St Cross 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, close to the 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 ...

and is 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 ...

and south-west 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 ...

. It is one of the villages around Bungay known as the Saints. The parish has a population of around 120. The parish borders the parishes of

St Margaret South Elmham St Margaret South Elmham is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is south-west of the market town of Bungay in the East Suffolk district. It is one of the parishes surrounding Bungay which are known as T ...

Homersfield Homersfield, also known as St Mary, South Elmham, is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is in the East Suffolk district, south-west of the market town of Bungay and north-east of Harleston. The officia ...

, Flixton,

All Saints and St Nicholas South Elmham All Saints and St Nicholas, South Elmham is a civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is south of the market town of Bungay and the same distance north-west of Halesworth and east of Harleston. The parish is in the Ea ...

St James South Elmham St James South Elmham is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of the market town of Halesworth and south-west of Bungay in the East Suffolk district. It is one of the parishes around Bungay ...

Metfield Metfield is a village in Suffolk, England, but its name is derived from Medefeld or 'Meadow feld' (see ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names''). It is situated close to the border with Norfolk, being approximately 5 miles south eas ...

and Mendham. The parish council is joined with Flixton and St Margaret South Elmham.Flixton West & St Cross & St Margaret South Elmham Grouped Parish Council
Suffolk InfoLink,

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 27 February 2021. The parish name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words The Sancroft part of the name comes from the sandy nature of the soil in the area surrounding the church of St George. The modern village itself is small and lacks services bend the parish church. A volunteer group known as Waveney Community Bus, provide a bus service to residents living in the St Cross area. St Cross is known for its views of the English countryside and was home to the poet and writer Elizabeth Smart for the last years of her life. She was buried in the graveyard of the church of St George after her death in 1986.

History

St Cross was created as a result of the merger with the lands around Homersfield in 1767. Before this it was part of the lands owned by the See of Norwich until the reign of King Henry VIII, its revenues distributed to the Church. With the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 the land was transferred back to the crown. The manor and its surrounding lands were eventually given to the North family in the 17th century valued at £20. After the Norths, the manor and its lands were transferred to the Tasburgh family. Eventually ownership was taken over by the Durrant family in the 19th century. It is unknown who owned the land of St Cross from the 17th–19th century before the Durrant family took ownership. In 1870–72, St Cross South Elmham was described by John Marius Wilson's ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' as

"St. Cross, or Sandcroft, a parish in Wangford district, Suffolk; adjacent to the river Waveney, and to the Waveney Valley railway, near Homersfield r. station, 5 miles SW of Bungay. The church is tolerable. Some remains exist of a moated minster, with nave 42 feet by 27, and apsidal chancel 24 feet."

In 1868 ''The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland'' described St Cross as

"South Elmham St.Cross, (or Sandcroft), a parish in the hundred of Wangford, county Suffolk, as above, 5 miles S.W. of Bungay, and 4 N.E. of Harleston, its post town. There was formerly a monastic establishment here, the remains of which are surrounded by a moat. The living is a rectory annexed to that of Homersfield, in the diocese of Norwich. The church is a neatly built edifice with square embattled tower, and Norman arch at the S. entrance. St. Margaret's Hall is the principal residence. Sir R. Adair is lord of the manor."

Places of interest

1945 Ordance Survey Map of St Cross, South Elmham

South Elmham Hall

The parish contains South Elmham Hall, surrounded by a four-acre moat and which was formerly the country residence of the Bishop of Norwich. The hall is currently known as Bateman's Barn and offers guided historic tours of the house and its grounds during the summer months. South Elmham Hall has been listed as a grade one building. The building contains primarily 16th century architecture, alongside 15th century arches constructed during the Bishops ownership of South Elmham Hall. The primary attraction of the South Elmham area to the Bishops was the hunting opportunities provided by a deer park established in the local area. This was not without problems with reports of the deer being poached by the residents of St Cross in 1315. The Hall also hosted royal family members on several occasions, most notably in 1326 when Edward II stayed for ten days on his way to Norwich, carrying out government business during his stay there. The remains of previous buildings and settlements nearby to the hall have long since decayed, although around 45 detailed surviving records in the Suffolk Record Office indicate the area used to contain stables, mews and gatehouses. The ruins of one of the gatehouses survives and can be still be seen today. South Elmham Hall also has the earliest domestic wall paintings in Suffolk, dating from 1270.

The Church of St George

The village contains the church of St George first constructed around a century before the Norman conquest of Britain, though many modifications and added developments were made in the centuries afterwards, such as the addition of the square bell tower in the 14th century. The church is the largest of the churches in the Saints area and has been through several renewals over its history, to restore and renovate areas including the floor, which was replaced with Victorian styled tiles in the 19th century and the benches, which were replaced when the previous ones started to decay. St George's is now open to the public on a daily basis after previously being kept locked for a number of years.

South Elmham Minster

Nearby to South Elmham Hall lies the remains of a site known as South Elmham Minster. The remains date from Roman times, before the Norman conquest of Britain and the building is believed to have been the private chapel of the Bishop of Norwich during his residence at South Elmham Hall. The chapel was built on the remains of a Roman temple that had previously been located there. The exact reasons behind the chapel's disuse and abandonment are unknown, as it fell out of use in the sometime in the 13th century.

Notes

References

{{authority control Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District