(ugg)+Topography

Uggeshall is one of the two contiguous parishes that each have a relatively small part of the hundred boundary, the other being Frostenden. Their northern boundaries all come together at the south east corner of Sotterley. This is the point at which the watershed between the tributaries of the Wang and the Hundred rivers makes a turn to the south and this topographical feature is the reason for these two communities having odd triangular shapes. Stoven, which abutts Uggeshall to the west is also triangular-shaped but the point of its triangle faces south. Taken together the three parishes occupy a rectangular area and this is reason enough to hypothesise that they were originally one settlement.

About a third of Uggeshall is valley land and the fen pasture of the meandering Wang which forms its southern boundary. The northern tributary running past Stoven church, sets the limits of the parish to the west. A salt pan is recorded as one of Uggeshall's taxable resources in Domesday; evidence that the river was then tidal. The main drainage from the clay uplands is eastwards in the direction of the two arrows shown in the left hand sketch map. The eastern boundary of the parish was probably negotiated with Frostenden when the the greens, shown on the section of Hodskinson's map below, were enclosed. Clay Common was the largest and occupied the north eastern uplands of Uggeshall above 20 metres.

Greens on the boundary of Uggeshall (Hodskinson,1780s)

The present parish boundary of Uggeshall runs to the east of Wash Lane and up through the middle of what Hodskinson calls 'Frostenden Clay Common'. Here the modern boundary between Uggeshall and Frostenden is 'Primrose Lane', which indicates that before enclosure the common was shared between the two communities. From the junction of Primrose Lane with Green Lane the Uggeshall boundary follows Green Lane westwards with a slight diversion to the south so as to exclude Frostenden Spring Wood. Here, most of the original common appears to have belonged to Frostenden.

BKF = Brick Kiln Farm; a reminder that brickmaking became established on the former common, leading to the development of the Frostenden hamlet of Clay Common.

LF = Low Farm; this is the edge of Hodskinson's 'Golds Green'. Frostenden Spring Wood to the north of Low Farm was probably Uggeshall's portion of the Clay Common.

Barnaby Green is in Wangford.

Uggeshall Hills towards the bottom left hand corner of the map now has the highest density of houses in Uggeshall.