Rattlesden
village in Suffolk, England, UK
Rattlesden is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is approximately 15 miles (24 km) north-west from the county town of Ipswich, with the nearest town Stowmarket 4 miles (6 km) to the east. The parish includes the hamlets of Hightown Green and Poystreet Green.
In 2005 the population of Rattlesden was 900, and for the 2011 Census the returns included the neighbouring parish of Shelland.
The Anglican parish church of St Nicholas dates to the 13th century, with later additions and alterations.
History
The village and surrounding area, like much of East Anglia, was a hotbed of Puritan sentiment during much of the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1634, a local wheelwright, Richard Kimball led a relatively large company from Rattlesden to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the wave of emigration that occurred during the Great Migration.
Thomas Cobbold (1680–1752), the brewer who established the Cliff Brewery and first member of the Cobbold family brewing dynasty, was born at Rattlesden. John Pretyman (1753/1754–1817), the Anglican priest who served as Archdeacon of Lincoln from 1793 to 1817, was a curate of the parish.
During the Second World War, Rattlesden was the site of the U.S. Army Air Force heavy bomber base, RAF Rattlesden.
“Rattlesden” enters the record as village in Suffolk, England, UK. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Rattlesden, village and Suffolk can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Rattlesden” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Rattlesden, village and Suffolk provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2292500. Authority coordinates are 52.194, 0.895. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2005, 2011, 1634 and 1680.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. 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.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rattlesden”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rattlesden primary sources, Rattlesden archive and Rattlesden research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rattlesden”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Rattlesden” 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.