Wrentham 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 authorit ...

in the East Suffolk district, in the north-east of the English county of Suffolk. It is located about from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

coast on the A12 trunk road, about south-west of Lowestoft, north of

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 ...

and south-east of

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fl ...

. The village has several shops, two pubs and a village hall. The parish church is located to the west of the village, and near to it is the old circular brick animal pound, used in the 18th and 19th centuries to contain stray animals rounded up in the parish.

History

The Old Town Hall in Wrentham - east facade - geograph

The

Old Town Hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...

, which was designed in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, was completed in 1862. During the winter of 1916–17 the 2/7th (Merionethshire & Montgomeryshire) Battalion of the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designate ...

was based at Wrentham. The

2012 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011. As well as touring the United Kingdom the schedule included the ...

passed through the village on 5 July. The village gave its name to a Ham-class inshore

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

called HMS Wrentham (M2779) which was launched on 8 February 1955. A hamlet in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

was named Wrentham after the village by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches east to the coast and west to

Brampton with Stoven Brampton with Stoven is a civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located south of the town of Beccles and north-east of Halesworth, with an area of .Suffolk Coastal constituency currently represented by

Therese Coffey Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese *Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg * Therese of B ...

The Church of St Nicholas

The parish church of Wrentham is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The church is around west of the village centre. The tower, porch and south aisle are 15th century but the north aisle is Victorian. The chancel is the oldest part of the church probably built around 13th century and is supported by red-brick flying buttresses. Both the nave and chancel are very wide. The south aisle contains wooden posts on the south wall to support the roof beams. In the north aisle there is a medieval stained glass window depicting St Nicholas, reputed to be one of the oldest pictures in England. The church had a major re-roofing and restoration during 1990–2000.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 296 The tower contains a ring of six bells hung for change ringing. The bells are rung from the ground floor in an anti-clockwise direction. The bells were cast by a range of founders spanning three centuries. The treble (the smallest) and the third were cast by Thomas Gardiner of

Sudbury, Suffolk Sudbury (, ) is a market town in the south west of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour near the Essex border, north-east of London. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 13,063. It is the largest town in the Babergh local government d ...

in 1723 and 1714 respectively. The second is the oldest bell in the tower, dating from 1606 and cast by John Clarke. The fourth and fifth were cast in 1906 by Mears & Stainbank and the tenor (the largest) was cast by Llewellins & James of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1905. The tower is affiliated to the Suffolk Guild of Ringers.Taken fro
Doves Guide
27 January 2009.

Notable residents

* John Phillips (c1576 – >1641), Anglican and Puritan cleric and an eminent divine. * Robert Brewster (1599 –1663), landowner of Parliamentarian sympathies,

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 o ...

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 ...

and Suffolk. *

Philip Skippon Philip Skippon (c. 1600, West Lexham, Norfolk – c. 20 February 1660) supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War as a senior officer in the New Model Army. Prior to the war he fought in the religious wars on the continent. D ...

(1641 – 1691), traveller, writer, diarist, landowner and

for

William Wotton William Wotton (13 August 166613 February 1727) was an English theologian, classical scholar and linguist. He is chiefly remembered for his remarkable abilities in learning languages and for his involvement in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the ...

(1666 – 1727), theologian, classical scholar and linguist. *

William Johnson Fox William Johnson Fox (1 March 1786 – 3 June 1864) was an English Unitarian minister, politician, and political orator. Early life Fox was born at Uggeshall Farm, Wrentham, near Southwold, Suffolk on 1 March 1786. His parents were strict Cal ...

(1786 – 1864), religious and political

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

. *

James Ewing Ritchie James Ewing Ritchie (1 May 1820 – 1898) was an English journalist and writer. Born in Wrentham, Suffolk, the son of Reverend Andrew Ritchie, he was educated at Coward College and University College, London , mottoeng = Let ...

(1820 – 1898), journalist and writer. *

Anne Dalgarno Anne Patricia Dalgarno MBE (6 July 1909 – 6 May 1980) was an Australian politician, nurse and community leader. Dalgarno was born Anne Patricia Smith in Wrentham, Suffolk, to farmer Henry Patrick Smith and Mabel Christina, ''née'' Edward ...

(1909 – 1980) Australian politician, nurse and community leader and member of

Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council The Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council was an elected body that operated from 1930 until 1974, when it was replaced by the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly. The Council originally consisted of three elected members, being ...

References

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

History

Governance

The Church of St Nicholas

Notable residents

See also

References