River Rat

The Stowmarket Guncotton Explosion happened on 11 August 1871 at the Prentices Guncotton Factory in Stowmarket, Suffolk. It was blown up by two massive explosions, that occurred within the factory, killing 28 people and injuring approximately 70 others.

The Stowmarket Guncotton Company was an explosives company established in the 19th century by Messrs Prentice that operated a gun-cotton factory in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England. The factory was the scene of an explosion in 1871 that claimed the lives of 28 people.

Prentice Brothers Limited was an English fertiliser manufacturer founded in Stowmarket, Suffolk during the mid-1850s. The company produced a number of "chemical manure" products that used coprolites and rock phosphates among other ingredients.

Stowmarket railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the market town of Stowmarket, Suffolk. It is 80 miles 9 chains (128.9 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Needham Market to the south and Diss to the north. It is also the junction where the Ipswich to Ely Line joins the GEML. Its three-letter station code is SMK. The station is currently operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, which also runs all trains that serve the station.

Stowmarket ( STOH-mar-kət) is a market town in Suffolk, England, on the busy A14 trunk road between Bury St Edmunds to the west and Ipswich to the southeast. The town lies on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) between Diss and Needham Market, and lies on the River Gipping, which is joined by its tributary, the River Rat, to the south of the town. The town takes its name from the Old English word stōw meaning "principal place", and was granted a market charter in 1347 by Edward III. A bi-weekly market is still held there today on Thursday and Saturday. The population of the town has increased from around 6,000 in 1981 to around 19,000 in 2011, with considerable further development planned for the town and surrounding villages as part of an area action plan. It is the largest town in the Mid Suffolk district and is represented in parliament by the MP for Bury St Edmunds, currently Jo Churchill.

Combs Wood is a 15.1 hectares (37 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern outskirts of Stowmarket in Suffolk. It is owned and managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.This is ancient coppice woodland on boulder clay, with variable quantities of sand and loess resulting in different soil types. In areas of pedunculate oak and hornbeam the ground flora is sparse, but it is rich and diverse in ash and maple woodland. Grassy rides and a pond provide additional habitats for invertebrates.There is access through the church grounds and through Holyoak Farm.

The Church of St Peter and St Mary stands in the town of Stowmarket, Suffolk, England. It is an active Church of England parish church in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The church dates from the 14th century and is a Grade I listed building.

Church Meadow is a 3.8 hectare Local Nature Reserve on the southern outskirts of Stowmarket in Suffolk. It is owned and managed by Mid Suffolk District Council.This was formerly the garden of Combs Hall, which was demolished in 1756. Surviving features include earth banks and a round pond, which has frogs, newts toads and many dragonflies. The meadow is grazed by sheep.There is access from Church Road.

Combs Ford is a suburb of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. It sits at the confluence between the rivers Gipping and Rattlesden. Combs Ford is where the procession of the Stowmarket Carnival changes as it swings between The Magpie and The Gladstone public houses and proceeds towards Ipswich Street. It is held in popular local folklore that Dick Turpin once resided at the bottom of Poplar Hill near where the hairdressers on Poplar Hill is now. He was barred from local public houses and had to travel into Stowmarket to drink in the Market Place. Rumour also has it he left Combs Ford for a woman whom he loved. Combs Ford is home to a number of local characters. Deejay Johnny Double is the local master of Hip Hop and is well known for his love of Hip Hop. He is often heard playing to the locals at the bottom of Poplar Hill. The Lord of The Ford, is another local who is renowned for clearing the River Rat at Boulters Bridge. Another local celebrity is the legendary DJ Wyld. Who produces a Harder style of Dance music. And can be sometimes seen along Poplar Hill.

Eastbridge Windpump is a smock mill that served as a pumping station until it was relocated to the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket, Suffolk, England and which was then restored to working order.

The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, is a museum in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England, which specialises in presenting the agricultural history of East Anglia through a mixture of exhibits and living history demonstrations.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) describes itself as the county's "nature charity – the only organisation dedicated wholly to safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and countryside." It is a registered charity, and its headquarters is at Brooke House in Ashbocking, near Ipswich. It was founded in 1961, and is one of 46 wildlife trusts covering the Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As of March 2017, it has 13,200 members, and it manages 3,120 hectares (7,700 acres) of land in 60 nature reserves, most of which are open to the public. It had an income of £3.9 million in the year to 31 March 2017.Suffolk is a county in East Anglia. It is bounded by Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west, Essex to the south and the North Sea to the east. With an area of 1,466 square miles (3,800 km2), it is the eighth largest county in England, and in mid-2016 the population was 745,000. The top level of local government is Suffolk County Council, and below it are five borough and district councils: Babergh, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, East Suffolk, West Suffolk. Much of the coast consists of the estuaries of the Orwell, Stour, Alde, Deben and Blyth rivers, with large areas of wetlands and marshes. Agriculture and shipping play a major role in the county's economy.The whole or part of nine SWT reserves are Ramsar internationally important wetland sites, thirty-one are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, four are national nature reserves, ten are Special Protection Areas, ten are Special Areas of Conservation, seven are Nature Conservation Review sites, one contains a scheduled monument and three are local nature reserves. One SWT reserve is in Dedham Vale, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and seven are in another AONB, Suffolk Coast and Heaths.