Kedington is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located between the towns of Clare and Haverhill in the south-west of Suffolk.

Kedington
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Kedington
Kedington is located in Suffolk
Kedington
Kedington
Location within Suffolk
Population1,849 (2011)
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHaverhill
Postcode districtCB9
Dialling code01440
List of places
UK
England
Suffolk
52°05′35″N 0°29′13″E / 52.093°N 0.487°E / 52.093; 0.487
Kedington Village Sign

History

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Known as Kidituna in the Domesday Book (1086), there were 280 people living there at that time. Part of it was formerly in Essex. The puritan, Thomas Barnardiston studied under Calvin in Geneva during the reign of Queen Mary I, but returned to Kedington after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558 and the consequent Elizabethan Religious Settlement.[1]

Church of St Peter and St Paul

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Kedington's church, St Peter and St Paul, is one of the historical treasures of East Anglia, dating from the late 13th century. However, the church is built on top of a Roman villa, the remains of which can be viewed under small trap doors located in the pews towards the back of the nave. There is an Anglo-Saxon stone cross located above the altar on the east wall of the church. This was found near to the church and is believed to be from a church dating from Saxon times. Kedington comes in the top rank of small English churches and is renowned for its unmodernised interior and Barnardiston tombs. John Betjeman understandably christened Kedington ' a village Westminster Abbey'.

The Anglican minister, Samuel Fairclough (1594-1677) was born nearby in Haverhill and was appointed rector in 1629. However in 1662, following the Archbishop of Canterburypassage of the Act of Uniformity, Fairclough was ejected for non-conformity[2] and replaced by John Tillotson (1630-1694), who served in the role 1663-1664 and went on to become Archbishop of Canterbury.

Notable residents

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References

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  1. ^ "Sir Thomas Barnardiston". geni_family_tree. Geni.com. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  2. ^ Page, Augustine (1644). A topographical and genealogical history of the County of Suffolk. Ipswich: Frederick Pawsey.
  • Niklaus Mikaelson, Suffolk, in The Buildings of England series
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  Media related to Kedington at Wikimedia Commons