Blaxhall
The Sign
The sign was erected in 1994 to commemorate the centenary of the Parish Council; the dates are shown on the post. The sign is dedicated to George Ewart Evans who lived in Blaxhall from 1948 to 1956, with monies raised by public subscription.
On the top of the sign is a farmer loading a horse and cart (tumbrel). Below the village name are the pine trees found in various forests in the area with scrambling motorbikes which use the local pits for their activities. Sheep are grazing to the right representing local farming and the wool industry in times gone by. At the bottom is the "Blaxhall Stone" (see below).
The Name and Population
The population was 194 at the 2011 census. It was called Bla(c)cheshala / -essala / Blactheshala in the Domesday Book. Its name means "Blaec's nook of land" from Old English and Anglian.
Other Points of Interest
(from atlasobscura.com) Local legend claims the Blaxhall Stone has been swelling to an ever-greater size since at least the 19th-century. Legend tells how a plowman, after hitting the rock while working his field, moved the stone outside his house to avoid it inconveniencing his daily fieldwork. At the time, it was apparently only the size of his two fists, comparable to a small loaf of bread. However, months later it had become much larger. Although no photos exist of its original modest size, it’s said years later a cat was able to pass beneath the growing lip of the stone. Today the stone weighs nearly five tons and stands out amid the flat and rockless landscape of Suffolk. Geologists believe the sandstone boulder was carried south from Lincolnshire by glacial movement 150,000 years ago. Although many believed the boulder sprouted from the earth and grew over time.
Margery Beddingfield (1742–1763), convicted murderer who was burnt in 1763.
The church is dedicated to St Peter.