Parham
A picturesque village in East Suffolk
A picturesque village in East Suffolk
A picturesque village in East Suffolk
The majority of houses flank the B1116 and The Street leading to St Mary the Virgin Church although there are clusters around the three Greens too. New executive style houses sit shoulder to shoulder with timber framed houses and terraced cottages.
Parham has no Shop, Post Office, School or Public House but the community has adapted itself to the lack of these amenities. Parham's Village Hall, which has a licensed bar, stage, disabled facilities and a creditable snooker annex, is becoming a multi-user centre. The new Annex, containing a small meeting room and access to the back of the stage for drama productions, also has an ICT Centre providing Computer/Internet training. Play Area can be found on North Green.
Parham has such a vibrant community that it won the district 'Village of the Year' competition three times in the space of 6 years and went onto represent Suffolk at national level in 1997 and 2001.
The parish carried out a Village Review in 1994 that resulted in the Village Hall being re-roofed and the Play Area being erected adjacent to the village hall. This was followed up by organising House Group Meetings in 1998, to discuss social, economic and environmental issues that created an Action Plan which was included in the Millennium Parham Parish Scan. A copy can be obtained from Framlingham Library. In 2003, Parham embarked upon an all-inclusive consultation, the results of which can be found on the Parham Parish Plan page.
The Scan is a copy righted publication published by Parham Parish Council. A copy can be obtained from Framlingham Library.
Parham Millennium Parish Scan is a detailed record of the Village as it was in the year 2000, it looks back over its history and it tentatively looks at its future. It contains an Action Plan that was produced as a result of parishioners attending House Group Meetings to discuss Social, Economic and Environmental Issues. That Action Plan has now been completed and has been superseded by the Parish Plan. Click on the link to access the completed Parish Scan Action Plan
To whet your appetite, click on the link to see the Parish Scan Contents Page.
Bob Briscoe, author of the History of Parham's Fields and Lanes, has uploaded the information that he provided for the Scan on his personal website.
If you click on the above link you will be taken to the page.
Parham Parish Council called a public meeting on 28th January 2003 where representatives from Suffolk ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) gave various presentations on "How to carry out a Parish Plan and the benefits it can bring to a parish" and also "How to identify if there was a housing need". A community engagement exercise was conducted at the meeting identifying various issues that were subsequently consulted on.
The Steering Group, consisting of Gavin & Barbara Brooks, Peter Kindred, the late Perry Donsworth, Janet Wicks, Andrew Houseley and later joined by Alan Gray, diligently carried out the project.
An Exhibition of the results of the consultation took place in Parham Village Hall on Saturday, 6th November 2004. An Action Plan was subsequently produced.
The Parish Plan Report and Action Plan were distributed to every household and copies were sent to various service providers, including Suffolk Coastal District Council, Suffolk County Council, Environment Agency, District Councillor Hart, County Councillor Howard and PC Miller. Parham Parish Council adopted the Action Plan at their meeting on the 11th January 2005.
By 2012 all action points had been tackled.
For some fascinating historical records from the village including photographs and newspaper articles, please look at this Facebook page
(NB you don't need to be a member of Facebook to view the page).
https://www.facebook.com/Parham-Suffolk-1414553592093177
Simon Last who runs the page has a wealth of information about Parham.
He would also welcome any old photos you have of the village.
To celebrate the Millennium, Parham produced a publication called Parham Parish Scan. The first section of the book looks at Parham's history. A copy of the book can be obtained from Framlingham Library, Suffolk.
The history of the church can be found in a booklet in St Mary the Virgin Church, Parham.
IN 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Parham like this:-
PARHAM, a village and a parish in Plomesgate district, Suffolk. The village stands on the river Ore, adjacent to the Framlingham branch of the East Suffolk railway, 2 ¼ miles S S E of Framlingham; and has a station on the railway, and a post-office under Wickham-Market. The parish comprises 2, 212 acres. Real property, £3, 741. Pop. in 1851, 532; in 1861, 470. Houses, 101. The property is divided among a few. Old Parham Hall was the seat of the first Earl of Ufford; and passed to the Willoughbys and the Corrances. The living is a vicarage, united with the vicarage of Hackeston, in the diocese of Norwich. Value, £282.* Patron, F. Corrance, Esq. The church is tolerable; and there are a parochial school, and charities £9.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Parham in Suffolk Coastal | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time. URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/7593
(Date accessed: 06th March 2017)
"PARHAM, a parish in the hundred of Plomesgate, county Suffolk, 2 ½ miles S.E. of Framlingham, and 7 N. by E. of Woodbridge. It is a station on the East Suffolk section of the Great Eastern railway. Wickham Market is its post town. The village, which is of small extent, and chiefly agricultural, is situated on the river Alde. Parham formerly belonged to the Uffords, Earls of Suffolk, from whom it came to the Lords Willoughby, of Parham, who had an Elizabethan mansion here, called Parham Hall, now converted into a farmhouse. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £168, and the vicarial for £176 13s. The living is a vicarage* annexed to that of Hacheston, in the diocese of Norwich, value £299. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, has a square tower, built by William de Ufford, Earl of Suffolk, in the 14th century. It contains a carved screen and painted E. window. The register dates from 1538. The parochial charities produce about £9 per annum. There is a parochial school for both sexes. The poet Crabbe resided for many years at Parham Lodge."
Description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
