Great Cornard is a large 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 ...

that is part of the town of Sudbury, in the Babergh 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.

History

The area now called Great Cornard has been occupied since pre-history, with evidence of

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

settlements in the parish. The village is accounted for 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 the manor of Cornard. A small undated

ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the site ...

, located to the south of

Abbas Hall Abbas Hall is a small country house in Great Cornard, a village located near the town of Sudbury, Suffolk in England, the Elizabethan exterior of which masks a medieval two-bay aisled hall of c.1290, from which two massive oak posts with mould ...

, may have been an manorial centre pre-

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. Alternatively, it may have been a post-conquest manor or ringwork castle. The village was consistently a small one until the 20th century. Following the turn of the century the population steadily increased and a

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

was built in the 1960s. In the 1950s and 60s the village was greatly expanded following the

County of London Plan The County of London Plan was an urban planning proposal prepared for the London County Council in 1943 by John Henry Forshaw (1895–1973) and Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (1879–1957), with foreword from Charles Latham, leader of ...

, with the village taking in London overspill. By the beginning of the 21st century the population of Great Cornard was approaching that of the town of Sudbury.

Sport & Leisure

Great Cornard has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club Cornard United who play at Blackhouse Lane. The village is also the homes of the

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

teams for neighbouring Sudbury, also the home of the Sudbury Motor Cycle Club track at Tye Farm. On the outskirts of the village lies Cornard Country Park, a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

containing wild flower meadows and woodland.

Education

Secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

is provided by Thomas Gainsborough School, which also houses the village's sports centre, library and theatre. Primary schools include Wells Hall Primary School and Pot Kiln Primary School.

Notable residents

Former

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Perry Groves Perry Groves (born 19 April 1965) is an English former professional footballer, best known for his time at Arsenal. A fast-paced player who usually played as a left winger and occasionally a striker, Groves also played professionally for Colche ...

grew up in Great Cornard, playing for youth team Cornard Dynamos Football Club as a boy.

Sources

The Great Cornard Information Website - Cornard History

References

External links

Great Cornard Information website
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Sudbury, Suffolk