Stowmarket ( ) is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

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

Mid Suffolk Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being Stowmarket, Needham Market and Eye. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to sha ...

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,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the A14

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

between

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 ...

to the west and

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, ...

to the southeast. The town lies on the

Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...

(GEML) between Diss and

Needham Market Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...

, and lies on the

River Gipping The River Gipping is the source river for the River Orwell in the county of Suffolk in East Anglia, England, which is named from the village of Gipping, and which gave its name to the former Gipping Rural District. It rises near Mendlesham, Men ...

, which is joined by its tributary, the River Rat, to the south of the town. The town takes its name 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 ...

word ''stōw'' meaning "principal place", and was granted a market charter in 1347 by

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

. A bi-weekly market is still held there today on Thursday and Saturday. The population of the town has increased from around 6,000 in 1981 to around 21,000 in 2021, with considerable further development planned for the town and surrounding villages as part of an area action plan. It is the largest town in the

district and is represented in Parliament by the MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, currently

Peter Prinsley Peter Richard Prinsley (born 8 April 1958) is a British Labour Party UK, Labour Party politician, who was elected as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (UK Parliament constituency), Bury ...

Historic events

Disaster struck Stowmarket on 11 August 1871, when an explosion at a local

gun cotton Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

factory claimed twenty-eight lives and left seventy five injured. The site of the explosion is now home to a large paint factory.

Stowmarket High School Stowmarket High School is a co-educational secondary school located in Stowmarket, Suffolk in England. It was at one time known as Stowmarket Grammar School. 855 students from school years 7 to 11. Previously a community school administered ...

was founded in 1909. On 8 June 1918, the first UK astronomical observation of nova

V603 Aquilae V603 Aquilae (or Nova Aquilae 1918) was a bright nova first observed (from Earth) in the constellation Aquila in 1918. It was the brightest "new star" to appear in the sky since Kepler's Supernova in 1604. Like all novae, it is a binary ...

was made from Stowmarket by A. Grace Cook. History repeated itself on 13 December 1934 when amateur astronomer J. P. M. Prentice discovered

DQ Herculis DQ Herculis, or Nova Herculis 1934, was a slow, bright nova occurring in the northern constellation of Hercules (constellation), Hercules in December 1934. This cataclysmic variable star was discovered on 13 December 1934 by J. P. M. P ...

from the town. Just before midday on Friday 31 January 1941, a solitary German bomber plane (eyewitness accounts differ on the model) was spotted over Stowmarket firing its guns. The bomber strafed a large area of the town, before dropping bombs onto the High Street. The Stowmarket Congregational Chapel, a Gothic-style building that was built in the 19th century, was completely destroyed. There was one casualty, Mrs Rhoda Farrow, who had just returned from seeing her son Ronald and his fiancée off at the railway station. On 17 July 2002, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

, visited Stowmarket during the Golden Jubilee Celebrations. This was the Queen's second visit to Stowmarket, having first visited the town in July 1961. During the visit, they visited the local market, meeting stall holders before the Queen unveiled a new Town Sign and met representatives from local organisations while the Duke of Edinburgh met students who took part in

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

and viewed a display at the

Museum of East Anglian Life The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, is a museum in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England focused on the farming and food production industries. It consists of an 84-acre estate and 17 historic buildings. History of the Museum Th ...

Landmarks

The church of St Peter and St Mary is in the Decorated style and dates to the 14th century. The 16th-century former vicarage, now the

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

offices and

register office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration of births, deaths, marri ...

, has associations with

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

; Milton's Tree in its grounds is believed to be an offshoot of one of the many trees he planted there. Haughley Park is an historical house situated in Haughley to the west of the town, of some significance, listed in the English Heritage Register. It is a large red brick country house built in about 1620 for the Sulyard family who were very prominent landowners in this area. Opened in 1967,

The Food Museum The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, is a museum in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England focused on the farming and food production industries. It consists of an 84-acre estate and 17 historic buildings. History of the Museum Th ...

(formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life) occupies a site close to the town centre. The Karnser is a raised pavement in Station Road West, next to the church. The name is the East Anglian dialect word ''caunsey'', meaning a causey (causeway).

Transport

2013 at Stowmarket station - main buildings

Stowmarket railway station Stowmarket railway station is a stop on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the market town of Stowmarket, Suffolk. The station is down the line from London Liverpool Street; it is situated between to the south ...

, on the

, is served by railway routes operated by

Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Transport UK East Anglia Limited) is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city se ...

: to (via and ); to Ipswich (via Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and ); and to

London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is ...

(via , Ipswich, , and ). In the 18th century, the

was made navigable between Stowmarket and Ipswich by a series of locks. The newly created canal was known as the

Ipswich and Stowmarket Navigation Ipswich () is a port town and 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, after Peterborough and Norwich. It is ...

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Governme ...

has built a road from the Central Roundabout, a short distance to the east of Stowmarket, to Gipping Way in central Stowmarket at a cost of £21 million. The scheme was completed in summer 2010. The new road bridges the railway line and the River Gipping.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire (including the City of Milton Keynes). It is headquartered in The Forum ...

and

ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

. Television signals are received from either the

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

Tacolneston Tacolneston () is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk District of Norfolk with a population of around 700, measured at the 2011 Census as a population of 825. Its name occurs in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Tacoluestuna'' and is theo ...

transmitters. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Suffolk BBC Radio Suffolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Suffolk. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Matthews Street in Ipswich. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...

on 103.9 FM,

Heart East Heart East was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four Heart station ...

on 96.4 FM and Greatest Hits Radio Ipswich & Suffolk on 106.4 FM. The ''Stowmarket Mercury'' is the town's local newspaper.

