Chelsworth 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 Suffolk, England. It lies on the B1115 road, 10 miles in either direction from Sudbury and

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 trunk road between Bury St Edm ...

. It is part of Babergh district. The parish also contains the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Chelsworth Common. Built on the north bank of 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 entire village is classified as a conservation area, and contains numerous

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 ...

s. The Saxons called the area Ceorleswyrthe. Recorded in Domesday as "Cerleswrda". Also be listed historically as Cheilesworth.

History

Chelsworth has been settled for at least 1,000 years, as there are documents recording that King Edgar gave the village to Queen Æthelflæd in 962. An old church stood in the village as far back as a 926 as mentioned in a charter to King Edgar, and a Domesday church was first recorded in 1086. All Saints', the present church building in the west of the village, is mainly 14th and 15th century and is completely cement rendered. It has an entrance through someone’s front garden, so many churches must have been like this, but they have all had their access rerouted along driveways. The manor anciently belonged to the Howards, and afterwards to the family of De Vere. In 1737 it became, by purchase, the property of Robert Pocklington Esq., who erected Chelsworth House. Chelsworth House is situated 330 yards further south from the bridge and Chelsworth Park and Common further out still. A narrow hump-backed bridge to the south, part of which dates from 1754, crosses the river. Charles Peck, the only one of its sons lost to the horror of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, was 19 when he died in September 1917. He is remembered by a little war memorial in the church.

George Stracey Smyth George Stracey Smyth (4 April 1767 – 27 March 1823) was Commander-in-Chief, North America, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. Biography Born in England, he was appointed an ensign in the East Norf ...

(1767 – 1823), the 2nd Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, is also commemorated here. The Grange was close to the church. …

Present day

The Peacock Inn, which has been in existence over 400 years, is on the B1115 in the centre of the village and up to 1976 was the village shop as well. The famous ‘Chelsworth Open Gardens Day’ has been held on the last Sunday in June for nearly 50 years.

References

External links

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