Wangford is a village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of

Wangford with Henham Wangford with Henham is a civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is around east of Halesworth, north-west of Southwold and south of Beccles.East Suffolk district, in the 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 ...

, England, just off the A12 trunk road on the edge of the

Henham Park Henham Park is an historic estate in the parish of Wangford with Henham, situated north of the village of Blythburgh in the English county of Suffolk. The park is bordered to the east by the A12 road and to the west by the A145, the two roa ...

estate just outside

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is a ...

. Wangford is connected to the rest of Suffolk by two main roads. At one side of the village the road leads straight on to the A12 (dual carriage way), and the other side of the village leads to

Reydon Reydon is a village and civil parish, north-west of Southwold and south-east of Wangford, in the East Suffolk district and the ceremonial county of Suffolk, England. Its population of 2,567 in 2001 including Easton Bavents eased up to 2,582 a ...

, and

(B1126). In 1961 the civil parish had a population of 427. In 1987 the parish was merged with

Henham __NOTOC__ Henham, or Henham-on-the-Hill is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is situated north from London Stansted Airport. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Henham and Pledgdon Green ...

to form "Wangford with Henham". Wangford with Henham has approximately 640 residents,Taken fro
ESTIMATES OF TOTAL POPULATION OF AREAS IN SUFFOLK
. 2 August 2009. Page 17. reducing to 591 at the 2011 Census. and the main village covers about . At the centre of the village there is a

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

, containing a reasonable sized hall, a bar, a kitchen and a small games room. There is also a shop, a pub - the Angel Inn, a farm shop, a playing field and allotments, tennis courts and the local vet.

History

At the dissolution of the monasteries,

Wangford Priory The Cluniac Priory of Wangford was a small religious house in Wangford in the English county of Suffolk. It was founded before 1159 as a dependency of Thetford Priory. In 1376, it was naturalised before being dissolved in 1540.'Houses of Cluniac m ...

was granted to

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (1473 – 25 August 1554) was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheade ...

The church of St Peter and St Paul

The Parish church of Wangford cum Henham is dedicated to

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

and

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

; situated near the centre of the village. The church here was near derelict by the mid-19th century. It was all that survived of a Cluniac Priory, a cell to the mother Priory at

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...

in Norfolk. Left derelict at the end of the 19th century, it was restored by the local Rous family, the Earls of Stradbroke who set about creating a monument to themselves here because there is no church in the parish of Henham. The architect was A. L. Blackburne. All was demolished except for the nave walls. A grand chancel was then built at the east end, and beside it in the 1870s, an impressive tower. The top of the tower is finished in the 14th-century Suffolk manner. It sits at the east end of the north aisle. Inside, the west end of the nave has a huge window, which may possibly be the rebuilding of a previous tower arch. The north porch is the only other medieval survival which seems to have had a side sliced off it by the buttress to the north aisle. As the church is principally 19th century, so is all the stained glass.Taken fro
The Sole Bay Team Ministry
27 January 2009.Taken fro

27 January 2009.Taken from 'A photographic and historical guide to the Parish Churches of East Suffolk' compiled by Adrian S. Pye. 27 January 2009. Page 272 Angels look down from the simple but effective roof. The lectern is made of brass, and the column is surrounded by angels about to take flight. The pulpit is 17th century and was brought here from the chapel at Henham Hall along with the reading desk. The font is 14th century but with a later cover. The walls are covered with memorials to the Rouses. The building is currently suffering from water damage but fundraising is continuing with the aim of reroofing. The Parish of Wangford is part of the Sole Bay Team Ministry (formed in 1999), along with the Parishes of

Blythburgh Blythburgh is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is west of Southwold and south-east of Halesworth and lies on the River Blyth. The A12 road runs through the village which is split e ...

Sotherton Sotherton is a dispersed village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. It is located approximately south of Beccles and north-east of Halesworth. The A145 road passes through the east of the pari ...

, South Cove,

Uggeshall Uggeshall is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England, located approximately 6 miles (10 km) south of Beccles and 4 miles (6km) north east of Halesworth close to the A145. The mid-2005 popu ...

and

Walberswick Walberswick is a village and civil parish on the Suffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of the River Blyth on the south side of the river. The town of Southwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, around ...

The church bells of St Peter and St Paul

Wangford church has an unringable peal of five bells. Originally the bells were intended 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 bells hang in a derelict timber frame with dilapidated fittings and have not been rung for many years. The treble (the smallest) is the oldest bell in the tower, being cast by William Brend of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

in 1624. The following year, in 1625, the tenor (the largest) was cast at the same foundry by William & Alice Brend. The third was cast by John Darbie 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 ...

in 1668 and the fourth dates from 1721 and is by John Stephens of Norwich. The newest bell in the tower is the second which was cast by

John Warner & Sons John Warner and Sons was a metalworks and bellfoundry based in various locations in the UK, established in 1739 and dissolved in 1949. Previous businesses A company was founded by Jacob Warner, a Quaker, in 1739 and originally produced water pu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1863. This bell was recast from the metal of an earlier bell also cast by John Stephens. The precise weight of the bells is not known but the tenor is estimated to weigh between 8 and 9

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distingu ...

.Taken fro
Doves Guide
27 January 2009.

Famous people and connections

Reputedly, Wangford provided the inspiration for the stage name of

Sam Hutt Samuel Hutt, known by the stage name Hank Wangford (born 15 November 1940), is an English country and western songwriter. "Hank is a good smoke screen. He can do things I can't do. He's my clown," says Dr. Hutt, who has been struggling to bala ...

, a well-known London

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...

, who specialises in spoof

Country and Western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

music. The chosen name being '

Hank Wangford Samuel Hutt, known by the stage name Hank Wangford (born 15 November 1940), is an English country and western songwriter. "Hank is a good smoke screen. He can do things I can't do. He's my clown," says Dr. Hutt, who has been struggling to bal ...

Fred Copeman Frederick Bayes Copeman OBE (1907–1983) was an English volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, commanding the British Battalion. He is also notable for contributing to London's air raid defences during the Second ...

OBE, who served in the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

and organised London's air raid defences during the Second World War, was born in Wangford Union

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

in 1907. The annual

Latitude Festival The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 ...

is held at Henham Hall Park nearby.

Photos

Image:Wangford.jpg, An aerial view of Wangford from the South East side of the village Image:Wangford1.jpg, An aerial view of Wangford from the Church Tower Image:Wangford2.jpg, An aerial view of Wangford from the Church Tower Image:Wangford3.jpg, An aerial view of Wangford from the Church Tower Image:Wangford4.jpg, An aerial view of Wangford from the Church Tower Image:Wangfordmemorial.jpg, Wangford war memorial for two American airmen killed when their republic P47 Thunderbolts collided over the village on 05-02-1944

References

External links

Wangford.net
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Former civil parishes in Suffolk