Weston 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. It is around south of

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

in the East Suffolk district. The parish lies either side of the

A145 road The A145 is an A road in the English county of Suffolk. It runs from east of the town of Beccles, close to the border with Norfolk, to the village of Blythburgh where it joins the A12 road. It is around in length and single carriageway thro ...

and is crossed by the Ipswich to Lowestoft railway line.Ringsfield and Weston
Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 2020-02-09. Neighbouring parishes include

Ellough Ellough is a civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk, located approximately south-east of Beccles. The area is sparsely populated with a mid-2005 population estimate of 40. The parish, ...

, Ringsfield,

Willingham St Mary Willingham St Mary, also known simply as Willingham, is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk located about south of Beccles in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district. At the 2011 United Kingdom census it had a ...

and Shadingfield. The village is largely dispersed with a population of around 230. The village has few services and a joint parish council covers both Ringsfield and Weston.Ringsfield and Weston Parish Council
Retrieved 2009-04-20 The village once had a school, on King's Lane, and a public house, the Duke of Marlborough on the main A145.Weston, Duke of Marlborough
Suffolk Pubs,

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, real cider, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founde ...

. Retrieved 2020-02-09. Both are now closed and the major centre of population in the parish is to the west where it borders Ringsfield Corner.Weston
Hundred River Benefice. Retrieved 2011-06-27. The parish church is medieval in origin and dedicated to

St Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

.Church of St Peter, Weston
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-06-27. It has a primarily Norman core and is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

.Knott S (2021
St Peter, Weston
Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-04. The parish was combined with that of

All Saints Church, Ellough All Saints Church is a redundant church, redundant Anglican church in the parish of Ellough, Suffolk, England. The church is England in the Middle Ages, medieval in origin and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated ...

in the 1970s.

History

The village is named in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as ''Westuna'' and formed part of the

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

's estate, with land also being held by Roger Bigot, Hugh de Montfort and Geoffrey de Mandeville.Weston
Open Domesday. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
The Domesday book online. Retrieved 2011-06-27. The village, which formed part of the Hundred of Wangford, had a population of around 30 families and paid around 2 geld in taxation. The manor passed through many hands, including, in the reign of Henry I, the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

William Longchamp William de Longchamp (died 1197) was a medieval Lord Chancellor, Chief Justiciar, and Bishop of Ely in England. Born to a humble family in Normandy, he owed his advancement to royal favour. Although contemporary writers accused Longchamp's f ...

. Suckling AI (1846) 'Weston' in ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk: volume 1'', pp. 97–101. Ipswich: WS Crowell.
Available online
at British History Online. Retrieved 2011-06-25.) Weston Hall was built in the late 16th century for the Rede family and partly demolished following a fire in 1821.Weston Hall, Weston
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-06-27.

Lewis S Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

(ed) (1848) 'Weston (St. Peter)' in ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', pp. 519–524.
Available online
at British History Online. Retrieved 2011-06-23.) The population of the parish was 211 in 1841, rising to 261 in 1871 and remaining at around that level until after the second world war. Wilson JM (1872) 'Weston' in ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'', quoted a
Weston, Suffolk
Vision of Britain. Retrieved 2011-06-27.

The church of St Peter

The main body of the church is Norman in origin, built of local flint and mainly dating from the 12th century. It has a square 15th-century tower and 15th-century porch with a 13th-century chancel and doorway to the nave. Suckling describes the church as "in a wretched state of repair and neglect" in 1846, at which time it was thatched. The building was restored in the 1860s, including the renewal of many of the windows, although remnants of earlier windows remain. Inside, the church has a high 15th-century octagonal

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

carved with representations of the

seven sacraments The expression seven sacraments mainly refers to: * Sacrament ** Sacraments of the Catholic Church ** Eastern Orthodox Church § Holy mysteries (sacraments) ** Anglican sacraments ** Sacrament § Hussite Church and Moravian Church It can also ref ...

. The font stands over six feet above the floor of the church on a

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

. A series of 15th-century carved bench ends and the remnants of three 16th-century wall paintings also remain within the church, which also features a rare example of the Arms of James II on the south nave wall.

Notes

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District