Monk Soham
| Monk Soham | |
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 The parish church of St Peters in Monk Soham |
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 Monk Soham
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| Monk Soham shown within Suffolk | |
| Population | 156 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TM214651 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WOODBRIDGE |
| Postcode district | IP13 |
| Dialling code | 01728 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Monk Soham is a village in Suffolk, eastern England, four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Debenham and six miles (10 km) northwest of Framlingham. The neighbouring villages are Bedfield, Ashfield cum Thorpe, Kenton and Bedingfield. The nearest primary school is in Bedfield. There are secondary schools in Framlingham and Woodbridge.
In 2011, Monk Soham had a population of 156.
In the early 1870s, Monk Soham was described as: a parish, with a village, in Hoxne district, Suffolk; 4¼ miles WNW of Framlingham r. station. Post town, Wickham-Market. Acres, 1,569. Real property, £3,153. Pop., 442. Houses, 86. The property is subdivided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £530.* Patron, the Rev. R. H. Groome. There are a parochial school, and charities £80.
Monk Soham directly means "monks" meadow by a "lake". The monks belonged to the abbey at Bury, and were given the land in the late 10th century by Alfed, Bishop of East Anglia. The lake no longer exists, however, it is believed to have reclined north of the back road which now runs from Earl Soham towards Ashfield-cum-Thorpe.
In the Doomsday Book of 1086, "Soham" was described as a village which consisted of both Monk and Earl Soham. Monk Soham was considered to be in the Bishop's Hundred along with Hoxne, while Earl Soham was considered to be in a different hundred for judicial purposes. This suggests that both villages have since been separated, as on twenty-first century maps they have distinguished boundaries. The Doomsday book also states Monk Soham had fifteen acres of meadow and woodland for thirty pigs and eighty-one goats in the 11th century; this suggests that the rural town was focused on farming and agriculture and carried on this sector of work for many centuries, and in 1868 the parish was recorded as "wholly agricultural". Most of the woods were cut down between 1500 and 1640 to make room for pasture. County records describe the village as consisting mainly of meadow with the farming of dairy cows, pigs, horses and poultry as well as growing a variety of crops. Following the 13th century reorganization of the hundreds, Monk Soham was in Hoxne Hundred.
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