West Stow Heath

West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village is an archaeological site and an open-air museum located near to West Stow in Suffolk, eastern England. Evidence for intermittent human habitation at the site stretches from the Mesolithic through the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Romano-British period, but it is best known for the small village that existed on the site between the mid-5th century and the early 7th century CE, during the early Anglo-Saxon period. During this time, around 70 sunken-featured buildings were constructed on the site, along with 8 halls and a number of other features. Subsequently, abandoned, the area became farmland in the Late Medieval period. Antiquarian interest in the site began in 1849, when a nearby Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered. Subsequent excavations of Romano-British pottery kilns took place in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, before the Anglo-Saxon settlement was revealed. The site was excavated between 1956 and 1972 by an archaeological team from the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works (MOPBW), led first by Vera Evison and then by Stanley West. Following the culmination of excavation, it was decided to reconstruct the village on the site, an experimental archaeological project which has been ongoing since 1974. In 1999, the site was opened to the public with a new visitor's centre, museum and cafe.

Lackford is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around four miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds on the A1101, in 2005 it had a population of 270.The parish contains the Lackford Lakes nature reserve and SSSI, created from reclaimed gravel pits. The Black Ditches run to the west of the parish and mark the parish boundary with Cavenham in places. These are believed to be the most easterly of a series of early Anglo-Saxon defensive earthworks built across the Icknield Way. Lackford Hall is believed to have been built around 1570 by the fourth son of the squire of West Stow Hall. The hall is a three-chimneyed timber-framed medieval hall house, containing church and abbey stone reclaimed following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. The Hall is believed by local historians to have been a hunting and fishing lodge. Lackford Lakes Barns are an adjacent quadrangle of barns built from local timber and flint around 1839, based upon engravings in the windows. The medieval St Lawrence's church is a grade II* listed building.

Lackford Lakes is a 105.8-hectare (261-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) north and east of Lackford in Suffolk. The SSSI is part of the 131-hectare (320-acre) Lackford Lakes nature reserve, which is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.The lakes are disused sand and gravel pits in the valley of the River Lark. There are diverse dragonfly species, and many breeding and overwintering birds, including nationally important numbers of gadwalls and shovelers. Skylarks breed on dry grassland, and lapwings in marshy meadows.There is access from the A1101 road.

Flempton is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is on the A1101 road 5 miles NW from Bury St Edmunds. Flempton takes its name from the Flemings who came from Flanders and settled the area in Anglo-Saxon times. The Domesday Book records the population of Flempton in 1086 to be 16 households. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 149 in 68 households.St Catherine's church is a grade II* listed building whose tower was rebuilt in 1839 after it collapsed.The Flempton is grouped with Hengrave to form a parish council made up of eight members, four from each parish.The East of England Regional Assembly was based in Flempton House until 2010. The former village pub is The Greyhound on The Green which closed in 2016. It is close to the River Lark. Flempton Forge and nearby Forge Cottage are grade II listed buildings on The Green. The forge has recently been converted to a holiday let.

All Saints' Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Icklingham, Suffolk, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in the highest point in the village, adjacent to the A1101 road between Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds. This was formerly the ancient trackway of Icknield Way, and Icklingham is close to an important junction on this trackway.

West Stow Hall is a Tudor manor house in West Stow, Suffolk, England, near Bury St Edmunds. It was begun in around 1520 for Sir John Croftes, Master of the Horse to Mary Tudor.

Deadman's Grave, Icklingham is a 127.3-hectare (315-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Icklingham in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.According to Natural England, this site "is largely covered by short, sheep-grazed, species-rich calcareous grassland of the very highest value." It has four nationally rare plants, Spanish catchfly, Boehmer's cat's-tail, Breckland Wild Thyme and spring speedwell. Nationally rare stone curlews breed there.A track called Seven Tree Road runs through the site.

Old Broom is a 6.5-hectare (16-acre) nature reserve north of Risby in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.This is a remnant of an ancient wood-pasture landscape with oak pollards between 250 and 500 years old. The dead wood and hollow centres of these trees provide a habitat for fungi and invertebrates, while the bark hosts mosses and lichens.There is no public access to this site.

Black Ditches is an earthwork close to the village of Cavenham of Suffolk, and part of it is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The earthwork is 4.5 miles long between the River Lark at Lackford and the Icknield Way. It is described by the Suffolk Historic Environment Record as having no direct dating evidence but "by analogy with other linear earthworks in the region it is usually assumed to be post Roman".Two sections of ditch remain visible, one to the north-east of the village and one to the south-east, covering a total of 4.5 miles (7.2 km). An 730 yards (670 m) stretch south of Cavenham is designated as an SSSI. Access to the Black Ditches is limited, with no public right of way.

West Stow is a small village and civil parish in West Suffolk, England. The village lies north of Bury St. Edmunds, south of Mildenhall and Thetford and west of the villages of Culford and Ingham in the area known as the Breckland. This area is located near the Lark River Valley and was settled from around AD 420–650. West Stow Hall is to the north of the village. Its name may come from Anglo-Saxon wēste stōw = "deserted place", rather than "western place". West Stow is home to the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village where visitors may see reconstructed Anglo-Saxon houses, and often living history re-enactments of early medieval life. Fullers Mill Garden run by Perennial (Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society) is open to the public.

Icklingham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located about 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Bury St Edmunds, 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Mildenhall and 9 miles (14 km) south-west of Thetford in Norfolk. The village is on the A1101 road between Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall in the north-west of the county. The area around the village, characterised by a sandy gravel-laden soil, is known as Breckland, though an arm of the fen-like peat follows the River Lark past the village. The village straddles the River Lark, a tributary to the Great Ouse. It was once navigable up to Bury St Edmunds, with locks installed; these are now redundant, the remains of at least one lock being visible near Icklingham. The river is the reason for the siting of Icklingham's most prominent industry, the local flour mill. There are two churches in the village: St. James, and All Saints Church, Icklingham, which is of Norman in origin and a Grade I listed building.The village is characterised by flint and pale brick cottages. There were two thriving public houses, including the magnificent thatched Red Lion, in the village, but they both closed. However, in October 2019, the Red Lion was re-opened as the Guinness Arms. A village shop no longer exists, and the village hall, the former School House, is now in private hands. The village contains 11 listed buildings.

Risby is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located around 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Bury St. Edmunds, north of the A14 road. It is believed that the village was founded in about the tenth century, presumably on the strength of its having a Norse name, possibly Rȳðs - by "farm settlement at a clearing" and identical to Ryssby in Sweden. The traditional division or Hundred in which it stands is Thingoe, also a Norse name. The village now has a population of 840, increasing to 866 at the 2011 Census.