Red Lodge, Suffolk

Red Lodge is a village and civil parish situated in rural Suffolk between Mildenhall and Newmarket, and very close to the A11 and A14 roads.

Red Lodge

View of Red Lodge village in 2006
Red Lodge
Location within Suffolk
Population3,834 
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBURY ST EDMUNDS
Postcode districtIP28
UK Parliament

The village

Red Lodge is a growing community administered by West Suffolk Council. It has new homes from a variety of building companies centred on the Kings Warren development at the northern end of the village.[1] Currently, community facilities include an Ecumenical church, village hall and venue (known as the Millennium Centre), a sports pavilion with tennis courts, a five-a-side football pitch and allotments.[2] A new school opened in September 2012 and the new village centre which opened in 2014 has a convenience store, fish and chip shop, kebab shop, pharmacy, hair dressers and estate agents. The Red Lodge Steakhouse Restaurant and Pub recently opened its doors too after an extensive refurbishment of the original pub building which is the oldest recorded building in the village.

History of the community

The village dates back to 1926 when the first houses were built, although the pub, Red Lodge Inn, is far older, having been recorded on a map of the site in 1885. It is thought to be a former hunting lodge dating back to the 17th century.[1][3] The area where most of the new housing is situated was formerly a rabbit warren attached to Freckenham Manor lands, with a history dating back to the 13th century.[1] Red Lodge became a civil parish in 1987, having previously been part of Freckenham parish.[4]

Red Lodge Heath
View over scrubland to Red Lodge Inn

Red Lodge Heath is an area of acid grassland and lowland and is an SSSI, with a number of nationally rare plants and animals.[5] It includes a population of the five-banded tailed digger wasp, Cerceris quinquefasciata, which nests in bare sand along a path to the north of the site, and on sparsely vegetated slopes to the west.[6] Discovery of the wasp population in 2005 by English Nature meant that Forest Heath District Council had to adapt proposed housing and school development plans in this area of the village.[7]

The Heath is maintained by volunteers from a conservation group established in 2007 and awarded a Lottery grant in 2012.[8]

The nearest railway station to Red Lodge is in Kennett, 2 miles (3 km) away. Buses also serve the village, offering transportation to Mildenhall, Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and other nearby towns and villages. Stansted Airport is 41 miles (66 km) away and Luton Airport is 55 miles (89 km). National Express coaches operate services from nearby Mildenhall to Central London; Cambridge; Brighton via Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.

Other local businesses

Red Lodge had a long-established transport café which was renowned as being open 24 hours a day. This is now not the case and it recently closed down after many years.[9][10] Red Lodge Karting, is reputed to be one of the largest non-MSA tracks in the country, with two circuits of 1200m and 700m.[11] Other nearby venues include WildTracks centre in Kennett, which offers activities including archery, motorcross and off-roading.[12]

Education

St Christopher's CEVCP School in Bellflower Crescent opened in September 2012 and replaced Tuddenham Primary School, which was too small for the number of students.[13] It is a Church of England voluntary faith school, meaning that Christian values are promoted within the curriculum and all faiths are welcomed. It has capacity for 315 pupils, with further development planned to increase capacity to 420.[14] It delivers education for 5- to 11-year-olds and follows the National Curriculum.

The two-storey school is accessible by people with different physical abilities. Teaching facilities include interactive multi-media systems in classrooms, art, design technology and food technology areas, playing field, hard court, hall and drama studio.[15]

In the last Ofsted inspection in 2009 (which took place at the Tuddenham premises), the school was rated 2 (good).[16]

Local Groups

Blackbourne School of Dance is based in the village and offers after-school ballet classes at St Christopher's School.

References
  1. "Page Title". GB: Redlodge.onesuffolk.net. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  2. "About us". GB: Redlodge.onesuffolk.net. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  3. "Red Lodge Red Lodge summary from". Suffolk Camra. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  4. "The Forest Heath (Parishes) Order 1986" (PDF). LGBCE. 24 July 1986. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  5. "Natural England – SSSIs : Units for Red Lodge Heath". Sssi.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  6. "Redlodge Warren, Suffolk". The Wildlife Trusts. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  7. "UK | England | Suffolk | Rare wasp cancels village plans". BBC News. 22 March 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  8. "Conservation group gets £10,000 cash boost – Environment – Eastern Daily Press". Edp24.co.uk. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  9. "Red Lodge Transport Cafe in Newmarket". Newmarket Journal. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  10. Inspector, Fry Up (27 February 2011). "The Fry up Inspector: 24 hour Transport Cafe – Red Lodge". Fryupsgoodornot.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  11. "Red Lodge Kart Track". Track Reviewers. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  12. "Welcome to Wildtracks Activity Park Newmarket, Cambridge". Wildtracksltd.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  13. "State-of-the-art school opens its doors – Latest News". Bury Free Press. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  14. "School". GB: Redlodge.onesuffolk.net. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  15. "Our School". Stcprimary.suffolk.sch.uk. 30 September 2012. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  16. "St Christopher's CEVCP School". Ofsted. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
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