Church Farm seen from South Elmham All Saints Churchyard

Image: © Marathon Taken: 3 Mar 2016

South Elmham All Saints Church is set alone in the fields with just the attractive Tudor Church Farm with its pond and moats for company. It is a real overgrown country churchyard and is very peaceful. It is actually situated at St Nicholas South Elmham, the church of which fell down or was demolished several hundred years ago and the parish was combined with All Saints. The road up to the church and farm stops short and a designated footpath leads along the edge of a ploughed field to the north corner of the churchyard, through the entrance seen in the centre of the photograph. It is quite muddy and it is not easy to park a car. The round tower is Norman, although it has been heightened more recently. The nave is Norman. There was heavy restoration in the 1870s but nothing can take away from the setting. The gravestone in the foreground is of particular interest for me as it belongs to my great great great grandfather William Page who died on 26th May 1855 aged 72. Thirty five years ago the gravestone of his wife was alongside but had fallen over and has now been removed. The church is looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust. See http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/selallsaints.html for a fine description and more photographs.

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