This is a new and exciting history of one of Suffolk’s most beautiful villages. Based on a broad selection of records, it follows the peaks and troughs of Kersey life and contains true accounts of fascinating and sometimes gruesome events. Kersey’s prosperity peaked in the 15th century at which time a new breed of successful clothiers emerged who became landowners and challenged the aristocratic status quo. Many of the village’s beautiful buildings originate from this period, preserved mainly due to the poverty in later centuries which precluded redevelopment. Unlike most other villages, its medieval footprint survives intact.
There are stories of medieval misconduct, religious conflict and changing lords of the manor according to royal whims. The book tracks the fate of the Kersey Priory, which was dissolved before the Reformation and reveals the lifestyle of the Augustinian canons who lived there. In the 1600s it also reveals a prototype feminist lay preacher and the extent of puritan migration to America in the area.
During the 1700s and 1800s, there are sad tales about hard treatment at the Cosford Workhouse on the parish boundary, where many locals languished, leading up to the harsh fate of the many agricultural labourers who signed up to fight in World War 1.