Lakenheath, Suffolk

Historical Description

Lakenheath, a large village and a parish in Suffolk. The village stands on a gentle eminence, commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country, 2½ miles S from Lakenheath station on the Ely and Thetford section of the G.E.R., 2½ from Little Ouse river navigation, and 5 W from Brandon. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Brandon. Acreage of the civil parish, 11, 331; popu lation, 1825; of the ecclesiastical, 1704. Nearly 3000 acres, chiefly in the E, are open rabbit warren, and a large tract in the W is fen. Most of the soil is light and blowing sandy. Undley is a hamlet in the fen, 1 mile W. Laken-heath was formerly a market-town, but the market is now obsolete. A fair for cattle and toys is held on the first Thursday after Midsummer Day. There are sand and clay pits. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely; net value,, £259 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Ely. The church is an ancient building of brick and flint in the Perpendicular and Decorated styles, was restored in 1864, and comprises nave, aisles, and chancel, with massive tower about 80 feet high. It has some Norman features, an Early English font, and some ancient brasses. There are also. Baptist, Congregational, and Wesleyan chapels.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Lakenheath from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Lakenheath (St. Mary))

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Suffolk is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Lakenheath are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Suffolk papers online:

• The Ipswich Journal
• East Suffolk Mercury and Lowestoft Weekly News
• Bury and Norwich Post
• Bury Free Press