| Mildenhall | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Mildenhall Location withinSuffolk | |
| Area | 36.03 km2 (13.91 sq mi) inc.West Row |
| Population | 10,315 (2011) inc.West Row[1] |
| • Density | 286/km2 (740/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TL710748 |
| • London | 75 mi (121 km) |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BURY ST EDMUNDS |
| Postcode district | IP28 |
| Dialling code | 01638 |
| Police | Suffolk |
| Fire | Suffolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www.mildenhall.suffolk.gov.uk |
| 52°20′41″N0°30′32″E / 52.34461°N 0.50890°E /52.34461; 0.50890 | |
Mildenhall is amarket town in thecivil parish of Mildenhall High, in theWest Suffolk district, in the county ofSuffolk, England. The town is near theA11, and is 37 mi (60 km) north-west ofIpswich.[2] The largeRoyal Air Force station,RAF Mildenhall, as well asRAF Lakenheath, are located north of the town. Both are used by theUnited States Air Force and Mildenhall is the headquarters of its100th Air Refueling Wing and352nd Special Operations Group. Mildenhall is often seen as the start ofThe Fens on the south/east.
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The area around Mildenhall has been settled by humans since at least the Bronze Age.[3] Following theRoman Empire invasion of Britain, Mildenhall was the site of a Roman settlement, which at some point contained theMildenhall Treasure.
The name of the town was first recorded in 1050 asMildenhale, believed to mean a nook of land belonging to a woman called "Milde" or a man called "Milda".[4] In 1086, theDomesday Book recorded that the town was the property of theAbbot of St Edmunds and had a population of some 64 families.
With theDissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, ownership of the town was transferred toEdward North, 1st Baron North, whose son,Roger North, lived in Mildenhall for a time.[5] Ownership of the Mildenhall estate remained with the North family for many decades. It wasHenry North who, upon retirement, built the Manor house at Mildenhall.[6]
Sir Henry North was elected MP for Suffolk in 1685, but he died a bachelor and so ownership of the estate passed toSir Thomas Hanmer.[7] Hanmer was electedSpeaker of the House of Commons in 1714 and spent little time in his estate. He also died without an heir, and ownership then passed toThomas Bunbury, who also became MP for Suffolk.In 1810 Joseph Smedley was able to hire a building as a temporary theatre for £2.[8]
The Bunbury family held the manor of Mildenhall until the estate was broken up in 1933.[9] RAF Mildenhall was officially opened in 1934 and served as a base forRAF Bomber Command during theSecond World War. In 1950, theUS Air Force took over its operation.[10]
On 1 April 2019 the parish ofWest Row was split from Mildenhall, on 10 October 2023 the parish was renamed from "Mildenhall" to "Mildenhall High".[11]
Mildenhall is centred on a market place with a 16th-century hexagonalmarket cross and town pump. The town's market is held here every Friday; it originated as a weekly chartered market in (it is believed) the 15th century. In 1934 Mildenhall was the start point of theMacRobertson Air Race toMelbourne, Australia.
The town is the subject and namesake of a song byThe Shins, as well as being mentioned in passing in thePink Floyd song "Let There Be More Light" on the 1968 albumA Saucerful of Secrets as a speculated location for first contact between humanity and extraterrestrial life:
Due to the airfield, Mildenhall currently has the highest concentration of U.S. citizens in the country. In 2005, as many as 30% of residents were born in the U.S.[12]
The town has a bus station, which was completed in 2005. Regular bus services run to the neighbouring towns ofBrandon,Bury St Edmunds,Newmarket andThetford.National Express operate daily coach services toNorwich,London (Victoria Coach Station),Heathrow,Gatwick andStansted Airports.Mildenhall railway station was the terminus of theCambridge to Mildenhall railway until its closure in 1962.[citation needed]
Mildenhall has twoprimary schools: St. Mary's and Great Heathand onesecondary school:Mildenhall College Academy. The secondary school also contains asixth form.
Mildenhall has anon-League football club,Mildenhall Town F.C., who play at Recreation Way.Mildenhall currently play in the Isthmian League North after winning the Thurlow Nunn League for a second time in 2023/24 season.
It also has one of the East of England's leading cricket clubs,Mildenhall Cricket Club, playing atWamil Way. In 2016 the 1st XI won the Two Counties Championship and was promoted to theEast Anglian Premier Cricket League. Notable former players include England internationalsTymal Mills andTom Westley and Essex Women's Lilly Reynolds.
The Mildenhall Cycling Club is located next to the cricket ground, and has famous previous members such asVictoria Pendleton.[13]
A modern leisure centre is based at Mildenhall Hub and is run by Abbeycroft Leisure. It boasts a swimming pool, a gym, fitness classes, a sports hall for racquet sports and outdoor pitches for football.[14] Over the last few years, the Mildenhall community have been inspired to get active through running with the start-up of a 5km parkrun event[15] held every Saturday and a 2km junior parkrun event[16] held every Sunday encouraging runners, joggers and walkers of all abilities to take part for free in an inclusive environment supported by volunteers. These events are both held at the Mildenhall Hub.
The River Lark runs through the town, and there is a 19-acre open space adjoining it, called the Jubilee Fields.
TheMildenhall Treasure was discovered within the town in 1942. The treasure is a hoard ofRoman silver objects buried in the 4th century. In 1946, the discovery was made public and the treasure acquired by theBritish Museum, where it resides today.
Roald Dahl wrote an article about the find which was published first in theSaturday Evening Post, and later as "The Mildenhall Treasure" (a short story) in his short story collectionThe Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.[26][27] The Mildenhall Museum in the centre of the town contains displays of local history and wildlife, the history of the RAF base, and information on theMildenhall Treasure. Entrance is free, opening times vary throughout the year.[28]The region betweenDevil's Dyke and the line betweenLittleport andShippea Hill shows a remarkable amount ofarchaeological findings of theStone Age, theBronze Age and theIron Age.[29]
