route. Town or village At the time of the Domesday Book, while several towns in Suffolk had markets, Clare was one of only six towns that had burgesses as well. Its manor was among the largest in the county. The Lords of Clare established it as their administrative centre, the castle itself providing work for scores of people. It was known as a borough by 1262, but no charter survives and no parliamentary seat was established – unlike Sudbury. By 1294 a fair was established. From the 11th century through to the 16th century there was plenty of employment and prosperity; the wool cloth trade flourished, first making broadcloth, later making bay and say cloth. It became a key staging post on a main highway to London, with warehouses and hostelries. Trade declined when the Stour became navigable as far as Sudbury in 1709. Weaving ceased and the town became a small agricultural centre, trade shrinking further when the railway arrived. The Parish Council was created in 1894. The population remained consistently below 2,000 across the ages. The number of houses increased from 152 (including Wixoe and Chilton Street) in 1674 to 852 in 1991, and 950 in 2015; living space standards increased dramatically in the last century. Unusually for a settlement of just over 2,000, it has a full range of services: bank, butcher, doctors, library, co-op, off-licence, ironmonger, five cafes, four public houses – three serving food – one a hotel, restaurants, take-aways (Chinese, fish and chips), four antique shops – one a large emporium, pharmacy, hairdressers, post office with news and stationery, vintage fashion boutique, four churches, physiotherapy, photographer, health food, alternative medicine, undertaker, art gallery, architect, gift shops, optician, florist, accountant, solicitor, beauty treatments, diet advice, farm food and pet supplies, sandwich shop, estate agents, bed and breakfasts, bookshop, stables, 2 auctions, printer, domestic help, Japanese knotweed treatment, advertising, car bodywork, car repairs, architectural ironmongery, taxi, 9-hole golf course, garden bulbs, jam maker, fisheries, website design, many trades, ... farms, pedigree sheep and the Nuttery, a community woodland, winner of the Best Conservation Project in the Anglia in Bloom competition 2011. In modern terms, Clare is a large village, hence its award as "Suffolk Village of the Year 2010", but the people still like to think of themselves as living in West Suffolk's smallest town. In April 2012, the parish council renamed itself as a Town