Stanningfield is a village and former civil parish, since 1988 in the parish of

Bradfield Combust with Stanningfield Bradfield Combust with Stanningfield is a civil parish about 6 miles south of Bury St Edmunds, in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 503, increasing to 578 at the Census 2011. The par ...

, in the

West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...

district of the county 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 Lowes ...

, England. The village lies just off of the A134 road, about 5 miles (8 km) south-east of

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

, 5 miles/8 km north-west of Lavenham, and 10 miles/16 km north of

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

Governance

Stanningfield belongs to the

district of the shire county of

. The three tiers of local government are

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 Establ ...

St Edmundsbury Borough Council ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

and

Parish Council. The parish currently lacks a parish plan or design statement.

History

Stanningfield takes its name from the Early English name "Stanfella" or "Stansfelda" meaning "stony field". It is known that the area was occupied early in recorded British history as traces of Roman occupation has been found on one local farm. Occasional documentary references mention the village in

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

and

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

times, including

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 ...

. The oldest building, St Nicholas' Church, dates back at least to the Norman period. The 1838 Tithe Map shows the same internal road patterns as today, with roads leading out to the neighbouring villages of

Hawstead Hawstead is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located south of Bury St. Edmunds between the B1066 road, B1066 and A134 roads, in a fork formed by the River ...

, Lawshall,

Great Whelnetham Great Whelnetham (sometimes Great Welnetham) is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around two miles south of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 820. The parish also contains th ...

Sicklesmere Sicklesmere is a village in Suffolk, England. Located on the A134 around a mile south of Bury St Edmunds, the village is divided between the civil parishes of Little and Great Whelnetham . History All spellings of the name until the seventeenth ...

Bradfield Combust Bradfield Combust (or Burnt Bradfield) is a village and former Manorialism, manor and civil parish, now in the parish of Bradfield Combust with Stanningfield in Suffolk, England, located on the A134 road, A134 between Windsor Green and Great W ...

and Cockfield. The nearest railway station was located in the last until it closed to passengers in 1961. The

River Lark The River Lark is a river in England that crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have be ...

is a dominant feature, as are several village greens. Hoggard's Green, the largest, has long played an important part in community life. The pond on that green has long gone, but in 1996 a successful reclamation of an ancient pond at Old Lane was undertaken.

Recent years

A small, scattered village, Stanningfield centres on the green, the ''Red House'' inn and the nearby community shop. The inn was built in 1865; Henry Cornish was recorded as landlord in 1871. In 1877, it was bought by the brewers Greene King, along with its outbuildings and adjacent cottages. There is a picturesque area around St Nicholas's Church, which includes the village hall (formerly the church hall), the old rectory and several old farmhouses. On the Lawshall side of the village stands Coldham Hall, dating from

Tudor times The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began with t ...

. One remarkable feature is the continuity of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

from the Middle Ages to the present day, in a predominantly Protestant area.

Ambrose Rookwood Ambrose Rookwood (c. 1578 – 31 January 1606) was a member of the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant King James I with a Catholic sovereign. Rookwood was born into a wealthy family of Catholic recusants, and edu ...

of Coldham Hall was executed for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot. The novelist, playwright and actress Elizabeth Inchbald (''née'' Simpson) was born into a Catholic farming family in the village on 15 October 1773.

St Nicholas's Church

There has been a church in Stanningfield since before 1086, when the Domesday Book curtly recorded that Stanfella had a church with 16 acres (6.5 ha) of free land. Situated in a secluded spot about half a mile from the present centre of the village, Stanningfield Church is dedicated to

St Nicholas of Myra Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

in Asia Minor, from whom the

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

customs derive. Each period has added a contribution to the fabric of the church. The most remarkable exterior feature is a Decorated chancel, a bequest from the Rookwood family in the 14th century, noted for the design and craftsmanship of the window tracery. Much restoration was undertaken in the last third of the 19th century and early years of the 20th. Above the chancel arch is a 15th-century "Doom", painted on plaster in black line with some red background. This was expertly restored in 1995. The bell-chamber stage of the 15th-century tower was reduced in height in the late 19th century and a slated pyramid roof added. Tradition has it that the repair resulted from a Colchester earthquake felt over a 150-mile radius, but subsidence of the medieval foundations is more likely. The tower had three bells, of which one has been hung again to a wooden frame just below the cap. The other two, with inscriptions from the 16th and 17th centuries, stood on the nave floor until as recently as 1967, when they were melted down for scrap. The church is currently one of seven parishes forming the Benefice of St Edmund Way.

Listed buildings

English Heritage lists the following listed buildings within Stanningfield. The details given represent the names and addresses in use at the time of listing. Grade I: *St Nicholas's Church, Church Road *Coldham Hall, Coldham Hall Lane Grade II*: *Former Roman Catholic Chapel, 5 miles/8/km east of Coldham Hall, Coldham Hall Lane Grade II: *Fox House, Bury Road – Images of England *Newhall Cottage, Bury Road – Images of England *Old Cottage, Chapel Road – Images of England *Homestead and Sunrise, Chapel Road – Images of England *Bakers Farmhouse, Church Road – Images of England *Church Farmhouse, Church Road – Images of England *Stable And Coach House Block, 80 metres East of Coldham Hall, Coldham Hall Lane – Images of England *Outbuilding With Bell Turret, 20 metres North East of Coldham Hall, Coldham Hall Lane *Coldham Hall Cottage, Coldham Hall Lane *Dovecote 150 Metres South of Coldham Hall, Coldham Hall Lane *Hall Farmhouse, Donkey Lane *Makins Farmhouse, Donkey Lane – Images of England *Barfords, Donkey Lane *Thatched House, The Green – Images of England *Orchard Cottage, The Green – Images of England *Moorside, Old Lane, IP29 4SA – Images of England *Little Saxes Farmhouse – Images of England *K6 Telephone Kiosk, Ixer Lane

Transport

The village has an hourly daytime bus service on Monday to Saturday to Bury St Edmunds and

. Some buses connect with trains to Cambridge and Ipswich (at Bury) or London, Liverpool Street (at Sudbury).

Demography

At the United Kingdom Census 2001, the parish of

had a population of 503 in 231 households. This rose to 578 in 253 households at the 2011 Census. The parish population was put at 587 in 2019.City Population. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
/ref>

Population change

Notable people

* Elizabeth Inchbald (1753–1821) – actress, author, diarist and playwright *Residents of Coldham Hall: **

(c. 1578–1606) – member of the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant King James I with a Catholic monarch ** David Hart (1944–2011) – adviser to Margaret Thatcher, a writer and businessman who lived at Coldham Hall and Chadacre Hall *Current residents include: ** Matthew Vaughn (born 1971) – film producer and director ** Claudia Schiffer (born 1970) – German model and actress

Location grid

References

External links

Suffolk ChurchesStanningfield page on Parish Council site
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Former civil parishes in Suffolk Borough of St Edmundsbury Thedwastre Hundred