Wenhaston

Wenhaston is a village situated to the south of the River Blyth in northeastern Suffolk, England.[1] In 2018 it had an estimated population of 563.[2]

Wenhaston

Wenhaston, Church of St Peter
Wenhaston
Location within Suffolk
Area0.427 km2 (0.165 sq mi)
Population563 (2018 estimate)
• Density1,319/km2 (3,420/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTM423756
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHalesworth
Postcode districtIP19

History

Roman coins, pottery and building materials unearthed in local fields indicate the existence of a settlement at Wenhaston from the first century AD, and indeed this was probably a market of some importance between 80 and 350 AD The first written record of its existence is to be found in the Domesday survey of 1086, when it was noted that the village of Wenadestuna possessed a mill, a church and woodland sufficient to feed 16 hogs. The place-name Wenhaston means 'Wynhaeth's town'.[3]

The Wenhaston Doom

The village's greatest historical treasure is undoubtedly the Wenhaston Doom, a sixteenth-century (pre-Reformation) panel painting depicting the Last Day of Judgment. This rare work of art was discovered during restoration work in 1892, hidden under whitewash on the wooden tympanum taken down from above the chancel arch. Today, the local community and economy of Wenhaston continues to benefit from its proximity to the Suffolk Heritage Coast and the flourishing resort town of Southwold. Wenhaston won the Suffolk Coastal Village of the Year 2004 competition and came second in the Suffolk County competition.

Economy

There is a thriving pig farm industry in the fields between Wenhaston and Blythburgh,

Geography

Wenhaston is closely adjoined by the village of Blackheath, which has for years been considered a part of Wenhaston, bringing the population up to 1000 or more.

Blythburgh village is around 2 miles from Wenhaston and around a 10- to 15-minute bicycle ride from Wenhaston.

With Mells it forms the civil parish of Wenhaston with Mells Hamlet.

Transport

Wenhaston had a railway station on the Southwold Railway but this closed, with the rest of the line, on 11 April 1929.

The Anglian Bus services manage public transport in the area.

References
  1. The Parliamentary gazetteer of England and Wales. A Fullerton and Company, 1851, p. 473.
  2. "Wenhaston". City Population De. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  3. Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.506.

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