Barton Mills
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Barton Mills is a village and civil parish in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, England. The village is on the south bank of the River Lark. According to Eilert Ekwall the meaning of the village name is Corn farm by the mill. Another possible meaning is that the village was originally called Little Barton, a village with a water mill, but over time the travellers from London to Norwich used Little Barton as a half way house. Not knowing the real name for the village it affectionately became known as the Barton Mills. Hence the modern name we know now.
The Domesday Book records the population of Barton Mills in 1086 to be 24. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 867.
The village is near the Fiveways Roundabout, at which the A11 trunk road becomes single carriageway.
The village was once the holiday retreat for Alexander Fleming, and there is a plaque on the wall outside his country home in the main street.
Barton Mills also enjoys celebration of the annual Scarecrow Festival, held in July. The main road through the village is closed to traffic (except to residents) and a two day-long festival which includes musical bands, food, dancing, car boot sales at the local playing fields, and of course, the viewing of scarecrows created by any resident who wished to do so. This festival has also been featured in Guinness Book of World Records, boasting the most scarecrows ever built at any one time.
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