Bacton, Suffolk

Signpost in Bacton
Bacton
Bacton
Bacton shown within Suffolk
Population 1,228 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference TM0567
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town STOWMARKET
Postcode district IP14
Dialling code 01449
Police Suffolk
Fire Suffolk
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK Parliament
  • Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Needham Market

Bacton is a Civil Parish and village in Suffolk, England, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of Stowmarket. The village appeared as 'Bachetuna' in the Domesday Book.

At the centre of the village is the Twelfth Century church of St Mary the Virgin, featuring a medieval wall painting. There is a primary school, Bacton Primary, and an under-fives preschool in the village, but Bacton Middle School closed in 2015 as the local authority abandoned the three-tier education system. An application has now been made to build up to 50 new homes on the site. There is also a village hall built at the end of the nineteenth century, and community groups include a bowls club, Bacton United football club with a large number of teams, Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Brownies and Rainbows and various other clubs and societies. In the heart of the village is Shop Green with a Londis general store and post office, and a petrol and service station for car sales, servicing and repairs (Lamberts Service Station). On the Northern outskirts of the village is a car dealership (Jefferies) also selling country clothing and Steiff collectable teddybears, and Finbow's Yard, which straddles the B1113 road and thus is half in Bacton and half in neighbouring Cotton, home to a range of businesses including a large hardware store and builders merchants, car sales, furniture shop, white goods dealer, hairdressers, and a gift shop & coffee shop.

The Great Eastern Main Line between London and Norwich runs through the east end of the village, but Finningham railway station and its good yard, which was situated in Bacton, was closed in the Beeching cuts of the sixties and only the station building remains, now a private house. However rail access to London via Stowmarket in 80 minutes has encouraged an influx of townies into what was previously a very localised community. The village is served by the 456 bus route which calls in once every other hour (Monday to Saturday) on its way between Stowmarket and Diss, six days a week. Larger modern housing exists alongside typical Suffolk cottage type property.

The parish of Bacton includes the village, the adjoining hamlet of Earl's Green and the outlying settlements of Bacton Green, Canham's Green, Cow Green and Ford's Green. Together with Tailor's Green and Shop Green within Bacton village, the parish has seven registered village greens. A Parish Plan was produced in 2009.

Outside the Londis shop there is a small pond which can freely be fished for goldfish, roach, koi and mirror carp. The koi average around five pounds, while there is allegedly a large mirror carp of twenty pounds in the pond.

The village hall is located just across the road from the church and is a regular meeting place for the village's Brownies. The primary school is another meeting point but for the Rainbows. The Pre-School group has its own adjacent premises. The church also has a meeting room used by some village groups.

Bacton United '89 FC opened their new facilities in July 2010 at Brickwall meadow on Broad Road. There are two adult sized pitches, a junior pitch and a clubhouse. The adult first team, reserves and 'A' team all play in the Suffolk & Ipswich football league and share the use of the main pitches. There are also several junior teams of all age groups playing at Brickwall meadow and other local pitches. The 1st Team at Bacton won the Suffolk Junior Cup in both 2010-11 season and more recently in 2017. The clubhouse ia another location available for hire for social occasions, with a well-equipped bar.

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
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