The Saints are a group of villages 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 ...

, 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. The villages are all named after a saint (that of their parish church), 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,

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 ...

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 Beccles. South Elmham comes from the Anglo-Saxon " hamlet where elms grew" and is first mentioned in Domesday Book as Almeham; North Elmham is in Norfolk, away. The Saints are: * All Saints' South Elmham *

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 ...

(also known as Sancroft St George, and Sancroft). *

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 ...

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 ...

* St Mary, South Elmham (also known as Homersfield) *

St Michael South Elmham St Michael South Elmham 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. It is one of the villages surrounding Bungay which make up the area known ...

* St Nicholas South Elmham (church no longer present) *

St Peter South Elmham St Peter South Elmham is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is around south of the market town of Bungay in the East Suffolk district. It is one of the villages surrounding Bungay which make up the are ...

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 Margaret * Flixton is generally grouped within the Saints Each of the villages also constitutes a civil parish, apart from All Saints and St Nicholas, which are joined together in the All Saints and St Nicholas, South Elmham parish. St Michael is one of the Thankful Villages. It is unclear whether North Elmham in Norfolk or South Elmham in Suffolk is the site of East Anglia's second See ("Helmham"), founded in the reign of King Ealdwulf (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

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

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