The Sign (text taken from Stradbroke online)

The Village Sign, usually called ‘The Bishop’ has been in place for just about 50 years. It was paid for initially by ‘The Stradbroke Players’ then our active amateur dramatic society. The sign was designed by Frank Ward, a skilful artist born in the village in 1914, the fourth of nine children and who remained in touch with his family and Stradbroke until his death in 1998.

The original oak sign was replaced by a fibreglass replica when it rotted. The sign stands at the side of the main street, New Street, at its junction with Wilby Road.

The oak for the post and the figures were given by Mr Peck, the owner of the almost derelict Stradbroke Rectory at the time. In the past, the Rectory had been a magnificent and impressive house but had by then fallen into considerable disrepair. Some of the rooms were even used for rearing chickens! Soon afterwards, it was demolished and the extensive gardens were used for the houses in what is now Bishop’s Way and Woodfields. The red brick garden wall of the Old Rectory on Wilby Road still survives and the house just inside it is helpfully and accurately named ‘The Bishop’s View’. The two figures on the sign were two of the very few famous people who have lived in Stradbroke.

The Bishop was Bishop Grosseteste who was reputedly born in Town House (now Lavender & Jude) in 1168. There is a plaque to his memory in the porch of the building. It states that he became Bishop of Lincoln in 1235 and died in 1253. There was a Teachers’ Training College in Lincoln and since 2012, a University which bears his name. The younger man at his feet was an itinerant poet, James Chambers who died and was buried in Stradbroke Churchyard. He was born in Soham in Cambridgeshire in 1748 and a book of his ‘Poetical Works’ was published in Ipswich in 1820. He begged for food and shelter in Stradbroke and the district around and in return wrote poems for his benefactors. He called himself a ‘poetaster’. He therefore missed the chance of meeting Bishop Grosseteste by a little more than 500 years! Such is artistic license!

The original oak sign gradually deteriorated and by 2005 it was no longer possible to repair it. To replace it in seasoned oak would have cost too much and so moulds were taken from the original carvings and a fibreglass replacement sign was made. It was completed in Colchester by Ken Morgan and then transported back to Stradbroke. Newly bright and cheerful, it was placed back on the original post in July 2006.

The Name and Population
The population was estimated to be 1,513 in 2018. It was called Statebroc / Stetebroc in 1086 and Stradebroc in 1168. The name may mean "a brook by a paved road", though no Roman road is known, taken from Old English. Post Domesday Book spelling may suggest that it may means "The brook that can be crossed in a stride"

Other Points of Interest
The church is dedicated to All Saints