Higham 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 ...

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. Located on the eastern bank of the

River Brett The River Brett is a river 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 ...

(which defines the parish's western boundary), around north of the point at which it joins the River Stour, it is part of Babergh district. In 2005 it had a population of 140, including Shelley and increasing to 203 at the census 2011. The village itself is a designated

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

, whilst the entire parish is located within the Dedham Vale

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. It also contains Rowley Grove, 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 ...

classed as

Ancient Woodland In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 i ...

and a point to point racecourse which is home to the Waveney Harriers.

St Mary's Church

A church stood in Higham at the time of 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 ...

and parts of the original church are incorporated into the current building, which is primarily 14th to 15th-century. The north aisle was added in 1410. It is believed to be by a local

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

from Occold, called Hawes, who also worked at the churches in

Bildeston Bildeston is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. Located around north of Hadleigh. In 2005 it had a population of 960, increasing to 1,054 at the 2011 Census. History According to Eilert Ekwall the mean ...

Debenham Debenham is a village and civil parish located north of Ipswich in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Pub ...

and

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

. The interior has a

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...

stoup A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or other Christian art. It is used in Catholic, as well as many Lutheran and Anglica ...

and

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

, all

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

. The benches are

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

copies of medieval originals, although incorporating some earlier work. The wooden

chancel arch In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

and stalls are also Victorian. The oldest memorial, likely of John Mannock of Giffords Hall in

Shimpling Shimpling is a village and civil parish in south Suffolk, England. About from Bury St Edmunds, it is part of Babergh district. The village is formed from two halves, the newer Shimpling Street and about away the old village of Shimpling. The ...

who died in 1476, was found during a restoration in 2005. The timber roof beams have carved wooden corbels with various facial expressions. The monument to Robert Hoy (d.1811) is by the London sculptor,

Charles Regnart Charles Regnart (1759 – 19 November 1844) was an English sculptor, specialising in funerary monuments. His masterpiece is said to be the 17th-century-style recumbent figure of George Rush in the parish church in Farthinghoe. The figure shows Ru ...

Higham Hall

Higham Hall is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

situated next to St Mary's Church. It dates from the early 19th century. The frontage is constructed in white bricks, while the rear is of red brick in

English bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by s ...

. The roof is of slate. The house has two storeys and an attic, with a five bay façade. The porch has Doric columns. The garden has a notable giant redwood tree/

Cedric Morris

Early in 1929 the artist

Cedric Morris Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet (11 December 1889 – 8 February 1982) was a British artist, Visual arts education, art teacher and plantsman. He was born in Swansea in South Wales, but worked mainly in East Anglia. As an artist he is be ...

and his partner rented Pound Farm in the village, which he subsequently inherited. Many artistic friends visited, including

Frances Hodgkins Frances Mary Hodgkins (28 April 1869 – 13 May 1947) was a New Zealand painter chiefly of landscape, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. Born in Dunedin, she was educated Dunedin School of Art, then became an art teacher, ...

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadin ...

and John Skeaping and Pound became known for the gardens he developed and the parties he gave.

References

External links

Higham racecourse
Point-to-point East Anglia {{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Babergh District