The Saints are a group of villages in the north of the English county of Suffolk, between the rivers Blyth and

Waveney Waveney may refer to: * River Waveney, a river that forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England * Waveney District, a local government district in Suffolk, England * Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) * Waveney class lifeboat, a class ...

near 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 ...

. The villages are all named after a saint (that of their

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

), and either South Elmham or Ilketshall named after the 'hall of Alfkethill'. Known by locals as 'up the Parishes' the area is found between the market towns of

Halesworth Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in north-eastern Suffolk, England. The population stood at 4,726 in the 2011 Census. It lies south-west of Lowestoft, on a tributary of the River Blyth, upstream from Southwold. T ...

, Harleston, Bungay and

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fl ...

. South Elmham comes from the Anglo-Saxon "

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

where elms grew" and is first mentioned in

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

as Almeham;

North Elmham North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households at the 2001 census, including Gateley and increasing slightly to 1,433 at the 2011 Census. For ...

is in Norfolk, away. The Saints are: *

All Saints' South Elmham All Saints' South Elmham is a village and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. The parish was combined with St Nicholas South Elmham in 1737 to form the parish of All Saints and St. Nicholas, South Elmham. It is ...

* St Cross South Elmham (also known as Sancroft St George, and Sancroft). * St James South Elmham * St Margaret South Elmham * St Mary, South Elmham (also known as Homersfield) * St Michael South Elmham * St Nicholas South Elmham (church no longer present) * St Peter South Elmham *

Ilketshall St Andrew Ilketshall St Andrew is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is south-east of Bungay and the same distance south-west of Beccles in the East Suffolk district. St Andrew's church is one of around 40 ro ...

Ilketshall St John Ilketshall St John is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is south-east of the market town of Bungay and is part of a group of parishes with similar names known collectively as the Sa ...

Ilketshall St Lawrence Ilketshall St Lawrence is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. It is south-east of the market town of Bungay and is part of a group of parishes with similar names known collectively as th ...

Ilketshall St Margaret Ilketshall St Margaret is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is south of the market town of Bungay in the East Suffolk district. The parish is part of the area known as the Saints and had a populati ...

* Flixton is generally grouped within the Saints Each of the villages also constitutes a

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 authorit ...

, apart from All Saints and St Nicholas, which are joined together in the

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 ...

parish. St Michael is one of the

Thankful Villages Thankful Villages (also known as Blessed Villages; ) are settlements in England and Wales from which all their members of the armed forces survived World War I. The term Thankful Village was popularised by the writer Arthur Mee in the 1930s; in ' ...

. It is unclear whether North Elmham in Norfolk or

South Elmham The Saints are a group of villages in the north of the English county of Suffolk, between the rivers Blyth and Waveney near to the border with Norfolk. The villages are all named after a saint (that of their parish church), and either South E ...

in Suffolk is the site of East Anglia's second See ("Helmham"), founded in the reign of King

Ealdwulf Ealdwulf is a male given name used by: * Ealdwulf of East Anglia (), King of the East Angles * Ealdwulf of Sussex King of Sussex in the early 8th century * Aldwulf of Rochester Bishop of Rochester from 727 to 736 * Ealdwulf of Lindsey Bishop of Lin ...

(c.664-713) according to Bede. The Saints is the setting for much of Michael Ondaatje's "Warlight," a mystery set in the 1950s in which the area is described as having a unique culture.

Governance

An electoral ward of Waveney District Council with the same name exists. The population of this ward taken at the 2011 Census was 2,242.

References

External links

The Saints from suffolkchurches.co.uk
Geography of Suffolk Waveney District {{Suffolk-geo-stub