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Crowfield
Crowfield Village Sign
Crowfield Location within Suffolk
District	Mid Suffolk
Shire county	Suffolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	IP6
Dialling code	Both 01449 and 01473 are in use in Crowfield

Crowfield Village

Geographically Crowfield village is approximately 9 miles (14 km) NNE from Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk. The village is estimated to have around 200 households.

The earliest record of the village was in Anglo-Saxon times (see Etymology below). At that time is was a small settlement at what is now the junction of Church Road and Crowfield Road. There is now only a single dwelling in this location, as over time the village grew along Stone Street and Debenham Road between Coddenham and Pettaugh. This Roman road connected Coddenham, believed to have once been the largest Roman settlement in Suffolk, to Peasenhall. The present-day centre of Crowfield is viewed as the environs of the village hall in Stone Street.

Politically, Crowfield Parish is in the Helmingham and Coddenham Ward, which lies in the District of Mid Suffolk. Nationally, Crowfield lies in the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)

Ecclesiastically, Crowfield Parish is in the Bosmere Deanery of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Bosmere originally "Bosa's mere", is a small lake near Needham Market in the grounds of Bosmere Hall.

Etymology of Name

Over centuries, the name Crowfield has been modified and its origins are other than they appear. That is, the village name has nothing to do with crows.

In the Domesday Book of 1086 (or more accurately in East Anglia, Little Domesday), Crowfield is recorded in Latin as Crofelda. However, the name has Anglo-Saxon origins. In his book The Place Names of Suffolk (1912), Walter William Skeat writes: “Crowfield. To the N.E. of Needham Market. The name has been modified, and its original sense was other than it seems to be. Spelt Groffeud (for Crojfeld), Copinger also records the forms Groffeld and Croftfield. All of these suggest an Anglo Saxon form croft-feld, with the sense of 'croft-field'; i.e. a small enclosure.” This suggests that Crowfield came about though translation errors and what toponomy terms "false analogy".

Village Sign

In 2012, the villagers of Crowfield decided erect a sign in order that the village could join the list of over 350 Suffolk places with an ornamental sign. It was decided that the sign should follow tradition and have as its main feature a a significant feature of the village, plus other motifs to represent things to be found in Crowfield. And, finally it should commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.

Villagers decided that the main feature of the sign would be All Saints church as it has stood in the village for over 600 years. Other motifs to be included are: Arable fields, to represent agriculture in Crowfield. Grapes and Wheat, from the stained glass windows of All Saints church. A windmill, to represent Crowfield windmill. A Cart Wheel, to represent agriculture and that there was once a wheelwrights in the village. ER II 2012, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of H.M Queen Elizabeth II.

• Grapes and Wheat
  Grapes and Wheat
• Wheel and Windmill
  Wheel and Windmill

It is expected to be able to formerly unveil the sign sometime in 2013.

Horswold

Little Domesday also mentions a place called Horswold. It has since disappeared but appears have been located on Stone Street in the area of Gosbeck Wood, and this would put Horswold within the present-day parish boundary of Crowfield. As "wold" is an Old English term for a forest or an area of woodland on high ground, this is quite plausible as Gosbeck Wood is on ground that is higher than its surroundings. Horswold is described as being in the Bosmere Hundred, with a total population of one household consisting of one 'free-man'. It would have been quite meagre as the tax assessed was 0.4 geld units.

All Saints Church

Crowfield, All Saints is a Church of England church in the Deanery of Bosmere, which is in the diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Although once a Chapel of Ease to St Marys, Coddenham, it is independent and has its own Parochial Church Council.

All Saints Church

Lying away from the present-day village centre, the church remains an important symbol to the village of Crowfield.

The church, and its curtilage, are listed in the National Heritage List for England, list entry number 1181164, Grade II*.

Location

The church is located at National Grid Reference: TM 14232 57780, outside of the present-day centre of Crowfield village, near the junction of Church Road, Crowfield Road and Spring Lane. From the road junction, the church can be found at the end of a 100m cart track. Access by foot or bicycle is straightforward but there is limited access for motor vehicles.

To reach the church by road, follow Church Road from Crowfield village, Crowfield Road from Stonham Aspal, or Spring Lane from Coddenham. The church is not on any public transport route.

The entrance to the church from the road is at grid reference 52°10'34.38"N, 1° 8'1.39"E

History

At the end of the 20th century, there had been a place of worship on this site for 600 years. The original church, the nave, was built during the 14th century. The chancel was added in the 15th century and in the 19th century an extensive restoration took place. Since then, with the exception of renovating the spirelet in 2004, only essential maintenance work has been undertaken.

14th Century

Dating from the 14th century, the nave is stone built, with a stone tiled roof.

15th Century

The chancel, added in the 15th century is timber framed and like the nave has a stone tiled roof. It was probably at this time that the bell turret was replaced by a cupola with a domed top, situated towards the west end of the nave.

The south porch also dates from the 15th century. It is timber framed and is an example of the mediaeval carpenters art. Inside, the porch is spanned by fine arch-braces, the spandrels of which are carved with foliage, faces, flowers, wheels and other motifs.

19th Century

The Church prior to the 1862 restoration

We are given a hint of the state of the church in the early 19th century from the notes of the ecclesiologist, David Elisha Davy, who, visiting in 1824, commented that the nave and chancel roofs were hidden by plaster ceilings and the nave was filled with a uniform set of box-pews. The pulpit was painted white. The ancient stone font was small and its bowl was square. At this time the bell-cupola was empty and the bell hung in the porch. Several of the chancel windows were blocked, the porch was covered with plaster and the bell-turret had been replaced by an attractive cupola with a domed top.

In 1862 a restoration took place at the behest of Lady Middleton, at her own expense, in memory of her husband, Sir William Fowle Middleton 2nd Baronet (1786-1860); one of the Middleton Baronets. What you see on entering the church now is the result of that extensive restoration in 1862. The architect was E. C. Hakewill. The contractors appointed for the work were Mr. Gibbons and Mr. English, both from local firms. The woodcarvings inside the church were executed by Mr. James Wormald and Mr. William Polly.

21st Century

A minor restoration took place in 2004, the main feature of which was the repair of the spirelet and the addition of a weather vane, on which sits the motif of a crow.

Parish Register

The cover of the 1543 Coddenham parish register

The parish register began in England in 1538 when Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's Vicar General, ordered that each parish priest must keep a book, and that the Parson, in the presence of the wardens, must enter all the baptisms, marriages and burials of the previous week. Many parishes ignored this order, so it was repeated in 1547. From 1539 to 1755, Crowfield did not have its own parish register. Births, marriages and deaths in the village were recorded in the Coddenham Register. From 1756, Crowfield was given its own register.

The Cover of the first parish register for Coddenham (pictured) is dated 1543, suggesting that Coddenham was one of the parishes that ignored the order of 1539. On its cover is written:

A.D 1539 is the 20th year of Henry 8th.

In 1538, Pesocrial Registers of Baptisms, Burials, & Marriages, are indexed to be made. Henry 8th began the suppression of monasteries.

In the year 1680. Crowfield is stated in the Baptisms Register entry to be in the Parish of Coddenham. GL

There is no information as to who GL was but the note must have been written after 1680.

Crowfield Windmill

Crowfield Windmill is disused. It is located on land adjacent to the village hall recreation ground. The Windmill was originally built as a drainage mill near Great Yarmouth. It was moved to Crowfield c1840 and converted to a corn mill. The mill worked by wind until 1916. An auxiliary engine was used to power the millstones until the mid 1930s.

Crowfield Airfield

Crowfield Airfield is a small airfield with a grass runway lying between Crowfield and Coddenham Green.

External links

• www.crowfield.info (local events and services)
• www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/crowfield.htm

Media related to Crowfield, Suffolk at Wikimedia Commons

Category:Villages in Suffolk Category:Mid Suffolk {{WPE}}