Alphabetical Tour of Suffolk Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aldeburgh

Aldeburgh is on the Suffolk Heritage Coast, about eight miles from Saxmundham. Aldeburgh has a long pebble beach that is often lined with fishermen's boats. The Moot Hall at Aldeburgh was built in the early sixteenth century, and thanks to coastal erosion, now stands a lot nearer the shore than it did originally. The composer Benjamin Britten was born further up the coast at Lowestoft, but made his home at Aldeburgh and died there in 1976. One of Britten's best known works, 'Peter Grimes', was based on a poem by George Crabbe, who was born at Aldeburgh in 1754 and, like Britten was inspired by the local landscape. Maggi Hambling's Scallop sculpture, which features a line from 'Peter Grimes' stands on the beach to the north of the town. Much of the Aldeburgh Music Festival actually takes place in a concert hall at nearby Snape Maltings.

Aldringham is a village not far from Aldeburgh and also near to the small town of Leiston and the Sizewell nuclear power stations. The Hamlet of Thorpe is part of Aldringham. The village church is noted in many guide books for its 15th century font. Aldringham church yard is the final resting place of Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie who built the fantasy holiday village at nearby Thorpeness.

Alderton is a village approximately seven miles from Woodbridge and like Aldeburgh and Aldringham, takes its name from the nearby River Alde. There are also villages called Alderton in several other counties including Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Aldham is a small village located approximately eight miles west of Ipswich. The village church of St Mary has a round tower. The village name is believed to be derived from the term 'old meadow' and at the time of the Domesday Book it had a population of just sixteen.

Answer: Bawdsey

Bawdsey stands at the mouth of the River Deben. Bawdsey Manor, which can be seen from some distance along the coast, was built in 1886 and was purchased by the air ministry in 1936. Robert Watson-Watt, the man credited with inventing radar, worked at Bawdsey Research Station in the late 1930s, and the work he did there resulted in a chain of radar stations being placed along the south coast. These provided the information that helped the British Air Force win the Battle of Britain. Visitors to Bawdsey can take a row-boat ferry across the Deben estuary to nearby Felixstowe. The ferry can be summoned from the Bawdsey side by waving a white bat. Bawdsey's other claim to fame is a rare post box which has the insignia of Edward VIII, who was never actually crowned king because he renounced the throne in December 1936 in order to marry Wallis Simpson.

Bury St Edmunds has a cathedral which only acquired a tower in 2005. The ruins of an abbey dedicated to St Edmund, the Saxon King of the East Angles can be found in the town. Bury is also home to the Theatre Royal, one of the oldest purpose built theatres in the country and The Nutshell, Britain's smallest pub.

Beccles is the largest town in the Waveney district. It is close to the county border with Norfolk and is on the Norfolk Broads. Probably the best known landmark in Beccles is the bell tower of St Michaels church which stands slightly apart from the church itself and is nearly one hundred feet tall. Lord Nelson's parents, Catherine Suckling and Rev Edward Nelson were married at St Michaels Church Beccles in 1749.

Bungay is a market town approximately five miles from Beccles and again close to the Norfolk border and part of The Broads National Park. Bungay has a ruined castle. The first castle was built by Earl Hugh Bigod, First Earl of Norfolk, between 1165 and 1174, possibly to rival Henry II's castle at Orford, thirty miles away, but the ruins that remain today date from 1294. Bungay has associations with the legend of Black Shuck, a demonic dog, whose alleged attacks included the killing of two worshippers at St Mary's church Bungay in the late sixteenth century.

Answer: Clare

Clare is an attractive little medieval wool town on the River Stour, close to the Essex border. Clare has lots of pretty sixteenth century cottages as well as the remains of a twelfth century castle, four churches, Clare Priory (founded in 1248) and is a place worth visiting if you like nice walks and pretty scenery. The name of the town may be derived from the 'clear' water of the river as it flows through the town.

Coddenham is a small and rather quaint village on the B1078, roughly two miles east of Needham Market. There has been a settlement here since Roman times and some historians believe it was the largest Roman settlement in Suffolk. The village has ancient narrow streets and a lot of attractive old buildings dating from late medieval times through to the eighteenth century.

Claydon is a village just off the A14 on the outskirts of Ipswich. It's most distinctive building is probably Mockbeggars Hall. Built in the 1600s and once home to the Bishop of London, Mockbeggars Hall is now a guest house.

Cretingham is a village close to the small town of Debenham and approximately nine miles from Woodbridge. In October 1887, the church curate, Arthur Gilbert-Cooper slit the throat of the vicar with a razor. The inquest was held in the village pub and the curate was found to be both guilty and "of unsound mind". He was sent to Broadmoor for forty years.

