St Mary's church
Lidgate is a small village and a civil parish in the
West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England:
* West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974
* West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019
* West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...
district, in the English 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 ...
. Lidgate is located on the B1063 road in between the towns of
Newmarket and
Clare. The population of Lidgate is around 250, measured at 241 in the 2011 Census.
St Mary's church dates from the 13th century and is a Grade II* listed building. The village was the origin of
John Lydgate
John Lydgate of Bury (c. 1370 – c. 1451) was an English monk and poet, born in Lidgate, near Haverhill, Suffolk, England.
Lydgate's poetic output is prodigious, amounting, at a conservative count, to about 145,000 lines. He explored and est ...
(c. 1370 – c. 1451), monk and poet; he left his signature and a coded message in
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
on a wall of the church.
The adjacent
Lidgate Castle
Lidgate Castle is a medieval motte and bailey castle in the village of Lidgate, Suffolk, England, built to an unusual quadrangular design.
Details
Lidgate Castle was built in the village of Lidgate, Suffolk, probably around 1143, during the ye ...
is a medieval
motte and bailey castle
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
built to an unusual quadrangular design. It probably dates to
The Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...
during the reign of
King Stephen.
References
External links
Village websiteSt Mary's churchLidgate Archaeology Group
Villages in Suffolk
Borough of St Edmundsbury
Civil parishes in Suffolk
{{Suffolk-geo-stub
