Athelington is a small village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about south-east from Diss. The name is derived from the Old English word Ætheling. The population of the village was less than 50 at the 2011 Census and is included in the civil parish of Redlingfield; in 2005 the population was estimated as 30.
The villages name means 'Farm/settlement of the prince(s)'.
The village is first recorded as Elyngtone in 942 in the will of Bishop Theodred granting lands to a community dedicated to St Æthelberht in Hoxne. It was not recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.
There are six listed buildings in the parish with the church of St Peter being II* listed and the remaining five being grade II listed including the 17th Century Athelington Hall.
Church of St Peter The church of St Peter is medieval in origin and was majorly restored both internally and externally in 1873–1874. The early 14th-century nave and chancel are made of flint rubble with stone dressings, with the 15th-century tower being constructed of knapped flint with an admixture of red brick. There is a bare-faced flint porch which was added in 1873 with a memorial inscription. Three bells hang in the tower, all cast in 1450 by John Magges of Norwich, and are currently unringable. The largest weighs approximately and has a diameter of .
Governance The parish was part of the historic Hoxne Hundred. Between 1894 and 1934 it was in Hoxne Rural District before transferring to Hartismere Rural District which in turn was abolished in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. Today Athelington lies in the Mid Suffolk District of the shire county of Suffolk. The four tiers of government & their respective representatives are:
Central Suffolk and North Ipswich UK Parliament constituency, Dan Poulter Suffolk County Council Hoxne & Eye division, Guy McGregor Mid Suffolk District Council Hoxne and Worlingworth ward, Matthew Hicks Horham and Athelington Parish Council with 7 elected parish councilors.
Historical writings In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described the village as: In 1887, John Bartholomew also wrote an entry on Athelington in the Gazetteer of the British Isles with a much shorter description:
Population change Athelington from 1801 to 1961 Year 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1951 1961 Population 70 83 100 129 111 117 118 106 87 77 54 71 38 47 Number of Houses - - - 14 26 26 27 23 20 - 14 14 12 15Source: A Vision of Britain Through Time
External links
Horham and Athelington Parish Council
References