Stradbroke

infobox UK place

country=school
official_name= Stradbroke
latitude= 52.318
longitude= 1.274
population = 1250
shire_district= Mid Suffolk
region= East of England

shire_county = Suffolk
constituency_westminster= Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
post_town= Eye
postcode_district = IP21
postcode_area= IP
dial_code= 01379
os_grid_reference= TM231739

Stradbroke is a village in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. It is in the Mid Suffolk District and part of the East of England Region of England. Stradbroke is near to the small Suffolk town of Eye and the larger Norfolk market town of Diss. It has a population of around 1250.

Stradbroke is midway between Norwich and Ipswich and within easy driving distance of the Suffolk coastal towns of Southwold and Aldeburgh. By train from Diss it is an hour and a half to London.

The village is the centre of a working rural community set amidst quiet rolling countryside. It has a Post Office, convenience store, butcher, baker, a swimming pool, playing fields, community centre, doctors surgery and numerous social and sporting activities. There is both a primary school and a secondary school.

The village boasts three pubs - The White Hart, Queen's Head and Ivy House. All of the pubs offer food and the Ivy House has a restaurant. The White Hart is currently closed.

The village is dominated by All Saint's Church which can be seen from miles away, it boasts a 15th century tower. Several photographs and more information is available on the [http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/stradbroke.html Suffolk Churches Website]

There is an annual [http://festival.stradbroke.org.uk Real Ale and Jazz Festival] held on the weekend after the May Day Bank Holiday in a marquee at the Queen's Head public house. This event attracts visitors from East Anglia and further afield.

The village also used to host a more unusual event on the last Saturday in July known as Navy Day. This mourns the end of the Royal Navy's rum ration and as part of the celebrations a tot of rum is processed around the village. Quite how a Suffolk village some 18 miles from the sea has come to host such a celebrartion has been the topic of an interesting post on the [http://www.stradbroke.org.uk/index.php?module=phpwsbb&PHPWSBB_MAN_OP=view&PHPWS_MAN_ITEMS=28 Village Website Forums] . The last Navy Day was held in 2007.

Stradbroke also has its own Radio Station called [http://www.stradbroke.org.uk/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=154 Radio Stradbroke] which broadcasts live events over the Internet and podcasts for download, this started in Easter 2006 with the broadcast of Marty's Go-Go Roadshow from the Queens Head pub in the village to hundreds of listeners around the world.

Stradbroke Business and Enterprise College is the smallest secondary school in Suffolk and one of the smallest in England with only some 360 students. Previously known as Stradbroke High School, in October 2004 it made a successful application to become a Business and Enterprise College.

External links

* [http://www.stradbroke.org.uk/ Stradbroke Village Website]
* [http://parishcouncil.stradbroke.org.uk/ Stradbroke Parish Council]
* [http://www.stradbrokebec.org/ Stradbroke Business and Enterprise College]
* [http://www.dissexpress.co.uk/ Diss Express] - village's local newspaper website
* [http://www.midsuffolk.gov.uk Mid Suffolk District Council]
* [http://www.suffolk.gov.uk Suffolk County Council]
* [http://www.ivyhousestradbroke.co.uk Ivy House Public House and Restaurant]
* [http://www.orchardacorns.co.uk Stradbroke online Toy Shop]