Framlingham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the town in England. For the Australian location, see Framlingham, Victoria. For the US town, see Framingham, Massachusetts.

Framlingham
Framlingham Castle Sunset.jpg
Framlingham Castle
Framlingham is located in Suffolk
Framlingham
Framlingham
Location within Suffolk
Area18.97 km2 (7.32 sq mi)
Population3,342 (2011)
• Density176/km2 (460/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTM283634
Civil parish
  • Framlingham
District
  • East Suffolk
Shire county
  • Suffolk
Region
  • East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townWOODBRIDGE
Postcode districtIP13
Dialling code01728
PoliceSuffolk
FireSuffolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Suffolk
52°13′19″N 1°20′36″E / 52.22207°N 1.34342°E / 52.22207; 1.34342Coordinates: 52°13′19″N 1°20′36″E / 52.22207°N 1.34342°E / 52.22207; 1.34342

Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019.[1][2] Nearby villages include Earl Soham, Kettleburgh, Parham, Saxtead and Sweffling.

Governance[]

An electoral ward of the same name exists. The parish stretches north-east to Brundish with a total ward population taken at the 2011 Census of 4,744.[3]

Features[]

Framlingham's history can be traced to an entry in the Doomsday book (1086) when it then consisted of several manors.

The medieval Framlingham Castle is a major feature in the town, managed by English Heritage. Mary Tudor (daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon) was proclaimed Queen of England at Framlingham castle in 1553. The castle is referred to in Ed Sheeran's 2017 single "Castle on the Hill", Sheeran having grown up in Framlingham. There is a large lake or mere next to it which used to supply the castle with fish. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust; a nature walk can be made around it.

The town is also home to the comprehensive secondary Thomas Mills High School, the independent school Framlingham College, the Church of St Michael the Archangel which dates from the 12th century (the main rebuilding dates from the late 15th and 16th centuries) and Framlingham Town F.C.

The town has the two oldest functioning Post Office pillar boxes in the UK, dating from 1856, located in Double Street and in College Road.[4] The pillar boxes are marked V. R., to mark the reign of Queen Victoria.

Framlingham also has one of the smallest houses in Britain, known as the "Check House". Converted into a two-storey residence of under 29 square metres, the former bookmakers office[5] is in the Mauldens Mill Estate in the town centre. The ground floor measures 20 feet (6.1 m) by 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m).[5]

There is a traditional English market in the town square, Market Hill, every Tuesday and Saturday offering fruit and vegetables, artisan bread and cakes, fresh fish, coffee, cheese and pies and on occasion, other independent stalls.

Framlingham is located some 14 miles from the coastal town of Aldeburgh and 20 miles from Southwold. It is also 10 miles from the renowned music centre of Snape Maltings. It is itself surrounded by agricultural land.

In 2006 Country Life magazine voted Framlingham the best place to live in the country.[6]

Framlingham has a conservation area. An oak tree planted in 1911 in honour of the Coronation of King George V survives outside the old railway station, now a pub named The Station in Station Road.

Framlingham was the main location for the 2014 BBC4 television comedy series Detectorists, starring Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones and Rachael Stirling. It has also appeared in other TV programmes.

Education[]

Framlingham College is an independent, co-educational secondary school for boarders and day students, opened as Albert Memorial College in 1865 in memory of Albert, Prince Consort. Its associated preparatory school is at Brandeston Hall.[7]

Thomas Mills High School, dating from 1751, is older than Framlingham College. It is a mixed secondary school for pupils aged 11–18, which gained academy status in 2011.[8]

Of the town's three primary schools, the oldest is Sir Robert Hitcham's Church of England Voluntary Primary School, dating back to at least 1654. It now has 350 pupils and another 26 in its nursery.[9]

Transport[]

The Framlingham Branch connected Framlingham by rail with the main Ipswich to Lowestoft East Suffolk line at Wickham Market. The railway station building stands adjacent to the Station Hotel. The branch closed to passenger traffic in the 1950s and to goods in the 1960s. The nearest stations today are Wickham Market (7 miles (11 km)) at Campsea Ashe and Saxmundham (8 miles (13 km)), both on the East Suffolk Line.

