West Row is a small 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 authorit ...

in the English county of Suffolk.

Geography

West Row lies on the north bank of the navigable

River Lark The River Lark is a river in England that crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have ...

, 2 miles west of the town of Mildenhall, and just south of the large airbase

RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall or RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, ...

. It sits on the edge of the

Fens A fen is a type of wetland. Fen, Fenn, Fens, Fenns, may also refer to: People * Fen (name), a Chinese given name and surname * Fen Cresswell (1915–1966), New Zealand cricketer * Fen McDonald (1891–1915), Australian rules footballer * Kees ...

Amenities

West Row hosts a general store, fish and chip shop and hairdressing salon. Mildenhall Stadium, to the north-west of the main village, is home a variety of activities, including stock car racing, greyhound racing, motocross and speedway. West Row is also home to the popular pub Jude's Ferry, which is located on the River Lark.

History

The

Mildenhall Treasure The Mildenhall Treasure is a large hoard of 34 masterpieces of Roman silver tableware from the fourth century AD, and by far the most valuable Roman objects artistically and by weight of bullion in Britain. It was found at West Row, near Mild ...

, a major hoard of highly decorated

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

silver tableware from the fourth-century AD, was discovered in West Row. The hoard was discovered by farmer Gordon Butcher while ploughing in January 1942. He did not recognize the objects for what they were, and the hoard did not come to the attention of the authorities until 1946. An inquest was held in June 1946, when the find was declared

treasure trove A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the hei ...

and acquired by the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in London. In 2020 some inhabitants of West Row campaigned to have the hoard renamed as the West Row Treasure, to more accurately reflect where it was found. The treasure is the most notable of a number of Roman finds from the village.

Parish Council

The parish was formerly part of the parish of Mildenhall, on 1 April 2019 it became a separate parish, following a successful campaign led by village resident John Smith, who was later awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Parish for his efforts. Following the 2019 local elections, nine members were elected and the first West Row Parish Council meeting was held at St Peter's Church hall on Wednesday 15 May 2019, where Michael Peachey was elected by the council as its first chairman.

Geography

Amenities

History

Parish Council

Education

References

External links