Mellis
Village in Suffolk, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mellis is a small village in Suffolk, England. It has the largest area of unfenced common land in England. Oliver Cromwell exercised his troops in Mellis. It once had a railway station on the main line between London and Norwich, and a small branch line that ran to nearby Eye.
| Mellis | |
|---|---|
St Mary's church, Mellis | |
  Mellis Location within Suffolk | |
| Population | 519 (2011)[1] |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Eye |
| Postcode district | IP23 |
| Dialling code | 01379 |
Mellis Common is a 59 hectare nature reserve. In summer rare plants such as green-winged orchid, sulphur clover and adder's tongue fern flourish. The abundance of small mammals also makes the site a favourite hunting ground for barn owl and tawny owl.
A number of public works on the Common, including tree planting and establishment of a football pitch, were undertaken in the 1970s by local farmer Don Rush of Home Farm
Running diagonally across the Common is The Carnser; a footpath running alongside drainage ditches, taking its name from colloquial East Anglian dialect.
The 14th-century parish church of St Mary, restored in 1859 and 1900, is a Grade II* listed building.[2]
In 1968, Roger Deakin (1943 – 2006), writer and environmentalist, bought Walnut Tree Farm on the edge of Mellis Common, which he rebuilt over many years and where he lived until his death.