The town is at the junction of the B1116, B1119 and B1120 roads, four miles (6.4 km) west of the A12. The local bus services are detailed on the Suffolk On Board site.[10]

Sport and leisure[]

Framlingham has a Non-League football club, Framlingham Town F.C., which plays at Badingham Road, where there is a sports club offering tennis, archery, badminton, hockey and croquet. It is also where the cycling club meets. The town has a rambling club and an active Scout and Cubs group. The modern St John Ambulance Centre is in Fairfield Road.

Framlingham College has a swimming pool and gymnasium open to the public in pre-booked slots. Membership fees are required.Framlingham College has a swimming pool and gymnasium open to the public in pre-booked slots. Membership fees are required.

Notable people[]

In order of birth:

  • Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1443–1524), who held office under four kings, died at Framlingham Castle.
  • Sir Robert Hitcham (c. 1572–1636), was a member of Parliament, attorney general and philanthropist, who purchased Framlingham Castle in 1635.
  • Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, KG (1584–1640), politician, owned Framlingham Castle until 1635.
  • Rev. Nicholas Danforth (1589–1636) and family left Framlingham in 1634 for Massachusetts Bay Colony, where his land grant became the town of Framingham, Massachusetts.[11]
  • Thomas Danforth, a Massachusetts Bay Colony magistrate and landowner, was born in 1623 in Framlingham, son of Nicholas.
  • Samuel Danforth, poet, Puritan and evangelist to American Indians, was born in 1626 in Framlingham, son of Nicholas.
  • Nicholas Revett, architect and theorist, was born in Framlingham in 1720.
  • Alethea Lewis (1749–1787), the novelist, was brought up by her maternal grandfather in Framlingham.
  • Edmund Goodwyn (1756–1832), physician born in Framlingham, who discovered the diving reflex[12]
  • Robert Hindes Groome (1810–1889), composer, author and cleric, was born in Framlingham.
  • Henry Thompson (1820–1894), a polymath and a surgeon who operated on the Belgian royal family, was born in Framlingham.
  • Samuel Cornell Plant (1866–1921), master mariner and Senior Inspector, Upper Yangtze River[13]
  • John Cordy Jeaffreson (1831–1901), writer and lawyer, was born in Framlingham.[14]
  • Francis Stocks (1873–1929), county cricketer, died in Framlingham.
  • Frederick Bird (1875–1965), county cricketer and cleric, was born in Framlingham.
  • Michael Lord (born 1938), deputy speaker and MP for the town, took the title Baron Framlingham rather than "Lord Lord" on becoming a life peer.
  • Charles Freeman (born 1947), former Head of History at St Clare's, Oxford, and teacher of Ancient History for Cambridge University's Extramural programme. Prolific author on ancient, Christian and early Mediaeval history.
  • Alice Russell (born 1976), soul singer, grew up in Framlingham.
  • Christina Johnston (born 1989), classical coloratura soprano, grew up in Framlingham and attended Framlingham College.
  • Laura Wright (born 1990), classical/popular crossover soprano, grew up in Framlingham.
  • Ed Sheeran (born 1991), singer–songwriter, grew up in Framlingham and attended Thomas Mills High School. The town is the subject of his hit single "Castle on the Hill".

See also[]

  • RAF Framlingham, a Second World War bomber airfield near Framlingham
  • Quay House

References[]

  1. ^ City Population site. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Town population 2011". Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  4. ^ "A short introduction to the history of the British Pillar Box". Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b S. Howes, 2011 Tiny UK house with a giant price-tag, Sydney Morning Herald 16 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011
  6. ^ "Fram named nation's best place to live". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  7. ^ EduBase2 Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  8. ^ School site Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  9. ^ School site: Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  10. ^ Suffolk on Board. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  11. ^ Retrieved 3 January 2015. Biography
  12. ^ Vega, Jose L. (11 May 2017). "Edmund Goodwyn and the first description of diving bradycardia". Journal of Applied Physiology. 123 (2): 275–277. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00221.2017. ISSN 8750-7587. PMID 28495845.
  13. ^ What’s the link between these girls and a hardly-known Suffolk 'hero' honoured by China?, East Anglian Daily Times, 14 December 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  14. ^ East Anglia's History... Retrieved 3 January 2015.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""