Helmingham

We have searched records dating back to before 1840 without finding reference to a single public house in this village; it seems likely there has never been one. Please let us know if you have any information to contradict this.

Helmingham Hall - a large red brick quadrangular mansion - dates from the reign of Henry VIII. It's the largest moated hall in Suffolk. The ancient family of Tollemache have been seated here from an early period after settling for a while at Bentley soon after the Norman conquest. Lionel Tollemache married the heiress of the Helminghams so acquiring this estate in 15th cent. The architecture of the Hall was used as the basis for the design of a number of Tollemache pubs in Ipswich. Collectively known as "Tolly Follies" for their ambitious size and cost, these include the Cricketers, the Golden Hind and Suffolk Punch.

In 1900, excavations in the Rectory garden unearthed a cemetery, possibly Roman, containing some 25 graves.

Unusually, Helmingham still retains the same name by which it was recorded in Domesday.