Burgh () 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the East Suffolk district of

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England, about north-west of Woodbridge. St Botolph's church stands within a ploughed-flat iron-age enclosure - the "burgh" - near the site of a possible

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

that stretches towards Clopton churchyard. The enclosure has been excavated, and found to date between 50 BC to 60 AD. Roman finds were also made, including some military items, and fragments of what may have been a hypocaust. The body of Saint Botolph (or Botwulf) is supposed to have been buried at his foundation of Icanho (

Iken Iken is a small village and civil parish in the Suffolk sandlands, sandlands of the England, English county of Suffolk, an area formerly of heathland and sheep pasture. It is near the estuary of the River Alde on the North Sea coast and is loca ...

) but in 970,

Edgar I of England Edgar (or Eadgar; 8 July 975), known sometimes as Edgar the Peacemaker or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. He became king of all England on his brother Eadwig's death. He was the younger son of King Ed ...

gave permission for Botolph's remains to be transferred to a place "near Grundisburgh". It is thought that probably Burgh is meant. They remained for some fifty years before being transferred to their own tomb at

Bury St Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine Monastery, monasteries in England, until its Dissolution of the Monasteries, dissolution in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suff ...

, on the instructions of

Cnut Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

. There was a church in the burgh in the middle Saxon period. The present church building dates from the 14th century and is a Grade II* listed building. In the north wall is a mural painting by Anna Zinkeisen in memory of her husband Col. Guy Heseltine of c. 1967 showing birds of the Bible. The population of Burgh is about 200, measured at 182 at the 2021 census. Because of its small size, there is no parish council, and no parish rate is levied. Instead, there is a

parish meeting A parish meeting is a meeting all the electors in a civil parish in England are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish council, with ...

to which all villagers are invited. This meeting occurs two or three times a year. During these meetings, residents are welcome to discuss the issues, problems, concerns and affairs of the village. Several artists and craftsmen live and work in the village. The neighbouring village of

Grundisburgh Grundisburgh () is a village of 1,584 residents situated in the English county of Suffolk. It is in the East Suffolk district, six north-east from Ipswich and north-west of Woodbridge located on the B1079. Flowing through the village are ...

and the towns of Woodbridge and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

provide shops and all business and commercial services.

References

External links

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