Withersfield is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2011 its population was 450. It has a public house and a village hall, and centres on the parish church, St. Mary the Virgin. It is in a rural location, surrounded by farmland, yet only a mile north of the busy market town of Haverhill. Surrounding villages include Great Wratting, West Wickham and Great Thurlow.
In 1870, the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Withersfield as:
"...a parish in Risbridge district, Suffolk; 2 miles N W of Haverhill r. station. It has a post-office under Newmarket. Acres, 2,509. Real property, £3,791. Pop., 624. Houses, 146. The manor belongs to the Rev. W. Mayd. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Ely. Value, £650.* Patron, the Rev. W. Mayd. The church was partly rebuilt and enlarged in 1868. There is a parochial school."
The name Withersfield directly translates in Old English to 'Wether open land' which means an area where rams roam. With the village being set in the middle of the countryside, traditionally most of the population worked in the agriculture industry. in 1881, 100 out of the 133 male population worked in agriculture.
Withersfield appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in the Risbridge hundred of Suffolk. It was made up of 2 villagers, 13 smallholders, 3 slaves and 2 free men. It held 3 lord’s plough teams and 2 men’s plough teams. It had a meadow of 3 acres and 20 woodland pigs. In 1066 the lords were Alwin, Leofwaru and Wulfmer. In 1086 they were Lord Godard, Lord Payne and Lord Widelard or Balliol.
Withersfield has undergone many boundary changes. It was part of the Risbridge registration district until 1938 when the district was abolished to become the Braintree and Newmarket districts. Withersfield joined the Newmarket registration district until 1989 when the district was abolished with all of its remaining parishes joining Bury St Edmunds. This is the registration district that Withersfield remained in until 2010 when the district size expanded. Withersfield can now be found in the Suffolk registration district.
The church of St Mary the Virgin is set in the centre of Withersfield. The church dates back to the 13th century, yet only the door handle survives from this era. The majority of the church is in fact Victorian having had to be rebuilt due to poor structure. The church is unlike most in the area and is kept open 24/7. The church is one of 24 listed buildings in the village of Withersfield.
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