Brockford Street is a

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

in the civil parish of

Wetheringsett-cum-Brockford Wetheringsett-cum-Brockford is a civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. The parish contains the village of Wetheringsett, together with the hamlets of Blacksmith's Green, Broad Green, Mid Suffolk, Broad Green, B ...

, in the

Mid Suffolk Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being Stowmarket, Needham Market and Eye. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to sha ...

district, in the county of

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England, sited upon the

A140 road The A140 is an 'A-class' road in Norfolk and Suffolk, East Anglia, England partly following the route of the Roman Pye Road. It runs from the A14 near Needham Market to the A149 south of Cromer. It is of primary status for the entirety of ...

between

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. Nearby is Brockford Station, part of The

Mid-Suffolk Light Railway The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway (MSLR) was a standard gauge railway intended to open up an agricultural area of central Suffolk; it took advantage of the reduced construction cost enabled by the Light Railways Act 1896. It was launched with consi ...

which closed under B.R. in 1952. The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Museum is located at the site of the old cattle dock. Brockford was 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Brocfort''. In 1086, the population of Brockford was recorded as 17, rising to 31 taxpayers by 1524. Between 1550 and 1599, Brockford had one carpenter, one

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

, one weaver and one wheelwright. By 1647 there were 34 households. During 1600 and 1649, the hamlet had one carpenter, four yeomen and 2

husbandmen A husbandman in England in the Middle Ages and the early modern period was a small landowner. The social status of a husbandman was below that of a yeoman. The meaning of "husband" in this term is "master of house" rather than " married man". A ...

. From 1650 to 1699 this became 10 yeomen, one blacksmith, one cooper, one husbandman and even a physic physician. In 1844 the hamlet housed a grocer/

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

, two carpenters, a shoemaker, beerhouse keeper,

victualler A victualler (pronounced /ˈvɪt(ə)lə/) is traditionally a person who supplies food, beverages and other provisions for the crew of a vessel at sea. There are a number of other more particular uses of the term, such as: * The official supplier ...

, saddler and six farmers. In 1912 this had expanded to six farmers, a carpenter, three surgeons, a horse slaughterer, a blacksmith, carrier/carpenter, newsagent, shopkeeper, publican, saddler and a cattle dealer. A church in Brockford is mentioned in Joceline de Brakelond's writings of 1198, but has since disappeared without a trace; even the dedication is unknown. Brockford hosted a beerhouse along with the Griffin pub (still standing; grade 2 listed early 16th century house, extended to the right in the 17th century and closed as the pub in the early 1960s) with a beer retailer added by 1891. Other historic structures include three early 16th century timber framed cottages with underbuilt jetty (now a single house) GV II">Listed_building.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Listed building">GV II Bridge House, an early to mid 16th century inn (and 17th-mid 19th century farmhouse) with roadside jetty [GV II]; Yew Tree Farmhouse, a mid 16th century former farmhouse with a 19th century façade [GV II]; a 16th to 17th century timber framed saddler's cottage with thatched roof [GV II]; a timber framed 17th century 2 cell house with an interior little altered since the 19th century V IIand a stretch of Roman Road.

References

External links

Renaissance
Hamlets in Suffolk Mid Suffolk District {{Suffolk-geo-stub