Groton, Suffolk

In 1086, Groton was listed in the Domesday Book as Grotena[3] in the hundred of Babergh.[4] The lord of the manor was originally the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds but, at the Dissolution, it was granted to the Winthrops.[5] Groton, Massachusetts is named after the village, as it was founded by a member of the Winthrop family. John Winthrop was born at Groton Manor in 1587; he became the leader of the Winthrop Fleet, a founder of the city of Boston, and one of the first Governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The parish church has a Victorian stained glass window in his memory.[6]

Groton, Connecticut was also named after the village by Winthrop's son John Winthrop the Younger who settled in that area in 1646. On a common called "The Croft" in the village is an old Mulberry tree said to have been planted by Adam Winthrop, the grandfather of John the elder.[7]

Broad Street a hamlet in the parish, it is located near Mill Green. It is also the location of Pytches Mount.

In Groton Park, Pitches Mount or Pytches is an example of a Norman motte and bailey castle. It may have been built in the 12th Century by Adam de Cockfield. Only the motte or mound survives, which is 200 feet in diameter and covered in bushes and undergrowth. The name is thought by some to come from the Pecche family, who held Groton for the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds in 1200. It is more likely to be named after John Pytches who bought Groton Great House in 1805.[8]

Castling’s Heath is a hamlet in the parish. It has a barn called Castling’s Hall, which is also called Dove Barn, where weddings take place.[9]

Gosling Green is a hamlet in the parish, It is just by Groton Wood SSSI.

• John Winthrop, founder of Boston and second governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• John Winthrop the Younger, governor of the Connecticut Colony.
• Lord Frederick Beauclerk, a notable cricketer during the single-wicket era.
• Ruth Rendell, crime writer.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Groton.

• Pitches Mount Geograph