Alpheton
| Alpheton | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Peter and St Paul, Alpheton |
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 Alpheton
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| Alpheton shown within Suffolk | |
| Population | 256 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TL882507 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SUDBURY |
| Postcode district | CO10 |
| Dialling code | 01284 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
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.
Alpheton is a small but active and welcoming community. The garage on Tye Green is a well-known landmark for those passing through on the A134. Homes, both old and new, are situated along the main road (also known as Old Bury Road), Church Lane and Roseacre to the south-west of Tye Green, The Glebe and Old Bury Road to the north of the village. To the south of the Alpheton is the hamlet of Bridge Street which is also transected by the A134.
Although the records are sketchy, Alpheton was founded, it is believed, by Aefflead, whose husband Byrthnoth, Earl of Essex, was killed at the battle of Maldon, on the Blackwater River in Essex, in AD 991.
Aefflead was the sister-in-law of the Saxon king Edmund the Elder, and following the battle and the death of her husband, she moved north from Maldon and settled in what was originally called Aefflead's Tun (estate) and probably lived in Alpheton Hall. The name was altered through the ages and is described as Alfreton in the Domesday Book. The origin of the present name is not known, but it would appear that it was a variation on the previous ones.
The village has changed little over the centuries and has maintained a rural farming existence. There are now four farms in the village, Alpheton Hall, Clapstile Farm, Tye Farm and the largest, Lavenham Lodge. Before the war many of the properties in the village were occupied by people working on the farms. Housing is now a mixture of local authority and privately owned homes.
Many of the young men of the village fought in The First World War and the names of those who died are inscribed on a marble tablet in the Church. In 1936 the School in the Glebe closed and all the Alpheton pupils had to go to Shimpling. The school building initially became the Village Hall and then a private house when the new hall was built.
In 1939, the Land Girls of the Women's Land Army appeared in Alpheton. They came to help with the work in the fields and they were billeted in homes around the village. The Old Rectory alone had 30 living in all the rooms, which were converted to make dormitories and a sitting room. Other newcomers were the evacuees from the East End of London.
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Wikipedia