Hartest
{{short description|Village in Suffolk, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = England
|official_name= Hartest
|coordinates = {{coord|52.13995|0.67878|display=inline,title}}
| population = 446
|shire_district= Babergh
| shire_county = Suffolk
|region= East of England
|constituency_westminster= South Suffolk
|post_town= BURY ST EDMUNDS
|postcode_district = IP29
|postcode_area= IP
|dial_code= 01284
|os_grid_reference= TL834524
|static_image = 240px
|static_image_caption= Bright cottages lining the green at Hartest
}}
Hartest is a small village and civil parish in the Babergh district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located halfway between Bury St. Edmunds and Sudbury on the B1066 road in the Glem valley. Brockley is two miles north.
The village of Hartest dates back to before 1086 and features in the Domesday Book.{{cite web|title=Place: Hartest|url=http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TL8352/hartest/|website=domesdaymap.co.uk/|publisher=Open Domesday|access-date=3 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103185215/http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TL8352/hartest/|archive-date=3 November 2014}} The name 'Hartest' is thought to mean either 'Stag Hill' or 'Stag Wood'.{{cite web|title=Parish: Hartest|url=https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Data/Sites/1/media/parish-histories/hartest.pdf|website=suffolk.gov|publisher=Suffolk County Council|access-date=3 November 2014}} It is claimed that there are no other villages, towns or cities in the world of the same name.{{cite web|title=Hartest|url=http://hartest.onesuffolk.net/|website=onesuffolk.net|publisher=OneSuffolk|access-date=3 November 2014}}
The village is centred on the large village green, fringed by an array of brightly coloured cottages, the village hall or institute, the medieval All Saints church and the Crown public house, formerly Hartest Hall the local landowner's seat. There is an annual fete held on the village green at the end of August each year.{{Cite web|url=http://hartest.onesuffolk.net/news-and-events/events/hartest-village-fete-2017/|title=Hartest.onesuffolk news and events}}
Running east of the village centre is Hartest Hill, the steepest in Suffolk.{{cite web|title=Hartest Hill - Hartest, Suffolk|url=http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Hartest-Hill&qryMountainID=13901|website=climbbybike.com|publisher=Climb By Bike|access-date=3 November 2014}}
Former Special Envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury and Islamic Jihad Organization hostage, Terry Waite lives in the village.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/3491669.stm|title=Terry Waite returning to Beirut|date=2004-02-16|access-date=16 December 2010|publisher=BBC}}
Local Features and Landmarks
On the north side of the village green stands a large boulder named the 'Hartest Stone'.{{cite web|title=The Hartest Stone|url=http://secretsuffolk.com/hartest/|website=secretsuffolk.com|publisher=Secret Suffolk|access-date=3 November 2014}} This boulder, thought to have been placed on that spot in the early 18th century,{{cite web|title=300 Year Celebration of the Hartest Stone|url=http://hartest.onesuffolk.net/news-and-events/events-in-and-around-the-village/300-year-celebration-of-the-hartest-stone/|website=onesuffolk.net|publisher=One Suffolk|access-date=3 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103192946/http://hartest.onesuffolk.net/news-and-events/events-in-and-around-the-village/300-year-celebration-of-the-hartest-stone/|archive-date=3 November 2014}} has attracted speculation over its origins. One theory is that the boulder was moved by sled from the nearby Somerton Hill to celebrate the Peace of Utrecht and the Duke of Marlborough's victories in the War of the Spanish Succession.{{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=Laurence|title=Suffolk : local, characterful guides to Britain's special places|date=2014|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides Ltd|isbn=9781841625508|page=210|edition=First}} Another theory suggests the boulder was moved (for the same reasons) from Somerton Common.{{cite web|title=1905 Suffolk & Essex Free Press newspaper archive|url=http://www.foxearth.org.uk/1905SuffolkFreePress.html|website=www.foxearth.org.uk|publisher=The Foxearth and District Local History Society|access-date=3 November 2014}} A third theory suggests the boulder was found in a clay pit owned by one Mr Carter, who had the stone moved to its current location.{{cite book|title=The East Anglian, or Notes & Queries, Vol.3|date=1869|publisher=Samuel Tymms, Whittaker and Co|page=238}} Local traditions say that the boulder will turn over at the stroke of midnight and sitting on the boulder at midnight will bring a wife or good fortune.{{cite web|last1=Burgess|first1=Mike|title=Hidden East Anglia: Hartest|url=http://www.hiddenea.com/suffolkh.htm|website=hiddenea.com|access-date=3 November 2014}}
Hartest Wood stands on the outskirts of Hartest. The wood was planted in 1999 as part of the Woodland Trust's 'Woods on your doorstep' scheme{{cite web|title=Hartest Wood|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/5282/hartest-wood/|website=woodlandtrust.org.uk|publisher=The Woodland Trust|access-date=3 November 2014}} to commemorate the new millennium. The wood contains 187 oak trees, representing every household in Hartest at the time.{{cite web|last1=Barr|first1=Peter|title=Hartest Wood|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2076640|website=geograph.org.uk|publisher=Geograph: Photograph every grid square|access-date=3 November 2014}} At the centre of the woods an art installation designed by Geoffrey Clarke called 'The Gift' can be found.{{cite web|title=Hartest, Suffolk|url=http://runninginsuffolk.wordpress.com/category/hartest/|website=runninginsuffolk.wordpress.com|publisher=Running in Suffolk|access-date=3 November 2014}}
The village pub, The Crown (previously 'the Crown Inn'){{cite web|title=Crown Inn, Hartest, Bury St Edmunds|url=http://pubshistory.com/Suffolk/Hartest/Crown.shtml|website=pubshistory.com|publisher=Pubs History|access-date=3 November 2014}} stands on the South side of the green. The Crown is a sixteenth century Grade II Listed building{{cite web|title=Crown Inn, Hartest|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-278051-crown-inn-hartest-suffolk|website=www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/|publisher=British Listed Buildings|access-date=3 November 2014}} and was previously used as a Moot Hall for the village and surrounding area.{{cite web|title=Hartest with Boxted and Somerton|url=http://www.discoversuffolk.org.uk/userfiles/Leaflets/Walks/Hartest%20Boxted%20Somerton.pdf|website=discoversuffolk.org.uk|publisher=Suffolk Sounty Council: Suffolk Paths Partnership|access-date=3 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103183111/http://www.discoversuffolk.org.uk/userfiles/Leaflets/Walks/Hartest%20Boxted%20Somerton.pdf|archive-date=3 November 2014}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Hartest}}
- [http://www.hartest.com Parish Council website]
{{Babergh}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Civil parishes in Suffolk
{{suffolk-geo-stub}}