Stoke-by-Nayland

Stoke by Nayland in the English county of Suffolk, lies close to the border with Essex in what is sometimes referred to as Constable Country. It contains a church, St Mary, part of the Deanery of Hadleigh in the Diocese of Chelmsford. The Incumbent is the Revd.V Armstrong.

The village, located within Babergh district, contains many cottages and timber framed houses and all surround a large recreation field which makes up the centre of the village. The population of the Stoke-by-Nayland civil parish at the 2001 census was 703, comprising 341 males and 362 females. Two schools, a primary and a middle school, are in the village, as are two public houses, The Angel Inn and The Crown. Stoke by Nayland is about 1.5 miles from Nayland and stands on a ridge overlooking the Stour and Box valleys. Immediately to the north of the village lies the hamlet of Scotland Street.

History
St Mary's Church was rebuilt in the fifteenth century, and renovated in 1865. The church is on the site of a 10th Century Minster.

A Saxon Monastery was founded here during the time of King Edmund by Earl Alfgar, who died in 948.

The 1868 National Gazetteer of Great Britain describes the village such. "STOKE-BY-NAYLAND, a parish in the hundred of Babergh, county Suffolk, 1½ mile N.E. of Nayland, and 5 miles E. of Bures railway station. Colchester is its post town. The village, which was formerly a market town, is situated near the river Stour. The parish contains the chapelry of Leavenheath, and had a monastery endowed by the Saxon Earl of Algar, traces of which are still existing. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely, value £278. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure, with a tower and six bells. There is also a district church at Leavenheath, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £56. The parochial charities produce about £25 per annum, exclusive of some almshouses. £8 go towards Lady Windsor's hospital. There is a National school for both sexes. Tendring Hall is the principal residence."

Local Schools
Stoke by Nayland Primary School Stoke by Nayland Middle School

Golf
Stoke By Nayland Hotel Golf and Spa is home to a golf course with two 18 hole courses named after famous painters: The Constable and The Gainsborough. Both courses are set in undulating grounds. The golf club hosts two international PGA Tour events; the Senior Tour since 2006 and the EuroPro Tour since 2004.

Stoke by Nayland Village Hall
Founded in 1911 as the Stoke by Nayland Institute, the village hall provides a general meeting place for residents and visitors. Over about 20 years, the hall has been steadily upgraded and refurbished and now provides a comfortable and well-appointed function room. Various regular activities take place such as bowls, a coffee morning, village lunch, bridge club and pilates. The hall is managed by an elected committee and is a registered charity.

Cherry Wood Community Woodland
Cherry Wood is a Community Woodland in Stoke by Nayland, run by an elected steering group for the benefit of the local community and as a resource for local schools. The group has adopted a code of practice, which includes no spraying, using and developing local skills and planting locally indigenous species wherever possible. It was established in 2001 when the group purchased a degrading cherry wood. Since then the group has gone from strength to strength, to include: creating a tree nursery, planted indigenous species in the wood, created reptile refugia, a story telling area, bird feeding station and actively involved the local first school.

 Image:Cherry Wood Robin.jpg|A Robin in Cherry Wood 

The Village Green Teams
The Village Green Teams were set up in 2006 to help us learn more about the causes and impact of climate change and to start looking for practical ways to live in a more sustainable way.

Stoke by Nayland WEA
The Workers' Educational Association ( WEA ) is a national adult education charity. They work in partnership with WEA volunteers across the country to provide a huge range of part-time, day and evening classes. All kinds of people attend WEA courses. Some of the students have been learning with the WEA for years. For many others, the WEA provides a first, encouraging, step back into education after leaving school or college. The WEA is a national network of more than four hundred volunteer-led branches and groups, and nine regional offices in England.

Bus services
Carters Coach Services


 * 755: Hadleigh - Polstead - Stoke-by-Nayland - Langham - Colchester


 * 756: Ipswich - Hadleigh - Polstead - Stoke-by-Nayland - Langham - Colchester

H.C. Chambers & Son


 * 84: Sudbury - Leavenheath - Stoke-by-Nayland - Great Horkesley - Colchester

See coach operators websites for latest routes and services.

Notable persons with connections to Stoke by Nayland
William Songer who travelled to Nelson, New Zealand on the Whitby as Captain Arthur Wakefield's servant, was born in the village of Stoke-by-Nayland, and suggested naming the township in New Zealand after his birthplace.

Charles Obins Torlesse (1825 – 14 November 1866) was born in Stoke-by-Nayland and was a prominent surveyor for the Canterbury Association in Canterbury, New Zealand. He returned to England due to ill health and died in 1866. He is buried in Stoke-by-Nayland.

