Fornham St Martin is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

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

West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral di ...

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. Located on the northern outskirts of

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

off east and west from the A134, in 2005 its population was 1300. Its parish council is shared with neighbouring

Fornham St Genevieve Fornham St Genevieve is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is one of a trio of contiguous villages by the River Lark. The other villages are Fornham All Saints and Fornham St Martin. Loc ...

, and is known as Fornham St Martin cum St Genevieve Parish Council. Fornham St Martin is one of a trio of contiguous villages by the

River Lark The River Lark crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in England. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have been used for nav ...

. The other villages are Fornham St Genevieve and

Fornham All Saints Fornham All Saints is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England in the West Suffolk district. It is north-northwest of the town of Bury St Edmunds and 500m west of Fornham St Genevieve. Fornham All Saints is one of a trio of contiguous vil ...

History

The word Fornham means '

Trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

village' derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

words ''forne'' meaning trout and ''hām'' meaning village with the addition of the dedication to

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

. The village is recorded 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 ...

with 27 households in 1086 made up of 3 villagers, 11 freemen, 10 smallholders, 3 slaves along with 2 cobs, 4 cattle, 12 pigs, and 80 sheep. The

Battle of Fornham The Battle of Fornham was fought during the Revolt of 1173–1174. Background The revolt began in April 1173 and resulted from the efforts of King Henry II of England to find lands for his youngest son, Prince John. John's other three legitimat ...

, a significant battle in

English history The territory today known as England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated.; "Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk" (2014). B ...

, took place in Fornham Park and the surrounding area in 1173. This was part of the

Revolt of 1173–74 Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

where King Henry II, led by Robert de Lucy fought the Flemish rebels for his son,

Henry the Young King Henry the Young King (28 February 1155 – 11 June 1183) was the eldest son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to survive childhood. In 1170, he became titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine. Henry th ...

, led by

Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester (1121 – 1190), called Blanchemains, was an English nobleman, one of the principal followers of Henry the Young King in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against his father King Henry II. Life Robert was the s ...

Scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

s of the time variously estimated that between 3000 and 10,000

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

were slaughtered and lie beneath the fields, woodland and ditches. The village appears on

John Speed John Speed (1551 or 1552 – 28 July 1629) was an English cartographer, chronologer and historian of Cheshire origins.; superseding . The son of a citizen and Merchant Taylor in London,"Life of John Speed", ''The Hibernian Magazine, Or, Compe ...

's 1610 map as "Fernham mertin" and in 1870–72,

John Marius Wilson John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteers. The '' Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (published 1870–1872), was a substantial topographical dictionary in six volumes. It was ...

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...

described the town as ''a parish in Thingoe district, Suffolk in the

Diocese of Ely The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely. There is one suffragan bishop, suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bisho ...

; on the

river Lark The River Lark crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in England. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have been used for nav ...

, 1¾

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

'' and related that it had 74 houses, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and a free school.Fornham St Martin Suffolk
Britain through time Website

Church

Fornham St Martin Church ( OS grid TL8566) with King George's playing field across the way at the south end of B1106 to the village. The churchyard contains a number of notable burials: *Vice-Admiral

James Rivett-Carnac Sir James Rivett-Carnac, 1st Baronet (11 November 1784 – 28 January 1846) was an Indian-born British statesman and politician who served as Governor of the Bombay Presidency in British India from 1838 to 1841. Career Born in Bombay in 1784 ...

CB CBE DSC DL (1891–1970) - Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief of the New Zealand Division. *Major General Sir

Harry Ord Sir Harry St. George Ord (17 June 1819 – 20 August 1885) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Bermuda between 1861 and 1864, Governor of the Straits Settlements between 1867 and 1873, and Governor of Western Austral ...

GCMG CB (1819–1885) - Colonial Governor of several posts including Bermuda, Straits Settlements and Western Australia. *Sir William Gilstrap, Bt. (1816–1896) - Prominent maltster and philanthropist who endowed the Gilstrap library in Newark, Nottinghamshire.

Gallery

File:SF-9EF0BA, Early medieval sword (FindID 829529-600694).jpg, Early medieval sword (1100-1200) iron with silver inscription found by River Lark. Possibly from

battle of Fornham The Battle of Fornham was fought during the Revolt of 1173–1174. Background The revolt began in April 1173 and resulted from the efforts of King Henry II of England to find lands for his youngest son, Prince John. John's other three legitimat ...

. File:Clay Drift and Springhill Covert - geograph.org.uk - 1017729.jpg, Clay Drift and Springhill Covert (2008) File:River Lark north of Tollgate Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 2564338.jpg, River Lark north of Tollgate Bridge (2011) File:Reservoir at Springhill Covert - geograph.org.uk - 1017725.jpg, Reservoir at Springhill Covert (2008) File:The Wool Pack - geograph.org.uk - 3440214.jpg, The Wool Pack (2004) File:Field at Fornham St Martin - geograph.org.uk - 1129545.jpg, Field at Fornham St Martin (2009) showing jackdaws over arable land and smoke from British Sugar factory nearby File:St Martin's church Fornham St Martin Suffolk (265201606).jpg, St Martin's church Fornham St Martin (2006) File:The War Memorial at Fornham St. Martin - geograph.org.uk - 4496372.jpg, The War Memorial at Fornham St. Martin (2015) File:St Martin, Fornham St Martin - Chancel - geograph.org.uk - 3127320.jpg, Church of St Martin, Fornham St Martin. Chancel (2012) File:St Martin, Fornham St Martin - Font - geograph.org.uk - 3127345.jpg, Church of St Martin, Fornham St Martin. Font (2012) File:St Martin, Fornham St Martin - Stained glass window - geograph.org.uk - 3127322.jpg, Church of St Martin, Fornham St Martin. Stained glass window (2012) File:View west from Clay Drift - geograph.org.uk - 1017732.jpg, View west from Clay Drift (2008). Arable land and woods.

References

Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Borough of St Edmundsbury Thedwastre Hundred {{Suffolk-geo-stub

History

Church

Gallery

See also

References