Answer: Debenham

The source of the Deben is near the Suffolk town of Debenham, which lies about ten miles to the east of Stowmarket. The area is known mainly for agricultural production. Like many Suffolk towns, Debenham has plenty of buildings dating from the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as well as a medieval pub and a brick manor house with a moat. The River Deben flows from Debenham through Wickham Market and Ufford to Woodbridge before turning into a tidal estuary that flows past Kyson Point, Waldringfield and Ramsholt before joining the sea between Felixstowe Ferry and Bawdsey.

Dunwich is a small village close to a sandy cliff on the Suffolk coast. In Roman times it was a small town and stood much further in land, but over the centuries it has crumbled into the sea. During a storm in 1342, as many as 400 houses were lost. Dunwich may have had up to nine parish churches, the last of which was abandoned in 1755 and its remains fell into the sea in 1919. Local legend has it that during storms you can hear the bells of lost churches ringing from beneath the waves.

Darsham is a village just off the A12, about four miles from Saxmundham. The name of the village is believed to derive from 'Doeres Ham', meaning Home of the Deer. In 1997, actor, author, writer and TV presenter Michael Palin attended a ceremony on Darsham station where he had a train named after him. Darsham appears to be proud of its link to the rail system as the village sign features a steam engine.

The village of Dennington, which is just north of Framlingham, was once home to Lord Bardolph who fought at the Battle of Agincourt and served as treasurer to King Henry V. The tomb of Lord and Lady Bardolph, who both died during the 1440s, can be found in Dennington's village church.

Answer: Euston

Euston is located on the A1088 between Honington and Thetford and Euston Hall is currently home to the 11th Duke of Grafton. The 1st Duke of Grafton was Henry Fitzroy, illegitimate son of King Charles II and one of his many mistresses, Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine. Part of Euston Hall, which is open to the public during the summer, was rebuilt after a fire in 1902, but some of it dates back to 1666. The wooded park that surrounds the hall was landscaped by Capability Brown.

Erwarton is close to Holbrook on the Shotley Peninsula, about nine miles from Ipswich. Erwarton Hall has an enormous Tudor gatehouse and it is believed locally that Elizabeth I's mother, Anne Boleyn stayed at the hall as a child as her aunt was the wife of the Hall's owner. It is possible that Anne stayed at Erwarton while she was courting Henry VIII and even after she became Queen. Some say that after her execution in 1536, Anne's heart was placed in a box within the chancel of Erwarton Church.

Suffolk artist Thomas Gainsborough painted a scene at Elmsett in 1750, featuring the church and countryside. Opposite St Peter's Church can be seen the Tithe Memorial, erected in 1935 to commemorate a protest that had taken place the previous year. The villagers protested against the ancient tithe tax which was still being used in the 1930s, forcing landowners to contribute a percentage of their income to the upkeep of the local clergy. During the protest, villagers prevented the collection of 'tithe dues' of furniture from Elmsett Hall by crowding the roads and also felling a number of large trees to block the farm entrance.

In 1916, Elveden, near Brandon, was the scene of some of the earliest training in tank warfare. In earlier times, Elveden Hall was home to the man who brought the Koh-I-Noor diamond to Britain, Duleep Singh, Maharajah of the Sikhs who was banished from India in 1856. He bought the house in 1863 and had it transformed into a palace modelled on those in Lahore and Delhi. During WWII, the hall was used as a headquarters for the US Air force. Later in the 20th century, parts of the films "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999) and "Tomb Raider" (2001) were shot at Elveden Hall. Elveden Forrest, which is part of Thetford Forest, is the location of a Center Parcs holiday complex.

Answer: Felixstowe

Felixstowe is the only sea-side resort in East Anglia to face south. Its main claim to fame is the huge container port at its southernmost point, which is the largest container port in Britain. Among the famous people who have connections to the town are Wallis Simpson, who stayed in Felixstowe for six weeks during the abdication crisis of 1936. An earlier royal visitor was King Edward III in 1338. The actor Sir John Mills grew up in Felixstowe and has a theatre named after him in nearby Ipswich, and in the days of the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, one T E Lawrence of Arabia (then called Airman Shaw) served at Felixstowe. There have been fortifications at Landguard Fort, Felixstowe since the early the 1540s and in 1667 Landguard Fort resisted an attempted invasion by Dutch forces, making it the only fort in England ever to have repelled a full scale invasion attempt.

Framlingham is a small market town in the east of Suffolk and is home to a 12th century castle, which belonged to the Earls and Dukes of Norfolk for many centuries and was briefly the refuge of Mary I in 1553. It was here that Mary mustered her forces before marching to London to claim her throne from Lady Jane Grey. The castle brought status and prosperity to the town and this is reflected in the ornate tombs, grand organ and carvings within St Michael's church. Besides the tombs of the Howard family (Dukes of Norfolk and relatives of the Boleyns) there is also that of Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond, illegitimate son of Henry VIII and Elizabeth Blount. FitzRoy's tomb, which is decorated with scenes from Genesis and Exodus, was moved to the church from Thetford Priory in the 1530s.

