20th Century to Current Day

During the first half of the 20th Century, Suffolk agriculture went into serious decline; many farms went out of business and, as land values dropped, were simply allowed to become derelict. Nevertheless, restoration work on the Church in 1907 provided seating for 200 - more than the entire population of the Parish. At 199 the population of Great Bricett in 1901 was the lowest for over a century. Beaumont's general store was now also the Post Office, and brick makers living on the New Road (now the B1078) perhaps indicated an attempt at diversification out of agriculture, but in many ways the village had not changed its character for over a century. A visitor to the village in the 1920's described it as “queer in its general appearance, having a windmill without sails, a hump-backed bridge, and, near the Post Office, a few cottages ranged beside the village green opposite the church. Chickens roamed in the church yard.” Although Hall Farm had an electricity generator, most of the village was without that convenience and reliant on pumped water for domestic use. The blacksmith's closed in the 1930's - though it was not demolished until 1994. By 1931 the population had dropped further still to 141 and in 1938 the Wheelwright business in Riverside Cottage closed for good. It must have seemed that without drastic action Great Bricett might disappear as totally as Little Bricett had centuries earlier. Fortunately, help was at hand.

When Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, construction was already well advanced on an aerodrome to the north west of the village - straddling the western end of the Roman road. Most of the runways were outside the Parish but the greater part of Kiln farm, some of Three Releet Farm, and part of Hall Farm was compulsorily purchased and used to provide hangars, administrative buildings, and accommodation for what became known as RAF Wattisham. If overhead the noise of Blenheim and later Beaufighter bombers shattered the peace of this once quiet and secluded Suffolk village, at least the roads were now tarmac surfaced, the village shopkeeper (already baker, sub-postmaster, and postman) could add taxi driver to his list of services, and the vastly increased population ensured brisk trade not only in the shop but also in the Red Lion - now a Public House.

In 1942 the airfield was handed over to the United States Army Air Force who used it as a fighter base. The Americans were welcomed - though warplanes loaded with explosives were a mixed blessing. On 19 June 1944, just after lunch, a USAAF Fortress loaded with bombs crashed into a field near the village and exploded. Mercifully, the crew escaped and nobody appears to have been hurt but considerable damage was done to properties in the Parish - including some of the leaded stained glass windows in the east end of the church which were blown out and later replaced with clear glass.

However, the wartime population was transient; few RAF or USAAF personnel lived in married quarters let alone bought property in the village. On 31 January 1944 the village school was forced to close; the building was bought by the Church and Parish children had to be educated elsewhere. Furthermore, when the war ended in 1945 the airfield contracted both in population and area leaving large tracts of land, still uneconomic for traditional farming, and often criss-crossed with hard standings and assorted military buildings. Of course, the airfield brought work to the village and over the next few years many of the old cottages were demolished, a number of more modern buildings took their place, and additional housing was created on the east side of The Street. Concrete bases on which previously military accommodation huts had stood were brought into use as a Caravan Park later used for Mobile Homes - now Wixfield Park.

Rupert Cooper, son of an Elmsett farmer, bought Hall Farm in 1947 and increased its size to around 1250 acres. Following the example of his father who had embraced mechanization before the War, Cooper replaced horses with tractors, quit animal farming to become exclusively arable, and ripped out hedges to make farming more amenable to machinery. At last agriculture began to return to profitability albeit with a reduced requirement for manpower. Despite a population of 254 living in 43 houses in 1951, the future shape of the Parish was far from certain. The old windmill collapsed after a gale in 1954 and was not replaced. In 1956 the Vicarage was closed; in future Great Bricett would share a priest with an increasing number of neighbouring Parishes. A description of the Parish in 1958 described ribbon development along The Street and a “secondary settlement” at Green Street Green. In 1975 the village Post Office Stores closed and was converted to a private residence. The 1981 Census recorded 319 people living in 112 dwellings but this figure probably includes some RAF personnel in Married Quarters. The New Domesday Survey of Suffolk in 1986 (which did not include RAF Wattisham) listed 160 people living in 90 dwellings within the Parish - 66 in 43 mobile homes at Wixfield Park. No less than 6 buses a day left for Stowmarket or Ipswich and a number of small industries were established in the Parish - including a Nursery at Green Street Green - often utilising ex-wartime facilities.

