Lakenheath

Lakenheath is a town in Suffolk, England. It has around 8,200 residents, and is situated in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and at the meeting point of the The Fens and the Breckland natural environments.

Lakenheath is host to the largest USAF base in the United Kingdom, RAF Lakenheath.

Lakenheath Fen Nature Reserve, created in 1996, restored wetlands from agricultural fields that were growing carrots. In May 2007, it was reported that cranes were nesting in the site for the first time since the fen lands were drained in the sixteenth century.

The town has a single Victorian primary school, constructed in 1878, which was extended in 1969, again in 2004 and most recently in 2010/2011. There is a small shopping street, with a grocery store, two newsagents, an optician's shop, a Chinese restaurant, fish and chip shop, and Filipino restaurant. The town has a library with internet access. Along this stretch of road a small skate park, a playing field and a children's play park can also be found.

Lakenheath has only one pub; The Brewers Tap, though historically it had at least sixteen more, the most recent closure being the The Plough (closed August 2011, being converted to a Chinese restaurant). The Royal British Legion is a members only club.

Lakenheath is remarkable for its medieval church, built in the local flint construction style. The church contains medieval paintings and medieval carving on the pews. The faces of the church's wooden angels bear the scars of the English Civil War, as none of the angels retain their original facial detail, due to religiously motivated vandalism by puritan soldiers In early 2009, the church received a large grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and local organisations to restore its rare medieval wall paintings. The wall paintings, depicting local saint St Edmund, angels, and birds amongst other subjects, are believed to date from the 13th Century.

As well as the Anglican parish church, Lakenheath has churches representing the Methodist, Strict Baptist and Pentecostal (AOG) denominations. All three of the non-Anglican church buildings are also primarily constructed of local flint, albeit with later modifications in brick.

Lakenheath railway station is three miles away from the village.