History
The area around the present village has been inhabited for more than 2,000 years. A sword now kept at the Moyse Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds is evidence of a Bronze Age settlement. Other archaeological finds suggest that the village also had ancient defensive ditches known as The Warbanks.
The name Cockfield comes from the Old English phrase "Cohha's open land". Cohha may have been one of the first people to live in the area. The village was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Cothefelda. It was described as a prosperous manor whose wealth had increased after the Norman Conquest. During the Middle Ages, its name changed to Cokefield and later to Cockfield.
A castle was built in the village sometime during the 11th or 12th century. It was probably located near the site of Old Cockfield Hall, although its exact location is not known. The De Cockfield family owned the site in the 12th century. They were also associated with castles at Groton and Lindsey.
A late 12th- or early 13th-century chronicle by Jocelyn de Brakelond describes a tower belonging to Adam de Cockfield as 140 feet (43 m) high. Although its exact location is uncertain, the description may refer to the tower at Cockfield.
Cockfield became a centre of Puritanism during the 17th century. In the 19th century, the parish was one of the largest and wealthiest in Suffolk. It was also the home of several well-known rectors.
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