Sapiston
Encyclopedia
Sapiston is a small village in the county of Suffolk
in England
, UK
located near the Suffolk
-Norfolk
border. It is in northern Suffolk lying on the river Blackbourn (really a stream). The name means village of soapmakers.
Sapiston is bordered to the south-west by Honington
, to the north-west by Fakenham Magna
, to the north by Euston
, to the east by Bardwell
, and to the south by Ixworth Thorpe
. It is 8 miles from Bury St Edmunds and 6 miles from Thetford
in Norfolk.
Also near RAF Honington
and two Joint RAF
/USAF
Bases RAF Lakenheath
and RAF Mildenhall
Settled in the 1070s, the oldest reference thus found of Sapiston is in the history of the Drurys, one of the oldest Suffolk families. Matilda, one of that family, married Henry de Sapiston to become Matilda de Sapiston around 1185.
Sapiston church dates back to the 12th century, (a little before the time of Matilda). It has not been in use since 1972 when the parishes of Sapiston and Honington were combined. The church is now maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust
http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/ and, although Sapiston's church is redundant, occasional services are still held there. For more details and photos of Sapiston church, see Simon Knott's informative page on his site Suffolk Churches
The village was originally right by the ford across the Blackbourn (or Black Bourn), but During the 14th century the entire village moved a few hundred metres north to escape from the Black Death
. Now only the Church of St Andrew
and The Grange farmhouse remain at the village’s original location.
It was in Sapiston that the Suffolk poet Robert Bloomfield
, author of "The Farmers Boy" (1800), worked from the age of ten to the age of fifteen. He was a farm labourer on the farm of his uncle William Austin (who is buried in Sapiston churchyard). Bloomfield was born in nearby Honington, and the church there contains a memorial to the poet, as well as many notes from admirers.
The local lord of the manor was the Duke of Grafton in neighbouring Euston. The first Duke of Grafton
, previously Earl of Euston, was Henry Fitzroy, the son of King Charles II
. The third Duke of Grafton
was briefly Prime Minister. The current Duke of Grafton
is the 12th.
. In common with much of the surrounding area, Sapiston and Honington were used for part of the series, in particular the episode "Dads Army Things that go Bump in the Night".
David Croft the director/producer of Dad's Army, 'Allo 'Allo!
, Are You Being Served?
, Hi-de-Hi!
, etc lived in Honington.
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
located near the Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
-Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
border. It is in northern Suffolk lying on the river Blackbourn (really a stream). The name means village of soapmakers.
Sapiston is bordered to the south-west by Honington
Honington, Suffolk
Honington is a small village in the county of Suffolk in England, located near the county's border with Norfolk border. The village lies on the River Blackbourn, approximately 8 miles from Bury St Edmunds and 6 miles from Thetford, Norfolk....
, to the north-west by Fakenham Magna
Fakenham Magna
Fakenham Magna is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the A1088 around eight miles north-east of Bury St Edmunds and four miles south-east of Thetford, in 2005 its population was 160....
, to the north by Euston
Euston, Suffolk
Euston is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the A1088 around two miles south of Thetford, in 2005 its population was 130....
, to the east by Bardwell
Bardwell, Suffolk
Bardwell is a village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk, England.- History and Amenities :The Domesday Book records the population of Bardwell in 1086 to be 86.The River Blackbourne passes about half a mile west of the village...
, and to the south by Ixworth Thorpe
Ixworth Thorpe
Ixworth Thorpe is a small village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the A1088 around a mile north-west of sister village Ixworth and five miles north-east of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 60....
. It is 8 miles from Bury St Edmunds and 6 miles from Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
in Norfolk.
Also near RAF Honington
RAF Honington
RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regiment depot and home to the Joint CBRN Regiment.-RAF use:...
and two Joint RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
/USAF
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Bases RAF Lakenheath
RAF Lakenheath
RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...
and RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...
History
- Sapiston, a parish in the hundred of Blackbourn, county Suffolk, 3½ miles N.W. of IxworthIxworthIxworth is a village and civil parish in the Borough of St Edmundsbury in Suffolk, United Kingdom. It is some northeast of Bury St Edmunds, on the A143 road to Diss and has a population of 2,177. Retrieved 2009-09-28]-Earthworks:...
, its post town, and 7 from Bury St. Edmund's. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on the River Blackbourn, a tributary of the River Little Ouse. It is wholly agricultural. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of ElyDiocese of ElyThe Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now covers Cambridgeshire and western Norfolk...
, value £100. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is an ancient stone structure, with a thatched roof and a square embattled tower. The interior of the church contains a monument to Farmer Austin, who resided here with Bloomfield. There is a parochial school, erected by the Duke of Grafton, who is lord of the manor.
-
- From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Settled in the 1070s, the oldest reference thus found of Sapiston is in the history of the Drurys, one of the oldest Suffolk families. Matilda, one of that family, married Henry de Sapiston to become Matilda de Sapiston around 1185.
Sapiston church dates back to the 12th century, (a little before the time of Matilda). It has not been in use since 1972 when the parishes of Sapiston and Honington were combined. The church is now maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/ and, although Sapiston's church is redundant, occasional services are still held there. For more details and photos of Sapiston church, see Simon Knott's informative page on his site Suffolk Churches
The village was originally right by the ford across the Blackbourn (or Black Bourn), but During the 14th century the entire village moved a few hundred metres north to escape from the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. Now only the Church of St Andrew
St Andrew's Church, Sapiston
St Andrew's Church, Sapiston, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Sapiston, Suffolk, England . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It stands at the end of a track to the south of the...
and The Grange farmhouse remain at the village’s original location.
It was in Sapiston that the Suffolk poet Robert Bloomfield
Robert Bloomfield
Robert Bloomfield was an English labouring class poet whose work is appreciated in the context of other self-educated writers such as Stephen Duck, Mary Collier and John Clare.-Life:...
, author of "The Farmers Boy" (1800), worked from the age of ten to the age of fifteen. He was a farm labourer on the farm of his uncle William Austin (who is buried in Sapiston churchyard). Bloomfield was born in nearby Honington, and the church there contains a memorial to the poet, as well as many notes from admirers.
The local lord of the manor was the Duke of Grafton in neighbouring Euston. The first Duke of Grafton
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton
Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton KG was the illegitimate son of King Charles II by Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine....
, previously Earl of Euston, was Henry Fitzroy, the son of King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. The third Duke of Grafton
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton
Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, KG, PC , styled Earl of Euston between 1747 and 1757, was a British Whig statesman of the Georgian era...
was briefly Prime Minister. The current Duke of Grafton
Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton
Henry Oliver Charles FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton is an English peer. He inherited the Dukedom of Grafton from his grandfather, the 11th Duke, on 7 April 2011.-Biography:...
is the 12th.
About Sapiston
Village Life & Folk Remembered a book by Syd Thurlow was written detailing many local stories about Honington & Sapiston. Here's what the Gazetteer of Suffolk had to say about it in 1855. Kelly's Directory of Suffolk described it like this in 1912.Dad's Army
This sleepy part of Suffolk proved to be an ideal filming location for the 1970s British TV show Dad's ArmyDad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
. In common with much of the surrounding area, Sapiston and Honington were used for part of the series, in particular the episode "Dads Army Things that go Bump in the Night".
David Croft the director/producer of Dad's Army, 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
, Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
, Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom that aired on the BBC from 1980-1988. It was set in a holiday camp during the 1950s and 1960s and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had written Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The title was the phrase used to greet the campers and in early episodes...
, etc lived in Honington.