Capel St Mary
| Capel St. Mary | |
|---|---|
 St. Mary's church, Capel St. Mary |
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 Capel St. Mary
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| Capel St. Mary shown within Suffolk | |
| Population | 2,877 (2001 Census) 2,847 (2011) |
| • Density | 8,280/sq mi (3,200/km2) |
| OS grid reference | TM092381 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | IPSWICH |
| Postcode district | IP9 |
| Dialling code | 01473 |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Capel St. Mary – commonly known as Capel – is a village in Suffolk, England. It is about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Ipswich and 2 miles (3 km) from Dedham Vale, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The village was listed in the Domesday Book as part of the manor of Boynton. An early thirteenth century charter from nearby Dodnash Priory was the first to mention it by its current name, derived from the Norman-French capel, meaning 'chapel'.
Tentative evidence of Bronze Age habitation has recently been discovered just outside the boundaries of the village, and well-documented human settlement in the area dates from the Roman period. Evidence of a villa was found during construction of council houses on Windmill Hill at the west end of the village in the 1930s, along with remains of a kiln nearby, and smaller artefacts such as coins and tiles.
A fortified house was built in nearby Little Wenham between 1260 and 1290. It is believed to be one of the first examples of fortified houses made from English brick.
A railway station was built as part of the Hadleigh branch line in 1847. The station was closed to passengers in 1932 but freight services continued until 1965, when the line was closed as a result of the Beeching Axe.
The village was birthplace in 1859 of Lieutenant-General Sir Edwin Alderson, first commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force of World War I.
During the second World War, the village was frequented by American airmen from nearby RAF Raydon. Men from the village were involved in two local Auxiliary Units, Wenham and Capel, part of the 202nd battalion of the Home Guard. The Wenham unit was based at a dugout under Jermyn's Farm to the north of the village, and a dugout a short distance away housed their supply of explosives. The Capel unit was based in woods near Bentley; the three dugouts at their disposal housed ammunition, a field telephone, and their supplies of gelignite and plastic explosive. The explosives were destroyed in-situ after the end of hostilities because they were deemed too dangerous to move.
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Wikipedia