Monks Eleigh is a most picturesque village on the north bank of
the river Brett with a village green, bordered by houses on either
side running up to the church.
A visitor to Monks Eleigh can be forgiven for inquiring as to
the origin of its name and as to the whereabouts of the monastery.
There never has been a monastery here and the short answer, but not
one that is immediately informative, is to say that for nearly 900
years our village has been a peculiar of Canterbury; a peculiar
being a parish which is controlled outside its normal territorial
jurisdiction.
To understand the long and remarkable connection of Monks Eleigh
with Canterbury, we need to go back to 991. In that year a Saxon
noble Brithnoth, Earl of Essex, died fighting the Danes at the
Battle of Maldon. He had succeeded to lands which included the
Manor of Illeigh, the name Illeigh meaning Illa `s meadows,
Illa
being thought to be the name of a local landowner. Aelfflaed,
Brithnoth`s widow survived him and in her will she bequeathed this
Manor amongst others to Christchurch Canterbury and there they
remained down the centuries. Although there have been a number of
variations to the name of our village over the years including
Monks Iilith, Monks Iileigh, Monks Illy and Monksylly, Monks Eleigh
it finally became.
With the dissolution of the monasteries in 1541 King Henry VIII
decreed that the lands and manors held by the monks of Canterbury ,
including Monks Eleigh, were to be transferred to the Dean and
Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral.The Dean and Chapter remained Lords
of the Manor, with the exception of the period of the Commonwealth,
down to 1863, when they were transferred to the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners. This means that for many centuries the lands, farms
and houses in Monks Eleigh belonged to The Dean and Chapter of
Canterbury. Canterbury would have appointed a steward or bailiff
who would have acted as Lord of the Manor. Most probably in the
14th and 15th Centuries the Steward or Bailiff appointed by
Canterbury to collect in the rents and supervise the lands
lived at The Hall, with the main farming being run from The
Manor Farm ,a moated hall house, up the road. Most of the land was
leased to farmers and their labour for cultivating the land was a
fixed quantity of the produce as well as a rent. Detailed records
of the tenancies down the centuries can still be inspected today in
the Library and Archives situated in the cloisters of Canterbury
Cathedral.
The monks of Canterbury, in addition to receiving a good income
from the village also supplied a priest to take care of the
parishioners. It is thought that a church has stood on the present
site for over a thousand years. The present building dates from
around 1350 and dominates the village It is believed that
Canterbury may have paid for a large part of the cost and that it
is named after the monastery of St Peter`s in Canterbury. A spire
was added to the tower in 1631 but was demolished in 1845 .The west
doorway at the foot of the tower displays 15th century
flint and stone carving .Inside the roof of the nave dates from the
C14th, the baptismal font is from the C13th
,but to quote Arthur Mees “Suffolk-Our Farthest East” the treasure
here is the pulpit, with panelled sides and small flowers hanging
from its lovely tracery; it is 500 years old.
The United Reform Church along the Street dates from 1870. It
was on the same site that William Faiers in 1824 converted his barn
as a place for divine worship of Protestant Dissenters.
Lying 4 miles East of Lavenham, Monks Eleigh reached its peak of
prosperity in the 14th and 15th centuries
through the cloth and wool trades. Typical of that period is
Hobarts in Back Lane a hall house with wings built for a Suffolk
gentleman in the early part of the C15th. One of the
outstanding features of the house is the magnificent crown post and
the beam that divides the high hall into two bays. Another fine
crown post is to be found in The Guildhall situated in The Street
which was built about the same time as Hobarts. There are a number
of other interesting houses and cottages along The Street dating
from the 16th and 17th centuries.
The first school, a Parish school appears to have been
established in 1834 on a piece of ground taken out of the Workhouse
yard up Church Hill. In 1836 the then Rector obtained a 99 year
lease of the Workhouse. The old schoolroom existed until 1872 when
it was pulled down and another building erected at a cost of
£485.The school has remained a Church of England Primary School
ever since, but a new building was constructed in Churchfields in
1961. A swimming pool was constructed in 1962 with funds provided
jointly by the Local Educational Authority and Parents.
Between 1846 and 1852 the village had its own fire engine,
purchased for £57 and manned by local volunteers. According to
Revd.Northcote (see below)the engine was used occasisonally as the
need arose but was eventually sold in 1874.
A police house was built in Churchfields in 1962 but was sold to
a private buyer in 1979.
One of the outstanding features of our village is the green
leading up to the church. On the green is the village pump which
arrived in 1854 and still stands there today. Before the arrival of
the pump the village drank spring water coming from the Lavenham
Brook. The pump continued to be used until after the Second World
War when it was replaced by water from the mains.
Much of what is written here is derived from" Notes on the
History of Monks Eleigh" written by Revd The Hon.Arthur Northcote.
He was the third son of a noble family and as such automatically
went into the Church. He was Rector of Monks Eleigh between 1900
and 1932 .He was a very scholarly and knowledgeable man and also
greatly loved by the community. His book is at present the only
authoritative history of the village.
Physically the village was virtually unscathed by the two World
Wars, but like so many other villages it suffered in terms of human
sacrifices. Between 1914 and 1918 a hundred and eight men from the
village went to the war; twenty two of them were killed in action.
Of the 52 men and women who served in the Second World War, 3 never
returned. The names of all who died are recorded in the Roll of
Honour in St Peter`s Church.
The population of the village peaked in 1831 when the census
return shows 733, but for the last 100 years , and still so today,
it has been around 400. At the beginning of the 20th
century there were 4 pubs in the village:" The Swan" ," The King`s
Head", "The Bull" and " Lion". Today only" The Swan" remains. At
the beginning of the 20th century there were many shops
along The Street, including the Post Office, two butchers, family
grocer, tea dealer, tailor , undertaker , egg merchant, two
blacksmiths, a thatcher and a water mill and you could hire a horse
and trap .By1920 there was a petrol pump on the Street. Today the
garage and most of the shops have gone and our shopping mall
consists of a community shop (see below) and Corncraft a popular
craft /coffee shop.
The village has over recent years demonstrated a strong sense of
community. Monks Eleigh was in 1965 and again in 1981 winner of the
best kept village in Cosford rural district .In the Fisons Trophy
for villages of four hundred or more , Monks Eleigh came third in
1981.In 1991 there was a special celebration for 1000 years of
recorded history of the village with 3 days of events. In 1994 the
village staged a fully costumed Regency Fair. The Queen`s Golden
Jubilee was celebrated with three days of events
1st-4th June 2002 with collections of
memorabilia relating to the Queen`s Coronation and previous Royal
jubilees. In 2003 the village won third place in the Calor Suffolk
village of the year, with special praise for Monks Eleigh`s new
Millenium Green project. In 2004 the village overcame closure of
its post office and village shop with the opening of a community
shop, made possible" by the community for the community". This
project earned the Best Post Office Branch award for the South East
of England as well as a Community award.
Today the village faces another challenge to replace its ageing
village hall. The Coronation Hall was built in 1956 and the village
is looking to build a school community hall adjoining the school
building in Churchfields to be used both by the Primary School and
the village community. Fund raising is under way and the village is
confident that with the community spirit it has shown in the past
this project too will soon become a reality ; and so add another
chapter to the village`s long and interesting history.
June 2006 George Hodgkinson, Recorder and Chairman of The Monks
Eleigh History
Group.