[2] The name "Stoke" is derived from the Old English word "stoc," meaning a place or secondary settlement.

The "middle sorts" comprised farmers who did not employ labourers, along with masters and skilled workers in urban manufacturing and handicrafts.

[11] Stoke Ash also has a higher rate of home ownership, either outright or with a mortgage, compared to the national average, indicating that it is a relatively affluent area.

The distribution of employment across various sectors was relatively equal, reflecting a significant change in the village’s social structure compared to 1831, when the majority of the population were servants.

The bell openings of the 14th-century tower feature decorated tracery, while there is a later west window and a substantial stair turret rising on the south side.

Phipson also stripped out the plaster ceilings to reveal a scissor-braced roof, with heavier arch braces in the chancel extending well down the walls.

The tower arch is tall and narrow, and at its base stands the crown of a medieval bell, cast by the earliest known foundry in Bury St Edmunds between 1460 and 1480.

The inscription on the bell reads "Credo in Deum Patrem Omni Potentem," which translates from Latin as "I believe in God, the Father Almighty."

Over the south door hangs a dark set of Hanoverian royal arms, relabeled for William IV in 1836.

There is no longer a chancel arch or screen, but the stairs leading to the rood loft rise within the window embrasure on both sides.

The small priest’s door is set within a much larger, later pointed arch, and in the north wall of the sanctuary, there is a large, plain recess.

[9] The White Horse Inn is a bed and breakfast located on the A140, near the town of Eye in Suffolk, midway between Ipswich and Norwich.