Long Melford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Long Melford | ||
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| Statistics | ||
| Population: | ≈4,500 | |
| Ordnance Survey | ||
| OS grid reference: | TL8646 | |
| Administration | ||
| District: | Babergh | |
| Shire county: | Suffolk | |
| Region: | East of England | |
| Constituent country: | England | |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom | |
| Other | ||
| Ceremonial county: | Suffolk | |
| Historic county: | Suffolk | |
| Services | ||
| Police force: | Suffolk Police | |
| Fire and rescue: | Suffolk | |
| Ambulance: | East of England | |
| Post office and telephone | ||
| Post town: | SUDBURY | |
| Postal district: | CO10 | |
| Dialling code: | 01787 | |
| Politics | ||
| UK Parliament: | South Suffolk | |
| European Parliament: | East of England | |
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Long Melford (or Melford, as it is known colloquially) is a large, ancient village in the county of Suffolk, England, on the border with Essex, which is marked by the River Stour, approximately 16 miles from Colchester and 14 miles from Bury St. Edmunds.
Its name is derived from the nature of the village's layout (originally concentrated along a 3 mile stretch of a single road) and the Mill ford crossing the Chad Brook (a subsidiary of the River Stour).
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[edit] History
The area now occupied by Long Melford has been occupied since at least 100 B.C.. The village's layout was defined in Roman times, with the empire building two roads thorough Melford, he main one running from Chelmsford through to Pakenham.
The village is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 lists the manor Long Melford belonged to as an estate of 600 hectares, belonging to the Abbey of St.Edmundsbury. The, then, neighbouring Manor of Kentwell is also recorded.
[edit] Holy Trinity Church
Long Melford is fairly unusual for a village in that it has a parish church of dimensions more suited to a cathedral. Holy Trinity, towards the Northern end of the village, boasts a celebrated example of a stained glass three hares motif.
[edit] Stately Homes
The village contains two stately homes (Kentwell Hall and Melford Hall), both in excellent states of repair, all built from the proceeds of the wool trade in the Middle Ages.
[edit] Transport
Long Melford once had a railway station on the Stour Valley Line, but this closed in March 1967 when the line was cut back to Sudbury. It is connected to several large towns by bus, notably Sudbury, Colchester, Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Ipswich.
