Get ready for FOUR unforgettable days of fantastic beer, refreshing cider, live music, and plenty of fun at The Duke of Marlborough’s Annual Beer Festival 2026!
Whether you’re a real ale enthusiast, cider lover, music fan, or just looking for a brilliant weekend with friends and family — this is the event you won’t want to miss!
Save the dates now - see full line up and more details below : and on the Duke of Marlborough’s website and social media!
If you are interested in sponsoring a barrel or dedicating a few hours to volunteer in our beer tent, please enquire at the bar or email enquiries@thedukeofmarlborough.com
Cheers to another legendary Beer Festival at The Duke of Marlborough!

AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND - whether you’re a real ale enthusiast, cider lover, music fan, or just looking for a brilliant weekend with friends and family — this is the event you won’t want to miss! 
Live bands, food, and a fabulous selection of real ales and local ciders - as well as wines, spirits, cocktails - plus low & no, and cordials!
FRIDAY 28th |
8:30pm | THE OPTICS - Soul & Funk
SATURDAY 29th |
2pm | ZIGGY - a tribute to the stars of Reggae & Ska
5pm | OUTNUMBERED - floor-fillers and rock/pop covers
8:30pm | DAVID BOAKES - as MICHAEL JACKSON
SUNDAY 30th |
2pm | THE ORWELLERMEN - Sea Shanties
5pm | GAME ON - 90s Brit Pop
8:30pm | BUZZ - top local favourites!
MONDAY 31st |
1 - 3pm | KIDS DISCO - plus Games & Circus Skills
4:30pm | JESS SIMMONS - wonderful, not-to-be-missed Acoustic Set!

SOMERSHAM SCARECROW TRAIL - :: 1st to 31st August 2026. Scarecrow Trail Maps can found at Somersham & District Community Shop and at the Duke of Marlborough - from 1st August, £2 each.
Our village scarecrow display is a beloved, annual community event, where residents craft and display creative figures and scenes from straw - and many other materials!  Locals craft often-hilarious, pun-filled figures using old clothes, recycled materials, straw, and props…….displaying them on garden walls or hedges, or in trees or windows. Many will be hidden away, just waiting to be discovered!!
The event, which is organised by FOSS, is an opportunity to walk around the village and enjoy creative talent as well as have a really jolly time!
:: HELP CREATE THE SCARECROW TRAIL AROUND SOMERSHAM - this year's theme is ROCK AND POP STARS!  Join in with the Scarecrow Trail and make your own fabulous scarecrow, family-made scarecrows are very welcome! Please email the FOSS team on fossfundraisers@gmail.com with details of whom your scarecrow will portray, and where it’ll be located (villagers of Somersham only please).
:: JOURNEY ALONG THE SCARECROW TRAIL - The Trail is displayed from 1st August to 31st August 2026. Scarecrow Trail Maps can found at Somersham & District Community Shop and at the Duke of Marlborough - from 1st August, £2 each.
[ Photograph shows a 2026 Scarecrow ]

It’s £1.00 per month to enter the Somersham Tennis Club Lottery, with 50% of the proceeds as prize money, and 50% towards the upkeep of the tennis courts. 
The courts are free for all to use for tennis, no booking is required. If you’d like to make a donation, please use the QR code on the court gate.
Our community Lottery keeps the courts available to local people.
We welcome new Lottery players | each player also helps to support Junior Tennis, lessons for children and teenagers aged up to 16 - where local youngsters learn to play, and are taught new skills to help improve their game.
Junior Tennis coaching re-started on 13th April, on Monday evenings - thank you!
5pm - age group 4-8 years | 5:45pm - age group 8+
Limited places left - £3 per child per session each Monday, starting after Easter, weather depending.
:: The Somersham Tennis Club Lottery is licensed with Mid Suffolk District Council.
:: Somersham Tennis Club was established in 2007.

Happy Hours at the Duke of Marlborough - every week!
Wednesday 5 – 6pm
Thursday 5 – 6pm
Friday 5 – 6pm
Sunday 5 – 6pm
We serve award-winning traditional ales and craft beers:Victoria Bitter (Earl Soham) and Woodforde’s Wherry amber ale.
Enjoy our rotating selection of seasonal brews.
We offer keg beers, lagers, ciders - wines, spirits, liqueurs, cocktails, low & no-alcohol, and cordials.
Plus standard and premium lagers and ciders, including Aspall Cyder and Hawkstone premium lager and cider.
We have recently included Pintle pale ale from Burnt Mill Brewery, Suffolk - known for hazy, unfiltered styles with strong hop profiles.
And now keep Norfolk Rum, produced entirely in England.
We also offer Adnams Broadside, a strong ale brewed with East Anglian Malt.
During our HAPPY HOURS, selected drinks are available at a reduced price.

