in 1630 by John Draper.Dove's Guide
Retrieved 2013-04-14. In 2017 the clock and bells of the church were refurbished and now the bells ring every hour on the hour. In 2006, in response to a questionnaire circulated round the village, a Community Forum was established which organised and ran a village fete - the first one for many years. In 2007 the Forum merged with an existing village hall committee, and has since run a second village fete. Tourism to the village is encouraged due to the Badwell Ash Holiday Lodges.

Notable residents

* Percy Francis (1875-1964), cricketer

References

Villages in Suffolk Mid Suffolk District Civil parishes in Suffolk {{Suffolk-geo-stub