In Boxford we have 'a village of outstanding importance to the nation' which is why the county designated much of the village a Conservation Area. The Boxford Society aims to preserve the character of the village and its historic and architectural heritage. We constantly monitor planning applications and try to ensure that new developments are in keeping with the character of the village - an increasingly difficult task. Two of our members were instrumental in drawing up the Neighbourhood Plan which gives legal weight to the views of the people who live in the village.

We hold at least two meetings, sometimes three, each year to which we invite speakers with specialist knowledge of history, architecture and social development of the village, the county and East Anglia in general - we certainly have a rich history on our doorstep! We also arrange a Summer Outing to a place with a significant history.

The Programme for 2026 is:

The Spring Meeting was held on Friday 17th April in the Village Hall, when Patricia Hodgkins, one of the National Trust guides at Flatford, gave an inspirational talk about the artist John Constable on the 250th Anniversary of his birth.

The Spring Outing will be held on Thursday 28th May when we have a guided tour at the Bulmer Brickworks near Sudbury, established many hundreds of years ago and still going strong!

The Summer Meeting will be held on Friday 12th June 2026 in the Village Hall when Roger Loose will give a talk entitled The Boxford Old Picture Show Part 2: Swan Street, Church St and School Hill. Based on photographs from the Boxford Society Archives. His talk last year on a different part of the Conservation Area was so well received, it was repeated in September.

The Autumn Outing will be on Tuesday 29th September 2026 when we will have a guided tour of the Unitarian Meeting House in Ipswich which is a Grade 1 building which has recently been restored.

The Autumn Meeting will be held on Friday 9th October 2026 in the Village Hall, when Mark Bailey, Professor of Late Medieval History at UEA, will be talking to us about Global Climate Change and the Evolution of the Suffolk Coast 1200 to 1700' with new research on Minsmere, Sizewell and East Bavents.

Roger Loose, one of our long-standing members has completed a comprehensive history of Boxford and his book. Boxford through the ages: A New History has already gone to a third print. If you would like to purchase a copy, please contact Roger on roger.loose17@gmail.com or order it online here

Membership is just £5 per person per year which entitles you to free entry to all the talks and a priority place on the Summer Outing. However, we do welcome any donations in addition to the subscription as we have expenses to cover eg fees for speakers, affiliation to the Suffolk Preservation Society and subscription to the Campaign to Protect Rural England - we would prefer to remain solvent!

If you are interested in joining us for interesting talks, stimulating outings and would like to support the preservation of Boxford's character whilst recognising the need for the village to change and develop sympathetically, please contact Jen Eastwood on jen.eastwood8@gmail.com or call 01787 211853.