About the town » Wherstead, Suffolk, England, Great Britain

Wherstead is a village and a civil parish located in county Suffolk, England. Wherstead village lies 3 miles south of Ipswich on the Shotley peninsula. It is an ancient settlement, and from its soil the plough has brought to light many evidences of occupation by Romans and by early Britons. In the Domesday Book the place is described under the names Querstede and Wervesteda. The name of the village and parish is in today generally pronounced Wersted or Warsted by the residents, the "a" in the latter case having the sound of "a" in father. A short ride by electric railway through Ipswich streets carries one to Bourne bridge, which marks the boundary of Wherstead parish. Near the bridge, on the Wherstead side, stands the Ostrich Inn, as it stood at the time of the New England migration. In those days, however, oysters were still found in Orwell waters, and the name "Oyster Ridge" had not been corrupted to the name of the exotic bird whose effigy now adorns the swinging signboard of the roadside tavern. The fields, when in view showed deep shades of green, brightened sometimes in the foreground by the hectic flush of wild poppies. The soil is light loam: the chief crops wheat, barley and roots. Wherstead village is a scattered array of cottages lining a crooked lane which branches of from the high road on the east. The village is devoid of stores or public house, and the only industry, aside from agriculture, is carried on in a modest smithy.