Tourist's guide to visit Stoke-by-Nayland

Visit Stoke-by-Nayland – things to do & explore

Overview of Stoke-by-Nayland history & facts by Walkfo

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Planning a visit to Stoke-by-Nayland?

Stoke-by-Nayland is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, close to the border with Essex. The village, located within Babergh district, has many cottages and timber-framed houses and all surround a recreation field. Possibly once the site of a monastery, the population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 703, falling to 682 at the Census 2011.

Stoke-by-Nayland history

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The village is first recorded in 946 in the will of Ælfgar, an Earl, where he endowed land to a community in the village, possibly a monastery.

St Mary’s Church

The church was rebuilt in the 15th century and renovated in 1865, and appears several times in John Constable’s paintings, though not always in the right place. The most notable feature is the red-brick tower; completed about 1470 and surmounted by stone spires, the buttresses are laced with canopied image niches. On the north side there is a Tudor porch, but the south porch, the main entrance, was entirely refaced by the Victorians. However, the windows and corbels reveal it to be one of the earliest parts of the church, an early 14th-century addition of two storeys to the building that was then replaced in the late 15th century. The tower is 126 feet (38 metres) high to the pinnacles.

Listed buildings

Stoke-by-Nayland’s many listed buildings consist mainly of Grade II houses and cottages, mostly timber-framed and rendered with plain-tile roofs, although some are thatched or slated. Thorington Hall, in a separate hamlet to the south-east of the village, is a 17th-century timber-framed and plastered house with much original detail. There are cross wings at the north-east and south-west ends, and a staircase wing rises to above eaves level on the south-east front. The north-east wing has a jettied gable on both fronts, carved bressummer and bargeboards. The south-west wing has an oriel window on the upper storey on the north-west side, on four shaped brackets. It also includes a jettied gable with carved bressummer and bargeboards. The windows are mostly mullioned and transomed casements with leaded lights, some with the original 17th-century fastenings. There are some original windows, blocked. On the south-east front includes a modern glazed door with an 18th-century door-case and a scroll pediment on brackets. There are two heavy chimney stacks, one finely done with 6 grouped octagonal shafts. Downs Farmhouse, no longer used as such, dates from the early 16th century, with later extensions. It is timber-framed and rendered; with rear extensions partly faced in 19th-century red brick. Of two storeys and on a 3-cell plan, its roofs are plain-tiled with the original chimney-stack set externally on the rear wall of the hall, and a cross entry. The stack has been rebuilt in plain red brick. Street House is in Church Street and has a plain-tile roof above timber-framed construction behind a render finish. The Maltings, backing onto the churchyard, and the Old Guildhall, facing it across the road, each has exposed timber-framing and jettied fronts designed to be seen. Both these buildings are of four bays divided into tenements.

Historical writings

The village features in the 1868 National Gazetteer of Great Britain, volume 10, as: STOKE-BY-NAYLAND, a parish in the hundred of Babergh, county Suffolk, 1½ mile N.E. of Nayland, and 5 miles E. of Bures railway station. Colchester is its post town. The village, which was formerly a market town, is situated near the river Stour. The par. contains the chapelry of Leavenheath, and had a monastery endowed by the Saxon Earl of Algar, traces of which are still existing. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ely, value £278. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure, with a tower and six bells. There is also a district church at Leavenheath, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £56. The parochial charities produce about £25 per annum, exclusive of some almshouses. £8 go towards Lady Windsor’s hospital. There is a National school for both sexes. Tendring Hall is the principal residence. In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson’s Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described the village as: STOKE-BY-NAYLAND, a parish, with a village, in Sudbury district, Suffolk; 1½ mile NE of Nayland, and 6 E by N of Bures r. station. It has a post-office under Colchester. Acres, 5,277. Real property, £9,299. Pop. in 1851, 1,406; in 1861, 1,275. Houses, 302. The decrease of pop. was caused partly by the closing of silk-mills. The property is divided among a few. Tendring Hall is the seat of Sir R. Rowley, Bart.; and Giffords Hall, of P. Mannock, Esq. A monastery was founded here by the Saxon Earl A1gar. The living is a vicarage the diocese of Ely. Value, £355.* Patron, Sir R.Rowley, Bart. The church is later English, with a lofty tower; and was restored in 1865. The p. curacy of Leavenheath is a separate benefice. There are a Roman Catholic chapel, a national school, alms houses, and other charities £25. Lord mayor Capel, ancestor of the Earl of Essex, was a native. In 1887, John Bartholomew also wrote an entry on Stoke Nayland in the Gazetteer of the British Isles with a much shorter description: Stoke (by Nayland), par. and vil., Suffolk – par. 5277 ac., pop. 1150; vil., 2 miles NE. of Nay land and 6 miles E. of Bures; P.O.

