Standing safely on high ground defended by a loop in the river Stour, Sudbury is a quiet market town of some 11,000 people, surrounded by the gentle countryside of south Suffolk. The very name of the place has a protected resonance: Sudbury means south fort in Anglo-Saxon. There has been a market in Sudbury since the late 9th century, and its important people and possessions were detailed in the Domesday Book compiled in 1086. The town has two famous sons of enormously different nature. Simon of Sudbury was Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chancellor (in effect the ruler of England at that period) who introduced the dreaded Poll Tax that provoked the Peasants’ Rebellion in 1381. Simon was dragged from his refuge in the Tower of London by Wat Tyler’s mob, and messily beheaded. In happier times Simon funded the rebuilding of St Gregory’s church, one of the town’s three Perpendicular churches, as well as a secular college - in those times Sudbury was a wealthy cloth town. His mummified head is kept at St Gregory’s as a relic. The other famous figure born here is Thomas Gainsborough, one of English painting’s greatest. Born in Sudbury in 1727 he went to the local grammar school. His statue stands, palette at the ready, in Market Hill. Gainsborough House, his birthplace, is now a museum to the artist with a considerable collection of his work, the building’s original timber-framed construction masked by the Georgian frontage his then prosperous father had added to it in the 1720s. There are plenty of other buildings worth a look in the town, from Tudor timber-framed cottages with over-hanging upper storeys to the town’s library, once its Corn Exchange, rather over-blown Victoriana externally (it was completed in 1841), whose airy interior now seems perfect for its current purpose. A famous visitor should also be mentioned here. Dickens covered the General Election in this rotten borough (which had two MPs) in 1835, his observation of the corruption and gerrymandering appearing in The Pickwick Papers with a little artistic embellishment.
Attraction
Clare Ancient House Museum
Clare Castle Country Park
Crooked House Gallery
Lavenham Guildhall of Corpus Christi
Little Hall
Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Museum
Caravan Park
Care Home
Catchpole Court
Dell Care Home
Firs Nursing Home
Girling Street & St Faith's Villa
Hillside Residential Home & Nursing
Mellish House
Turner Court
Club
Dentist
Bank Buildings Dental Surgery
Dental Surgery
The Dental Surgery
Doctor
Dr Hayhow & Partners
Glemsford Surgery
Farmers Market
Health and Fitness Club
Atlantic Health & Spa
Kingfisher Leisure Centre
Inn
Highbury Barn
Olde Bull Hotel
The Bay Horse
The Bell
The Black Boy
The Plough Inn
Market
Cavendish & Glemsford Car Boot
Sudbury Farmers' Market
Sudbury Market
Performing Arts
Sudbury Symphony Orchestra
Sudbury Theatretrain
Pub and Bar
Anchor Inn
Cock Inn (The)
Horn Public House
Kings Head
North Street Tavern
Swan
Swan Inn
The Lion
School
Stoke College
Stour Valley Community School
Taxi
Theatre
Sports Clubs
Acton CC, Essex (Cricket)
Cavendish Wanderers CC (Cricket)
Sudbury CC (Cricket)
Sudbury Hockey Club (Men's Hockey)
Sudbury Hockey Club (Women's Hockey)
Shops
Beckham Books
Boots
Assington Farm Shop
Willow Tree Farm
Rymans
Wyevale Garden Centre
Locks Lane
Gallery & Cafe 48
The Withindale Gallery
Lavenham Contemporary
The Hunter Gallery
Crokked House Gallery
Melford Fine Arts
The Gallery
Wildlife Art Gallery
Hunter Gallery
The Organic Box
H Samuel
Mayexperience
Edinburgh Woollen Mill
Specsavers
Fat Face
Winch & Blatch
Pets At Home
Inspirational Crafts
Little Gems Interiors
Activities
Cycle Club Sudbury(Cycling)
T & J Soccer(Football)
Swift Manor Farm Riding Centre(Riding)
Places to Stay near Sudbury
The Bay Horse (0.04 miles)
At the edge of the market town of Sudbury, this traditional family-run local pub offers en suite accommodation, a friendly atmosphere, free Wi-Fi and free parking. The Bay Horse is within walking ... More
The Bay Horse (0.04 miles)
Hotel Elizabeth, The Mill (0.35 miles)
Sudbury is the birthplace of Thomas Gainsborough, the famous portrait artist and the Gainsborough Museum is close by. Sudbury is a thriving historic market town bordered by water meadows with ... More
Hill Lodge (0.50 miles)
Family run, close to Sudbury town centre and all local amenities. 16 en- suite rooms with tea making, tv and internet access. Residents lounge bar, dining room. Off road parking, conferencing ... More
Olde Bull Hotel (0.60 miles)
A comfortable B & B for contractors, business people and holiday makers a like. Make use of our large hot tub and activity room with its exercise equipment. 16th Century Grade 1 ... More
Highbury Barn (1.54 miles)
Check availability and book this hotel online with Active Hotels
Warm and welcoming, the Highbury Barn is situated close to the historic market town of Sudbury, which is off the banks of the River ... More
George & Dragon (2.31 miles)
Crown Hotel (2.47 miles)
The Crown Hotel is a family run historic inn which was originally built in 1610 and retains many interesting features.Situated in the very centre of Long Melford’s famous high street, ... More
Bull Hotel (2.50 miles)
The Bull is situated on Long Melford's High Street, near the Village Green. The fine timbered house has a history dating back over 500 years and has been an Inn since ... More
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