Wangford Hundred

Wangford was a hundred of Suffolk, England, consisting of 34,679 acres (140.34 km2).[1]

Wangford Hundred was an area of around twelve miles (19 km) from west to east and five across. The River Waveney formed its northern border separating it from Norfolk. To the east lay Mutford and Lothingland Hundred, to the south Blything Hundred and to the west Hoxne Hundred.

It is a fertile district, particularly in the broad vale of the Waveney with its rich marshes for feeding cattle. On the south side of the vale the land becomes hilly with an agricultural region of predominantly loam soil. The towns of Bungay and Beccles are the largest settlements in the former hundred. The hundred also contained the thirteen parishes (Ilketshall, South Elmham, Flixton and Homersfield) collectively known as The Saints.

Listed as Wanneforda (inter alia) in the Domesday Book, the name is believed to derive from an alternative name for the Waveney and thus to mean "ford across the Waveney". A total of 24 places with a population of around 1025 households are mentioned in the Domesday Book.[2] It is not to be confused with the two other Wangfords in Suffolk.[3]

Parishes

Suffolk hundreds
Suffolk hundreds

Wangford Hundred consisted of the following 27 parishes:[1][4]

Parish Area (acres)
Barsham1871
Beccles1994
Bungay2090
Ellough1074
Flixton1762
Homersfield981
Ilketshall St Andrew1696
Ilketshall St John743
Ilketshall St Lawrence988
Ilketshall St Margaret2093
Mettingham1706
North Cove1082
Redisham733
Ringsfield1700
Shadingfield1370
Shipmeadow800
Sotterley1594
South Elmham, All Saints1150
South Elmham, St Cross1301
South Elmham, St James1302
South Elmham, St Margaret589
South Elmham, St Michael816
South Elmham, St Nicholas500
South Elmham, St Peter576
Weston1551
Willingham St Mary890
Worlingham1727

References

  1. 1 2 William White (1844). History, gazetteer, and directory of Suffolk. p. 410.
  2. Wangford Hundred, Domesday Map. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
  3. Walter Skeat (1913). The Place-names of Suffolk.
  4. 1841 Census

Coordinates: 52°24′N 1°27′E / 52.4°N 1.45°E / 52.4; 1.45

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