PLEASE NOTE - the was no Parish Council meeting in August (there is always a break in August), therefore this is the first meeting since the meeting of Wednesday 1st July.
The Agenda for the September meeting will be available on the Somersham Parish Council page of this website from late August.
Our Parish Council is looking to recruit two new Parish Councillors - please contact Jennie Blackburn, the Parish Clerk, for more information - thank you. 
:: County Councillor for this area:- Cllr Gary Keogh (Reform) - Gary.Keogh@suffolk.gov.uk
:: District Councillor for this area:- Cllr Adrienne Marriott (Liberal Democrat) - adrienne.marriott@midsuffolk.gov.uk
The Somersham Parish Clerk & Responsible Finance Officer:
Mrs Jennie Blackburn
The Knoll, 1 All Saints Road, Creeting St Mary, Ipswich IP6 8NF
Telephone: (01449) 721369
Email: clerk@somershamsuffolk-pc.gov.uk

Somersham has a regular four-weekly Mobile Library visit on a Thursday - stopping in the car park next to the Community Shop. You can reserve books from any other library in Suffolk and then collect them when the mobile visits - and return your books to any branch / mobile library across the county. You may also suggest possible new titles, and make reservations online or library staff can help. It’s free and easy to get a library user card - you can get a card at the Mobile Library! There’s also a HOME LIBRARY service.
TODDLERS AND CHILDREN
This is a great occasion for toddlers and children, lots of books to choose from - and as the Mobile Library is in the village for nearly an hour, they can settle down and have a reading adventure!

** During August the Youth Club will run on a numbers basis - enough numbers means we will run Youth Club. PLEASE CHECK OUR FACEBOOK. **
Are you new to the area? Please contact Sarah to find out more or pop along on a Thursday evening - new Youth Clubbers are very welcome!!!
We welcome new volunteers and look forward to hearing from YOU!! - please contact Sarah to find out more, thank you!
Thank you - Sarah Freeman, Youth Club coordinator - sfreeman26@sky.coShow & Tell - do you have a talent, skill, business or trade that you'd like to show the kids or to get the kids to interact with?? This would be amazing!!
https://www.facebook.com/somershamyouth/

A shop for Somersham and the surrounding villages, largely run by volunteers, please call us on 07424 955931. Our shop supplies daily essentials as well as useful ingredients, and quality goods from Suffolk and East Anglian food producers - many of whom are local, regional or national award-winners. Some producers deliver direct to us, so we all get to know each other!
Our shop is also a social & information hub, and is welcoming for volunteers and customers alike.
If you wish to order items, or simply want to pop to our shop when the products you’re after are available: please see below. Orders can be one-off or regular.
Somersham & District Community Shop - telephone: 07424 955931
ORDERS
Monday: eggs
Tuesday: bread and meat
Wednesday: milk, fruit & veg
Thursday: bread, and Shire Foods East Anglia (wholefoods etc)
Friday: bread
Saturday: Bookers (fortnightly, wholesale general stock)
Sunday: pies, milk, fruit & veg, and tomatoes - and cheese etc. (fortnightly)
DELIVERIES
Monday:
EARLY - Bread (Palmers), Milk and Fruit & Veg (Richards)
12:30pm - Tomatoes (Suffolk Fresh)
Tuesday:
EARLY - Eggs (Gate Farm, Flowton)
11am - Bookers (wholesale general stock) - fortnightly
1:15pm - Pies: with meat, vegetable and sweet choices - plus sausage rolls, pork pies, quiches etc (Country Pies)
Wednesday:
EARLY - Bread (Palmers)
12:30pm - Cheese, Ham and Smoked Fish (Hamish Johnston Cheesemonger, Lane Farm Country Foods of Suffolk, and Pinney's of Orford) - fortnightly
Thursday:
EARLY - Milk and Fruit & Veg (Richards)
AFTERNOON - Meat (beef, chicken, liver, pork and more) Bacon, Sausages - plus frozen Lasagne and frozen Cottage Pie (Oak House Farm, Sproughton)
Friday:
EARLY - Bread (Palmers)
AFTERNOON - Shire Foods East Anglia (wholefoods etc.) - fortnightly

*Smaller portion sizes, but just as yummy* - we offer a Seniors’ Set Menu every Friday from 12pm to 2:30pm, featuring 2 courses - including options such as beer-battered fish, gammon, sausage & mash, soup and desserts such as apple crumble and jam sponge.
The Duke of Marlborough is a 15th century community-owned village pub near Ipswich, in the pretty village of Somersham. Managed by husband and wife, Claire and Matt, who invite you to enjoy their warm welcome and the friendly atmosphere created by the wonderful team of staff and volunteers!
You can contact them by phone on 01473 831283 or email. You can also book a table online or walk-ins are welcome.
The Duke’s kitchen produces great value, hearty meals featuring many British pub classics - always see our SPECIALS BOARD for new dishes and Duke Favourites!! - and enjoy our wide range of drinks – in a building that has been welcoming people for nearly 500 years!
HAPPY HOURS - enjoy a range of selected drinks at a reduced price! - every week on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday: 5 – 6pm