​

BEDFIELD  "...a parish in Hoxne district, Suffolk; 4 miles NW of Framlingham r. station. It has a post office under Wickham-Market. Acres, 1268. Real property, £2469. Pop. 415. Houses, 88. The property is subdivided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Norwich. Value £286. Patron, Earl Stradbroke. The church is old but good." (John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales 1870–72)

 

MONK SOHAM "...In the early 1870s, Monk Soham was described as: a parish, with a village, in Hoxne district, Suffolk; 4¼ miles WNW of Framlingham r. station. Post town, Wickham-Market. Acres, 1,569. Real property, £3,153. Pop., 442. Houses, 86. The property is subdivided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £530. Patron, the Rev. R. H. Groome. There are a parochial school, and charities £80." (John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales. 1870–72)

​

Modern Bedfield is a very pleasant and rural environment with an excellent village primary school, public house (The Crown), sports club and various other organisations and amenities. Details of which can be found on the other pages (see left hand menu).

 

The population of Bedfield in 1874 was 451 and had fallen to 317 by 1901 and 267 in 1929.  It now stands at approximately 309 souls.  It was claimed that during the early 1900s Bedfield possessed 33 smallholdings, more than any other Suffolk parish.

 

The Church of Saint Nicholas is the oldest building in the village and stands in idyllic countryside at the foot of Church Lane. It is signposted from the Earl Soham to Worlingworth Road, which is the main road through the village. It is over 900 years old. 

 

HISTORY SNIPPETS

Medieval Bedfield
The above link will take you to an interesting PDF document detailing a recent archaeological survey on a parcel of land in Long Green.
It's quite a large file so be patient!

 

Bedfield Union Chapel 
Historic Building Recording (another large PDF!)