Kesgrave is a town 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 East Suffolk 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 ...

, England. The town is close to both

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of **Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

. Kesgrave forms part of the wider

Ipswich Built-up area This is a list of the most populous urban areas in the United Kingdom based on the 2011 census, as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Definition The methodology used by ONS in 2011 is set out in ''2011 Built-up Areas – Meth ...

History

The area was recorded as ''Gressgrava'' 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 ...

, by the late 15th century its name had become Kesgrave. Kesgrave remained a small agricultural settlement with just a church, inn and a few farmsteads for over 700 years. In 1921 the population was only 103 housed in 20 dwellings. Since then great changes have taken place. By 1988 Kesgrave covered an area of more than . Kesgrave parish council officially adopted the title of a town in January 2000.

Schools

Kesgrave High School Kesgrave High School is a private secondary school in Kesgrave in the English county of Suffolk. The school has over 1800 pupils aged 11 to 18. The school has been awarded Eco-school status and has 20 solar panels on top of the technology bloc ...

is a large 11-18 comprehensive

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

school with nearly 2000 pupils. A study for

Sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

noted that 61% of the pupils cycled to the school. This is largely due to the installation of a large cycle lane through the local housing development and along the main road. The school actively encourages walking or cycling and provides bicycle storage facilities. The five primary schools in the immediate vicinity of Kesgrave are Beacon Hill Primary School, Birchwood Primary School,

Cedarwood Primary School Cedar is part of the English common name of many trees and other plants, particularly those of the genus ''Cedrus''. Some botanical authorities consider the Old-World ''Cedrus'' the only Cedrus#Nomenclature, "true cedars". Many other species worl ...

the building of which was awarded a Civic Trust Award in 2003, Gorseland Primary School and Heath Primary School. Kesgrave was home to a number of

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

day and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

s based at

Kesgrave Hall Kesgrave Hall is a country house located in woodlands north of the town of Kesgrave, which itself is on the eastern outskirts of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. It was constructed in 1812 by William Cunliffe-Shawe, and has been extended since, not ...

* St. Edmund's School (1946–1975) *

Kesgrave Hall School Kesgrave Hall School was a private boys' boarding school in Kesgrave, England, catering to pupils with high academic potential who were unable to flourish in mainstream schools. Incidents Alan Stancliffe was convicted, in 1982, in 1999, and aga ...

(1976–1993) * Shawe Manor (1993) * Ryes School (2004–2007)

Gallery

File:Computer Commemoration - geograph.org.uk - 1446830.jpg, Computer commemoration monument File:A1214 Main Road in Kesgrave - geograph.org.uk - 2544629.jpg, Main road in Kesgrave File:Kesgrave All Saints - geograph.org.uk - 2102318.jpg, Kesgrave All Saints File:Kesgrave Social Club - geograph.org.uk - 1141231.jpg, Kesgrave Social Club File:Kesgrave guided busway.JPG, Guided busway File:Double Signs - geograph.org.uk - 1155564.jpg, Kesgrave traffic sign

Notable residents

* Lawrence Ward, former

Serjeant at Arms of the British House of Commons The Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons is a parliamentary official responsible for order in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The office dates to 1415 and traditionally included responsibility for security. The role is now mainly ...

. *Anthony Cornforth (co-creator of

Makaton Makaton is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system which uses signs (hand gestures) and symbols (images) alongside speech & written words to support communication. Despite its use of signs, Makaton is not a sign language. Mak ...

)

References

External links