Historic Towns and Villages in Suffolk

Hartest is an attractive little village just a few miles north of Glemsford. How attractive? Well, Simon Knott, the mastermind behind the Suffolk Churches website, says, 'East Anglia has plenty of pretty villages, but few of them are as lovely as Hartest' and I have to say, I agree.
Hartest, East Anglia, Suffolk, England

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Haughley is a picturesque village full of historic interest, with thatched cottages, a 12th-century church, and the ruins of a Norman motte and bailey castle set within a wide moat. An underground passage leads from the church to Haughley Hall, once owned by Mary Tudor, and the village post office is arguably the oldest in England.
Haughley, Suffolk, England

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Heritage Highlight: One of the best-preserved Norman castle mottes in England

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Higham is a pretty village in the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are several picturesque thatched and timber-framed houses, and the medieval parish church of St Mary boasts a series of grotesque and humorous wooden corbel heads.
Higham, Suffolk, England

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Heritage Highlight: 13th-century St Mary's church

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The past is ever-present in the small village of Hoxne in north Suffolk. The village will forever be associated with the legend of St Edmund, King and Martyr, who is thought to have been killed here by the Danes in AD 855. At least one chapel to Edmund was built here, and a later Bishop's Palace.
Hoxne, Suffolk, England

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Heritage Highlight: Was this the place where St Edmund was martyred?

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Ipswich was founded in the 7th century, making it the oldest continuously settled town in Britain. Historic highlights include Christchurch Mansion, a Jacobean stately home now operated as a museum, and St Mary le Tower, a superb Perpendicular Gothic church. Ipswich was the birthplace of Cardinal Wolsey, and a statue stands near his birthplace on St Peter's Street.
Ipswich, Suffolk, England

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Heritage Highlight: Possibly the oldest continuously inhabited town in Britain

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Kersey is the quintessential picture-postcard village, and the view across the cobbled ford, up the main street lined with thatched and timber-framed cottages, to the medieval church that overlooks the village, is an iconic Suffolk sight, and one that you will always remember.
Kersey, East Anglia, Suffolk, England

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Kettleburgh is an attractive village in the Deben Valley, with a history going back to the Saxon period. St Andrew's church is a 14th-century building boasting some very good late medieval poppyhead bench ends, and the village is dotted with pretty thatched and timber-framed cottages.
Kettleburgh, Suffolk, England

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Heritage Highlight: St Andrew's church 15th-century bench ends

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Perhaps the best-preserved medieval town in England, Lavenham is famous for its marvellous profusion of timber-framed buildings, which seem to sprout higgledy-piggledy on every corner and twisting lane. Some of the finest of these timber-framed buildings can be found ranged around the market place. Chief among these is the Lavenham Guildhall, now in the care of the National Trust. Another superb medieval survivor is the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, one of the finest 'wool churches' in Britain.
Lavenham, East Anglia, Suffolk, England

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Laxfield is a lovely village in an area of relatively flat land about five miles west of Halesworth. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, it had a population of 250, but there is about four times that number now. In 1226 Laxfield received a market charter; the first village in the area to get such an honour.

Laxfield, East Anglia, Suffolk, England

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Heritage Highlight: Late medieval Guildhall

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The village of Long Melford, Suffolk, is blessed with not one, but two stately homes of exceptional historic interest, and one of the finest medieval 'wool churches' in England. Long Melford's golden age of prosperity was the Middle Ages when local traders like the Clopton and Cordell families made fortunes trading in Suffolk wool.
Long Melford, East Anglia, Suffolk, England

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Heritage Highlight: Two stately homes and a superb medieval church

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