Stanstead, Suffolk

Stanstead is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. The name Stanstead comes from the Old English for "Stony place". Located off the B1066, it is around 4 mi from Sudbury, and is part of Babergh district. It is about 2 km from the of Glemsford, 12 mi from Hadleigh, and 4 mi from Lavenham.

Background
Stanstead is situated in Glem Valley to the north east of Sudbury. The Parish borders Long Melford in the west, Glemsford to the south, Boxted to the east and Shimpling to the north and many fine walks and views can be enjoyed in this part of High Suffolk.

The village is "T shaped", the lower half of the settlement (Lower Street) follows the B1066 as it winds its way along the bottom of the valley past the old Stanstead osier beds. The upper part of the village is reached by a 30 metre climb up the hill past Stanstead Hall towards the church and a cluster of houses, a small green and then on to Upper Street and Blooms Hall Lane.

Early History
The name Stanstead is Anglo Saxon for "stony place" and it is easy to appreciate how this came about when viewing the surrounding fields, particularly in the lower part of the village, which are strewn with glacial flint. There is much evidence of earlier Iron Age and Roman settlements in the surrounding area.ref>

Sense of Community
Like many other small rural communities Stanstead has lost its Public House, this was the White Hart, which in past centuries is said to be the starting point for many horse races, we still retain our Village Hall/Community Centre and this continues to function as a focal point for the village.

Governance
Stanstead lies in the Babergh district of the shire county of Suffolk. The three tiers of local government are administered by


 * Suffolk County Council
 * Babergh District Council
 * Stanstead Parish Council

In terms of community planning a few years ago parish members embarked on the preparation of a Village Plan.

Church

 * St James Church - This is a 15th century flint pebble church with stone dressings. The west tower is earlier, with diagonal buttresses and a castellated parapet. The church was heavily restored in the late nineteenth century.

Village Hall

 * The village has a community centre near the junction of Upper Street with Lower Street.

Recreation ground

 * The village does not have a recreation ground

Planning
In the adopted Babergh Local Plan Alteration No. 2 (2006) the Built-up area boundary is defined for Stanstead with no sites allocated for new residential development. A small Area of Visual and/or Recreational Amenity is defined which protects important open space, visually important gaps in the street scene and recreational facilities.

The parish is located within an area defined as Special Landscape Area and also partly falls within the Dedham Vale & Stour Valley Countryside Projecy area. In addition parts of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest detailed below are defined within the parish.

Listed buildings
English Heritage lists the following listed buildings within the parish of Stanstead.

Grade I
None

Grade II*

 * Church of St James, Upper Street - Images of England
 * The Oaklands, Lower Street - Images of England

Grade II

 * 16 and 17, Lower Street - Images of England
 * 21-23, Lower Street - Images of England
 * Barn at Barnfield, Upper Street
 * Barn to the Oaklands, Lower Street - Images of England
 * Barnfield Cottage, Upper Street
 * Bretteston Hall, Upper Street - Images of England
 * Fern Cottage, Upper Street - Images of England
 * Grafton, Upper Street - Images of England
 * Maltings, Upper Street - Images of England


 * Mill Farmhouse, Lower Street
 * Old Mill House, Lower Street - Images of England
 * Potash House, Lower Street - Images of England
 * Shelley, Upper Street - Images of England
 * Sparrows Farmhouse, Lower Street
 * Spring Hall, Upper Street - Images of England
 * Stanstead Hall, Upper Street - Images of England
 * White Hart Inn, Lower Street - Images of England

''NB: The above property details represent the names and addresses that were used at the time that the buildings were listed. In some instances the name of the building may have changed over the intervening years''

Biodiversity
The parish contains parts of a SSSIs which is defined as ancient woodland.


 * Kentwell Woods SSSI

The parish also contains the Stanstead Great Wood wildlife site.

Landscape
Within the Suffolk Landscape Character Assessment the parish of Stanstead is within an area defined as


 * Rolling valley farmlands - This landscape has small and medium sized fields on the valley sides with an organic form which was created by the piecemeal enclosure of common arable and pasture lands. As with the other valley side landscapes the field size tends to increase on the upper sides and plateaux edges of these valleys. Overall the growth and development of villages and small towns in this landscape has been driven by the quality of the land and the agricultural prosperity that it brought. Ancient woodland is mainly confined to the upper slopes of the valleys and is mostly in relatively small parcels.


 * Undulating ancient farmlands - This is predominantly an area of ‘ancient enclosure’, with an irregular pattern of fields bounded by large, long-established hedges. The settlement pattern is one of dispersed farmsteads and hamlets, scattered between moderately sized green-edge settlements. The area is well stocked with ancient woods of moderate size, usually situated on the tops of the more poorly drained clay hills. In general there are long open views across this undulating landscape in which trees, either in hedges or in woods, are always a prominent feature. The historic pattern of field boundaries has been degraded through 20th century agricultural rationalisation that has resulted in a large number of hedges being removed.


 * Valley meadowlands - This landscape character type is found principally in the floors of the river valleys of south and south-east Suffolk. These are flat valley floors made up of seasonally wet clays overlying alluvial deposits and peat. The damp nature of the land has led to a long use as meadows. These landscapes are generally unsettled although there are occasional farmsteads on the edge of the valleys or on locally higher spots.

Transport
Shimpling is served by one bus service operated by H.C. Chambers & Son:


 * 375: Glemsford / Long Melford - Stanstead - Alpheton - Shimpling - Lawshall - Hawstead - Bury St Edmunds (sponsored by Suffolk County Council)

Education
The village is served by Hartest CEVCP School, a primary school currently catering for pupils aged 5–11.

Older children attend Sudbury Upper School and Arts Collegel.

Demography
According to the Office for National Statistics, at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, Stanstead had a population of 316 with 127 households.

Notable former residents

 * Edmund Rice