| Fornham St Martin | |
St. Martin's parish church in Fornham St. Martin |
|
|
Fornham St Martin
Fornham St Martin shown within Suffolk |
|
| Population | 1,300 [1] |
|---|---|
| District | St Edmundsbury |
| Shire county | Suffolk |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Suffolk | |
Fornham St Martin is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the northern outskirts of Bury St Edmunds off east and west from the A134, in 2005 its population was 1300.[1] Its parish council is shared with neighbouring Fornham St Genevieve, and is known as Fornham St Martin cum St Genevieve Parish Council.
Once having a reputation for "pie-ladies" – women who walked to the abbey in Bury St Edmunds to feed the monks – today it is dominated by modern housing. The village appears on John Speed's 1610 map as "Fernham mertin".
One of the most significant battles in the history of England took place in Fornham Park and the surrounding area in 1173. Scribes of the time variously estimated that between 3000 and 10,000 were slaughtered and lie beneath the fields, woodland and ditches.
Architect Robert Abraham was involved with Fornham Hall in the 19th century. The Hall was occupied by the British Army during the Second World War, and the grounds used for tank maintenance and training. Later on Italian prisoners of war lived at the Hall whilst they worked on local farms in support of UK food production.
Fornham St Martin Church (OS grid TL8566) with King George's playing field across the way at the south end of B1106 to the village.
Near the current Lark Valley Drive, a smock windmill used to stand. It collapsed in 1927.
The village has one public house, the Woolpack, but no shops. Its school closed in the early 1950s.
New houses are being built on Hall Farm to the east of the A134.