in rearing and dairying with some bee-keeping, horse-breeding and poultry. Crops mainly barley with some wheat, rye, oats, peas, vetches, hops and occasionally hemp." Because of the Stour there were mills in Clare, four reported in 1295. Malting Lane marks one, Mill Lane another. At least one mill was for fulling. The last corn mill, an 18th-century timber-framed structure together with a 19th-century brick boiler house and steam engine, known as Waymans Mill, was destroyed by fire in the late 1970s. Windmills also existed – there is a ruinous stack near Chilton Street. The market that had run in Market Hill from before the Norman Conquest shrank after the arrival of the railway in 1865. Farmers preferred to take their produce to the larger markets of Ipswich, Sudbury or Cambridge. The Corn Exchange of 1838 eventually closed and was later replaced by a town hall. There have been dramatic changes to farming and the agricultural landscape, particularly in the last century. Just north of Stoke-by-Clare is an example. Hull's Farm of was divided into 67 fields, bounded by hedges and elm trees, with 30 farm workers and many horses. Pressure on farmers to increase food production during and after World War II, resulted in removal of a wood of , grubbed up to control the rabbit population, leaving of Lord's Wood. Hedgerows were cut down. Dutch elm disease then decimated the tree population, leaving a wide open landscape. Now the farm buildings have been replaced by a nature reserve and the land incorporated into Stonard's Farm, with five farm workers and four tractors. The crop trebled between 1955 and 1996. Local issues Country Park Ownership of Clare Castle Country Park passed from Suffolk County Council to Clare Town Council in March 2015. The park is managed by the Clare Castle Country Park Trust, with the help of volunteers. The rehabilitation of buildings is now complete; this includes restoration of the stationmaster's house as a residence and of the principal waiting room. Library Suffolk County Council has created an independent service to run libraries in the future. A Friends of Clare Library group has been formed. HGV problems Clare lies on the A1092 road. There are two tight bends in the town and larger vehicles have difficulty in negotiating them; damage to buildings is a frequent occurrence. A campaign involving several communities along the A1092 is requesting a re-designation of the