Whatfield is a village 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 ...

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. Located around north of Hadleigh, it is part of Babergh district.

Origin of name

Skeat, in his 1913 ''The Place-Names of Suffolk'', says this:

Spelt ''Whatefield'', Ipm.; ''Quaterfield'', H.R (with ''qu'' for ''wh''); ''Gawatfelda'', D.B. p.23. A.S. form Hwaete-feld; meaning "wheat field." Though A.S. has not this precise compound on record, we find hwaeteland, "wheat-land" and feld as a suffix. Whatfield was sometimes called Wheatfield (see The Beauties of England). "This Town is chiefly remarkable for growing the most excellent Seed-Wheat"; Kirby.

Geography

The Calves Wood, a County Wildlife Site (CWS) in the north of the parish, is classed as ancient woodland, whilst the parish's south-western border is delineated by the River Brett. The parish council holds two meadows and a piece of rough woodland in trust for the villagers. The woodland is on the left-hand side of a pleasant walk down to the river. The first meadow, known as Buckle's Meadow, or Buckledees Meadow by some older parishioners, was purchased in the 1960s with money raised in the village and a grant. Access to the site, which is a county wildlife site, is by public footpath from Rectory Road. The second meadow, also accessible by public footpath, is Hunty's Vale and was the kind gift to the village by the sisters Edith and Francis Vale who were parishioners. A programme of conservation is on-going to maintain and improve the area for plants, animals and birds as well as being a pleasant place to walk. The village was awarded the title Suffolk Village of the Year 2014 in a competition organised by the Suffolk Association of Local Councils, Radio Suffolk, ''

East Anglian Daily Times The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich. History The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August ...

'' and Network Power, to acknowledge the community spirit amongst the residents of this small village and how Whatfield CEVCP School integrates with the village.

St Margaret's Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St Margaret is a small church dating from the 13th and 14th century that has been modified and improved several times over the centuries. The church has been a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

since 23 January 1958. The south wall has a commemorative plaque to George Arthur Falconer (1894–1981), who was H. M. Ambassador to Nepal and High Sheriff of Suffolk. There is also a large marble memorial plaque, inscribed in Latin, to William Vesey who died on 21 June 1699 aged 50 and his wife Elizabeth. At the rear of the church is a large

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

for Vesey. There is also a large marble plaque to George Clubbe, Rector of Whatfield, and father of John Clubbe. The benches are mostly Victorian, but one at least dates from 1589 and is engraved with the name "John Wilson".

Whatfield Hall

Whatfield Hall is a timber-framed and plastered two-story building, possibly of the 16th or 17th century. Since 10 July 2008 it has been a Grade II listed building.

Other amenities

* Watfield

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

Hall * Whatfield

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Babergh District Civil parishes in Suffolk Cosford Hundred