Fornham All Saints

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Fornham All Saints
Fornham All Saints village sign - geograph.org.uk - 4292707.jpg
Signpost in Fornham All Saints
Suffolk UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Fornham All Saints
Location within Suffolk
Population1,160 (2011) [1]
OS grid reference TL837676
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Bury St Edmunds
Postcode district IP28
Police Suffolk
Fire Suffolk
Ambulance East of England
List of places
UK
England
Suffolk
52°16′36″N0°41′29″E / 52.2767°N 0.6915°E / 52.2767; 0.6915

Fornham All Saints is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England in the West Suffolk district. It is north-northwest of the town of Bury St Edmunds and 500m west of Fornham St Genevieve. Fornham All Saints is one of a trio of contiguous villages by the River Lark; the other villages are Fornham St Genevieve and Fornham St Martin.

Contents

The village sign depicts a helmet and crossed swords, commemorating two battles that took place in the village. In c.902, King Edward the Elder fought off his cousin, Æthelwold ætheling, to retain the English crown. In 1173, Henry II defeated the Earl of Leicester and a Flemish army at the Battle of Fornham. Today, the historic village is more peaceful. It appears on John Speed's 1610 map as "Fernham omnium Sanctorum".[ citation needed ]

There exists evidence of a small prehistoric or Roman settlement near Pigeon Lane, with as many as four hut circles. Prehistoric causeway and trenches on the river terrace remain only as cropmarks, but were described by Suffolk County Council as "major Neolithic ritual monuments." [2]

The Three Kings pub, offering food and accommodation, is on the western outskirts of the village at the junction of the A1101 and B1106.

The Church of All Saints, the parish church of Fornham All Saints, is a Grade I listed building. [3] Surviving parts of the church from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries have been heavily restored during the Victorian era, from 1863-4. The south doorway dates from the twelfth century and the south porch from the fifteenth century. There is fifteenth century wood carving in the form of roof bosses, in addition to 8 pairs of fifteenth century benches displaying animals on the armrests, alongside a poppy head design. The south aisle roof is a nineteenth century restoration.

There is a war memorial in the village, in the form of a Latin cross of Portland stone. It commemorates the 13 people killed in the World Wars of the twentieth century. 12 people died in the First World War, and 1 died in the Second World War. The details of those who served in those two wars are to be found in the parish church Rolls of Honour displayed there. 74 village men served in the First World War; 33 men and 9 women served in the Second World War. The photographs and personal details of the war dead are displayed in the parish church's Debt of Honour Register. [4]

References

  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  2. "Rolling Estate Sandlands" (PDF). Suffolk County Council. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2012.
  3. "CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, Fornham All Saints - 1031300 | Historic England". Historic England. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  4. "Fornham All Saints Debt of Honour Register". War Memorials Online. Archived from the original on 11 June 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2025.

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