Little Wenham is a small village in

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. It is part of the

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 ...

Wenham Parva Wenham Parva is a civil parish in Suffolk, England. It covers the village of Little Wenham (whose ancient name it takes) and the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Wenham Grange. Located in Babergh District, Babergh district, it had a population of 20 in 2 ...

– the ancient name for Little Wenham) within Babergh district. Its population is included there.

Heritage

The village is home to Wenham Castle, a

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

manor house and one of the oldest houses in England; built by John de Villabus in the 13th century using some of the first English-made bricks. In later centuries it was the home of the Debenhams, who were notorious for violent and lawless behaviour, but who were so powerful in Suffolk that successive monarchs were forced to rely on their support rather than take steps to curb them. From the Debenhams it passed to their relations the Brewse (or Brewes) family.For other details, see E. Martin, 'Little Wenham Hall: a re-interpretation', ''Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History'' XXXIX Part 2 (1998)
pp. 151-164.
/ref> The Grade I listed

All Saints' Church, Little Wenham All Saints Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Little Wenham, Suffolk, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches C ...

is currently redundant, but can be visited.

Notable people

In birth order: *

Gilbert Debenham Sir Gilbert Debenham (junior) (1432–1500) was an English knight, politician and soldier who served briefly as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Although, like his father before him, he had a notorious reputation for lawlessness, he flourished in th ...

(1432–1500), born in Little Wenham, was a knight, politician and soldier attainted for treason by Henry VII, who spent his final years in prison. He appears often in the ''

Paston Letters The ''Paston Letters'' is a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family of Norfolk gentry and others connected with them in England between the years 1422 and 1509. The collection also includes state papers and other impor ...

''. *

Peyton Ventris Sir Peyton Ventris (November 1645 – 6 April 1691) was an English judge and politician, the first surviving son of Edward Ventris (died 1649) of the manorialism, manor of Granhams (now Granhams Close), Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, although ...

(1645–1691) was a judge and politician born in Little Wenham. He was knighted in 1689. * Joseph Thurston, (1704–1732), a poet much appreciated by

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

, was the son of Joseph Thurston (1672/1673–1714), a lawyer of Little Wenham, and was himself buried there.

Facilities

There are weekday bus links with Ipswich four times a day. The nearest medical, retail, primary school and other services are at Capel St. Mary, 2–3 miles (3–5 km) away.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Babergh District