Santon Downham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2005 it had a population of 240.Estimates of Total Population of Areas in Suffolk Suffolk County Council The village is located within Thetford Forest on a meander of the River Little Ouse on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Thetford is southeast and the nearest railway station is in Brandon west.
History
The village was the administrative centre for the Eastern Forestry Commission for many years, following the planting of tens of thousands of trees in the Breckland to form the Thetford Forest. The District office and staff were housed in a 1960s office building close to the site of the now-demolished Downham Hall. The Hall garden formed the base for the nursery department of the district. The Forestry Commission repair depot was built close by in an award-winning building, next to which stood the Forestry Commission fire station. A Bedford 'Green Goddess' fire tender and a water tanker were kept in the fire station due to the high fire risk in the area.
In 1972 the bridge over the River Little Ouse appeared in programme 50 of the fifth series of BBC's sitcom Dad's Army, when Captain Mainwaring and his troops attempt to demolish it.
Climate Santon Downham has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).
The highest temperature since records began in 1959 was on 19 July 2022 and the lowest was on 23 January 1963.
Santon Downham is a known frost hollow and holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in the UK in June, a low of on 1 and 3 June 1962, a record it also shares with Dalwhinnie in the highlands of Scotland. Temperatures also dipped to on 30 September 1969, which is one of the coldest September nights recorded in the UK. The temperature can go below freezing at any time of the year.
Transport The Santon Downham Tramway was a long narrow-gauge railway, which was operated around 1918 to 1922.D. Manning: The Bridge. Santon Downham History.Timber Railway. Santon Downham History.Friends of Thetford Forest: The Hidden Heritage of High Lodge - The Light Railway at High Lodge. With three alternative route maps.John Rayment: The Hidden Heritage of High Lodge - Canadians on the Downham Estate. 2019.
See also Santon, Norfolk, a nearby depopulated village
References
External links Village website Village Hall website Parish Council website Explore Santon Downham at forestry.gov.uk