Chapter 7

The name was derived from the belt of ground mist which summer and winter hung in the little valleys round the small hill on which the village stood. Like many Suffolk hamlets, the place was more of an estate than a village. The half-dozen cottages, the post office, and the Rectory were very much outbuildings of the Manor House, the dwelling of the owner of the Mile. In olden times, when the land had been more profitable, the squire had had no difficulty in supporting his large family of retainers, and, apart from …