Hawstead is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Bury St. Edmunds between the B1066 and A134 roads, in a fork formed by the River Lark and a small tributary. The place-name 'Hawstead' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Haldsteada. The name is thought to mean 'a place of shelter for cattle'.