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

Mendlesham, Suffolk is a small village with 1328 inhabitants, 5 miles north east of Stowmarket and 73.135 miles from London Mendlesham is known for its large street fair which is held on every May Day bank holiday. Mendlesham has a popular community newsletter, and a good primary school. There are two public houses in the village, one called 'The Fleece' and the other 'The Kings Head'. The village has a few shops including Mendlesham Bakery, Mendlesham Fish 'N' Chip Shop and The Salon. It also has a post office at the back of The Kings Head. Nearby at grid reference TM123640 is the Mendlesham transmitting station which broadcasts Kiss 105-108 (previously Vibe FM) on 106.4 MHz and the Digital One digital radio multiplex, and which was formerly used for VHF 405 line transmissions of Anglia Television. The mast stands at the corner of the former WWII airfield, RAF Mendlesham. This was used by the RAF and US Eighth Air Force between 1943 and 1955, and now holds a memorial to the US 34th Bomb Group. Although some of the land has reverted to agriculture or is an industrial estate, one airstrip is now used by the Suffolk Coastal Floaters Hang Gliding Club. There are also three churches, including the grand medieval St. Mary's, built at a time when the village had a much larger population. In 1531, the Mendlesham Christian Brethren were a group of Protestant dissenters, and two decades later, Adam Foster became a Marian martyr, after he refused to attend a Roman Catholic mass. He was condemned to be burnt at the stake by Hopton, the Bishop of Norwich. Mendlesham had the second station on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, which ran from 1904 to 1952. Close to Mendlesham is the hamlet of Mendlesham Green, which contains Mendlesham Green Baptist Church.