Governance

Stowmarket Town Council is the first tier of local government for Stowmarket. Formed in 1974 from the Stowmarket Urban District Council, the Town Council serves a population of approximately 20,000 people in four wards. It is made up of 16 elected members backed up by a staff of over 30. The council is located in the historic Milton House.

County Councillors

Sport and leisure

John Peel Centre Centre for Creative Arts

Stowmarket has a

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club, Stowmarket Town, which plays at Greens Meadow. There is also a rugby club located at Chilton Fields, to the north of the town. Chilton fields also hosts a parkrun each Saturday morning where runners, joggers and walkers can complete a free of charge 3-lap multi-terrain 5km course supported by volunteers. A junior parkrun takes place every Sunday morning on the Recreation Ground where 4-14 year olds can participate for free, cheered on by volunteers. A running club called Stowmarket Striders welcomes runners of all abilities to join and holds several running events each year. Stowmarket is home to a handful of gyms and also boasts its own

leisure centre A leisure centre, sports centre, or recreation centre is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and provided by the local government authority, where people can engage in a variety of sports and exercise, and keep fit. Typical facilit ...

complete with swimming pools, climbing wall, bowls green, gym, and artificial turf football pitch. The town has several grassroots clubs playing various sports. The Regal Theatre cinema has been in operation in the town centre for more than fifty years, offering films, concerts and theatre productions. The former

corn exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

underwent a £1 million refurbishment in 2012 to become a music venue, art gallery and theatre named the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts. It is named after the late influential DJ and broadcaster who lived in nearby

Great Finborough Great Finborough is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England; about south west of Stowmarket and near one of the sources of the River Gipping. It has two schools, a pub and an active church. In ...

Climate

Stowmarket has a maritime climate type as is typical for the bulk of the British Isles.

Wattisham Wattisham is a village and civil parish near to the town of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. From the 2011 Census the population of the parish was 110, according to the Office for National Statistics, included in the civil parish of Hitcham. Wa ...

is the nearest official weather station, about 4 miles south-south-west of Stowmarket town centre. The absolute maximum temperature recorded was during the August 2003 heatwave. In an average year 11.9 days will report a temperature of or above, with the warmest day of the year rising to . The absolute minimum temperature is , set in January 1979, although given online records only date back to 1960; it is likely the winter of 1947 saw lower temperatures. In an average year, 48.3 air frosts can be expected. Sunshine, averaging over 1,635 hours a year, is amongst the highest for inland areas of Britain. Annual rainfall totals average below 575mm, with over 1mm of rain falling on 109.4 days. All averages refer to the observation period 1971–2000.

Stowmarket today

Stowmarket has held an annual carnival for over sixty years, with 2023 being celebrated as the 60th. The main event is held in the recreation park featuring a funfair, a procession through the town and local entertainment. The procession starts at Meadlands Social Club and travels via Combs Ford, Ipswich Road, The Regal, Ipswich Street, Market Place, Tavern Street and Finborough Road, ending in Recreation Road. For the first time in many years, Stowmarket Carnival was free to attend in 2023, making it accessible to all. Stowmarket Carnival is run by a team of volunteers. Stowmarket also plays host to the Stow-Fest music festival, a live music open air event that takes place annually at Chilton Fields in the north of Stowmarket. Since 2010 the town has hosted the Stowblues Festival, organised in partnership with

. The Mix is located on Ipswich Street and is a flagship youth and community centre in Suffolk.

Notable residents

The poet

made regular visits to the town as his tutor, Dr Thomas Young, became vicar of Stowmarket in 1628. Other notable residents included political writer

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...

, who spent time as minister at the Stowmarket Independent Church; and singer / West End actress,

Kerry Ellis Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at La ...

, who was brought up in the nearby village of

Haughley Haughley is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The village is located northwest of the town of Stowmarket, overlooking the River Gipping, Gipping valley, next to the A14 road (England), A14 corridor. Th ...

and attended

Delia Smith Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a direct style. One of the best-known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers to bec ...

also resides nearby in Combs. Stowmarket has produced professional footballers,

James Scowcroft James Benjamin Scowcroft (born 15 November 1975) is an English retired footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a European Scout for Crystal Palace. Scowcroft began his career at Ipswich Town, graduating from the club's academy. ...

, who played for the local junior sides and

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

, among others. Professional wrestler Neil Faith has lived in Stowmarket. Sally Eastall, who competed in the 1992 Olympics marathon, was born in Stowmarket. The poet

George Crabbe George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. In the 177 ...

went to school in the town. The amateur astronomers A. Grace Cook and J. P. M. Prentice lived in the town. Gareth Snell, MP for

Stoke-on-Trent Central Stoke-on-Trent Central is a constituency in Staffordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Gareth Snell of the Labour Party, who had previously represented the constituency between 2017 and 2019. He succe ...

, is from Stowmarket. Murder victim Matthew Pyke grew up in Stowmarket.

In popular culture

Host Planet Earth ''Host Planet Earth'' was a BBC radio serial consisting of six half-hour episodes which were originally broadcast on the Light Programme between July and September 1967. It has since been rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Electronic sound and music ...

'', by Colin Cooper, is largely set around a fictional rocket launch site near Stowmarket.

References

External links

Stowmarket Town Council

Stowmarket Area Guide

Stowmarket History and Heritage

Stowmarket Flyer (Local News – Printed Monthly and Online

Stowmarket Sport (Grassroots coverage of sports, clubs and teams in a three-mile radius of Stowmarket)

Stowmarket Church (St. Peter and St. Mary Stowmarket)
{{authority control Market towns in Suffolk Mid Suffolk District Towns in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk