# Wickham Market

Wickham Market is a large village and electoral ward in the River Deben valley, Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coastal heritage area.
It is on the A12 trunk road 13 miles (21 km) north-east of the county town of Ipswich, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Woodbridge. Its railway station is 2 miles (3.2 km) east at Campsea Ashe. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,156.
All Saints Church is over 700 years old and its octagonal tower and lead spire (137.5 feet tall) dominate the skyline and make it visible for miles over the surrounding countryside. The exterior of the church is stone and flintwork. Inside there are four stained glass windows, a 600-year-old font, a carved pulpit and an altar table with a painted reredos. There are six bells in the tower and a Sanctus Bell in the cote. Nearby attractions include: Valley Farm Equestrian Visitor Centre, Easton Farm Park, Glevering Hall, the Snape Maltings, Framlingham Castle and Sutton Hoo.

## Wickham Market Iron Works

The Wickham Market Iron Works was an industrial site in Wickham Market that grew during the nineteenth century. The site had belonged to the Crane family and John Whitmore father Nathaniel Minter had a small millwright business here until his death in 1812. Whilst his widow, Elizabeth, kept the business going, hiring workers as appropriate, John completed his apprenticeship as a millwright. In 1827 he married Harriet Crane and launched his business with an announcement in the Ipswich Journal. By 1864 Whitmore and Sons employed 200 workers. By 1868 the company became Whitmore and Binyon a partnership which survived for 33 years until 1901 when the company was would up. The Iron Works was sold realising just under £500 and by 1903 little was left of the site except the office buildings.

## Wickham Mill

Deben Mill, also known as Wickham Mill is a grade II* listed watermill dating from the 18th century. The machinery is complete and in working order. In 1893, mill owner Reuben Rackham purchased a Whitmore and Binyon horizontal condensing steam-engine for his mill, priced at £25,000, to drive the entire plant. The engine was installed in July 1893 and the entire plant was operational by October of the same year. The engine was last worked in 1957 and was subsequently moved to Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket as a gift of Edward and Robert Rackham, Rueben Rackham's sons.

## Wickham Market Hoard

In 2008, one of the largest Iron Age coin finds was discovered at a site near Wickham Market.
The hoard of Iron Age gold staters was found in a field at Dallinghoo near the village, by car mechanic, Michael Dark using a metal detector. After excavation of the site, a total of 825 coins were found, and by the time the hoard was declared a treasure trove, 840 coins had been discovered.
The hoard was described as "the largest hoard of British Iron Age gold coins to be studied in its entirety", and was also significant in providing "a lot of new information about the Iron Age, and particularly East Anglia in the late Iron Age". It was the largest hoard of staters to be found since the Whaddon Chase Iron Age hoard in 1849.
The coins dated from 40 BC–15 AD and, at the time, would have been worth between £500,000–£1,000,000 to the Iceni tribes who inhabited the area.

## Notable residents

* Charles Emeny (1846–1924), an early photographer was born here
* Francis Lucas (1850–1918), businessman and Conservative Member of Parliament for Lowestoft 1900–1906
* Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy MBE (1952–2012), Royal Portrait painter best known for her many studies of famous people, the portrait for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II and her innovative techniques.
* Flora Sandes (1876–1956), the only British female soldier to officially serve in World War I.