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Baylham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Ipswich and 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Stowmarket. The buildings making up the village begin either side of the B113 road, with the majority following Upper Street and northwards along Church Lane, close to the church, to Glebe Close.

Baylham
Baylham Church
Baylham Location within Suffolk
Population	266 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference	TM106515
District	Mid Suffolk
Shire county	Suffolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Ipswich
Postcode district	IP6
Dialling code	01473
List of places UK England Suffolk 52.128233°N 1.081917°E / 52.128233; 1.081917

History

The earliest evidence of inhabitation in and around Baylham goes back to between 9,000 and 4,000BC, with a 2007-8 excavation in the parish finding a prehistoric pit with flint fragments and ditches, suggesting the presence of a barrow cemetery and possible field system. [2] The remains of Roman fortifications and a possible small settlement have also been discovered.[3]

The earliest recorded settlement has existed at Baylham since at least 1086 and it is listed in the Domesday book as Beleham (meaning "Fair/Gentle Enclosure" in Old English), in the Hundred of Bosmere, formerly under the control of Thegn Ælfric 'of Blakenham' on behalf of Queen Eadgyth.[4] The book records the village as consisting of 37 households and a half (shared) church, making it relatively large for the time, and 20 of these original households consisted of freemen, hosting a mixed pasturage of 130 sheep, 40 pigs and 13 cattle.[5]

Its first recorded Lord was Roger Bigot, a knight loyal to William The Conqueror who was given control of hundreds of locations across Suffolk and Norfolk after the 1066 Norman Conquest.[6], while its chief tenant was William of Bourneville of Eure, whose holdings were primarily in the Hundreds of Bosmere and Cosford.[7] Lordship of the village was passed down through the Earldom of Norfolk until Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk died childless and his lands were escheated to the crown in 1306.

During the black death Baylham is thought to have fared poorly and, despite being part of a broadly prosperous and growing region following the Norman Conquest, just 20 taxpayers were registered in the 1327, a number that would hold steady until the late 16th century. Also during the 14th-15th centuries, the main body of the church was expanded and established.[8]

Through the 15th and 16th centuries, the manorial holding was assigned to Thomas Windsor as of 1479 and upon his death in 1473, would have passed to his eldest son Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor,[9] however by 1626 the Windsor family had been replaced by John Acton (d. 1661).[10] The Actons would remain influential in the area from the 17th-19th centuries, with their principal seat being at Bramford Hall – noted for having 22 hearths in its 1674 heyday.

By the 17th century, the village's name had evolved and appears in John Speed's 1627 map as Baleham. The village's Baylham House Farm (see below) hosted "Smasher" William Dowsing who was resident in the building from at least 1642 to 1661, though the puritan enforcer had closer ties with nearby Coddenham, possibly due to his dislike of then-minister John Bird. Bird was in charge of Baylham Church from 1625-1645 before being ejected for having a second holding in Befordshire. [11]

Fertile mixed farmlands of loam, sandy and clay soils meant that Baylham remained a strongly agriculture-centred village into the 20th century. In 1831 and 1844 55 residents were listed as working the land, with six in retail and one blacksmith, overseen by six farmers out of a population of 238. This number fluctuated only a little through the 19th and 20th centuries, with 215 inhabitants recorded in 1981. While considerable expansion of the number of properties has taken place since the turn of the millennium, this has not been reflected by a sharp rise in residency, with the census of 2011 recording 266 people.

Points of Interest

Baylham is most famous for its old millhouse, built in the early 16th century with a pre-Reformation core, which has been represented in pictures by Graham Bell and David Gentleman and is now a private abode. The associated bridge and watermill are newer constructions, built in the early or mid 18th and 19th centuries respectively.[12]

Nearby is Baylham House Farm, Mill Lane, also known as Baylham Rare Breeds Centre (0.5 miles (0.80 km) northeast from the village) on the other side of the B1113. The 50-acre farm is built on a former Roman site which had included two military forts and a settlement, and while no ruins remain, artifacts are on display in the farm shop. Parts of the farmhouse itself date back to the 16th century, and it was once home to Dowsing.[13]

Baylham Hall, an early 17th century manor house sited west of the main village, is Grade II* listed. Baylham Common is 100 metres west of the church on the other side of the road.

The Church of St Peter

The church is sited at the west end of the village, on a hill just off Church Lane. It was initially constructed in late Romanesque style in the 12th century and had Gothic style windows inserted in the 14th and 15th centuries. Its fittings from this era partially survived both the English Reformation and the later inspection of Dowsing, albeit with damage to animal figures and a symbol of the trilogy.[14]

The church was restored in the 1870s by Revd W E Downes, who commissioned architect Frederick Barnes to carry out the work. Barnes was also responsible for the construction of Needham Market and Stowmarket railway stations. Downes, who acted as rector for 40 years, died in 1899 and was memorialised with a plaque.[15]

Several burial slabs in the church reference the Acton family. Most notable is the monument to William Acton (c. 1684–1744), who was Tory MP for Orford in 1722–27 and 1729–34, as well as High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1739-40.

Two buildings which were originally part of the church estate are the old vicarage to the north of the church and a village school to its south, which taught around 70 pupils from the surrounding villages of Nettestead, Darmsden, Great Blakenham and Lower Baylham. Founded in 1860, Baylham School closed in the late 1960s,[16] and both buildings have since become private residences.[17]

Present Day

Restored in 1997, the village hall can be found on Upper Street. Beyond Baylham Rare Breeds Farm, agricultural enterprises in the area include White Wheat Farm to the north, and Yew Tree and Hill Farm to the south of the village. Other businesses include Baylham Care Centre – an over-65s nursing home supporting up to 55 people – and a garage sited next to the B113. The village's former post office and local shop have been converted to residential use.

Travel

The 88 bus stops at the bottom of the hill. The closest rail station is at Needham Market. It is possible to walk the length of the River Gipping through Claydon to Bramford and Ipswich.

References

External links

Media related to Baylham at Wikimedia Commons

• Baylam village
• Baylham Church
• St Peter
• Rare Breeds Farm
• Surname Balam
• Old Ipswich Map

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