The RAF married quarters, built to accommodate an all-volunteer force after the abolition of National Service, were mostly within the boundaries of the Parish and thus brought extra money through rates. However, they were at the northern end of The Street, away from the church and The Green, and together with more civilian houses which appeared along Lower Farm Road tended to create almost a second village with its own petrol filling station and commercial vehicle repair business. When the village shop closed, a sub-Post Office was established in the garage of the chalet bungalow (Larkfields) in The Street until about 1978 when it moved to Hall Cottage, next door to St Peters Court, the Tudor Timbered building in The Street. When that establishment closed, in 1991, the Post Office was found a temporary home in the Red Lion Public House but as it was only open for 4 hours one day a week was under-utilised. Not until 1994 was the Post Office moved to its present location in the NAAFI shop - now the SPAR - among the RAF married quarters but available for public use thus shifting another focus of the Parish northwards. However, the sale of the Church Hall in 1991 to the Parish Council for use as a Village Hall perhaps did something to restore the heart of the village to its original location.

As jets replaced piston engine aircraft, noise became more of a nuisance to surrounding villages and farms, and there were increasing problems due to vehicles visiting the airfield along narrow roads with no footpaths. A footpath was constructed along the B1078 from Little Hill to The Street in 1993, but not until 1995 and after the death of a serviceman walking home from the Red Lion was a speed limit imposed on The Street and Lower Farm Road. Strenuous efforts were made by the Parish Council to retain the character of Great Bricett village but frequent changes of government and County Council planning policy complicated this. In 1988 MSDC created a “Settlement Boundary” around the village outside of which further development would not be allowed. However, the effect was only to increase the density of housing within the village whilst along The Street it was already too late to forbid much more than in-filling. MOD plans to use more land previously belonging to Three Releet Farm for extra Married Quarters in 1987, seemingly contrary to this policy, were approved but later shelved. Housing south of The Green on land once owned by the Priory completed in 1997 also partially infringed the Settlement Boundary.

As the Parish entered the 1990's change was clearly in the air (literally) again with the threatened closure of RAF Wattisham. However, as the Phantoms were withdrawn from service it was announced that their place would be taken by a mix of RAF, Army, and civilian helicopter units who would arrive from various locations over the next 5 years and total around 3500 personnel. The previous plan to build extra Married Quarters round Three Releet Farm was dusted off - thus reducing it to little more than the house and a few outbuildings when they were completed in 1994. Gas came to the village - including Wixfield park and the Married Quarters - in 1992 and an updated telephone exchange was installed. Approval was given in principle for a pathway, the first along The Street, from Wixfield Park, past the new Quarters to the NAAFI shop; however, due to difficulties with land acquisition this was not completed by the County Council until 2006. Finally, in 2006 the remaining buildings of Three Releet Farm were demolished and 23 “Affordable Housing” units erected.

In 2001 the population of Great Bricett Parish, excluding military personnel in barracks, was 724 living in 258 dwellings; since then additional housing has probably increased the population by a hundred or so. Most of the population live in Married Quarters at the north end of The Street, straddling the old Roman road, where Stone Age people once roamed, and where now everyone can use the shop, Post Office, and garage. But the old village of Great Bricett at the other end of The Street is still very recognizable from the description of 1928. Modern houses stand where once the windmill was and chickens no longer roam the church yard, but the hump backed bridge is still there, the Norman Church once the Chapel of a 12th Century Priory still stands surrounded by centuries old cottages beside The Green as does the Victorian school (now the Village Hall), and The Red Lion is just a short distance away. The wheelwright's old cottage is now a B&B. In 1996 Rupert Cooper purchased the Lordship of the Manor from King's College and thus brought it back to its rightful home. Hall Farm house (now perhaps more properly called the Manor House) is open to the public from March to September by appointment and the church usually welcomes visitors at any time.