Darsham

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Darsham is a village in Suffolk, England. It is located approximately four miles north east of Saxmundham. The village is bypassed by the A12 and is served by Darsham railway station, which is approximately one mile away from the village centre, on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line.

The name of the village of Darsham derives from Deores Ham – home of the deer. This name is borne out by early reference to local roadways as chaseways. There was hunting in this area as late as the 18th century. Darsham is a mixed community with six farms. The village still has a popular pub The Fox, however over the past few years the village has lost its school, shop and post office.

The garage on the A12, now primarily a petrol station, has a cafe and a well stocked shop. There is also a farm shop, a hand made tile factory, a pottery, a builder, an irrigation contractor, seed and feed merchants, a national chain roadside-restaurant and a cafe. A private nursing home and a cycle hire business provide a service for those who require it.

The village gave its name to the Ham class minesweeper HMS Darsham.

In WW2, Darsham was the site of RAF High Street, situated just off the A145 road to Bramfield and Halesworth, an early radar station part of Chain Home which originated at Bawdsey Manor, in Suffolk.

The High Street radar station had "Type 1 radar", 4 (Receive towers) of 240ft made from wood and five (Transmit towers) of 360ft made of steel. The wood towers stood in a close formation.

The site later became a fireworks factory, (postcode IP17 3QD).

Due to the threat of air-raids, children from the Palmer family from the nearby Park Farm, Thorington were evacated.