Editing Metfield (section)

==History==
The parish was part of the historic [[Hoxne Hundred]].<ref name=gaz>{{cite book|title=History, gazetteer, and directory of Suffolk|author=William White|year=1844|page=449|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgxIAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA449}}</ref>

The [[Church of St John the Baptist, Metfield|parish church]] is the 13th-century church of [[St. John the Baptist]], which was extensively remodelled in the 15th century. St. John the Baptist has a sister parish in [[Medfield, Massachusetts]] in the [[United States]], the Church of the Advent. The town is named after Metfield.

In 1885 a [[provisional order]] reallocated part of the neighbouring parish of [[Withersdale]] to Metfield resulting in the parish encompassing 2,338 acres. In 1901 the population was recorded as 437.<ref name="ESI (1909)">{{cite book |last1=Barker |first1=Horace R. |title=East Suffolk Illustrated |date=1909 |publisher=[[Frederick George Pawsey]] |location=Bury St Edmunds}}</ref>{{rp|342}}

During [[World War II]] an airfield was built just outside Metfield for use by the [[USAAF]] [[491st Bombardment Group|491st Bomb Group]] and the [[353d Fighter Group]]. On 15 July 1944 a bomb dump blew up, detonating over 1,000 tons of bombs and explosive, killing five men and wrecking five [[B-24]]  bombers.

The local economy is mainly [[agricultural]] with some light industry.

The village now has its own website at metfieldsuffolk.com [http://metfieldsuffolk.com].

In November 2017, local author Christine Brennan published her book ''[http://www.metfieldbooks.com METFIELD Tales From a Suffolk Village 1928–2017]''.

Nearby villages include [[Cratfield]].