Grundisburgh Guide

e d i u G

THE

GRUNDISBURGH

Village Guide for Residents, Businesses and Visitors

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contents

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Editor’s WORD

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Introduction The first Grundisburgh Guide was published in 1987, the second in 1994,the third in 1998, and the fourth in 2008 so it was high time that a fifth was published but this time it is being published “on line� only?????

This will enable this latest edition to be easily kept up to date and make it more widely accessible.

A great deal has happened in Grundisburgh in the past ten years. Sadly many old Grundisburgh residents, who contributed so much to village life have passed on but we have welcomed many new comers to our community. It is pleasing to see how so many of them soon integrated and are taking an active role in our community.

We still have a better balanced community than many villages and enjoy the facilities such as a village hall, churches, shops, post office, school, pub, bus service that many lost long ago. The fact that we have 40 ?? flourishing voluntary organisations speaks volumes for Grundisburgh’s sense of community.

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ABOUT

GRUNDISBURGH One of the most sought after villages in Suffolk, Grundisburgh is just six miles from Ipswich and three from Woodbridge. It is not just a pretty picture postcard village, but a real lively community with a broad spread of population including lots of families with young children. Because Grundisburgh provides services for surrounding smaller villages, its nearly ???1,500 inhabitants enjoy amenities which a village of this size could not sustain on its own.

There are over 40??clubs and groups: religious, sporting and cultural, catering for both young and old. These are listed further on in the Guide (and kept up to date on ??). The village radiates from a central Green surrounded by a Church, a Victorian school building, shops and pub.

The Green, criss-crossed by narrow paths, is divided by the Gull, a tributary of the River Lark. The river is spanned here by two fords and two bridges. This is the heart of the village and gives it much of its unique character and appeal.

The village is very proud of its Primary School and Early Years Centre (?is it ok to call the ymca centre this), which make Grundisburgh particularly attractive

to families. . The village has 27 listed buildings in all, including the Grade 1 listed St.Mary’s Church and a Grade 2 Gilbert Scott telephone kiosk on The Green. These can be viewed on https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/ england/grundisburgh-suffolk-coastalsuffolk#.W3aW4vZFyUl

St.Mary’s Church has overlooked

The Green since the late 13th Century.

The view of it across The Green has long been a favorite subject with painters. Its brick tower houses a twelve bell peal (one of only two in Suffolk), a 19th century clock and a sundial calibrated to show the time simultaneously in Grundisburgh, Nova Scotia and Moscow. An imposing art deco war memorial stands in front of the churchyard.

The bells are said to have the lightest peal of twelve in any church in the world . The popularity of ringing them caused the tower to be strengthened in 1949 with a steel frame. Inside, the main feature is a magnificent double hammer beam roof with 58 carved angels. There are also three medieval wall paintings, including a magnificent St.Christopher, which were uncovered in the 1950’s.

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After the primary school moved from the Victorian listed building to badly needed new premises, the redundant building was imaginatively converted into homes.

There are eight flats for older residents with eight new houses behind for young families.

In 1997 the parish council was very concerned at the acute shortage of affordable housing to buy or rent in Grundisburgh and Culpho. This was a very worrying situation for many residents, often young people who were born and wish to continue to live in their village. There seemed little hope of the situation changing with recent developments comprising mainly executive type properties, way outside their price range, and no rented accommodation planned ?the latest one has 8 rented).

The council contacted the Rural Housing Trust, a charity that specialises in helping village communities provide affordable housing for local people.

After years of patient work the Ablitts Meadow development was built, on land provided by the Diocese, in three phases. It comprises twenty 2/3 bed houses, two 2 bed bungalows and two 1 bed flats and was opened by the Bishop of St.Edmundsbury & Ipswich in July 2006.

HRH. The Princess Royal, President of the Rural Housing Trust, visited Ablitts Meadow in December 2004.

The development is called after the site’s pre second world war name, when it was rough grass and a favourite place for gypsies to camp. At the bottom of the meadow was a pond where the gypsies would cut willow for peg making. The Ablitt family were farmers

and very early farm contractors. Two Ablitt sons died in the 1st World War and are commemorated on the village war memorial. So the development commemorates an old village family, a long forgotten field name and two brothers who lost their lives in the service of their country.

