Wilby 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

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 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 ...

in eastern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

located around south-east of Diss and south of

Stradbroke Stradbroke ( ) is an English village in the Mid Suffolk district of the county of Suffolk. The census of 2011 gave the parish a population of 1,408, with an estimate of 1,513 in 2018. Heritage The village was listed in the Domesday Book of ...

along the B1118. The population of the parish at the 2001 census was 231 in 99 households. The village has some basic services including a primary school and village hall.Welcome to Wilby's Website
Wilby Parish Council. Retrieved 2011-04-29. The nearest villages are

Brundish Brundish is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. The village is south-east of Stradbroke and north of Dennington in the Mid Suffolk Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is pr ...

Laxfield Laxfield is a small ancient village in northern Suffolk, England. It is located at a distinct bend in today's B roads in Zone 1 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, B1117 road. History Laxfield arose in Saxon times as it is known that an ear ...

and

Worlingworth Worlingworth is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located around ten miles south-east of Diss, Norfolk, Diss. In 2011 it had a total population of 802 people. The village has a primary school ...

. Foals Green, Russel's Green, Stanway Green and Wootten Green (part) form part of the village which is dispersed in nature.

History

The name of the village is generally believed to be derived from the Old English meaning 'Ring of Willows'. The village is mentioned 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 ...

at which time it comprised seven households and formed part of the holding of

William de Beaufeu William de Beaufeu was a medieval Bishop of Thetford and a major landholder mentioned in the Domesday Book.The Domesday Book, Englands Heritage, Then and Now, Editor: Thomas Hinde, Major Domesday landholders page 338 Life William's land holdings ...

Bishop of Thetford The Bishop of Thetford is an episcopal title which takes its name after the market town of Thetford in Norfolk, England. The title was originally used by the Normans in the 11th century, and is now used by a Church of England suffragan bishop. ...

.Wilby
Domesday Map. Retrieved 2011-04-29. In 1844, ''

White's Directories ''White's Directories'' were a series of directory publications issued by William White of Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centr ...

'' lists

Thomas Corbett (Lincolnshire MP) Thomas George Corbett (1796–1868) was an English Member of Parliament, and High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1840. Background Thomas Corbett was the son of William Corbett (died 1832) of Darnhall and his wife Jane Eleanor, daughter of George Ai ...

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

Church

The village church is dedicated to St Mary.St Mary, Wilby
Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2011-04-29. It is medieval in origin and includes a 15th-century tower and a series of bench ends from the same century which are one of the finest collections in East Anglia.Church of St Mary, Wilby
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-04-29. The current vicar is Rev'd David Burrell who holds one Sunday service a week. St Mary's is a Grade I listed building. Newton Wilby Hall, a Grade II listed building, is a 16th-century farmhouse with an intact medieval moat.Wilby Hall, Wilby
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-04-29.

School

The village school serves around 100 children aged 5 to 11.
Suffolk County Council school profile. Retrieved 2011-04-29. It is currently judged as 'Good' by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

and has a link to a school in Mbauro in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

.Ofsted letter
2010-07-12. Retrieved 2011-04-29. At 11 children usually transfer to

Stradbroke High School Stradbroke High School is a secondary school with academy status for 11- to 16-year-olds in the village of Stradbroke in the English county of Suffolk. Founded in 1953 as a secondary modern school on the edge of the village, Stradbroke High Sc ...

Village hall

The village hall, which stands on the B1118, close to the centre of the village and opposite the school, is named Coronation Hall to commemorate the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Officially opened on Saturday 28 May 1955, it was one of the first village halls in Suffolk to be made by voluntary labour.

Transport

Between 1908 and 1952 the village was served by Wilby railway station on 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 ...

with the nearest operational railway station now at Diss.

References

External links

Wilby's Website
* {{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Mid Suffolk District