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WANGFORD in 1844, is a large and well-built village, on the Yarmouth road, near a
tributary stream of the river Blythe, 4 miles N.W. of Southwold, 5 1/2 miles E. by
N. of Halesworth, 8 1/2 miles S. by E. of Beccles, and 12 miles N.N.E. of
Saxmundham. Its parish is in two townships,—WANGFORD and HENHAM, the former of
which has 829 acres, and 690 souls, and the latter 128 souls, and about 1500
acres of land, more than half of which is in the extensive Park of Henham Hall,
the elegant seat of the Earl of Stradbroke, who owns most of the parish, and is
lord of the manors. Wangford had formerly a Priory, or Cell of Cluniac monks,
subordinate to Thetford, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is said to have
been founded before the year 1160, by Doudo Asini, steward of the king's
household. It was often seized during the wars with France as alien, but was
made denizen in the 17th of Richard II. At the general dissolution, its revenues
were valued at �30 9s. 5d. per annum, though it had then only a prior and two
monks. It was granted, together with the monastery of Thetford, to Thomas Duke
of Norfolk, whose son sold it in 1612, to Sir John Rous, Kt., an ancestor of the
Earl of Stradbroke, its present owner. It stood on what is now called the Abbey
Lands, but no vestiges of it are extant. Petty Sessions are held at the Angel
Inn on the first Wednesday of every month. The Church (St. Peter) is a small
structure, built partly of flints and partly of brick, and has a modern spire
steeple rising from the north-west angle, and containing five bells. The
interior is neatly fitted up, and has several handsome monuments in memory of
the late Earl of Stradbroke and several of his predecessors. The organ was
purchased in 1839. The Earl of Stradbroke is impropriator of the tithes, and
those dues from land not belonging to him were commuted in 1840 for �93 per
annum. He is also patron of the perpetual curacy, valued in 1835, at �79, and
now enjoyed by the Rev. William French. Here is a Primitive Methodist chapel, built
in 1827. and an Independent chapel, erected in 1831. The small bridge, at the
west end of the village, was built in 1843, after two unsuccessful attempts to
obtain a good foundation. The Town House, consisting of two small tenements,
occupied rent-free by poor widows, has been vested for the use of the poor from
time immemorial. The poor parishioners have a yearly rent-charge of �5, left by
an unknown donor, out of a farm in Wangford, belonging to the Earl of Stradbroke.
Henham township, generally called a hamlet, adjoins Wangford on the west, and
has 128 inhabitants, and about 1500 acres of land, of which 850 acres are in
Henham Park, which is still well-wooded, and has many large oaks, though 1100 of
the latter were cut down in 1842, and sold for �8800. The roads from Blythburgh
to Beccles and Lowestoft bound the park for about two miles on the east and
west; and in the northern part of it, on a pleasant eminence, 4 miles E. by N.
of Halesworth, and W.N.W. of Sonthwold, stands Henham Hall, the elegant mansion
of the Earl of Stradbroke, whose family has resided here more than three
centuries. The present hall is of modern erection, having been built after the
destruction of the old mansion by fire, in May 1773, the loss on which occasion
was estimated at �30,000. Ralph Baynard had the lordships of Henham and
Wangford at the Domesday survey. In the time of Edward I., they belonged to
Robert Lord Kerdeston. About 1440, they passed to the De la Poles; and in the
time of Henry VIII., to the ancient family of Rous, who removed hither from
Dennington, where they had long been seated. In 1660, John Rous, Esq., of
Henham, was created a baronet, and one of his descendants, Sir John Rous, the
6th baronet, was created Baron Rous, of Dennington, in 1796, and Viscount Dunwich and Earl of Stradbroke
in 1821. He died in 1827,and was succeeded by his
eldest son, the present Right Hon. John Edward Cornwallis Rous, Earl Of
Stradbroke, &c, who was born in 1794, and is colonel of the East Suffolk
Militia. His brother, the Hon. Henry John Rous, (M.P. for Westminster,) is heir
presumptive of the estates and titles.
WANGFORD PARISH.
Marked * are in Henham.
* Earl of Stradbroke, Henham Hall
Allison William, tailor
Barber William, victualler, Swan
Barfoot William, tailor
Brady Mrs My.
Cleveland Robt. veterinary surgeon
Croft John, vict. Red Lion
Fuller Robert, baker
Gray Arthur Baldry, vict. Angel
Herring John, plumber, glazier, and painter
Howse Edward, sen. beerhouse
Howse Edward, jun. pork butcher
Lay Henry, surgeon, Abbey Lands
Mitchell Samuel, bricklayer
Read Ezekiel, grocer and draper,
Post Office (letters despatched 8 evening)
Reeve Robert, butcher
Rudland James Miles, surgeon
Smith John, glover
Smith Samuel, wheelwright
Snell and Bickers, timber merchants
Stimpsun Samuel, beerhouse
Terry James, saddler
Terry William, yeoman
Turner Robert Godfrey, corn miller
Wales Charles, grocer and draper
Watling Hamlet, day & boarding school
Blacksmiths.
Andrews Richard
Cutts Robert
Nelson Milbourn
Boot & Shoe Makers
Barber William
Pence Henry
Rich Francis
Waters William
Welton Charles
FARMERS.
*Carpenter Hy.
*Ling John
Mayhew George L.
*Reeve Richard
Reeve Benj. (& maltster)
Taylor William, Barnaby green
COACHES
To Yarmouth and Ipswich daily.
CARRIERS.
Goldsmith to Norwich, Tue. & Fri.; Martin to Halesworth, Tue.; and Saxmundham,
Friday—from the Red Lion.