Little Wenham is a small village 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 ...
, England. It is part of the
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 ...
of
Wenham Parva – the ancient name for Little Wenham) within
Babergh district. Its population is included there.
Heritage
The village is home to Wenham Castle, a
castellated manor house and one of the oldest houses in England; built by John de Villabus in the 13th century using some of the first English-made bricks.
In later centuries it was the home of the Debenhams, who were notorious for violent and lawless behaviour, but who were so powerful in Suffolk that successive monarchs were forced to rely on their support rather than take steps to curb them. From the Debenhams it passed to their relations the Brewse (or Brewes) family.
[For other details, see E. Martin, 'Little Wenham Hall: a re-interpretation', ''Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History'' XXXIX Part 2 (1998)]
pp. 151-164.
/ref>
The Grade I listed All Saints' Church, Little Wenham is currently redundant, but can be visited.
Notable people
In birth order:
* Gilbert Debenham (1432–1500), born in Little Wenham, was a knight, politician and soldier attainted for treason by Henry VII, who spent his final years in prison. He appears often in the ''Paston Letters
The ''Paston Letters'' are a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family of Norfolk gentry and others connected with them in England between the years 1422 and 1509. The collection also includes state papers and other impo ...
''.
* Peyton Ventris (1645–1691) was a judge and politician born in Little Wenham. He was knighted in 1689.
* Joseph Thurston, (1704–1732), a poet much appreciated by Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
, was the son of Joseph Thurston (1672/1673–1714), a lawyer of Little Wenham, and was himself buried there.
Facilities
There are weekday bus links with Ipswich four times a day. The nearest medical, retail, primary school and other services are at Capel St. Mary, 2–3 miles (3–5 km) away.
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Suffolk
Babergh District