Athelington

Athelington is a small village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about 12 miles (19 km) south-east from Diss. The name is derived from the Old English word Ætheling. The population of the village was less than 50 at the 2011 Census and is included in the civil parish of Redlingfield, in 2005 the population was estimated as 30.

Athelington
St Peter's Church, Athelington
Athelington Location within Suffolk
Area	2.00 km2 (0.77 sq mi)
Population	30 (2005 Est.)[1]
• Density	15/km2 (39/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TL210710
District	Mid Suffolk
Shire county	Suffolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Eye
Postcode district	IP21
Dialling code	01728
Police	Suffolk
Fire	Suffolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
List of places UK England Suffolk 52.294°N 1.235°E / 52.294; 1.235

The villages name means 'Farm/settlement of the prince(s)'.^[2]

The village is first recorded as Elyngtone in 942 in the will of Bishop Theodred granting lands to a community dedicated to St Æthelberht in Hoxne.^[3] It was not recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.

There are six listed buildings in the parish^[4] with the church of St Peter being II* listed^[5] and the remaining five being grade II listed including the 17th Century Athelington Hall.^[6]

Thatched cottage at White Hall Farm

Church of St Peter

The church of St Peter is medieval in origin and was majorly restored both internally and externally in 1873–1874. The early 14th-century nave and chancel are made of flint rubble with stone dressings, with the 15th-century tower being constructed of knapped flint with an admixture of red brick. There is a bare-faced flint porch which was added in 1873 with a memorial inscription.^[7][8] Three bells hang in the tower all cast in 1450 by John Magges of Norwich and are currently unringable, the largest weigh approximately 4.5 cwt and has a diameter of 28 inches. ^[9]

Governance

The parish was part of the historic Hoxne Hundred. Between 1894 and 1934 it was in Hoxne Rural District before transferring to Hartismere Rural District which in turn was abolished in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. Today Athelington lies in the Mid Suffolk District of the shire county of Suffolk. The four tiers of government & their respective representatives are:^[10]

• Central Suffolk and North Ipswich UK Parliament constituency, Dan Poulter
• Suffolk County Council Hoxne & Eye division, Guy McGregor^[11]
• Mid Suffolk District Council Hoxne and Worlingworth ward, Matthew Hicks^[12]
• Horham and Athelington Parish Council with 7 elected parish councilors.

Historical writings

In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described the village as:^[13]

ATHELINGTON, or Allington, a parish in Hoxne district, Suffolk; 5 miles SE by E of Eye, and 8 NW of Framlingham r. station. Post Town, Horham under Wickham-Market. Acres, 487. Real property, £926. Pop., 115. Houses, 24. The property is not much divided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £155. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is good.

In 1887, John Bartholomew also wrote an entry on Athelington in the Gazetteer of the British Isles with a much shorter description:^[14]

Athelington, parish, East Suffolk, 5 miles SE. of Eye and 7 m. NW. of Framlingham railway. station., 487 acres., population. 118.

Population change

Athelington from 1801 to 1961
Year	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1881	1891	1901	1911	1921	1931	1951	1961
Population	70	83	100	129	111	117	118	106	87	77	54	71	38	47
Number of Houses	-	-	-	14	26	26	27	23	20	-	14	14	12	15
Source: A Vision of Britain Through Time[15]

External links

• Media related to Athelington at Wikimedia Commons
• Horham and Athelington Parish Council

References

1. "SCC 2005 Population Est" (PDF). 19 December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
2. "Key to English Place-names".
3. "Electronic Sawyer S1526". esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
4. "Listed Buildings in Athelington, Mid Suffolk, Suffolk". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
5. Stuff, Good. "Church of St Peter, Athelington, Suffolk". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
6. Stuff, Good. "Athelington Hall, Athelington, Suffolk". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
7. "CHURCH OF ST PETER, Athelington - 1032562 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
8. "Suffolk Churches". www.suffolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
9. "The Suffolk Guild of Ringers, Athelington Bells". www.suffolkbells.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
10. "Representatives of Athelington". Retrieved 30 May 2020.
11. "Guy McGregor | Suffolk County Council". www.suffolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
12. "Councillor details - Matthew Hicks". baberghmidsuffolk.moderngov.co.uk. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
13. "ATHELINGTON, or Allington | As described in John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
14. "Athelington | As described in John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
15. "Athelington CP/AP through time | Census tables with data for the Parish-level Unit". www.visionofbritain.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.