Barrow | |
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Barrow shown within Suffolk | |
Population | 1,677 (2011 census) |
OS grid reference | TL762637 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Bury St Edmunds |
Postcode district | IP29 |
Dialling code | 01284 |
EU Parliament | East of England |
Website | www.barrow.life |
Barrow is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk, England, about eight miles west of Bury St Edmunds. According to Eilert Ekwall the meaning of the village name is grove or wood, hill or mound. The Domesday Book records the population of Barrow in 1086 to have been 27.
A circular walk around the village is known as 'walking around Crattle' named after its main feature - Crattle Hill. The walk is 2.45 miles long and passes All Saints Church, Park Pond, and the cemetery. The small hamlet of Burthorpe Green is attached to Barrow.
The playing field in the centre of the village is bordered by 19 poplar trees.
On the small road to Risby is a large steep hill known locally as Bread & Water Hill.
The village has two Public Houses - The Three Horseshoes, and The Weeping Willow. Unfortunately as at September 2015 The Weeping Willow is closed.
Barrow is 2 miles from the A14 Trunk road. Villages nearby include Higham, Denham, Risby, Gt Saxham, Lt Saxham, Ousden, Wickhambrook, Hargrave, Tuddenham, Chevington, Chedburgh, Dalham, and Gazeley.
The parish church is the 14th century All Saints Church, situated a mile from the main village close to the boundary with Higham. The church contains an altar tomb in the chancel with effigy brasses, arms, and long eulogistic inscription, for Sir Clement Higham (d. 1571).
There is also a small Baptist Chapel in the village.
Near the village school is a stone set into the pavement that is said to mark where a highwayman was once hanged. Mr Macrow of Barrow Hall was collecting the parish tithes in 1789 when he was shot at by a highwayman. The villain's horse lost a shoe, which enabled him to be tracked down and hanged on that spot - even though he didn't actually hit his intended victim. A tale has attached itself to the stone that it is supposed to turn over at midnight on every New Year's Eve.
On 29 May 1980, a low-flying RAF Hawker Hunter T7 (XL597 of 216 Squadron) fighter aircraft crashed, following a loss of power due to a fuel systems fault, into fields south of Little Saxham church. The crew bailed out over Barrow. There followed a RAF and police recovery operation - which included an extensive search of Barrow for an ejector seat. A RAF air-sea rescue helicopter attempted a landing on Barrow village green, seemingly giving up due to overhead cables.