All Saints Church, South Elmham

All Saints Church, South Elmham
All Saints Church, South Elmham, from the southeast
All Saints Church, South Elmham Location in Suffolk
Coordinates: 52°23′37″N 1°25′21″E / 52.3937°N 1.4226°E / 52.3937; 1.4226
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, South Elmham, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of All Saints, South Elmham, one of a group of villages jointly known as The Saints, in Suffolk, England (grid reference TM330828). It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building,^[1] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.^[2] It stands in an isolated position at the end of a lane adjacent to the moated Church Farm.^[2][3]

History

All Saints dates from the 12th century.^[1] The south aisle was added in about 1250, or slightly earlier.^[4] Further additions and alterations took place in the 14th, 15th and 17th centuries. The church was "considerably restored" in 1870.^[1] The churchyard is currently cared for by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.^[2]

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed in flint with freestone dressings, and has a lead roof. Its plan consists of a continuous nave and chancel, with a south aisle which runs along the whole length of the nave and chancel, a south porch, and a west tower. The tower is on three stages, and is round in cross-section up to its summit.^[1] At one time the top stage was octagonal, but in 1846 it had been "recently removed".^[4] In the bottom stage is a west Norman window, and in the middle stage are small round-headed windows. In the top stage the bell openings are also round-headed and have louvres. The parapet is battlemented. Along the north wall of the body of the church are three single-light Norman windows, three 13th-century two-light windows, two 14th-century single-light windows, and a blocked doorway.^[1] The 14th-century windows contain Perpendicular tracery.^[4] The east window has three lights. On the south wall of the aisle are three windows with Y-tracery. The porch dates from the medieval period, but the south doorway is Romanesque Revival from the Victorian era.^[1]

Interior

The arcade between the nave and the south aisle dates from the 14th century. In the chancel is a piscina in Early English style which has been much restored. The font dates from the 12th century. It consists of a large square bowl carved with blank arches, supported by a central column and four smaller columns, standing on a rectangular base. There is a variety of benches. Two of these date from the 15th century, are carved with poppyheads and animals. They were originally in the porch, and consequently are weathered. Others, also dating from the 15th century, are carved with poppyheads only, and the rest are 19th-century reproductions.^[1] The single-manual organ is at the east end of the south aisle. It was built in 1884 By Eustace Ingram.^[5]

See also

• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the East of England

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Church of All Saints, All Saints and St Nicholas, South Elmham", Heritage Gateway website (Heritage Gateway (English Heritage, Institute of Historic Building Conservation and ALGAO:England)), 2006, http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=282281&resourceID=5, retrieved 15 January 2011 
2. ^ ^{a b c} All Saints' Church, South Elmham, Suffolk, Churches Conservation Trust, http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Ourchurches/Completelistofchurches/All-Saints-Church-South-Elmham-Suffolk/, retrieved 25 March 2011 
3. ^ All Saints, South Elmham, Streetmap, http://streetmap.co.uk/grid/632839_282852_120, retrieved 15 January 2011 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Suckling, Alfred (1846), "South Elmham, All Saints", The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk, British History Online (University of London & History of Parliament Trust) 1: pp. 183–189, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=75124#s2, retrieved 15 January 2011 
5. ^ Suffolk, Elmham, South, All Saints (D02245), British Institute of Organ Studies, http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=D02245, retrieved 15 January 2011