Fressingfield, located in 'high Suffolk', approximately twelve miles from the Norfolk town of Diss, probably takes its name from the Frisians who were early settlers in the village. Remains of a Roman road, which once ran for fifteen miles between Pulham and Peasenhall, passes through Fressingfield village. The area's main industry has long been agriculture and at the end of the 19th century there were three windmills at Fressingfield.

Freston Tower stands on the banks of the River Orwell and was built in the 1570s, although no one really knows why or what for. It is six stories high, but so narrow that there is only one room on each floor. One local legend suggests the tower was built as a place of study for Ellen Latimer, daughter of Lord De Freston and that she studied a different subject on each floor, finishing with astronomy at the top.

Answer: Gedding

Gedding is a very small village in Mid Suffolk. Gedding Hall is a partly moated mansion, which was originally built in 1196 but was altered in the 1400s century and again in 1897. Gedding Hall is owned by Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who has developed an interest in the history of his home after digging up a number of ancient artifacts in the grounds of this manor house.

Glemsford, near Sudbury, is one of the largest villages in West Suffolk. It has records dating back to Edward the Confessor and was later recorded in the Domesday Book. Glemsford was a weaving centre for many years, producing a white cloth at a time when most Suffolk producers dyed their cloth blue. Thread from the silk factory at Glemsford has been woven into dresses and robes for various members of the royal family for nearly 200 years.

Great Finborough is a village three miles west of Stowmarket and was originally part of the Finborough Hall Estate. BBC DJ and national treasure John Peel lived in the village for 33 years until his death in 2004. He is buried in the village and his grave stone includes a line from his favourite song, "Teenage Kicks" by The Undertones.

Grundisburgh is a small village near Woodbridge, the name of which might be derived from the name Grundi, a ninth century Viking who built his fort nearby. The village church has an unusual brick tower which was added some 600 years after the church was built.

Answer: Honington

Honington, a village eight miles from Bury St Edmunds, was the birthplace of little known poet Robert Bloomfield. Known as 'the peasant poet', Bloomfield's works included "The Farmers Boy" (1800), which sold 26,000 copies, "Rural Tales" (1802) and "Wild Flowers" (1806).
Writer of television comedy David Croft (who co-wrote "Dad's Army" and "Hi-De-Hi") lives at Honington. The village is best known for the RAF base of the same name that has sat alongside it since the 1930s.

The village of Holbrook on the Shotley Peninsula is home to the Royal Hospital School. Originally for sons of officers and men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, the school moved to Holbrook from Greenwich in 1933 and now admits girls as well as boys. Actor, Comedian and TV Presenter Griff Rhys Jones has a home at Holbrook.

Hadleigh is an ancient market town on the River Brett. In Viking times it was a royal town and Danish leader Guthrum the Great lived at Hadleigh for twelve years and died there in 890. Like many towns in the area, Hadleigh was once known for cloth dying and was prosperous during the 15th and 16th centuries. It retains many beautiful buildings from this time as well as some fine houses from the later Regency and Victorian eras.

Hartest is yet another pretty Suffolk village full of old painted cottages with thatched roofs. The village, which celebrated its millennium in 1990, is approximately seven miles north of Sudbury and records suggest a church was first established there between AD 981 and 1020. Terry Waite, former envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury who was held hostage in Beirut in the 1990s, lives at Hartest.

Answer: Ipswich

Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk, is approximately seventy miles from London and is a much nicer and more interesting town than many would expect (I would say that, I live there). Ipswich was named 'cleanest town in Britain' in March 2007. It stands on the estuary of the River Orwell about twelve miles from the sea. It has a Victorian Town Hall, approximately seventeen churches, ten of which were recorded at Domesday, and numerous other old buildings. Ipswich is one of England's oldest towns; there is evidence of Roman settlement in the area and the town began to develop during Saxon times, many centuries before King John granted its charter. Thomas Wolsey, who rose to immense power as Cardinal Wolsey during the reign of Henry VIII, was born in Ipswich; he founded in a school in the town, hoping it would rival the best schools in the country, but all that remains of it is the gate. Christchurch Mansion, built in 1548 is an interesting place; paintings by Constable and Gainsborough can be seen there and the surrounding Christchurch Park is a popular local attraction. There is still a port at Ipswich and the waterfront area has undergone huge regeneration in recent years. When the wet dock was first enclosed in the 1840s it was thirty-three acres, which at that time made in the largest enclosed body of water in the world. Ipswich was the first town in England to have gas powered street lights. Among many well known people born in Ipswich are children's TV Presenter Brian Cant, actor Ralph Fiennes, actress Jane Lapotaire and theatre and film director Trevor Nunn.

