Welcome to Barton Mills

We are delighted to be part of this heritage community initiative run by Forest Heath District Council and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the Millennium Festival

 Barton Mills's Timeline   Thu 01/02/01

Barton Mills is a beautiful little village located just south of the town of Mildenhall.

The Lark River runs between Barton Mills and Mildenhall and it is only a short walk down a quaint footpath with two arched bridges to get from one to the other. The footpath is adjacent to the Norah Hanbury Kelk nature reserve and leads to the village playing field. 

The village hall was built adjacent to the playing field in 1931 and is frequently used for official and social functions. A short walk down The Street will reveal many of the village's highlights.

The parish church of St Mary is of the embattled type with a South porch and Western tower. The marvellous hand-painted glass depicting St John the Baptist and St Edmund can be seen in the church. The clock was inserted in the tower in1911. 

The National Autistic Society's Middle Field Manor (or Barton Hall as it was originally known) is located off of The Street. 

The post office/grocery and the village pub, The Bell, are located in the village centre. A walk continuing down The Street will lead past the Baptist Church and many beautiful homes. The homes are a mixture of historic buildings and modern brick houses. 

The street ends at the former coaching inn, The Bull. This sits across form the A 11 to London.  

The village name may mean "the corn farm by the mill". However, the village of Barton Mills was once called "Little Barton". It is said that many of the maps of the 18th century did not show the small village of Little Barton. The maps did show the turnpike road from Norwich to London (now the A11) and the Mill next to the road. The Mill was marked on the map in bold letters, Barton Mills. Over time the name was adopted.

Barton Mills is also famous for its annual Scarecrow Festival. The village was officially recognised in 1999 as having the festival with more scarecrows than any other festival in the world and became a Guinness Book record holder.