Freston, Suffolk

Freston
Freston Tower
Freston Location within Suffolk
Population	120 (2011)
OS grid reference	TM 17043 39037
Civil parish	Freston
District	Babergh
Shire county	Suffolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	IPSWICH
Postcode district	IP9
Police	Suffolk
Fire	Suffolk
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	South Suffolk
List of places UK England Suffolk 52°0′27″N1°9′36″E / 52.00750°N 1.16000°E / 52.00750; 1.16000

Freston is a small village and civil parish in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England, located on the Shotley Peninsula, 4 miles south-east of Ipswich. In 2001, the parish had a population of 122, ^[1] reducing slightly to 120 at the 2011 Census. ^[2]

History

Bubonic plague

Main article: Third plague pandemic

Freston is notable as the location of the last outbreak of bubonic plague in England, in 1910. The centre of the outbreak was Latimer Cottages, where it is thought plague-bearing rats may have come ashore with smuggled goods. ^{[3] [4]} However, the diagnosis of plague has been disputed. ^[5]

A Neolithic causewayed enclosure lies just south of the village. ^[6]

Amenities and places of interest

• St. Peter's Church ^[7]
• The Freston Boot public house, which closed in 2010 ^[8] and reopened in 2018 ^[9]
• Freston Wood
• Freston Tower, either a lookout tower or a folly

Transport

For transport there is the B1456 road nearby.

Notable residents

• William Latymer (1499–1583), evangelical clergyman, Dean of Peterborough from 1560. He was chaplain to Anne Boleyn
• Isaac Eastey (1627–1712), husband of Mary Eastey, who was executed during the Salem Witch Trials
• Clara Reeve (1729–1807), novelist best known for the Gothic novel The Old English Baron
• Foster Barham Zincke (1817–1893), clergyman, a traveller, and an antiquary

References

1. "Neighbourhood Statistics - Freston parish". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
2. "Parish population 201 1". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
3. Zwanenberg, D Van (January 1970). "The last epidemic of plague in England? Suffolk 1906-1918". Medical History. 14 (1): 63–74. doi:10.1017/s0025727300015143. PMC   1034015 . PMID   4904731.
4. Benedictow, Ole Jørgen (2004). The Black Death, 1346-1353: the complete history. Boydell & Brewer. p. 20. ISBN   0-85115-943-5.
5. Shrewsbury, J. F. D. (2005). A History of Bubonic Plague in the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. pp. 509–510. ISBN   0-521-02247-9.
6. Carter et al. (2021), p. 121.
7. "St. Peter's church - suffolkchurches.co.uk". Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
8. "The Boot, Freston". Closed pubs. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
9. "Freston Boot" . Retrieved 17 January 2025.

Sources

• Carter, Tristan; Jackson, Nathaniel; Moir, Rose; Challinor, Dana; Diffey, Charlotte (2021). "The Freston causewayed enclosure: new research on the Early Neolithic of Eastern England (Suffolk)". Documenta Praehistorica. XLVIII: 118–141. doi: 10.4312/dp.48.6 .

External links

Media related to Freston at Wikimedia Commons

• "Freston Wood EADT Suffolk Magazine Walks by Michael Anderton - anderton.btinternet.co.uk". Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
• "Listed buildings in Freston - britishlistedbuildings.co.uk" . Retrieved 14 April 2012.