Winston 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 ...

in the Mid Suffolk 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 Lowes ...

in eastern England. Located around east of Stowmarket, the 2011 Census showed that the population of the parish of Winston is 159. The parish also contains the settlements of Winston Green and Fenn Street. There is a church and an old school room, and every year there is a Winston Village Fete. A lot of the village of Winston is based around 14th Century Church, with multiple 16th Century cottages and farmhouses along church lane, showing the villages agricultural past, the area of Winston is still agricultural based with farms and fields all over the parish. Winston and the surrounding area is approximately 45m-50m above sea level making the area unlikely to flood, unless in exceptional circumstances. In the 1870s Winston was described as:

Winston, a parish, with a village, in Bosmere district, Suffolk; 1 mile SSE of Debenham, and 7 NE of Needham r. station.

History

The parish of Winston first appears 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 ...

, written in 1066, stating that the population was "43.5 households (very large)". However the Domesday Book representation of the population is misleading, as the figure is based on heads of families so it may be up to 5 times more than the figure stated. The records show that from the first Census conducted in 1801 the population of Winston was 261. The population declined after the 1851 census, with almost everyone in the village at the time working on the land, it may be possible that due to the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, Winston saw many of the residents move to local large towns like

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. The population in Ipswich boomed during this period as many workers came from the rural area to the industrial area in search of more money and a better life. The parish of Winston contains 5 listed buildings, all of which are listed as grade II by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, mainly dating from the 16th and 17th Century. According to the genealogy of the Suffolk family of Bacon, one Grimald, or Grimaldus, a relative of William de Warenne, who came to England in 1066. The Bacon family resided in the area around Winston, many birth and death records show that in the period of c.1475 to c.1640 the Bacon family lived in or around the area of Winston, which once had an estate which was handed down through the family. There is a War Memorial in Winston dating from 1923, it bears the names of 5 men lost in 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 ...

and 2 men lost in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Employment

The 1831 Census showed that around 87% of people living within the parish of Winston worked in agriculture and by 1881 this was down to 53% working in agriculture. This shows a decline in employment in agriculture at the same time as a decline in population in the Parish. Around 13% of women living with Winston were enrolled in Domestic Services and Offices, the rest of female occupation being unknown or they did not have an occupation. The present day employment figures differ a lot from those in the 19th Century, for example only 5.1% of the population of Winston work in agriculture. Winston also has a low number of unemployed, the figure stands at 1.9%, which is well below 4.4% unemployed on average throughout England. Winston also has a very high percentage of residents that are self-employed at 28.3% as of 2011, much higher than the 9.8% average for the whole of England

Church

The local parish church called St Andrews was founded in around the 15th century. With extensions built during the 14th and 16th centuries, while being heavily restored during the 19th century, however it retains a lot of the original architecture, the church is listed as a grade II listed building. Records show that St Andrews church was used for many burials starting at around 1550. The last mention of the use of the school building in Winston is in 1897, where a letter was written concerning Winston school.

Travel

The nearest station to the village of Winston is in Stowmarket, which is 11 miles away or roughly a 25-minute drive from the centre of Winston. The station at Stowmarket is on the main line between

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

and London. Winston lies just off the A1120 which is a direct road to Stowmarket, the nearest market town. The Village of Debenham nearby provides the local primary and secondary schools, while also providing local police and fire station, the centre of Debenham is approximately 1.5 miles from the centre of Winston, making it an easy place to get to. The nearest major town is Ipswich which is 30-minute drive and just under 13 miles to the centre of Ipswich from the village of Winston. This gives the residents of Winston options for a range of different services with two large towns in close proximity, making it an ideal place to live if you want to be in the countryside yet not in complete isolation. Winston is a 1-hour 30-minute drive from the nearest major airport which is Stansted and a 2 hours 20-minute drive from the airport of

Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

. The centre of London is a 2:30-hour drive from the centre of the village of Winston, this makes the village of Winston easily within driving range of the biggest metropolitan area in the UK.

References

External links

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