Worlingham
The Sign (taken from village website in the main)
The original village sign was funded by Worlingham Women’s Institute in the 1970’s and later replaced with a similar design in the 2000’s. The sign depicts a cobbler working from inside a large hollow oak tree. This tree is rumoured to have been in the village and was over 500 years old. It measured 27 feet in circumference at a height of one foot from the ground. The village cobbler worked from this tree for a number of years. The sign also features the “Crinkle Crankle” wall found on Garden Lane. The heron and swan are also shown with the River Waveney behind the wall. The later sign was made by the Village Sign People.
In more recent years the village sign has been replicated on two new village entrance signs which have been made using wood from a very mature, and possibly the oldest of its kind in the UK, Caucasian Elm in Park Drive that underwent substantial “surgery” to make safe. This tree would have lined the original entrance drive to Worlingham Hall. The sign insets were made by the Village Sign People and erected in 2018.
The Name and Population
The population was 3,745 at the 2011 census. Known as Wer / Warlingaham in the Domesday Book and Werlingeham in 1168. The name means "Homestead/village of the followers of Werel", from Old English.
Other Points of Interest
Known locally as “the Crinkle Crankle Wall”, this is a unique man made physical feature within Worlingham and is situated in Garden Lane at the junction of Paddocks Green / The Ridings and The Bridles. These brick walls feature heavily in Suffolk and were often built to protect fruit crops and shaped of one layer of bricks in this pattern to add strength.
The area around Garden Lane, Paddocks Green and Pine Tree Close was previously a market garden and before that possibly the main vegetable / fruit garden for Worlingham Hall so the positioning of this wall speaks for itself.
The village is currently served by one church, this being All Saints, situated along the Lowestoft Road, however, in previous times there were in fact two churches, All Saints serving Great Worlingham and St Peter’s serving Worlingham Parva (Little).
It is believed that St Peter’s was no longer used after 1492 when the two parishes consolidated and unfortunately little is known about St Peter’s albeit during excavations for the A146 Worlingham / Beccles bypass in 1980 the foundations were found. It was a small early Saxon church with an apsidal chancel (semi circular recess) and round tower. A total of 23 skeleton remains were analysed and re-interned in 1981 at All Saints Church. A headstone exists close to the north wall of the cemetery in the new section of the church yard.
Crinkle Crankle wall at Worlingham on Garden Lane