Ickworth is a village near Bury St Edmunds. The rather unusual round building that is Ickworth House sits among 1800 acres of parkland and was home to the Earls and Marquises of Bristol from the late 15th century onward, but is now owned by the National Trust. Building work on the present house with its rotunda at the centre started in 1794.

Iken is a tiny place on the banks of the River Alde, a little to the north of Orford. A monastery was founded at Iken around AD 654 by St Botolph and the little village church is named after St Botolph. (Quiz Author's tip - it's a really nice walk along the river bank from Snape Maltings to Iken church, but you will need your wellies!)

Icklingham is a village to the north west of Bury St Edmunds, on the River Lark, which probably takes its name from the Iceni tribe who once lived there. The village has two churches and an ancient history; pagan bronzes and Roman coins have been found in the area.

Answer: Kersey

Kersey is a picturesque village which, like many in the area, was prosperous during the height of the wool trade in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Kersey cloth was a type of rough twill broadcloth, favoured in the manufacture of greatcoats and army uniforms. The village pub is 700 years old and there are many Elizabethan buildings still standing along the main street, which is crossed by the Splash (a ford for a small tributary of the River Brett) and it is not unusual to see ducks on the water in the middle of the street. The view of the Splash and the cottages nearby has appeared on many calendars and post cards. The adventure writer, Ralph Hammond Innes lived at Kersey and died there in 1998 at the age of eighty-four.

Kessingland is close to Lowestoft and is home to a small zoo. The ninety-six foot tower of St Edmund's church can be seen from the sea and has been used as a marker by sailors since the 15th century. This small resort has older history than this, however. Remains from the Palaeolithic and Neolithic eras have been found in the area and traces of an ancient forest found on the sea bed. The novelist H Rider Haggard, who lived at nearby Ditchingham, often spent his summers at Kessingland.

Kelsale-cum-Carlton, located to the north of Saxmundham, is another ancient Suffolk settlement that can trace its origins back to Domesday and which has an 11th century church. The village incorporates several small hamlets.

Kettleburgh, a village near Framlingham on the banks of the River Deben, takes its name from a Viking called Ketyl who settled there. Sir William Charles laid the foundations of Kettleburgh Old Hall in 1261. Two years later King Henry III granted Sir William the right to hold a market in the village once a week. In 1867, James Brighton Grant of Kettleburgh became the last man in England to be imprisoned for non-payment of church rates.

Answer: Lavenham

Lavenham is probably the most famous of the numerous beautiful Suffolk towns and villages that flourished from the 14th to the 16th centuries as a result of cloth making. During medieval times, Lavenham was in the top twenty wealthiest towns in England. The town centre is full of half-timbered houses, many standing at crooked angles and over 300 of which are officially listed as being of architectural and historical interest. The town has a huge 15th century church, paid for with profits from the cloth trade and has a wealth of Tudor buildings, including The Guild Hall. Inside the church is a rather touching book commemorating the town's war dead. The poet Jane Taylor lived in Lavenham during the early 1800s and it is claimed that the view from her window on Shilling Street of a star shining above lead her to write the words for; "Twinkle, twinkle, little star."

Long Melford is not far from Lavenham and derived some of its prosperity from the same industry, although it is believed to have been a prosperous town as far back as Roman times. It also boasts an enormous church, quiet greens and two stately homes. Melford Hall was built in the 1550s and then added to in the Georgian era. There is an account of Queen Elizabeth I being entertained at Melford Hall and some centuries later, Beatrix Potter was a regular visitor. There is a room dedicated to her with some of her water colours on display. Kentwell Hall is a Tudor house that has been restored to how it might have looked when it was first built in the 16th century and has become well known for its Tudor re-enactments. The village name is believed to derive from the fact that it is long (stretching for around three miles along either side of a single road) and from the 'Mill Ford' crossing of the Chad Brook, a tributary of the nearby River Stour. Long Melford is very well known locally for its antique shops.

Lowestoft's claims to fame are that it was the birth place of the composer Benjamin Britten, is the home town of three members of the rock band The Darkness and it is the most easterly place in the United Kingdom. At one time, Lowestoft was a thriving fishing port with more than 700 trawlers working out of it, but nowadays its main industry is tourism.

Levington is a village on the Orwell estuary, six miles south of Ipswich. Levington may have been the centre of illegal activities carried out by local criminal Margaret Catchpole in the 18th century. Modern day Levington is known for its marina.

Answer: Mildenhall

Mildenhall is a small market town on the River Lark, just off the A11 and probably best known today for the USAAF base alongside it. Mildenhall Air Show was a popular local event for many years. The town has an ancient history, with a market cross dating from 1412 and the usual quota of 16th century buildings. There is evidence of Stone Age and Bronze Age settlements in the area and the town became famous in the 1940s when thirty-four pieces of 4th century Roman silver tableware were found by local ploughman Gordon Butcher. These items, rated among the top ten treasure finds in Britain, were claimed by The Crown and are now housed in the British museum. Replicas of the silver ware can be seen at the Mildenhall Museum and Gordon Butcher's story was immortalised in Roald Dahl's novel "The Mildenhall Treasure", which was published in 1999, although the story had appeared in print earlier than this.

Mendham is a village on the River Waveney, close to the Norfolk border (nearest town is Diss) and was the birthplace of Sir Alfred Munnings, who became famous for his paintings of racehorses. The design of the village sign was inspired by one of Munnings' paintings.

Martlesham is a village on the outskirts of Ipswich, just off the A12. The oldest part of the village is beside the River Finn and the newer part, known as Martlesham Heath occupies an area what was once a military airfield and before that was heath land. An airfield was established at Martlesham during the First World War and during the Second World War it was home to 242 Squadron, which included Sir Douglas Bader. USAAF 356th Fighter Group was also stationed there. The airfield closed in the 1980s. Modern day Martlesham is the location of BT's research centre and the headquarters of Suffolk Constabulary.

Monks Eleigh is a village in the heart of Suffolk on the A1141 near Lavenham, on the banks of the River Brett. There has been a settlement here since the Stone Age and artifacts from around 3500BC have been found. Many of the cottages and houses in Monks Eleigh date from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. There has never been a monastery in the village; the Monks of its name were actually in Canterbury and drew an income from the local lands for many centuries. The village name appears to be derived from Illa who was the widow of a local land owner in Saxon times. It seems that in her will, Illa bequeathed her lands to the monks of Canterbury, despite being over 100 miles from that great seat of religion and hence the area was known as Monks Illa or Monks Iileigh and the name eventually morphed into Monks Eleigh.

Answer: Newmarket

Newmarket is known as the home of British Horse Racing and has in the region of sixty training establishments and fifty stud farms. It has two racecourses and is also the location of the National Horse Racing Museum, the British Racing School and Palace House which was once the residence of King Charles II who was keen on 'the sport of kings'. Nell Gwynn's House is in the same street as Palace House and some say the two properties were once connected by an underground passage. It was Charles II's grandfather, King James I, who organised the first horse race in 1619. Another regular visitor to Newmarket was the Suffolk born artist, Sir Alfred Munnings, who became famous for his paintings of racehorses.

Needham Market is located on the B1113 between Ipswich and Stowmarket and is beside the River Gipping. In the 12th century, the stone used to build the abbey at Bury St Edmunds passed along the river here. Modern day Needham Market is a small town, but up until the early 20th century it was only a hamlet of nearby Barking (today only a village) and the origins of its name ("needy homestead with a market") clearly hark back to when it was a very small place indeed. King Henry III granted a market charter for Needham in 1245, but trade appears to have moved to nearby Stowmarket at the time of the plague. Needham was isolated during the plague and much of its trade was lost as well as the market. War artist Samuel Read, who worked for the London Illustrated News during the Crimean War, was born at Needham Market.

Norton was once, allegedly, the scene of a minor gold rush. A search for gold was made here during the reign of Henry VIII, although it would appear this search was unsuccessful. Writer Penny Croft (whose father David was one half of legendary sit-com writing team Croft and Perry) lives at Norton.

Newbourne may have been named after a Dane, Nebrunaa, who made the village his home. Later residents of the village, George and Meadows Page, were minor celebrities in the 1860s due to their being over seven feet tall and their former home is named Giants House. After being spotted at an Easter Fair in Woodbridge, the brothers were given contracts to tour the regions as part of Samuel Whiting's travelling fair. A gravestone dedicated to the 'The Suffolk Giant', George Page, can be found in the churchyard of St Mary, Newbourne. The church itself made the news when its entire east end was blown out in the great storm of October 1987.

Answer: Orford

Orford Castle was built in 1165 by Henry II and was one of the most important castles in medieval England. The keep is all that remains of the castle today. It is open to the public and there is an impressive view from the top of the keep. Opposite the village of Orford is a strip of shingle known as Orford Ness, which is nine miles long (making it the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe) and is home to a wide variety of marine birds. Orford Ness is moving and changing all the time as a result of shifting tides, and is now a nature reserve maintained by the National Trust. During the middle part of the 20th century, Orford Ness was an important military testing station which only closed in the 1980s.

Oulton Broad is home to a collection of rare boats and is the place where the world's first working hovercraft model was tested in 1956. At one time the village was also home to Sir John Fastolfe a man who fought bravely at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and who built Caister Castle in Norfolk. Fastolfe's name was 'borrowed' by William Shakespeare for one of his more comic characters, Sir John Falstaff. Norfolk born author George Borrow lived in Oulton Broad and wrote a number of his books there.

Offton is a small village, with a population of less than 400 and is located about seven miles north west of Ipswich. During the time of King Offa, when England was three smaller states (Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex) there was a castle here and the village name may commemorate King Offa.

The village of Otley is eight miles from Ipswich and home to Otley College and the rather lovely 16th century Otley Hall. A partly-moated timber and brick building, Otley Hall was home to the Gosnold family for 300 years. The best known member of the family, Bartholomew Gosnold (1571-1607) was something of an explorer. In 1602 he lead an expedition to what is now known as the USA, landing at Cape Cod and naming Martha's Vineyard after his wife and daughter. In 1607, a full thirteen years before the Pilgrim Fathers, Gosnold set sail again with a larger party who founded Jamestown, the first permanent English speaking settlement in North America.

Answer: Polstead

Polstead, a village close to the River Box and about five miles from Hadleigh was at one time the home of thriller writer Ruth Rendell. In 1827, a real life murder, known as 'The Murder in The Red Barn' occurred in the village. The victim was Maria Marten, who is believed to have had an illegitimate child (which died) with William Corder, the local squire's son. Maria's family wanted them to marry. Corder claimed to have sent Maria away so that their marriage should not be known, but a year later, following a prophetic dream of Maria's stepmother, her body was found buried below the floor of the Red Barn. After Maria's body was discovered, William Corder, who had moved to London, was convicted of her murder and publicly hanged before a large crowd at Bury St Edmunds in 1828. The thatched cottage that was once Maria Marten's home survives, but was badly damaged by fire in November 2007.

Pakenham is located north east of Bury St Edmunds. The village sign reflects the fact that this small village is home to two mills - a windmill and a watermill. The last working watermill in Suffolk, Pakenham Watermill was built around 1814 and is open to the public during the summer months. The tower of the windmill was built in 1831 and is one of the best preserved in the country. The village is also home to a church in the rather unusual cruciform design. Remains of a post-Boudiccan fort, believed to date from the year 400, were discovered at Pakenham in 1985.

Peasenhall, a village on the A1120, approximately five miles from the small market town of Saxmundham, was once home to a James Smyth, who designed and manufactured an agricultural seed drill (which was labelled "James Smythe, London, Paris, Peasenhall"). James Smythe & Sons provided the main industry in the village for over two centuries and their seed drills were sold all over the world, until manufacture ceased in the 1960s. In 1902, a young woman, Rose Harsent (who is alleged to have been pregnant), was brutally murdered in the village. The man tried for this offence (William Gardiner) was later acquitted due to unreliable witnesses at a trial where the counsel for the prosecution was H F Dickens, son of author Charles. The main street in Peasenhall is a conservation area and has a stream (nicknamed the River Yox, after the neighbouring village of Yoxford) running the length of it.

Playford, a small village about four miles from the centre of Ipswich, was once the home of Sir George Airy, who lived at Airy Cottage. Sir George was Astronomer Royal and was director of the Greenwich Royal Observatory for forty-six years.

Answer: Rendlesham

The Rendlesham Forest Incident is regarded as the most significant UFO incident to have occurred in the UK. Rendlesham Forest is large pine forest just north of Woodbridge, and the details of what happened there vary depending on which source you read. In December 1980, some US Airmen from nearby bases RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge reported mysterious pulsating lights in Rendlesham Forest. A security patrol was sent to investigate and it is claimed they saw "a conical object about the size of a small car, floating on beams of light above the ground" which flew away before it could be photographed. The case has been the cause of great debate ever since. Was it a UFO? As this happened at the height of the cold war, there was even speculation that the US Airman had witnessed a Russian military craft of some kind. In 2003, The BBC's "Inside Out" documentary suggested that the whole thing had been a hoax after an American serviceman claimed that the lights were a practical joke that he had played on his colleagues using the headlamps from his car. However, a great many people still believe that little green men came to Suffolk in December 1980.

Rattlesden is a large village located on the River Rat between Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds. During WWII, Rattlesden Airfield was the base for a squadron of American airman and today the airfield is home to Rattlesden Gliding Club.

Ringshall is a very small village, about five miles from Stowmarket and very near to Wattisham Airfield. It is possible that the name Ringshall is derived from a now vanished henge monument. Plans are underway to restore the 17th century grade II listed Orchard Barn at Ringshall and turn it into an environmental education centre.

Rendham is a village located between Saxmundham and Framlingham. The poet George Crabbe, who was born at nearby Aldeburgh, was at one time the rector of St Michael's church, Rendham. Another artistic resident is Maggi Hambling who made the scallop sculpture that stands on the beach at Aldeburgh as a tribute to the composer Sir Benjamin Britten, who used Crabbe's work "The Borough" as the basis for his opera "Peter Grimes". A bronze head in the image of the Emperor Claudius was found in the river Alde at Rendham in 1907 and is on display in the British Museum.

Answer: Santon Downham

Santon Downham is a village on the edge of Suffolk, near Brandon. The village is located within Thetford Forrest, very close to the Norfolk border in a district known as Breckland. The village was built on shifting sands and was almost obliterated by the 'Great Sand Blow' of 1668, when strong winds from the south west blew the soil into sand dunes that covered and destroyed houses and clogged the river. A number of people were killed and some historians believe that shifting sands in the area in the 17th century is a more likely cause of the depopulation of Breckland villages than the Plague. The shifting sand problems have been largely resolved by the planting of trees and hedges.

Sudbury stands upon the River Stour near the border with Essex, approximately fifteen miles from Colchester, and was the birthplace of one of Suffolk's great painters, Thomas Gainsborough. Gainsborough developed the technique of putting group portraits in front of a landscape. "The Blue Boy" and "The Duchess of Devonshire" are among his better known works. The house where he was born is now a museum and art gallery. For centuries the weaving and silk industry prospered here and many great houses and churches were built. Sudbury's earliest historical mention was in AD 799, when it was recorded that Bishop Aelfhun, the Bishop of Dunwich, died in the town. Sudbury has been used for television locations, most significantly for BBC's "Lovejoy". There are at least two other places called Sudbury in the UK as well as locations in the USA and Canada.

Snape is probably best known today for the Maltings built by Newson Garrett in the 1850s and used today as a shopping centre, art gallery and concert venue. Centuries before the maltings were built, the Saxons were at Snape and a Saxon burial ship was discovered in the village in 1862. Evidence of Roman salt pans has also been found in the area. Other significant buildings include a 14th century long barn and a windmill dating from the mid 17th century.

Southwold is an attractive sea-side town that sits on a cliff top above the North Sea at the mouth of the River Blyth. The town's many Georgian cottages are painted in pretty pastel colours. Much of the town was destroyed by fire in 1659, which is why it has few buildings from before this date. The white lighthouse at Southwold (constructed in 1887) has appeared in many paintings and the town has a long association with artists. Painters have been drawn to the area for at least 200 years and author George Orwell (who took the name Orwell from one of Suffolk's great rivers) spent time at his parent's home in the town during the 1930s. The films "East of Ipswich" (1987) and "Iris" (2002) were shot in Southwold, as were episodes of TV series "Kavanagh QC". The town is also known for Adnams Ale, which has been brewed on the same site in Southwold since the 17th century.

Answer: Theberton

Theberton, a small village approximately four miles from Saxmundham, was once home to Charles Montagu Doughty, who travelled extensively in Arabia and the Middle East during the 19th century, and was the author of a number of travel books, including "Travels in Arabia Deserta". T E Lawrence of Arabia is said to have consulted Doughty's books when planning his own travels. Doughty is buried in the graveyard of Theberton village church, St Peter's. During World War I, a German Zeppelin was brought down in a field near the village. Some of the crew were buried in St Peter's churchyard, where there is a memorial to them, but during the 1970s their remains were moved to a German cemetery in Staffordshire.

Thorpeness is six miles from Saxmundham and just a little to the north of Aldeburgh. It was just another fishing village until the early 1900s when Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie began transforming the place into a holiday village. Thorpeness features black and white mock-Tudor style houses as well as buildings in the Jacobean style and a boating lake, known as Thorpeness Mere, which features models of characters from the book Peter Pan, whose author J M Barrie was a friend of Ogilvie. Another notable feature of the village is the eighty-five foot high 'House in The Clouds', which was once the village water tower but was disguised as a very tall house in order to make it look nicer (and is available to rent for holidays). Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie is buried at nearby Aldringham. The village remained the property of the Ogilvie family up until the 1970s when some of the property had to be sold to pay death duties.

Tattingstone is a village approximately six miles from Ipswich and is home to what is known locally as the "Tattingstone Wonder" - a row of cottages made to look like a church. From one side the cottages, which were built in the 18th century, have a flint front with Gothic windows and a flint tower, but from the other side they are of red brick and the tower has only three walls.

Located so close to Felixstowe as to almost be a suburb of the town, Trimley is really two separate villages, Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary, but generally they are referred to as one. Once upon a time, there was a third Trimley (Trimley St John, also known as Alston) but this was absorbed by the other two around 400 years ago. Local rumour has it that the two churches of St Martin and St Mary which give the two parishes their names were built by two quarrelsome sisters who didn't want to worship at the same place; however there is no hard evidence to support this story. Grimston Hall, Trimley was the home of the Cavendish family for over 300 years. Thomas Cavendish was a sailor in Elizabethan times and he accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh to the 'New World'. Thomas Cavendish was the second Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, setting sail in 1586 but his next expedition, begun in 1591 ended in tragedy and he was one of 61 people who died on the voyage.

Answer: Walberswick

Walberswick hosts the British Open Crabbing Championships each summer. The competition is open to all ages and over a ninety minute period using a single line and bait of the competitors' choice, the contestant landing the heaviest crab wins. In 2007, 762 people took part; a record number of entrants. The village name may have come from the name of a Saxon landowner, possibly Waldbert or Walhbert and the word "wyc" meaning shelter or harbour. In the 15th century, Walberswick was much larger than it is now and was a prosperous port with a thriving shipbuilding industry. Walberswick has been attracting artists for many years; Philip Wilson Steer spent several summers in the village during the late 19th century and painted many of his watercolours there. Twenty-five years later, Charles Rennie Mackintosh stayed in the village. Other artists who have been inspired by this area include Cornelius Varley, Peter de Wint and John Doman Turner.

Woodbridge is an attractive market town at the head of the Deben estuary, which, according to author Norman Scarfe, "contains hardly an ugly building". There has been a tide mill at Woodbridge for around 600 years. The current mill was built in the 1790's and was in use until the 1950s. Local artist Thomas Churchyard was born at nearby Melton, but some of his best works were painted in Woodbridge and he is regarded as one of the leading landscape artists of the Victorian age.

Wattisfield, on the A143 between Bury St Edmunds and Diss, is a place that has benefited from local geology. Clay deposits supply a pottery industry that has existed here since before the Romans came. There are three entries for Wattisfield in the Domesday Book of 1086. Evidence has been discovered here of an Iron Age settlement, in addition to the discovery of twenty-five Roman kilns. The pottery industry in Wattisfield went into decline during the 18th and 19th centuries when the potteries of the Midlands became prominent, but Henry Watson Potteries, established at Wattisfield in 1800, is still going strong.

An Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered at West Stow in the 1840s and further archaeological excavations during the 1960s and 70s uncovered the remains of around seventy small huts, believed to date from the 5th to 7th centuries (420 to 650 AD). An area of 125 acres has been made into a country park and nature reserve, including a reconstruction of what the Anglo-Saxon Village Trust believes the original Anglo-Saxon settlement would have looked like and objects from the original village are displayed in the visitor centre.

Answer: Ufford

Ufford, two miles from Woodbridge, derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon for 'Uffa's Farm'. Uffa (or Wuffa) was a 5th century settler in the area, and founder of an Anglo-Saxon dynasty. The area around Ufford is reputed to be the origin of the famous Suffolk Punch horses, the oldest recorded breed in the world and the rarest of the heavy horse breeds. According to the Suffolk Horse Society and the Suffolk Punch Trust, all animals alive today can trace their male lines back to one stallion, called Crisp's Horse of Ufford, who was foaled in 1768.

Yoxford, a village in north Suffolk was described as 'The Garden of Suffolk' by the Victorian nature-writer Clement Scott. The village takes its name from the river Yox that flows through it and the ford that crossed the river close to Cockfield Hall. Besides its gardens and parkland, Yoxford also has pretty Tudor cottages, rendered in the traditional Suffolk Pink as well as a number of Georgian buildings. During the 18th century, Yoxford was an important stop for travellers on the London-to-Yarmouth coaching route. Admiral Lord Nelson is alleged to have stopped at the old Three Tuns Hotel and later Charles Dickens paused here. Cockfield Hall, Yoxford was once home to Lady Katherine Grey, daughter of the Duke of Suffolk and sister of 'nine-day queen' Lady Jane Grey. Lady Katherine, granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, was effectively imprisoned at Cockfield Hall by her mother's cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

Ubbeston is a village five miles south west of Halesworth. In December 1943, the village made the headlines when an American B17 Flying Fortress crashed there. St Peter's Church, Ubbeston, was sold off in the 1970s and is now a private house. Since then, worshippers have prayed at nearby St Margaret's, Heveningham which is now their parish church.

Yaxley - is a small village near Eye in Suffolk, four miles from Diss and therefore very close to the Norfolk border and not to be confused with the better known Yaxley, near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. The churchyard of St Mary's, Yaxley in Suffolk is the final resting place of dancer and choreographer (and friend of the Queen Mother) Sir Frederick Ashton, who made Suffolk his home and died at Chandos Lodge, Eye in 1988. Inside the church can be seen a very rare sexton's wheel.

Thank you for playing my quiz. I would like to acknowledge the books "Hidden Suffolk" by Gill Elliot and "Suffolk Guide" by Norman Scarfe as both useful sources of information and inspiration for further research.