Cavendish 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Stour Valley in

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.

Toponymy

Toponymists agree that Cavendish is called so because a man called Cafa once owned an ''eddish'' (pasture for aftermath) here. Keith Briggs and Kelly Kilpatrick provide a number of different spellings following

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 ...

before it became settled as Cavendish. They also say Cafan is the genitive suffix meaning 'of'.

History

It was home to Sir John Cavendish, the ancestor of the Dukes of Devonshire, who was involved in suppressing the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

. Wat Tyler, the peasants' leader, was arrested by William Walworth, the Mayor of London, for threatening King Richard II in 1381. As Tyler fought back, Cavendish's son, also called John, who was responsible for escorting the King, ran Tyler through with his sword, killing him. As a result, John Cavendish tried to flee from the pursuing peasants, and he hung on to the handle of the door of St Mary's Church to plead

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

. A few days later, on 15 June 1381, the elder John Cavendish was seized at Bury St Edmunds and beheaded by a mob led by Jack Straw. He is buried in Bury St Edmunds. St Mary's Church had a bequest from Sir John, and its chancel was restored. The village has a United Reformed Church, where

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

services are also held, and three pubs - the Five Bells, the George, and the Bull. Leonard Lord Cheshire and his wife Sue Ryder are buried in Cavendish Cemetery and there is a memorial to them within St Mary's Church. The museum at Cavendish is now closed but history of the Sue Ryder Foundation and life at the Cavendish home may be obtained from the Sue Ryder legacy and history team. As Cavendish was begun as a home for concentration camp survivors the charity holds some records of the people who were rescued by Sue Ryder.

Climate

Other notable people

* George Cavendish (1497 – ) an English writer, known as the biographer of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. * Sir William Cavendish MP (ca.1505 – 1557) a politician, knight and courtier.

Events

Village events are regularly held on the village green. Cavendish holds an annual summer fete, which is held in September, as well as a smaller fete, which is organised earlier in the year by the local church, along with an annual fireworks event.

References

External links

Foxearth and District Local Historical Society - Articles on the history of Cavendish and the surrounding area Cavendish at Vision of Britain website
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Borough of St Edmundsbury Babergh Hundred