| Little Whelnetham | |
|---|---|
 St Mary Magdalene Church | |
  Little Whelnetham Location withinSuffolk | |
| Population | 180 (2005)[1] 188 (2011)[2] |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bury St Edmunds |
| Postcode district | IP30 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°12′22″N0°45′47″E / 52.206°N 0.763°E /52.206; 0.763 | |
Little Whelnetham (well-NEE-thum) (sometimesLittle Welnetham[3]) is a village andcivil parish in theWest Suffolk district ofSuffolk in easternEngland. Located around two miles south ofBury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 180.[1]
The parish also contains part of the village ofSicklesmere, with which sister villageGreat Whelnetham is contiguous. Until theBeeching Axe, the area was served byWelnetham railway station on theLong Melford-Bury St Edmunds branch line.
The parish church ofSt Mary Magdalene is a medieval church whose origins are not precisely known. The tower seems typical of 14th century, andPevsner dated it as such, but it may well be substantially older, with parts perhaps dating to the 12th century.[4]
To the east of the church is four-metre structure of flint and rubble, almost certainly part of a circular tower and perhaps part of an earlier church.[4]
The area was formerly the site of the Priory of the Holy Cross, a monasticpriory dedicated toThomas Becket founded in 1274 and dissolved in 1538, though there is some doubt as to whether it was in Little Whelnetham or Great Whelnetham. A Tudor house in Little Whelnetham, The Crutched Friars, is believed to have been part of the priory and is now a private residence.[5]
According to theOffice for National Statistics, at the time of theUnited Kingdom Census 2001, Little Whelnetham had a population of 188 with 76 households.[6]
| Population growth in Little Whelnetham from 1801 to 1891 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1881 | 1891 | ||
| Population | 142 | 127 | 176 | 180 | 206 | 178 | 156 | 174 | ||
| Source:A Vision of Britain Through Time[7] | ||||||||||
| Population growth in Little Whelnetham from 1901 to 2001 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1961 | 2001 | 2011 | |||
| Population | 138 | 118 | 123 | 137 | 138 | 111 | 184 | 188 | |||
| Source:A Vision of Britain Through Time[7] | |||||||||||
Neighbouring villages, and hamlets | |
|---|---|
Media related toLittle Whelnetham at Wikimedia Commons
