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Cratfield
Cratfield maps
Historic maps of Cratfield and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Cratfield maps
Cratfield photos
We have no photos of Cratfield, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Laxfield| Metfield| Peasenhall| Halesworth| Bramfield| Holton| Yoxford| Harleston| Rendham| Redenhall| Saxtead| Kelsale
Cratfield area books
Displaying 1 of 13 books about Cratfield and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Cratfield
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Suffolk memories
Low House
lived here in the 'low house' for a couple of years with my parents; eddie and anna macleod, in fact i feel my heart still lives here. the sunday hunts, kippers on a friday, local folk groups around the settle, big, thrashy, noisy 'cool' bands in the stable/shed. the beer festivals, the adnams ale and me and my family welcoming everyone into our home, the Kings Head.
xxx
Many Pleasant Evenings
The low house was run by a lovely couple named Paul and Janet Parsons. The had a son Zach (Zacky Bongo) and a daughter, Tabitha. What a pleasant atmosphere they always maintained. Friends like the Parsons are rare and sadly I do not know where they are now. We were only a stones throw away in St. Mary's cottage. The only seperation from the pub was a very small garden and an equally small garage. I hope all is well with my long lost friends from Laxfield.
Childhood
I grew up at Turkey Hall in Cratfield but Laxfield was more of my village. I worked at Sparrows grocery store and my parents, Terry & Joan Ward bought my first "new" bike from the store pictured here. I remember getting it for passing the 11+ exam and spent hours riding around Laxfield and Cratfield - occasionally stopping to by a Mars Bar at the bike shop. I lived in the area from 1966 to 1986 and have to say I have nothing but fond memories - it almost seems as if life stood still in that quaint village for 20 years. I often find myself doing Google searches to re-connect with pictures of that era of my life. I haven't been back to Laxfield in about 15 years but am feeling the draw. I think it will be soon.
Sparrows
I remember Sparrows very well. I lived in Laxfield from 1967 - 1972 I remember going up to the attic at Christmas time and buying some goodies. Also, I remember the phone box outside, a friend and I got into trouble for making false phone calls. We were 9 or 10 years at the time. I'm planning to visit England in June, and am hoping to make a trip to Laxfield.
Jane E. Johnson (nee Riemenschneider)
Turkey Hall
I'm now 66, and I remember my father, George Frederick Alderton (Fred) who lived in Canbury Park Road, Kingston on Thames, saying that he spent a holiday at Turkey Hall when he was very young, about 4 or 5 years old. He remembered riding on the neck of a huge shire horse, and holding on to its ears. I also recall him saying that the name 'Alderton' was quite common in Suffolk, so perhaps he was visiting a relative.
EVACUATED TO METFIELD, SUFFOLK, WW2
In 1940, we were evacuated to the village of Metfield, with my mother and brothers. A Mr and Mrs Godbold let us move into one of their cottages on the farm. On going to school, the local children would call us 'the Bomb Dodgers', but the shoe was soon on the other foot, as they built a USA airfield just outside the village, and we all soon saw action in the village. The Americans looked after us very well, at Christmas time all the children in the village were invited to the base for a great time. I did go back to the village some 20 years ago, but I could only stay for a few hours, I would love to go back again some day. I am 75 years young, and I still think back to when I was a 7 year old, going through the war years in Metfield. I still think of it as my second home. We as children had some good times, but there were sad... Read more
The Vicar
The vicar for many years was the Rev Jack Thickett. As well as his cleric duties he was a part-time farmer, he had a field in Sipton where he kept pigs and as two of his sons had a butchers shop in Peasenhall, he kept them supplied with meat. In fact they still have the shop today (2006). I lived in Church Road for many years and I can still remember waking one morning to find a flock of sheep grazing in the churchyard at the back of my house. A novel way for the vicar to combine both of his jobs. There was I think an article on him in the eadt. He also grew runner beans on his field in Sipton and he had a field next to Peasenhall Primary school which gave work to some of the women of the village, first in late spring to twist the growing up the supports and later thoughout the summer picking the beans. I used to help my mother do... Read more
