Ufford 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 ...

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. Its population of 808 at the 2001 census rose to 948 at the 2011 Census and was estimated at 1,008 in 2019. The village lies 2 miles (3.2 km) south-south-west of

Wickham Market Wickham Market is a large village and electoral ward situated in the River Deben valley of Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coastal heritage area. It is on the A12 trunk road north-east of the county town of Ipswich, north-east of Wood ...

and 13 miles (21 km) north-east of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. The main road through the village was renumbered B1438 after its replacement as a trunk road by the new A12.

Heritage

The village name means "Uffa's enclosure" (not "Uffa's ford") in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

. The parish has 28

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 ...

, one of which is Grade I: the Church of St Mary.

St Mary's Church

St Mary's Anglican Church dates from the 11th century. It is served by the Rector of Melton and Ufford. It has a church hall. The War Memorial inside records 22 men who died in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and four who died in the

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

Church of St Mary, Ufford Suffolk (7305122812)

The church is the oldest of 28 listed edifices in Ufford. Most are dwelling houses, some thatched, nearby in the eastern part of the village. Eight bells hang in the tower for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

, the heaviest weighing 13 cwt (660 kg) and the oldest dating from about 1380, cast by William Dawe of London and inscribed ''Sum rosa pulsata mundi Katerina vocata'' (When struck I am Rose of the World called Katerina). The tower belongs to the Suffolk Guild of Ringers. The bells were rehung in a new frame and three bells recast by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

in 1936. The first

peal In campanology (bell ringing), a peal is the special name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing which meets certain exacting conditions for duration, complexity and quality. The definition of a peal has changed considerably o ...

rang on 24 October 1885; by 2019, 152 peals had rung. The church is famous for medieval wood carvings, notably a

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

cover of about 1450 – the tallest such cover in England at 20 feet (6 metres). It is surmounted by a pelican pecking its breast to feed its chicks, a symbol of Christ feeding the faithful with his own body. The notorious 17th-century iconoclast

William Dowsing William Dowsing (1596–1668), also known as "Smasher Dowsing", was an English puritan, and was a particularly notable iconoclast at the time of the English Civil War.G. Goodwin, 'Dowsing, William (?1596-?1679), iconoclast', ''Dictionary of Natio ...

left the structure intact after visiting the church in 1644, noting in his diary, it was "gorgeous... like a pope's triple crown."

Transport

The nearest railway station is at Melton (2 miles/3.2 km) on the East Suffolk Line, with trains between

and

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

about once an hour on weekdays and once in two hours on Sundays. There are five Monday-to-Friday buses a day between

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

and

Framlingham Framlingham is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4, ...

passing through Ufford, and regular daytime services between

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

and Ipswich on Mondays to Saturdays.

Amenities

The village has a community hall, a recreation ground and two pubs, the ''Ufford Crown'' and ''White Lion''. The nearest shopping facilities are in Wickham Market and Woodbridge, the nearest schools at Melton and Woodbridge. Ufford Park Hotel has a golf course. Ufford Sports Football Club plays in the Suffolk and Ipswich Football League.

Notable people

In birth order: *

Robert d'Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk Robert Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG (9 August 1298 – 4 November 1369) was an English peer. He was created Earl of Suffolk in 1337. Early life Born 9 August 1298, Robert Ufford was the second but eldest surviving son of Robert Ufford, 1st B ...

(1298–1369), lord of the manor * Sir Henry Wood, 1st Baronet (1597–1671),

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

Sir Robert Kemp, 3rd Baronet Sir Robert Kemp, 3rd Baronet (1667–1734), of Hoxne and Ubbeston, Suffolk, was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons between 1701 and 1734. Biography Kemp was baptized at Ubbeston on 2 ...

(1667-1734), landowner and Tory politician,

for

Dunwich Dunwich is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon period, Dunwich was t ...

and for

, died at Ufford. * David Elisha Davy (1769–1851), antiquary and collector * Francis Brooke (1810–1886), cricketer and

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

in 1869. *

Mary Cholmondeley Mary Cholmondeley (usually pronounced /ˈtʃʌmli/, 8 June 1859 – 15 July 1925) was an English novelist. Her bestseller, '' Red Pottage'', satirised religious hypocrisy and the narrowness of country life. It was adapted as a silent film in 19 ...

(1859–1925), novelist, lived in Ufford for some years before the First World War.ODNB entry: Kate Flint
Retrieved 4 May 2012.
/ref> * Admiral of the Fleet

Terence Lewin, Baron Lewin Admiral of the Fleet Terence Thornton Lewin, Baron Lewin, (19 November 1920 – 23 January 1999) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Second World War and then commanded a destroyer, the Royal yacht, two frigates and an aircraft carrier ...

, (1920–1999) lived in the village. * Eila Grahame (1935–2009), antique dealer, is buried at Ufford.

References

External links

Ufford village websiteUfford Parish Council website
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk