England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Cockfield St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Cockfield lies in southwestern Suffolk roughly equidistant between Bury St Edmunds (9 miles southeast of Bury) and Sudbury (10 miles north of Sudbury). Cockfield sits just over a half mile east of the A134 road which links those two towns. Cockfield is a rather distributed settlement consisting of a series of small hamlets each clustered around a green, this pattern is often associated with settlements created as clearings within a forested landscape. The A1141 road forks away from the A134 headed for Lavenham and on it sits Cross Green whilst church and hall sit at another cluster to the east of that road, a  string of properties run northeastwards connecting that centre to Great Green which is perhaps the largest of the centres. In medieval times this was sheep-country supplying the wool that the weavers of Lavenham turned into lucrative cloth, in more recent times arable farming has become the mainstay of the parish economy as it has for so many Suffolk parishes. Cockfield sits within a shallow valley, the headwaters of the River Brett which drains the parish southeastward, after passing through Hadleigh the Brett joins the Stour in Constable Country before the latter reaches the North Sea between the twin ports of Harwich & Felixstowe. Cockfield is sited between 70 & 90 metres above the sea, the Brett bridge being the lowest point and Great Green marking the high spot, a few places just exceed the 100 metre contour to the southwest but only by a little in this gently rolling terrain. By Suffolk standards Cockfield was an extensive parish covering just over 3,600 acres it was twice the size of many, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 950 parishioners. Even by Domesday times Cockfield had a large population for that time, its 81 households placing it amongst the largest 20% by population, held by Bury St Edmund Abbey its assets were substantial too, 16 ploughs backed by meadows and woodland and it also held a mill.

The Church

St Peter's church sits within the valley of the River Brett a quarter mile east of the A1141 and accessed by a dead-end lane from just northeast of the crossing of the Brett. St Peter is a product of the wealthy 14th century, modified as are all churches from its original build. The western tower is from the early 14th century in the Decorated style with neat chequered flushwork on the buttresses, a curiosity is the scars left behind by the rector from 1767 - 1788 who was a keen amateur astronomer and cut holes, repaired but showing as scars, through the tower for observing the skies. Also from the early 14th century is the chancel at the opposite end of the main body although many of its windows were clearly replaced by Perpendicular versions in the 15th century. Whilst the nave was presumably also early 14th century much modification has occurred, with only the northern aisle remaining true to the Decorated style. A typical Perpendicular feature, the clerestory, was inserted and a northern vestry added during that later era. A typical Victorian restoration was instigated in 1869 and lasted over a decade in stages to 1890. Church Lane is a dead-end and very narrow with no room for turning at the church's end, parking on the verge is possible at various points along its route and an on foot approach from there. The churchyard is one with few obstacles for the photographer with only the eastern end of the chancel impeded by trees.