Grundisburgh has now nearly one fifth of its housing either housing association rented or shared equity - a far higher percentage than most villages.

The Parish Rooms, opposite the

Dog Inn, stand on the site of the parish schoolroom which operated from the early 1800’s until the Education Act of 1870 set in motion a programme of school building to stem the alarming illiteracy rate. When the school next to the church was built in 1875, the old schoolroom became the village club and reading room, open to men only, age 15 and over. It closed in 1941 and became the Home Guard HQ. After the war there were many years of neglect until extensive refurbishment in 1986. Since then it has provided a venue for village groups, and was for many years the doctors’ surgery until the purpose built surgery opened in Charles Avenue in 1996.

The Baptist Chapel in Chapel

Lane is one of the earliest examples of a dissenters’ meeting house. Its historical and architectural importance was highlighted by local historian the late Hilda Tuck in her biographical novel on John Thompson who built the Chapel in 1798 and whose eloquence won about one third of the population to the Baptist faith by 1825.

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The Village Hall was built in 1925,

at a cost of £600, on land given by the then Lord Cranworth to the Women’s Institute. In 1962 it came under the care of a management committee comprising the users, parish council and villagers. It is in frequent use for meetings, dances and plays but is now considered by many residents to be inadequate for the current population and interests. (? A new hall on the site facing the current hall is being planned)

Grundisburgh Hall, the home of

the Cranworth family, was built in the early 17th century and sits in beautiful parkland just outside the main village on the Ipswich Road. It has a long and fascinating history. One 18th century owner had to sell it to pay his gambling debts - the buyer was a Mr Dillingham whose great grandson became the first Lord Cranworth. The second baron’s Garter banner of three leopard faces can be seen in St. Mary’s Church and is used on the village sign on The Green. .

His grandson, the third baron and Lord of the Manor, lives in nearby Boulge and his son, Sacha and family live in Grundisburgh Hall.

Another of the village’s notable houses is Basts, a spectacularly timbered medieval manor house which features in

the guide to historic houses in Suffolk.

This was rebuilt by Thomas Wall, a salt merchant, in the 16th Century and later enlarged Between Basts and the church is Ford House, an eccentric castellated building put up in 1847 by the rector as stables for his horses and only converted into a house in the 1980’s.

Grundisburgh was once an almost self-contained community and one can still find locations of the basket maker, butcher, children’s home, forge, poor house, post mill, boarding schools and the numerous pubs that thrived in Victorian times.

The Holme, at the corner of Meeting Lane and The Green, was a nursing home, after it had been used as a children’s home from 1908 to 1938.

The bakery was next door and opposite was a blacksmiths. The forge itself has been moved to the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket. The Olde Forge Stores was also a blacksmith and wheelwrights.

Rose Cottage in Lower Road was the Poor House until 1768 when its 13 inmates were taken to the new workhouse in Nacton.

The village has six areas of public green space. One of the very small areas, opposite Basts. was once the Weir

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Pond. This was filled in, not without controversy, in 1934 as it had become a popular dumping ground for rubbish.

A new green has been created as part of a new housing development on Lyttleton Meadow, named after the family who once owned it and who lived in Finndale House on the other side of the road. George Lyttleton, a retired Eton schoolmaster, moved into the village directly after the war. After his death, six volumes of letters which he had exchanged during retirement with an old pupil, Rupert Hart-Davis, were published.

His son Humphrey, who made his name in jazz and on radio, used to practice his trumpet in the house, while one of the daughters ran a riding school from the stables.

A network of well-marked footpaths is shown on a large map in St. Mary’s Church porch and in Wilfred George’s pamphlets on sale in the Post Office. still available?? If so where sold) A leaflet, produced as part of Grundisburgh’s Millennium celebrations featuring some walks around Grundisburgh, is available free from the Parish Clerk. The best way to discover Grundisburgh, and the beautiful countryside that surrounds it, is by foot.

With quick and easy access to Ipswich and Woodbridge, the Heritage Coast, and the trunk roads to London, Norwich and the Midlands, it is no wonder that Grundisburgh is a very popular place to live and attracts many visitors.

Sources of further information • Parish council website: http://grundisburgh.suffolk.cloud • Parish Clerk - John Ager, 8 Post Mill Close, Grundisburgh, 01473 735541.

• Grundisburgh & District News is published four times a year. Copies are distributed door to door within the ??

18 villages it serves, and are available in village shops and on line at www.grundisburghnews.org.uk.

• A number of books on local history about Grundisburgh and the surrounding area are available from Wiliams Store and local bookshops. These include: ‘Grundisburgh - The History of a Suffolk Village’ by Peter Bishop, published

by Silent Books, Swavesy, Cambrid ge.

‘200 Years of God’s Work at Grundisburgh Baptist Church’ and ‘Pernicious Dissenters’ by Hilda Tuck, the story of John Thompson, the founder of Grundisburgh Baptist Church. Copies

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VILLAGE LIFE Grundisburgh is not just a pretty picture postcard village, but a real lively community with a broad spread of population including lots of families with young children.

Because Grundisburgh provides services for surrounding smaller villages, its nearly 1,500 inhabitants enjoy amenities which a village of this size could not sustain on its own.

There are over?? 40 clubs and groups: religious, sporting and cultural, catering for both young and old. These are listed further on in the guide.

The village hall and parish rooms are constantly in use, providing a venue for many of these groups’ activities. The

playing field pavilion - well equipped with bar, recreation and changing rooms - is a third possibility for village events. Baptist Chapel meeting room is also used.

The village is very proud of its primary school and early years centre?????, which make Grundisburgh particularly attractive to families.

The seven and a half acre playing field has two football pitches, three tennis courts and a children’s play area. It is owned by Fields in Trust and managed by a local committee. It is also the venue for the Village Show - an event in the best traditions of English village life with a huge marquee housing horticultural and other exhibits, from paintings to home baking and preserves, entered by adults and children. Other village groups run stalls and activities at the show to raise money for themselves.

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DIRECTORY Grundisburgh is very well served by its shops and pub.

Williams’ Store on The Green is a veritable Aladdin’s cave. Another guide would be needed to list the vast range of hardware, clothes, garden supplies, sweets and electrical goods stocked in this remarkable shop. It now also runs coffee shop which is proving popular The village is very lucky to still have a convenience store which now houses the post office, The Dog Inn owners Charles and Elvira Rogers run this award winning free house? and have gained a reputation for a warm welcoming pub serving excellent food, much of it locally sourced, which attracts customers from miles around.

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Doctors' Surgery Grundisburgh Surgery is situated in purpose built consulting rooms in Charles Avenue and seek to retain the best traditions of village based medicine and includes a dispensing service for prescriptions. Surgery times are included in the Public Services section.

Opening Hours

Contact:

Williams Stores

Grundisburgh Surgery is situated in purpose built consulting rooms in Charles Avenue and seek to retain the best traditions of village based medicine and includes a dispensing service for prescriptions. Surgery times are included in the Public Services section.

Contact:

Opening Hours

Grundisburgh Dog Pub Grundisburgh Surgery is situated in purpose built consulting rooms in Charles Avenue and seek to retain the best traditions of village based medicine and includes a dispensing service for prescriptions. Surgery times are included in the Public Services section.

Contact:

Opening Hours

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Forge Stores and Post Office Grundisburgh Surgery is situated in purpose built consulting rooms in Charles Avenue and seek to retain the best traditions of village based medicine and includes a dispensing service for prescriptions. Surgery times are included in the Public Services section.

Opening Hours

Doctors' Surgery Grundisburgh Surgery is situated in purpose built consulting rooms in Charles Avenue and seek to retain the best traditions of village based medicine and includes a dispensing service for prescriptions. Surgery times are included in the Public Services section.

Opening Hours

Doctors' Surgery Grundisburgh Surgery is situated in purpose built consulting rooms in Charles Avenue and seek to retain the best traditions of village based medicine and includes a dispensing service for prescriptions. Surgery times are included in the Public Services section.

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Opening Hours

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