Raydon is a village and
civil parish in
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, England. Located around two miles south-east of
Hadleigh, it is part of
Babergh Babergh may refer to the following places in England:
* Babergh Hundred, a defunct hundred of the county of Suffolk, named for a "mound of a man called Babba"
* Babergh District
Babergh District (pronounced , ) is a local government district in ...
district. The parish also includes the
hamlets of Lower Raydon (west) and The Woodlands (east). It was recorded in Domesday as "Reindune" or "Reinduna" and appears on John Speed's 1610 map as "Roydon".
Raydon is based along part of the B1070 named The Street (runs north–south) and St Mary's church is close to the T junction with Woodlands Road in the north of the village.
Raydon Mill dates from some time after the Mediaeval period located over a mile west of the village above Lower Raydon. It held some German POWs during the war. It's now residential, but the turbine and two pairs of stones remain.
The south and west of the parish, including Lower Raydon, is part of the
Dedham Vale AONB
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...
. The northern part of the parish contains several
nature reserves; Raydon Great Wood, Long Wood, Squares Grove and Tom's Wood, all of which are
ancient woodland. The abandoned
Hadleigh Railway previously ran through the Great Wood, with a station at
Raydon Wood. The line is now also a nature reserve.
Brett Vale Golf Club is located to the west of the village.
Raydon Hall Farm is 1 km northeast from the village and the War Memorial is 1 km further on off Woodlands Road.
During
World War II an airfield was built in this area, which was initially known as
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Station 157, later becoming
RAF Raydon. Construction began when
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
engineers from the 833rd and 862nd battalions arrived in summer 1942. Airfield personnel lived close to
Great Wenham
Wenham Magna, also known as Great Wenham, is a village and a civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk in eastern England.
The parish also contains the hamlets of Gipsy Row, Vauxhall and Wenham Hill. In 2005 it had a population of 150, i ...
.
Raydon airfield
Hadleigh website The remaining buildings from the airfield are today part of Notley Enterprise Park.
Raydon Hall (TM0529039055) in this area is a Grade II building.
Two pubs in the village have closed for many years, Chequers (formerly Horseshoes) and the Fox.
References
External links
Parish council websiteChequers PubRaydon Fox PubWar MemorialRaydon Hall
Villages in Suffolk
Babergh District
Civil parishes in Suffolk
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