St Michael
South Elmham St Michael, Suffolk
This ancient parish church is a small pantiled structure overlooking a large green to the south and west.
You are most welcome to explore our peaceful countryside church, or come along to sit in quiet contemplation and simply enjoy the surroundings.
Can you be a detective and discover
- A large carved stone in the churchyard, could this be the remains of a medieval preaching cross?
- How many faces look down at you from the chancel arch?
- What the ornately carved stones in the lower wall of the chancel is from?
- Where the former chapel for the Tasburgh family would have been? The Tasburgh family, formerly from the village of Tasburgh in Norfolk and are also connected to Norwich in the 14th century. The family later went on to live in Flixton Abbey and built Flixton Hall. Discover their 'Saints' connection in the church.
This beautiful area is also rich in wildlife. St Peter’s churchyard is home to cowslips, ox-eye daisies, pyramidal orchids, and the tower is covered in wall flowers.
A circular walk taking in some of the other history and wildlife of the area, and starting from the church can be found at http://www.discoversuffolk.org.uk/assets/Walks/Up-to-6-miles/St-Peter-S…
Whist you are here, spend some time discovering the wider ecclesiastical heritage of this corner of Suffolk. St Peters is part of ‘The Saints’, an area of land given to the bishops of East Anglia in the 7th century. This rich ecclesiastical heritage means we have much to offer, with twelve ancient churches, the remains of South Elmham Minster, and St Peter’s Hall (which now houses St Peter’s brewery and restaurant) contains recycled elements of earlier buildings from the area, with the exact origin of them being unknown. We are also only a short drive away from Bungay, where you can see the remains of both Bungay Castle and St Mary’s Priory (ruins adjacent to St Mary’s church).