Whatfield 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. Located around north of Hadleigh, it is part of

Babergh Babergh may refer to the following places in England: * Babergh Hundred, a defunct hundred of the county of Suffolk, named for a "mound of a man called Babba" * Babergh District Babergh District (pronounced , ) is a local government district in ...

district.

Origin of name

Skeat Skeat or Skeats is a common English family name. The names Skeat, Skeats, Skeates, Skett, Skitt and Skates are derived from the forename Scet or Schett, which is mentioned in Domesday Book. History ''Skeat'' was originally a given name derived from ...

, in his 1913 ''The Place-Names of Suffolk'', says this:

Spelt ''Whatefield'', Ipm.; ''Quaterfield'', H.R (with ''qu'' for ''wh''); ''Gawatfelda'', D.B. p.23. A.S. form Hwaete-feld; meaning "wheat field." Though A.S. has not this precise compound on record, we find hwaeteland, "wheat-land" and feld as a suffix. Whatfield was sometimes called Wheatfield (see The Beauties of England). "This Town is chiefly remarkable for growing the most excellent Seed-Wheat"; Kirby.

Geography

The Calves Wood, a

County Wildlife Site County Wildlife Site (often abbreviated to CWS) is a conservation designation in the United Kingdom, which despite conferring no statutory protection onto a site, does affirm a site's importance and value for wildlife in its county context. The d ...

(CWS) in the north of the parish, is classed as

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

, whilst the parish's south-western border is delineated by the

River Brett The River Brett is a river in Suffolk, England. Its source is in the villages to the north of Lavenham and it flows through Hadleigh to its confluence with the River Stour via Monks Eleigh Monks Eleigh is a village and a civil parish in B ...

. The parish council holds two meadows and a piece of rough woodland in trust for the villagers. The woodland is on the left-hand side of a pleasant walk down to the river. The first meadow, known as Buckle's Meadow, or Buckledees Meadow by some older parishioners, was purchased in the 1960s with money raised in the village and a grant. Access to the site, which is a county wildlife site, is by public footpath from Rectory Road. The second meadow, also accessible by public footpath, is Hunty's Vale and was the kind gift to the village by the sisters Edith and Francis Vale who were parishioners. A programme of conservation is on-going to maintain and improve the area for plants, animals and birds as well as being a pleasant place to walk. The village was awarded the title Suffolk Village of the Year 2014 in a competition organised by the Suffolk Association of Local Councils,

Radio Suffolk BBC Radio Suffolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Suffolk. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Matthews Street in Ipswich. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...

, ''

East Anglian Daily Times The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich. History The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August ...

'' and Network Power, to acknowledge the community spirit amongst the residents of this small village and how Whatfield CEVCP School integrates with the village.

St Margaret's Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St Margaret is a small church dating from the 13th and 14th century that has been modified and improved several times over the centuries. The church has been a Grade I

listed building 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 ...

since 23 January 1958. The south wall has a commemorative plaque to George Arthur Falconer (1894-1981), who was H. M. Ambassador to Nepal 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 ...

. There is also a large marble memorial plaque, inscribes if Latin, to William Vesey who died on 21 June 1699 aged 50 and his wife Elizabeth. At the rear of the church is a large

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

for Vesey. There is also a large marble plaque to George Clubbe, Rector of Whatfield, and father of

John Clubbe John Clubbe (17031773) was an English cleric and satirical writer. Life The son of the Rev. George Clubbe, rector of Whatfield, Suffolk, he was born in or about 1703. He matriculated as a sizar of King's College, Cambridge in 1722, and took the ...

. The benches are mostly

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

, but one at least dates from 1589 and is engraved with the name "John Wilson".

Whatfield Hall

Whatfield Hall is a timber-framed and plastered two-story building, possibly of the 16th or 17th century. Since 10 July 2008 it has been a Grade II listed building.

Other amenities

* Watfield

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Hall * Whatfield

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

References

External links

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