Place:Babergh District, Suffolk, England

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Babergh (pronounced BAY-bər) is a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council headquarters is based in Hadleigh, whilst its largest town is Sudbury. The area was formerly part of the administrative county of West Suffolk which ceased to exist on 1 April 1974.

Babergh has a population of roughly 85,000 and covers an area of approximately 230 square miles (600 km2).

It is named after the old Babergh Hundred, referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086. The southern boundary of the district is marked almost exclusively by the River Stour, which also forms the border with Essex, and it is separated from the Suffolk Coastal District by the River Orwell. Primarily a rural area, Babergh District contains two towns of notable size: Sudbury and the administrative centre, Hadleigh.

'Constable Country' is cognate with a large tract of Babergh and draws visitors to the conservation area of Dedham Vale and the well-preserved villages of Long Melford, Lavenham and Kersey for painting, agricultural and architectural history. This area produces foodstuffs such as fruit, vegetables, cider, cheese and meat, and provides shops, accommodation, restaurants and tea rooms.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of

• the Municipal Borough of Sudbury,
• Hadleigh Urban District,
• Cosford Rural District,
• Melford Rural District and
• Samford Rural District.