You can visit Stoke-by-Nayland, COUNTY/BOROUGH & use Walkfo to discover the best walking places with our free digital tour guide app created especially for Stoke-by-Nayland. Walkfo Stoke-by-Nayland has 300 locations with history, culture & travel facts, that you can explore the same way you can a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Stoke-by-Nayland, being in the moment, without digital distraction and no limitations to a specific walking route – you choose where you want to go, when you want to go and Walkfo Stoke-by-Nayland will keep up.

When you visit Stoke-by-Nayland

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When you visit Stoke-by-Nayland, Walkfo is your digital tour guide while exploring by foot, bike or bus. With numerous walks, hikes, tourist locations & travel destinations available in Stoke-by-Nayland, our travel AI guide helps you get the best from your visit to Stoke-by-Nayland & the surrounding areas. Our explore Stoke-by-Nayland app for iPhone & Android, allows you to experience the hidden history, culture and amazing facts throughout Stoke-by-Nayland whilst out walking. The digital tour guide creates interactive audio stories driven by where you walk, so you can exploration Stoke-by-Nayland’s National Heritage sites, tourist attractions, historic locations or city streets freely, without the restrictions of a predefined walk & walk map.

“The Walkfo AI has curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 0 audio facts in Stoke-by-Nayland alone that form an interactive Stoke-by-Nayland walking map for you to explore.”

Best Stoke-by-Nayland places to visit

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Stoke-by-Nayland has hundreds of places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are five of Stoke-by-Nayland’s best destinations to visit when exploring the area. We have condensed the information with much more detail available within Walkfo when you visit the destinations.

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Visit Stoke-by-Nayland plaques

Experience Stoke-by-Nayland audio walks & tours

Visiting Stoke-by-Nayland with Walkfo’s things to do interactive map
The “Stoke-by-Nayland things to do map” below is a preview of the places you can visit in Stoke-by-Nayland and surrounding areas with our digital audio tour guide app. Each spot has content for a plaque, a building, a street or general area, providing history, culture or tourism information the you can explore.

Interactive ‘Explore Stoke-by-Nayland Map’     This Stoke-by-Nayland tourism map shows points of interest within a 4km radius of Stoke-by-Nayland centre

Walkfo App     Walkfo

Walkfo is free to download & use (for a limited time period), so if you are looking to explore Stoke-by-Nayland, go to your App Store to search for “Walkfo” or follow a links below and install on your mobile phone. Walkfo is designed for use with headphones or AirPods, so you can walk & explore whilst learning about the things around you without digital distraction.

  Apple App Store

  Google Play Store

Things to do & visit in Stoke-by-Nayland and surrounding areas

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Getting to / around Stoke-by-Nayland – transport links, stations, streets & traffic map

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Getting around in Stoke-by-Nayland using public transportation may include roads, streets, trains, undergrounds, buses or trams. Walkfo has the following important Stoke-by-Nayland public transport locations with historic / cultural / factual content when you visit:

Stoke-by-Nayland Notable Public Transport Stations		Stoke-by-Nayland Notable Streets & Roads

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Attention local Stoke-by-Nayland historians, tour guides & Stoke-by-Nayland tourism agents