Kersey 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 Babergh district 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 ...

, in the east of England. The main street has a ford across a stream. Its principal claim to fame is that a coarse woollen cloth called Kersey cloth takes its name from it. A particular green colour is known as Kersey Green. The cloth was presumably originally made there, but later in many other places too.

Geography and demographics

The parish contains the village of Kersey and the hamlets of Kersey Tye, Kersey Upland, Wicker Street Green and William's Green. Kersey's church is St Mary's, and the village also contains a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 359.

Village

The village is known for its picturesque main street with medieval timber-framed houses and a ford of a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the River Brett known locally as "The Splash". Kersey was the location of an alleged paranormal incident known as ' The Kersey Time Slip' where three Royal Navy cadets; William Laing, Michael Crowley and Ray Baker, are said to have travelled back in time when entering the village in 1957 on a training exercise.

Filming

The village has been used as a filming location including for ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

'', '' Magpie Murders'' and the advert launching the Austin Metro. Kersey is the subject of Penelope Keith's TV series "Hidden Villages", season 1/ episode 1

Notable residents

* Robert Gordon-Finlayson (1881-1956), Adjutant-General to the Forces; he was created a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1937,

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

in 1918, and Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

in 1915. * Lewis Lyne, (1899-1970), a Major-General who served before and during World War II and was created a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in 1945 and Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1943. *

Hammond Innes Ralph Hammond Innes (15 July 1913 – 10 June 1998) was a British novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as works for children and travel books. Biography Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at Feltonfleet School, Cobham, Surrey ...

(1913–1998), novelist. * Peter Vansittart (1920-2008), novelist.

Location grid

References

External links

Parish Council websiteKersey in Pictures
Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Babergh District Cosford Hundred {{Suffolk-geo-stub