Metfield was always self-sufficient. Much of the work in the village was land-related – blacksmiths, harness makers, weavers, shoemakers, farm labourers, cattlemen, stockmen and horsemen all worked on or for the many small farms. A brick kiln and field along with three corn mills around the village also provided work.

There had once been as many as four beer houses within the village (in 2018 there is not even a single pub), as well as six shops – butcher, greengrocer, fishmonger, draper, post office and general stores. Only the latter remains – Metfield Stores – having been rescued by the community in 2005/6 from threatened closure.

A bit of history
Lord of the Manor
The church
USAAF ‘invasion’
Post-war Metfield
2000 and beyond
Village shop
Publication of METFIELD Tales From a Suffolk Village 1928–2017