Stowmarket Suffolk England: Stowmarket is a town of 15,059 inhabitants and is located in the county of Suffolk. This town is on the A14 between Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich and on the railway between London and Norwich. It is the largest town in Mid Suffolk, on the banks of the River Gipping which is joined by the River Rat further south. The town takes its name from “Stow” an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “main square”. Stowmarket received a charter to hold a market in 1347 from Edward III of England, which added the “market” suffix to the town’s name. Even today, a bi-weekly market is held on Thursdays and Saturdays. The county of Suffolk has an area of almost 1,500 square miles and a population of 730,000.