| Needham Market | |
|---|---|
 Hawks Mill, now converted into flats | |
  Needham Market Location withinSuffolk | |
| Population | 4,700 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TM090548 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | IPSWICH |
| Postcode district | IP6 |
| Dialling code | 01449 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| 52°09′07″N1°03′11″E / 52.152°N 1.053°E /52.152; 1.053 | |
Needham Market is a small town in theMid Suffolk district ofSuffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages includeBarking,Darmsden,Badley andCreeting St Mary. The town is located just east of theA14 trunk road, betweenIpswich to the south andStowmarket to the north; it is also sited on theGreat Eastern Main Line, with the Needham Lake and theRiver Gipping being just east of the railway station. As of the2021 United Kingdom census, the town had a population of 4,700 residents.[1] The town ofNeedham, Massachusetts, was named after Needham Market.[2]
The town grew initially around the woolcombing industry, until the onset of theBubonic plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 1665. To prevent the spread of the disease, the town was chained at either end, which succeeded in its task but at the cost of two-thirds of the populace. The town did not recover for nearly two hundred years, with the canalisation of theRiver Gipping in the late 18th century and the introduction of the railway.
Modern Needham Market contains two road names that are linked to the plague: Chainhouse Road, named after the chains that ran across the east end of the town, and The Causeway, which is a modern variation of "the corpseway"; it is so called because of the route that plague victims were transported out of town, to neighbouring Barking church for interment.[3]
Near the station, on land between the Rampant Horse pub and the river, is the Camping Land, with a name is derived fromCampan or Campball, a rough and often rowdy medieval ball game and the predecessor ofrugby football.[4][5]
Notable buildings in the town include:
Like most of the UK, Ireland and much of France, Needham Market has anoceanic climate. This means that both the winter and summer temperatures are mild with not a huge difference between the winter and summer temperatures.
| Climate data for Wattisham, elevation 87m, 1971–2000, extremes 1960– | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.1 (57.4) | 17.0 (62.6) | 21.7 (71.1) | 24.1 (75.4) | 27.6 (81.7) | 33.0 (91.4) | 32.1 (89.8) | 35.3 (95.5) | 28.5 (83.3) | 24.7 (76.5) | 17.9 (64.2) | 15.3 (59.5) | 35.3 (95.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.3 (43.3) | 6.6 (43.9) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.9 (53.4) | 15.8 (60.4) | 18.7 (65.7) | 21.4 (70.5) | 21.6 (70.9) | 18.3 (64.9) | 13.9 (57.0) | 9.3 (48.7) | 7.1 (44.8) | 13.4 (56.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) | 0.7 (33.3) | 2.3 (36.1) | 3.7 (38.7) | 6.8 (44.2) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.8 (53.2) | 11.9 (53.4) | 9.9 (49.8) | 7.2 (45.0) | 3.5 (38.3) | 1.9 (35.4) | 5.8 (42.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −14.6 (5.7) | −10 (14) | −8.6 (16.5) | −4.6 (23.7) | −2.3 (27.9) | −0.4 (31.3) | 3.8 (38.8) | 3.6 (38.5) | 1.5 (34.7) | −3.5 (25.7) | −7 (19) | −13.2 (8.2) | −14.6 (5.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 49.5 (1.95) | 35.1 (1.38) | 42.5 (1.67) | 41.2 (1.62) | 43.7 (1.72) | 52.2 (2.06) | 42.4 (1.67) | 47.1 (1.85) | 55.1 (2.17) | 57.2 (2.25) | 55.6 (2.19) | 52.1 (2.05) | 573.8 (22.59) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 57.4 | 75.7 | 111.3 | 159.0 | 213.6 | 208.2 | 212.7 | 205.8 | 148.5 | 117.5 | 73.2 | 52.4 | 1,635.2 |
| Source 1:Met Office[9] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:KNMI[10] | |||||||||||||
Needham Market railway station is sited on theGreat Eastern Main Line, although there are no direct services betweenLondon orNorwich. Instead, there is an hourly service betweenIpswich andCambridge. It is a small unstaffed station;Greater Anglia manages it and operates the service.
TheA14 (although then theA45) once ran directly through the town, but a bypass was built in the 1970s leaving the road now known as theB1113. This has left the town with good road links to the surrounding area, but with less traffic than before.
First Eastern Counties, a sub-brand ofFirstGroup, operates the 88 route; this connects the town with Ipswich and Stowmarket every 30 minutes on weekdays.[11]
Needham Market has anon-League football club,Needham Market F.C., which plays at Bloomfields. They have been successful over recent years after reaching the semi-finals of the 2010/2011 season'sFA Vase.[12]
The town is on the route of theDunwich Dynamo annual cycle ride, which takes place overnight. It is usually scheduled to take place on the Saturday night closest to the full moon in July.
Needham Lake provides leisure facilities and a wildlife habitat, which is located just east of the railway station.[13] The lake is located on a nature reserve with theRiver Gipping running just east of it; it is popular with tourists.[14] The lake was initially a gravel pit before being converted to a lake.
Other attractions in the town include the Alder Carr Farm, which makes and sells ice cream.[15]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East andITV Anglia. Television signals are received from either theTacolneston orSudbury TV transmitters.[16][17]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Suffolk,Heart East,Nation Radio Suffolk,Greatest Hits Radio Ipswich & Suffolk andIpswich Community Radio, a community-based station.[18]
The town is served by the local newspapers,Ipswich Star andEast Anglian Daily Times.
Notable people from Needham Market include:
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