Sir William Tendring was the son of Sir William Tendring, Lord of the Manor of Tendring Hall at Stoke-by-Nayland, and Margaret, the daughter of Sir William Kerdiston of Claxton, Norfolk. He married Katherine, the daughter of William Mylde of Clare, Suffolk, and the widow of Sir Thomas Clopton of Long Melford, and succeeded to the lordship of Tendring Hall and other manors on the death of his father in 1375. The couple had one child, Alice, a great heiress, who in 1398 married Sir John Howard and later carried the manor to the Howard family. Their grandson, Sir John Howard, the first Howard to become Duke of Norfolk, married c1442 Katherine Molyns, commemorated by a sixteenth century brass in St Marys church. She and Sir John eventually became the grandparents of two queens, Ann Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Sir William Tendring died in 1408; his wife in 1402.

Rowley Baronets Rear-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet (1 May 1734 – 26 February 1790) was a Royal Navy officer. Rowley was the eldest son of Admiral of the Fleet William Rowley and the uncle of Sir Josias Rowley. In 1786 he was created a Baronet, of Tendring Hall Stoke by Nayland in the County of Suffolk. His fourth son Charles was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and was created a Baronet in his own right in 1836.

Joshua Francis Rowley, local politician and public servant: born 31 December 1920; Deputy Secretary, National Trust 1952-55; succeeded 1962 as seventh Bt; chairman, West Suffolk County Council 1971-74; vice-chairman, Suffolk County Council 1974-76, chairman 1976-78; Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Suffolk 1973-78, Lord-Lieutenant 1978-94; married 1959 The Hon Celia Monckton (one daughter); died Hadleigh, Suffolk 21 February 1997.

Charles Gerald Brocklebank was born on 21 March 1893. He was the son of Reverend Charles Henry Brocklebank and Isabel Katherine Webster. He married Beatrice Gresley Madan, daughter of Falconer Madan, on 22 April 1925. Charles Gerald Brocklebank fought in the First World War, where he was mentioned in despatches. He gained the rank of Captain in the service of the Royal Engineers and decorated with the award of Médaille militaire. He also received the Military Cross (M.C.)

Lady Ann Windsor married Henry Lord Windsor of Bradenham son of Edward Lord Windsor and Catherine daughter of John Earl of Oxford. Henry Lord Windsor died in 1605, aged c43. Lady Anne Windsor died 1615 and is buried in St. Marys Church.

Æthelflæd of Damerham Æthelflæd, known as Æthelflæd of Damerham was the second wife of King Edmund I of England.

David Hicks was perhaps the "Dyvid Byley" of interior designers: the only exponent of that profession the man in the street might be able to put a name to. For nearly 40 years Hicks has been a household word and his style a touchstone of good, mad, but never indifferent, taste. He was educated at Charterhouse School, followed by an obligatory stint in the Army which determined him to be his own master, and he enrolled in the Central School of Art and Design in London. This led to contact with advertising agencies and photographers such as Terence Donovan, for whom he would frequently "and brilliantly" decorate sets. His first of what was to be a series of ravishing country houses, was the Temple at Stoke-by-Nayland, which he had often bicycled past as a child. Here he created his first decors, devised his first garden (the long dark canal before the Temple's facade would feature frequently in his own and clients' landscapes), gave his first parties and invited his first friends. (d. 1998) Obituary, The Independent.

Ralph Agas (or Radulph Agas) (c. 1540 – 26 November 1621), English land surveyor, was born at Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk, about 1540, and entered upon the practice of his profession in 1566.

Sir William Capell, son of John Capell, held the office of Alderman of London and the office of Lord Mayor of London from 1503 to 1504 and 1509 to 1510.

Thomas St Lawrence, 11th Baron Howth (Earl of Howth) lived at Stoke by Nayland. He succeeded to the title of 11th Baron Howth in 1643.

George Webb (cricketer, born 1857)

John Constable: English landscape painter
John Constable was fourth child born into a wealthy family - his father, Golding Constable, was a corn merchant and owned watermills at Flatford and Dedham and a windmill at East Bergholt. After leaving Dedham Grammar School he joined the family business. A lot of his spare time was spent sketching the landscapes around him and, at 19, after being encouraged by a local amateur artist, he persuaded his father to send him to the Royal Academy in London to study art. A frequent visitor to Stoke by Nayland, he completed many sketches and paintings of the area.

East Anglian Bloodhounds
The East Anglian Bloodhounds were formed in 1992 to hunt the clean boot in the beautiful countryside of East Anglia. The pack was formed with hounds drafted from other bloodhound packs in the country, but now all the hounds are home bred. at present there are 14 couple of hounds and 3 couple of puppies in kennels. These hounds hunt the clean boot, that is entirely on the natural scent of man, no artificial aroma, nor any other substance is used. The lines are set over all types of country which includes heavy plough, cultivated fields, meadowland, sugar beet, set aside and tracks, through woods, water, in fact wherever our quarry can and will run.

Joint Masters:
 * Roger J Clark, MBH
 * Mrs Fiona Clark MBH
 * Weylands Farm Stoke by Nayland