The artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and Grant's lover the writer David Garnett, lived in Wissett for the summer of 1916.[7] Bell's sister, Virginia Woolf, wrote after visiting them that: "Wissett seems to lull asleep all ambition. Don't you think they have discovered the secret of life? I thought it wonderfully harmonious."
Culture and community
The parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew. It is one of around 40 round-tower churches in Suffolk[a] and dates from the 11th century. The tower has a floor partly dated to the 12th century, one of the oldest recorded church tower floors in the United Kingdom. The church was built as a chapel to Rumburgh Priory. Two doors and the tower arch are the remaining elements of Norman architecture. The church is a Grade I listed building.[2][14][15][16]
The village has a village hall and a public house, The Plough Inn, which also operates as a village shop.[3] Wissett Hall is a red-brick manor house dating from the 17th century,[18] whilst Manor Farmhouse dates from the 16th century and The Grange from the 14th; both are Grade II* listed buildings.[19][20] The Old Chapel, a former dissenters' chapel, is now a private dwelling.[4]
The parish council operates a regular newsletter, The Wissett Web.[3] Valley Farm Vineyard was established in the parish in 1987 and has produced United Kingdom Vineyard Association Gold Medal winning wine.[3][21]
Education
The Wissett School Board was formed in 1878, and the village school opened the following year, 1879. It operated as a board school until 1902, when it became a local authority primary school under the provisions of the Education Act 1902. The school continued to operate until 1961, when it closed due to the small size of its roll.[2][22] Children now attend primary school in Halesworth and secondary school at Bungay High School.
The Wissett Hoards
Early in 2011 two hoards of Bronze Age axe heads and spears, together with a single rapier blade, were discovered in Wissett by two metal detectorists. The hoards were found about nine metres apart. The second hoard was excavated fully by the County Archaeological Team, and expert examination of the objects has shown them to be over 3,000 years old, dating to the Middle Bronze Age.
It is considered unusual to find two hoards so close together. From the identical alloy used in both hoards, it has been suggested that they are contemporary with each other. Several of the items are of a type that have never previously been found together.
In all, fifteen objects were authenticated by the British Museum, and were valued at £4,300. They were purchased by the Halesworth and District Museum.[23]
Notes
^The exact number of round-tower churches in the county is a matter of debate. Some sources list 38,[8][9] others cite between 40 and 43.[10][11][12][13] They almost all date from the late Anglo-Saxon or early Norman periods and were mostly built between the 11th and 14th-centuries. There are around 183 round-tower churches in England, most of them in Norfolk, which has around 124, and Suffolk.[11][13] Four of the churches now in Norfolk were previously in Suffolk before boundary changes in 1974.[12]
^Page W (1975) 'Houses of Benedictine monks: Priory of Rumburgh' in A History of the County of Suffolk: Volume 2, pp. 77–79. (Available online at British History Online. Retrieved 2011-05-02.)
