St James South Elmham
| St James South Elmham | |
| Suffolk | |
|---|---|
 Church of St James | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TM321811 |
| Location: | 52°22’44"N, 1°24’29"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 205 (2011) |
| Post town: | Halesworth |
| Postcode: | IP19 |
| Dialling code: | 01986 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | East Suffolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Waveney |
St James South Elmham is a little village in northern Suffolk; one of the group of seven villages south-west of Bungay known as South Elmham, and part of the wider group known as "The Saints". It is reckoned to be It is the highest village in eastern Suffolk.
St James is the most southerly of the South Elmham villages, strung along a little lane which swings north-east to All Saints and north-west to St Cross.
Church
The parish is known as South Elmham St James. Its church, St James, is a flint-built, square towered church, which one wall which some believe may be Anglo-Saxon, from the form of its windows. Otherwise it dates from the 12th-century. It has a 13th-century tower and contains a number of Norman windows and a 12th-century font with a 15th-century cover.
The church is a Grade I listed building;[1][2]
About the village
A medieval moated site close to the church is a scheduled monument.[3]
Parts of RAF Metfield, a Second World War airfield built in 1943 and used by the United States Army Air Force, extend into the west of the parish. An explosion in July 1944, caused by the mishandling of a number of bombs, shook the surrounding area, including St James.[4]
Other than the church few services remain in the village. It has a village hall and a recreation ground which was transferred to the control of the parish council in 2020.[5] A community orchard is located to the west of the village. The village public house, the White Horse, closed in 1991.[6]
- ↑ National Heritage List 1198203: Church of St James (Grade I listing)
- ↑ Knott S (2008) St James, South Elmham St James, Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1017913 Moated site south of St James' Church: Moated site south of St James' Church St James South Elmham (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ Metfield: American Air Museum in Britain
- ↑ Noble J (2020) Village recreation ground taken over by parish in bid to improve usage, East Anglian Daily Times, 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
- ↑ St James South Elmham White Horse, Suffolk Pubs, Campaign for Real Ale. Retrieved 2021-03-02.