| Red Lodge | |
|---|---|
 View of Red Lodge village in 2006 | |
  Red Lodge Location within Suffolk | |
| Population | 3,834 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BURY ST EDMUNDS |
| Postcode district | IP28 |
| UK Parliament | |
Red Lodge is a village and civil parish situated in rural Suffolk, England, between Mildenhall and Newmarket, and very close to the A11 and A14 roads.
Red Lodge is a growing community administered by West Suffolk Council. It has new homes from a variety of building companies centred on the Kings Warren development at the northern end of the village. [1] Currently, community facilities include an Ecumenical church, village hall and venue (known as the Millennium Centre), a sports pavilion with tennis courts, a five-a-side football pitch and allotments. [2] A new school opened in September 2012 and the new village centre which opened in 2014 has a convenience store, fish and chip shop, kebab shop, pharmacy, hair dressers and estate agents.
The village dates back to 1926 when the first houses were built, although the pub, Red Lodge Inn, is far older, having been recorded on a map of the site in 1885. It is thought to be a former hunting lodge dating back to the 17th century. [1] [3] The area where most of the new housing is situated was formerly a rabbit warren attached to Freckenham Manor lands, with a history dating back to the 13th century. [1] Red Lodge became a civil parish in 1987, having previously been part of Freckenham parish. [4]
The 2010 Doctor Who audio drama The Demons of Red Lodge is set in Red Lodge in 1665.
Red Lodge Heath is an area of acid grassland and lowland and is an SSSI, with a number of nationally rare plants and animals. [5] It includes a population of the five-banded tailed digger wasp, Cerceris quinquefasciata, which nests in bare sand along a path to the north of the site, and on sparsely vegetated slopes to the west. [6] Discovery of the wasp population in 2005 by English Nature meant that Forest Heath District Council had to adapt proposed housing and school development plans in this area of the village. [7]
The Heath is maintained by volunteers from a conservation group established in 2007 and awarded a Lottery grant in 2012. [8]
The nearest railway station to Red Lodge is in Kennett, 2 miles (3 km) away. Buses also serve the village, offering transportation to Mildenhall, Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and other nearby towns and villages. Stansted Airport is 41 miles (66 km) away and Luton Airport is 55 miles (89 km). National Express coaches operate services from nearby Mildenhall to Central London; Cambridge; Brighton via Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.
Red Lodge had a long-established transport café which was renowned for being open 24 hours a day. It was bypassed in 1992 and has now closed down. [9] [10] Red Lodge Karting, is reputed to be one of the largest non-MSA tracks in the country, with two circuits of 1200m and 700m. [11] Other nearby venues include WildTracks centre in Kennett, which offers activities including archery, motorcross and off-roading. [12]
St Christopher's CEVCP School in Bellflower Crescent opened in September 2012 and replaced Tuddenham Primary School, which was too small for the number of students. [13] It is a Church of England voluntary faith school, meaning that Christian values are promoted within the curriculum and all faiths are welcomed. It has capacity for 315 pupils, with further development planned to increase capacity to 420. [14] It delivers education for 5- to 11-year-olds and follows the National Curriculum.
The two-storey school is accessible by people with different physical abilities. Teaching facilities include interactive multi-media systems in classrooms, art, design technology and food technology areas, playing field, hard court, hall and drama studio. [15]
In the last Ofsted inspection in 2009 (which took place at the Tuddenham premises), the school was rated 2 (good). [16]
Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located west of Bury St Edmunds and northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred horse racing. It is a major local business cluster, with annual investment rivalling that of the Cambridge Science Park, the other major cluster in the region. It is the largest racehorse training centre in Britain, the largest racehorse breeding centre in the country, home to most major British horseracing institutions, and a key global centre for horse health. Two Classic races, and an additional three British Champions Series races are held at Newmarket every year. The town has had close royal connections since the time of James I, who built a palace there, and was also a base for Charles I, Charles II, and most monarchs since. Elizabeth II visited the town often to see her horses in training.
Burwell is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, some 10 miles north-east of Cambridge. It lies on the south-east edge of the Fens. Westward drainage is improved by Cambridgeshire lodes (waterways), including Burwell Lode, a growth factor in the village. A population of 6,309 in the 2011 census was put at 6,417 in 2019.
Forest Heath was a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Mildenhall. Other towns in the district included Newmarket. The population of the district at the 2011 Census was 59,748.
Mildenhall is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The town is near the A11 road, and is 37 mi (60 km) north-west of Ipswich, the county town. The large Royal Air Force station, RAF Mildenhall, as well as RAF Lakenheath, are located north of the town. Both are used by the United States Air Force as the headquarters of its 100th Air Refueling Wing and 352nd Special Operations Group. Mildenhall is often seen as the start of The Fens on the south/east.
West Suffolk is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Matt Hancock, originally elected as a Conservative but who sits as an Independent following his suspension in November 2022.
Alpheton is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. Located on the A134 road about six miles north of Sudbury, in 2005 it had a population of 260, reducing to 256 at the 2011 Census. According to Eilert Ekwall the meaning of the village name is the homestead of Aelfled.
Freckenham is a small rural village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in East Anglia, in the country of England.
Stetchworth is a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire, England, 3 miles (5 km) to the south of the horse-racing centre of Newmarket and around 12 miles (19 km) east of Cambridge.
Icklingham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located about 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Bury St Edmunds, 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Mildenhall and 9 miles (14 km) south-west of Thetford in Norfolk. The village is on the A1101 road between Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall in the north-west of the county. The area around the village, characterised by a sandy gravel-laden soil, is known as Breckland, though an arm of the fen-like peat follows the River Lark past the village.
Whatfield is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Hadleigh, it is part of Babergh district.
Kentford is a village and civil parish located in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Situated on the banks of the River Kennet, the village is positioned on the B1506 road connecting Newmarket to Bury St. Edmunds. The village is served by the Kennett railway station, located just off the A14, which offers an indirect railway connection to London via Cambridge. Kentford is located about four miles northeast of Newmarket and nine miles west of Bury St. Edmunds. The village falls within the Bury St. Edmunds division of the county and is divided between the Lackford and Risbridge Hundred. Kentford is also part of the Newmarket petty sessional division, Mildenhall union and county court district, rural deanery of Newmarket, archdeaconry of Sudbury, and diocese of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The population of Kentford was estimated to be 1125 as of 2021.
Tuddenham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2005 it had a population of 450. falling to 423 at the 2011 Census.
Wilby is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England located around 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Diss and 1.25 miles (2 km) south of Stradbroke along the B1118. The population of the parish at the 2001 census was 231 in 99 households. The village has some basic services including a primary school and village hall.
Westley is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located south of Junction 42 of the A14 providing primary access to adjacent market towns Bury St Edmunds (East) and Newmarket (West). The village consists of two central roads: Fornham Lane and Hill Road running north and south through the parish, with adjoining roads accommodating Westley's total population of 183.
Moulton was a rural district in Suffolk, England from 1894 to 1935. It covered the area to the east of the town of Newmarket.
St Mary's Church is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Mildenhall, Suffolk.
West Suffolk District is a local government district in Suffolk, England. It was established in 2019 as a merger of the previous Forest Heath District with the Borough of St Edmundsbury. The council is based in Bury St Edmunds, the district's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Brandon, Clare, Haverhill, Mildenhall and Newmarket, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. In 2021 it had a population of 180,820.
