This month, our village of the month is Great Barton, 3 miles north east of Bury St. Edmunds on the A143.

Village Sign

The inspiration for the village sign is The Gleaners painting by French painter Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). The painting depicts three women stooping in the fields to glean the leftovers from the harvest. Used because the ancient name of the village, Bertuna, is thought to relate to the production of barley.

Derby Connections

The horse that won the first 1790 Epsom Derby horse race was Diomed, who was owned and trained by Sir. Charles Bunbury at Barton Hall.
The main spine road to run round "Hall Park" development is called Diomed Drive after the race horse.
The Epsom Derby would have been called the Epsom Bunbury if Sir Charles Bunbury had not loss the toss to name the race to Earl Derby.

Other Historic facts

Much of Great Barton is set in the grounds and arboretum of the former Barton Hall.
Sir Henry Edward Bunbury built the local pub the Bunbury Arms in 1844.
Barton hall was destroyed by fire just around midnight on Saturday 17th January 1914.

Holy Innocents Church was built in the 1200s replacing an earlier wooden structure. The font and chancel date from this time. However, much of the church we see today dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. There is a single hammer beam roof with richly carved angels. Gt. Barton was on the edge of the wool producing area. 'Dog Pews' were put in the Church in honour of the dogs who helped the shepherds during the years when wool was a very important product of the county. The shepherd's dogs were very important to them, and far too valuable to leave outside while the shepherds were in church. The Dog Pews were situated in the back of the church, and the shepherds were encouraged to bring their dogs in with them. The shepherds were also allowed to sleep (with their dogs) in the porch. These pews can now be found at the front of the church and are one of the many items around Holy Innocents that tell a fascinating story of the church's history. (Holy Innocents Church website)

Great Barton today

Great Barton Village Hall won Suffolk A.C.R.E. Village hall of The Year 2007 and is a very well used village resource.

Since December 2007 Great Barton Film Night (GBFN) has been screening films in the Village Hall. GBFN belong to Suffolk Digital Cinema Network which allows us to borrow the digital projector, amplifier, speakers and large screen. The films are obtained from Film Bank along with the commercial screening licence which is quite expensive. Films we have shown White Christmas, March of the Penguins, The Constant Gardener and Hot Fuzz. Our future programme is The Last King of Scotland and Atonement. Audience figures have varied between 50 from 80 per screening which the steering group are very pleased with. The audience seem very appreciative of our efforts.

Great Barton Computer Club meets in the Community Room in the Village Hall (usually the last Monday of the month) and welcomes beginners and tuition can be given. Just turn up at one of the meetings and if you think it's for you then you can join for a £10 annual subscription.

They organise a presentation on an appropriate subject at each meeting and have a question and answer session in which they attempt to solve problems experienced by members. Once a month they also try to have a hands-on workshop covering either topics of specific interest or ranging across member’s problems. A computer/projector/broadband set-up is available for demonstrations and, for workshops, members are encouraged to bring their own laptops along which can be linked to the broadband connection via the wireless network. Where appropriate and desirable they can also arrange 1:1 tuition at a member’s home using their own equipment which overcomes some of the difficulties with other computers such as differences in keyboard layout, etc, however this has to be restricted in principle to Great Barton residents.

Another active group is the Great Barton Community Woodland whose main aim is to create a sustainable woodland, landscaped with paths and drifts, for enjoyment, recreation and education, accessible to everyone and to hand on to future genera. They are the 41st Group to be setup by the Green Light Trust and have an enthusiastic group of 11 on the steering group. They also have strong links with the local primary school where the group have constructed a tree nursery and the children have planted acorns which they will transplant in to the wood land site in 3 yers time. The current priorities for the group is to find a site upwards of 3 acres, fund raising for acquisition and management of the site and to Increase local awarness and develop project plans.

To find out more about Great Barton visit the Great Barton website

Many thanks to all the groups and Mick from Great Barton who helped to put this article together.

If you would like your village featured then email kerry.burn@onesuffolk.co.uk.