Cavendish, Suffolk

Toponymy

The name Cavendish is thought to be of Old English origin, derived from a combination of the personal name Cafa or Cafna, meaning 'bold' or 'daring', the genitive suffix -n, and edisc or eddish, meaning 'enclosed pasture'. The habitational surname Cavendish is derived from this toponym. Keith Briggs and Kelly Kilpatrick cite several alternate spellings of the name in the Domesday Book before the spelling "Cavendish" became standard.

History

It was home to Sir John Cavendish, the ancestor of the Dukes of Devonshire, who was involved in suppressing the Peasants' Revolt. Wat Tyler, the peasants' leader, was arrested by William Walworth, the Mayor of London, for threatening King Richard II in 1381. As Tyler fought back, Cavendish's son, also called John, who was responsible for escorting the King, ran Tyler through with his sword, killing him. As a result, John Cavendish tried to flee from the pursuing peasants, and he hung on to the handle of the door of St Mary's Church to plead sanctuary. A few days later, on 15 June 1381, the elder John Cavendish was seized at Bury St Edmunds and beheaded by a mob led by Jack Straw. He is buried in Bury St Edmunds. St Mary's Church had a bequest from Sir John, and its chancel was restored.

The village has a United Reformed Church, where Catholic services are also held, and three pubs - the Five Bells, the George, and the Bull. Leonard Lord Cheshire and his wife Sue Ryder are buried in Cavendish Cemetery and there is a memorial to them within St Mary's Church. The museum at Cavendish is now closed but history of the Sue Ryder Foundation and life at the Cavendish home may be obtained from the Sue Ryder legacy and history team. As Cavendish was begun as a home for concentration camp survivors the charity holds some records of the people who were rescued by Sue Ryder.

Climate

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Other notable people

• George Cavendish (1497 – ) an English writer, known as the biographer of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
• Sir William Cavendish MP (ca.1505 – 1557) a politician, knight and courtier.

References

Notes

:a. Old English edisc or eddish are also thought to form part of the placename Brundish and the surname Standish.

References

1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
2. (2003). "Dictionary of American family names". Oxford University Press.
3. (2016). "A dictionary of Suffolk place-names". English Place-Name Society.
4. "eddish". Wordnik.
5. Skeat, Rev'd Walter. (1913). "The Place-Names of Suffolk". The Cambridge Antiquarian Society.
6. Notices of the Manor of Cavendish, in Suffolk, and of the Cavendish Family while possessed of that Manor. By Thomas Ruggles, Esq. F. A. S. Read May 3, 1792. in Archaeologia, or, Miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity, Volume XI
7. "C is for Cavendish". BBC Suffolk online.
8. Family History Monthly, No.24, September 1997, ''"Cavendish: The Dukes of Devonshire"'', Brenda Lewis
9. "Sue Ryder".
10. {{Cite EB1911. Gosse. Edmund William
11. {{Cite EB1911