Welcome to Bredfield
CLICK FOR 2021 CENSUS DATAIntroduction
Bredfield is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is situated just off the A12, two miles north of Woodbridge. Another village, Dallinghoo, is to the north, and to the west is Boulge, a small hamlet. The population of Bredfield at the 2001 census was 308 (including 10 students living outside the village), the population increasing to 340 at the 2011 Census.The first mention of Bredfield is in Little Domesday in 1086, as Brēde Felda (or various permutations thereof) in Old English, meaning "broad clearing". The historic building Bredfield House, the birthplace of poet and writer Edward FitzGerald, used to be situated in the village; however, it was damaged during World War II and has since been demolished. There is a historic non-denominational chapel (built in 1902) and a historic parish church (St Andrew's, dating from the 13th century). The Castle Inn public house has stood in the village since at last 1808 and remains a centre of village social life. The village primary school, which also served surrounding villages, opened in 1853 and closed in 1986, and a number of its former pupils are still resident in the village. Like many small villages, Bredfield was unable to sustain not only the school but also a privately run grocery shop, the last one also closing in 1986. However, the villagers got together and started a community shop, initially in a portacabin but eventually moving into a purpose-built extension to the village hall. A further example of the practical expression of the community spirit in the village is the recent establishment of an award-winning Jubilee Meadow conservation area and community orchard, development of which is ongoing.There are several small businesses in the village, which is surrounded by farmland. Bredfield is the likely real world location of Dr. Rant/ Mr. Eldred's house who are both characters who appear in the Tractate Middoth a short ghost story by M.R. James first published in More Ghost Stories
Parish Information
Parish statistics
Area |
448 hectares |
---|---|
Population |
315 (2021) |
Density |
70 people/km2 |
Mean age |
45.7 |
Ward |
Carlford & Fynn Valley |
District |
Suffolk Coastal |
Postcodes |
IP12, IP13 |
ONS ID |
E04009377 |
Council
Contact details for Bredfield Parish Council, including current councillors, precept data and election results.
Education
View educational establishments in Bredfield Parish. Data includes OFSTED rating and current appointed governors.
Business
Business directory listing local businesses operating within Bredfield Parish.
Planning
View recent planning applications submitted for Bredfield Parish.
Property
Price paid data for all property sold in Bredfield Parish since 2018. Includes average prices for each property type.
Heritage
Local heritage sites, historic churches, heritage pubs plus local heritage initiatives for Bredfield Parish.
Local News
Hosted and licensed by Ipswich Star
Suffolk County Council cuts buses to villages near Ipswich
Published: 13th Apr 2024
Hosted and licensed by East Anglian Daily Times
Storm Babet causes severe flooding across all of Suffolk
Published: 20th Oct 2023
Hosted and licensed by The Independent
Reviewed: A former farm in Suffolk that pulls out all the stops
Published: 4th Nov 2016