Homersfield, also known as St Mary, South Elmham, is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the north of the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. It is in the

East Suffolk East Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * East Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * East Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * East Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral dist ...

district, south-west of the market town of

Bungay Bungay () is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . It lies in the Waveney Valley, west of Beccles on the edge of The Broads, and at the neck of a meand ...

and north-east of

Harleston Harleston may refer to: Places * Harleston, Devon *Harleston, Norfolk *Harleston, Suffolk People with the surname *Bernard W. Harleston (born 1930), American college administrator * Edward Harleston (1794–1826), American planter and politician ...

. The official name of the civil parish is St Mary, South Elmham otherwise Homersfield. It is one of the parishes around Bungay known as The Saints.Homersfield
Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-01. The parish had a population of 158 at the

2011 United Kingdom census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

. The northern boundary of the parish is the River Waveney which marks the county border with

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. It borders the Suffolk parishes of Flixton,

St Cross South Elmham St Cross South Elmham is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district, close to the border with Norfolk and is east of Harleston, Norfolk, Harleston and so ...

and Mendham and the Norfolk parishes of Denton, Alburgh and Wortwell.

Transport

The B1062 road runs through the parish. This was the main road between Diss and Bungay until the main A143 road was built along the route of the Waveney Valley railway line to the north of the Waveney. This operated between 1860 and 1964 and

Homersfield railway station Homersfield was a railway station which served the village of Homersfield in Suffolk, England, although the station was located in Alburgh, across the county boundary in Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in E ...

was located just across the river, serving the village.Homersfield otherwise Homerfield St. Mary or South Elmham St. Mary
Suffolk Heritage Explorer,

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Establ ...

. Retrieved 2021-03-01.

Homersfield Bridge Homersfield Bridge Blue plaque on bridge Homersfield Bridge is a road bridge across the River Waveney between Norfolk and Suffolk, and stands partly in the civil parishes of Alburgh and Wortwell, Norfolk and partly in Homersfield Homersfield, ...

, a span bridge across the Waveney, was built in 1870 by the Adair estate. It is the oldest surviving concrete bridge in Britain. A replacement bridge was built in 1970 just to the east and the bridge is now open only to pedestrians and cycles. It was restored during the 1990s.Homersfield
Suffolk Pubs,

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is th ...

. Retrieved 2021-03-01.

Culture and community

The village is clustered around a green close to the Waveney.Monument record SEY 036 - Homersfield historic settlement core
Suffolk Heritage Explorer,

. Retrieved 2021-03-01. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary and dates from the 12th-century with a 14th-century tower. The interior of the church was heavily restored in 1866. The church is a Grade II* listed building.Church of St Mary
List entry, Historic England. Retrieved 2021-03-01.Knott S (2007
St Mary, Homersfield (South Elmham St Mary)
Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-01. Other than the church, the only remaining service in the village is the ''Black Swan'' public house. One of the first community bus services in England operated in the parish in the late-1970s. Sands and gravels have been quarried at Homersfield since the 1940s. The Breedon Group operates Flixton Qaurry and Concrete plant in the east of the parish close to the site of Flixton Hall.Flixton Quarry & Concrete Plant
Breedon Group. Retrieved 2021-03-01. A lake, the site of a former gravel pit, is a commercial fishery located between the village and the modern quarry. A geological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

borders the quarry and is named

Flixton Quarry Flixton Quarry is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Bungay in the English county of Suffolk. It is a Geological Conservation Review site located in the parish of Homersfield. This site has sands and gravels which ...

. It provides a cross-section through the Homersfield Terrace, part of the valley of the Waveney.Monument record SEY 067 - Flixton Quarry SSI
Suffolk Heritage Explorer,

. Retrieved 2021-03-01.

References

External links

Homersfield Bridge at Engineering Timelines
{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk