Barham, Suffolk
| Barham | |
|---|---|
 St Mary and St Peter, Barham |
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 Barham
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| Barham shown within Suffolk | |
| Population | 1,504 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | TM141513 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | IPSWICH |
| Postcode district | IP6 |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Barham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The village is on the River Gipping, Surrounded by: Great Blakenham, Baylham, Coddenham, Henley and Claydon, and is on the A14 road about six miles north of Ipswich. Barham has one pub, The Sorrel Horse and Barham is also known for the Gaps Fishing lakes situated next to the Barham Picnic site on Pesthouse Lane. The Barham Picnic site is an area of 2.89 hectares in the heart of the Gipping Valley and consists of a children's play area, car park, purpose-built toilets facilities and a visitors centre. The picnic area has been designated by the suffolk county council as a public right of way location to safeguard the future use of the site.
A local Act of 1765 established the Bosmere and Claydon Hundreds Incorporation of 35 parishes. The following year saw the Incorporation build a "House of Industry" on a 20-acre site at Barham. It was a H-shaped red brick building of two storeys with attics. Construction of the building cost £10,000, accommodate 400 inmates and was built between Workhouse Lane (now Lower Crescent) and Pesthouse Lane (which led to an isolation hospital) standing adjacent to the site of the Barham Picnic area. The Bosmere and Claydon Union Workhouse building was demolished in 1963 ending the 198-year history. During the First World War, the workhouse premises were occupied by troops and prisoners of war. It then became a residential re-training centre for unemployed ex-servicemen, some receiving 'handyman' training and the rest being prepared for work on farms overseas. In 1929, it became one of a new type of Transfer Instructional Centres being set up by the Ministry of Labour for 'reconditioning' unemployed men who were said to have gone 'soft' by being out of work. Under the threat of losing their unemployment benefit, men were sent to the Centres and given hard physical work. The Second World War returned the site back into housing prisoners of war. Many of the men captured by the British army and sent to the Barham Workhouse where of Italian origin.
On 7 January 1850, a riot took place at the workhouse. Around fifty able-bodied inmates, who had been admitted a few days earlier, got out of their ward and demanded more food. After the governor told them that he had no power to alter their diet, they tore up the seats and part of the flooring in their day rooms. With the arrival of a policeman, the men remained quiet during the night but their rioting was resumed the next morning and the governor was struck and injured. Eventually a detachment of Lancers was sent from Ipswich but, by the time they arrived, the riot had been quelled by the police and six of the ringleaders put into prison.
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Wikipedia