Sudbury is a pleasant market town situated on the River Stour in South Suffolk on the borders with Essex. There is easy access to London from its train station.
It is famous for being the birthplace, in 1727, of Thomas Gainsborough the artist with a museum and statue dedicated to him. Many years ago silk was the main industry and is still produced here today.
In 1381 Simon Theobald, Lord Chancellor of England was beheaded during the Peasants' Revolt and his head placed upon a spike in London. His mummified head was returned to his home town and now rests in the vestry of St Gregory Church. Next to the church there is a statue of Bishop Aelfhun, Bishop of Dunwich who, according to the Saxon Chronicle, died whilst visiting the town in AD 798.
The water meadow, with cows grazing in the summer months, is another feature of Sudbury. The surrounding area encompasses some of the most pretty and famous villages in Suffolk.
Long Melford, Lavenham and Kersey are all within 10 miles whilst the famous Constable Country lies some 15 miles to the east
The Sudbury & District Group, founded in 1995, meets at :
Long Melford Village Hall
Hall Street (opposite the Bull Hotel)
CO10 9JQ
Plenty of parking is available and there is disabled access.
The meeting starts at 2.30 pm usually on the last Tuesday of each month.
Entry is £2.50 for SFHS members and £3.00 for non-members.
You will be warmly welcomed by a member of our committee and, following an interesting talk, tea and coffee are served.
We are a lively group who enjoy a good laugh as well as a chance to discuss Family History interests. If you need help please feel free to ask. We usually have a newsletter but due to Covid will currently not have one available at the meeting.
We have a very active Monumental Inscription project group who meet to record the local headstones once a fortnight, when weather permits. If you would like to help with this project please contact us.
As usual Haverhill Group joined our annual Quiz for a fun afternoon. They came first and third!! Well done. We hope to join them for their Christmas Quiz in December.
The Sudbury & District Group took part in the annual Christmas Tree Festival held in Sudbury Arts Centre (was St Peters) in December. Our theme this year was '30 Years On'. Celebrating our 30th anniverary.
We displayed the churches where we had recorded the monumental inscriptions over the years. The folders are available in Sudbury Library.
We had extra refreshments at our September meeting including a cake, made by Penny, to celebrate our anniversary.
Filling our boards with the names of past committee members and helpers as well as photos and articles about the various events we have been involved with over the years.
We look forward to many more years....
Our annual Quiz was less well attended this year, maybe the heat, but Haverhill sent two teams again which we appreciate, that fact that one of them was joint first not so much!
Thanks to all who came and we hope to see you again next year.
Doug Howlett presented the certificate to a surprised Sheila in recognition of all her years of hard work for the Society.
Our tree this year is entitled 'A Stagger Down Memory Lane - Old Pubs in Sudbury'.
We took the names from old directories and put the address, landlord/lady and year details in front for people to look at. The names of the pubs were hung around the tree and a tankard took the place of a fairy at the top.
Penny Daldry who hosted the preparation meetings is seen here dressing the tree
We held our annual Quiz on Tuesday 25th June. There were 7 teams, refreshments and a raffle.
Haverhill Group sent two teams and took first and second place, with only one point between them. Well done Haverhill!
We hope to run another Quiz next June.
Sudbury on Show, the biennial celebration of our local community organisations, was held in Sudbury Arts Centre, St Peters on Saturday 23rd March and was very well attended.
For further details on venue and regular meetings see Introduction page
Sheila by Email: sudbury@suffolkfhs.org.uk
We don't have projects to show you at the moment but please call back to see what we have achieved.