page_title: Monk Soham
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Monk Soham / History
caption_attribution_description: English: This graph shows the population change for Monk Soham, Suffolk , as reported by the Cencus of the population from 1801 to 2011
context_page_description: Monk Soham is a village in Suffolk, eastern England, four miles northeast of Debenham and six miles northwest of Framlingham. The neighbouring villages are Bedfield, Ashfield cum Thorpe, Kenton and Bedingfield. The nearest primary school is in Bedfield. There are secondary schools in Framlingham, Debenham and Woodbridge.
  In 2011, Monk Soham had a population of 156.
  In the early 1870s, Monk Soham was described as a parish, with a village, in Hoxne district, Suffolk; four and a quarter miles WNW of Framlingham r. station. Post town, Wickham-Market. Acres, 1,569. Real property, £3,153. Pop., 442. Houses, 86. The property is subdivided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £530. There are a parochial school, and charities £80.
context_section_description: Monk Soham directly means "monks" meadow by a "lake".  The monks belonged to the abbey at Bury, and were given the land in the late 10th century by Alfed, Bishop of East Anglia. The lake no longer exists, however, it is believed to have reclined north of the back road which now runs from Earl Soham towards Ashfield-cum-Thorpe.
  In the Doomsday Book of 1086, "Soham" was described as a village which consisted of both Monk and Earl Soham. Monk Soham was considered to be in the Bishop's Hundred along with Hoxne, while Earl Soham was considered to be in a different hundred for judicial purposes. This suggests that both villages have since been separated, as on twenty-first century maps they have distinguished boundaries. The Doomsday book also states Monk Soham had fifteen acres of meadow and woodland for thirty pigs and eighty-one goats in the 11th century; this suggests that the rural town was focused on farming and agriculture and carried on this sector of work for many centuries, and in 1868 the parish was recorded as "wholly agricultural". Most of the woods were cut down between 1500 and 1640 to make room for pasture. County records describe the village as consisting mainly of meadow with the farming of dairy cows, pigs, horses and poultry as well as growing a variety of crops. Following the 13th century reorganization of the hundreds, Monk Soham was in Hoxne Hundred.
  Monk Soham was described as having a small market on a Saturday and a charity school in 1813. In the mid-1800s, a village school was built for 85 pupils. Attendance averaged 82 by 1883, however, it fell to 42 in 1900 and after gradual decline, in 1947 the school was closed. In 1958 the Suffolk Parish History described Monk Soham as "a small dispersed settlement". 
  Abbey House is a listed historical Victorian Rectory, set in an idyllic setting surrounded 
  by ten acres of private garden and meadowland. The house lies hidden amongst the many magnificent old oak, beech and lime trees in the grounds. Nowadays, it is a B&B which brands itself as a famous Victorian residence with very attractive grounds.
  Claude Morley, the English antiquary and entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera and Diptera, lived in Monk Soham House from 1904 until his death in 1951.
  It is clear that the monks used to take part in the recreational sport of fishing as the fishponds they used can still be identified today although most have dried up.
caption: This graph shows the population change for Monk Soham, Suffolk, as reported by the Census of the population from 1801 to 2011.
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