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Wilby, Suffolk

village in Mid Suffolk, United Kingdom

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ603510
Source-derived summary

Wilby is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England located around 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Diss and 1.25 miles (2 km) south of Stradbroke along the B1118. The population of the parish at the 2001 census was 231 in 99 households. The village has some basic services including a primary school and village hall.

The nearest villages are Brundish, Laxfield, Stradbroke and Worlingworth. Foals Green, Russel's Green, Stanway Green and Wootten Green (part) form part of the village which is dispersed in nature.

History

The name of the village is generally believed to be derived from the Old English meaning 'Ring of Willows'. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book at which time it comprised seven households and formed part of the holding of William de Beaufeu, Bishop of Thetford.

In 1844, White's Directories lists Thomas Corbett (Lincolnshire MP) as lord of the manor

Church

The village church is dedicated to St Mary. It is medieval in origin and includes a 15th-century tower and a series of bench ends from the same century which are one of the finest collections in East Anglia. The current vicar is Rev'd David Burrell who holds one Sunday service a week.

Editorial summary

“Wilby, Suffolk” enters the record as village in Mid Suffolk, United Kingdom. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Wilby, Suffolk and village can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2001, 1844—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Wilby, Suffolk and village.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Wilby, Suffolk” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Wilby, Suffolk and village provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q603510. Authority coordinates are 52.301, 1.286. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2001 and 1844.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Wilby, Suffolk”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Wilby, Suffolk primary sources, Wilby, Suffolk archive and Wilby research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wilby, Suffolk”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Wilby, Suffolk” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.