Icklingham | |
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All Saints Church, Icklingham |
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Icklingham shown within Suffolk | |
Population | 423 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | TL7772 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Bury St Edmunds |
Postcode district | IP28 |
Police | Suffolk |
Fire | Suffolk |
Ambulance | East of England |
EU Parliament | East of England |
Icklingham is a village in the Forest Heath district of the English county of Suffolk. It is about 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Bury St Edmunds, 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Mildenhall and 9 miles (14 km) south-west of Thetford in Norfolk. The village is on the A1101 road between Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall in the north-west of the county. The area around the village, characterised by a sandy gravel-laden soil, is known as Breckland, though an arm of the fen-like peat follows the River Lark past the village.
The village straddles the River Lark, a tributary to the Great Ouse. It was once navigable up to Bury St Edmunds, with locks installed; these are now redundant, the remains of at least one lock being visible near Icklingham. The river is the reason for the siting of Icklingham's most promient industry, the local flour mill. The village church, All Saints Church, Icklingham, is Norman in origin and a Grade I listed building.
The village is characterised by flint and pale brick cottages. There were two thriving public houses, including the magnificent thatched Red Lion, in the village, but they both closed. A village shop no longer exists, and the village hall, the former School House, is now in private hands.
The village contains 11 Listed Buildings or structures.
The village takes its name from an Iron Age tribe, the Iceni, who lived in the area and has the remains of a Roman settlement to the South-East. A Roman Christian graveyard exists in Icklingham, and a lead receptacle, reputed to be a baptismal font was found on the same site. The Icklingham 'font' is made of lead, and is visible in the British Museum.