Athelington 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

Mid Suffolk Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Needham Market until late 2017, and is currently sharing offices with the Suffolk County Council in Ipswich. The largest town of Mid Suffolk is Stowmarket. ...

district 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 ...

, England, about south-east from Diss. The name is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

word

Ætheling Ætheling (; also spelt aetheling, atheling or etheling) was an Old English term (''æþeling'') used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship. The term is an Old English and Old Saxon ...

. The population of the village was less than 50 at the 2011 Census and is included in the civil parish of

Redlingfield Redlingfield is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around six miles south-east of Diss, in 2011 its population (including Athelington) was 144, according to the 2011 census. Redlingfie ...

, in 2005 the population was estimated as 30. The villages name means 'Farm/settlement of the prince(s)'. The village is first recorded as ''Elyngtone'' in 942 in the will of Bishop Theodred granting lands to a community dedicated to St Æthelberht in

Hoxne Hoxne ( ) is a village in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about five miles (8 km) east-southeast of Diss, Norfolk and south of the River Waveney. The parish is irregularly shaped, covering the villages of Hoxne, Cross Street ...

. It was not recorded 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086. There are six

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 I ...

s in the parish with the church of St Peter being II* listed and the remaining five being grade II listed including the 17th Century Athelington Hall. Thatched cottage at White Hall Farm - geograph

Thatched cottage at White Hall Farm - geograph

Church of St Peter

The church of St Peter is medieval in origin and was majorly restored both internally and externally in 1873–1874. The early 14th century nave and chancel are made of flint rubble with stone dressings with the 15th century tower being constructed of knapped flint with an admixture of red brick. There is a bare-faced flint porch which was added in 1873 with a memorial inscription. Three bells hang in the tower all cast in 1450 by John Magges of Norwich and are currently unringable, the largest weigh approximately 4.5cwt and has a diameter of 28 inches.

Governance

The parish is part of the historic Hoxne Hundred. Between 1894 and 1934 it was in Hoxne Rural District before transferring to

Hartismere Rural District Hartismere Rural District was a rural district in the county of East Suffolk, England. It was expanded in 1934 by merging with the disbanded Hoxne Rural District with a slight readjustment of boundaries. It was named after the ancient Hundre ...

which in turn was abolished in 1974 by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. Today Athelington lies in the Mid Suffolk District of the shire county of

. The four tiers of government & their respective representatives are: * Central Suffolk and North Ipswich UK Parliament constituency, Dan Poulter *

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Est ...

Hoxne & Eye division, Guy McGregor * Mid Suffolk District Council Hoxne and Worlingworth ward, Matthew Hicks * Horham and Athelington Parish Council with 7 elected parish councilors.

Historical writings

In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes ...

described the village as: In 1887,

John Bartholomew John Bartholomew (25 December 1831 – 29 March 1893) was a Scottish cartographer. Life Bartholomew was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, John Bartholomew Sr., started a cartographical establishment in Edinburgh, and he was educated ...

also wrote an entry on Athelington in the Gazetteer of the British Isles with a much shorter description:

Population change

External links

*
Horham and Athelington Parish Council

References

Hamlets in Suffolk Mid Suffolk District Civil parishes in Suffolk {{Suffolk-geo-stub