All Saints Church, South Elmham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids All Saints Church, South Elmham |
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All Saints Church, South Elmham, from the southeast
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| OS grid reference | TM 330 828 |
| Location | All Saints' South Elmham, Suffolk |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Dedication | All Saints |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 1 September 1953 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Flint with freestone dressings |
All Saints Church is a very old Anglican church in the village of All Saints' South Elmham, England. It's part of a group of villages called The Saints in Suffolk. This church is no longer used for regular church services, so it's called a redundant church. It's a very important building, listed as a Grade I listed building, which means it's protected. The Churches Conservation Trust looks after it.
The church is in a quiet, lonely spot next to a farm with a moat (a ditch filled with water). It's special because it's one of about 40 churches in Suffolk that have a round tower.
Contents
A Look Back: The Church's Story
All Saints Church is part of the South Elmham area. This area includes nine parishes (church districts). Long ago, in 630 A.D., King Sigeberht gave this land to Felix, his first bishop. Felix set up his main church office, called an episcopal see, in Dunwich. Many churches, including All Saints, were built here during Saxon times.
Later, during the time of King Henry VIII, the land changed hands. In 1540, King Henry VIII gave the land and several churches, including All Saints, to Edward North. The North family owned the land for many years.
In 1613, the land was sold to Sir John Tasburgh. His family kept the land until the male family line ended. Then, around 1753, William Adair, Esq bought the estate.
All Saints Church itself was built in the 12th century, which is over 800 years ago! A side section, called the south aisle, was added around 1250. More changes and additions were made in the 14th, 15th, and 17th centuries. The church was "restored" quite a bit in 1870. This means it was repaired and updated during the Victorian era.
Today, the churchyard (the land around the church) is looked after by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
All Saints Church was often called All-Hallows. In 1737, it joined with the nearby St. Nicholas parish. In 1841, about 224 people lived in the All Saints area.
What Does the Church Look Like?
Outside the Church
The church is built from flint stones with freestone (cut stone) details. It has a lead roof. The main part of the church includes a nave (the central area where people sit) and a chancel (the area near the altar). There's also a south aisle that runs along the nave and chancel, a south porch (an entrance area), and a tower at the west end.
The tower is round and has three sections, or "stages." It used to have an octagonal (eight-sided) top, but that was removed in 1846. The bottom section has a Norman window, which is a style from the 11th and 12th centuries. The middle section has small round-headed windows. The top section has round-headed openings for the bells, with wooden slats called louvres. The top of the tower has a battlemented parapet, which looks like the top of a castle wall.
Along the north wall of the church, you can see different types of windows. There are three single Norman windows, three two-light windows from the 13th century, and two single-light windows from the 14th century. Some of the 14th-century windows have Perpendicular tracery, which is a fancy stone pattern in the upper part of the window. The east window has three lights. On the south wall of the aisle, there are three windows with Y-shaped tracery. The porch is from the medieval period, but the south doorway was rebuilt in a Romanesque Revival style during the Victorian era.
Inside the Church
Inside, the arcade (a row of arches) between the nave and the south aisle was built in the 14th century. In the chancel, there's a piscina (a basin used for washing sacred vessels) in an Early English style, which has been repaired a lot.
The font (a basin for baptisms) is from the 12th century. It has a large square bowl with carved arches. It stands on a central column and four smaller columns, all on a rectangular base.
The church has different kinds of benches. Two of them are from the 15th century and are carved with poppyheads (decorative carvings on the ends of benches) and animals. These benches were originally in the porch, so they show signs of being exposed to the weather. Other benches, also from the 15th century, have only poppyheads. The rest of the benches are copies made in the 19th century.
At the east end of the south aisle, there is a small organ with one manual (keyboard). It was built in 1884 by Eustace Ingram.
See also
