St James 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the north of the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. It is north-west of the market town of

Halesworth Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, 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 tribut ...

and south-west of

Bungay Bungay () is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.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 th ...

in the East Suffolk district. It is one of the parishes around Bungay known as the Saints.St James South Elmham
Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-02. The parish had a population of 205 at the

2011 United Kingdom census A Census in the United Kingdom, 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 Inter ...

. It is an isolated parish in a rural area and borders the parishes of

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 s ...

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 East ...

Rumburgh Rumburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of the market town of Halesworth in the East Suffolk District. The population of the parish at the 2011 United Kingdom census was 327. The village is ce ...

Wissett Wissett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of the market town of Halesworth in the East Suffolk district. Historically, it was in the Blything Hundred.Chediston Chediston is a village and a civil parish on the B1123 road, in the East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. It is located 2 miles west of Halesworth, its post town. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was ...

and

Metfield Metfield is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district, 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 ...

. The village is spread along the road between All Saints' South Elmham and Metfield.South Elmham St. James
Suffolk Heritage Explorer,

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local 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 Governme ...

. Retrieved 2021-03-02. The parish church is dedicated to St James and dates from the 12th-century. It has a 13th-century tower and contains a number of Norman windows and a 12th-century font with a 15th-century cover. The church is a Grade I listed building;Church of St James
List entry,

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. Retrieved 201-03-02.Knott S (2008
St James, South Elmham St James
Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-02. a medieval moated site close to the church is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

.Moated site 150m south of St James' Church
List entry,

. Retrieved 201-03-02. Parts of

RAF Metfield Royal Air Force Metfield or more simply RAF Metfield is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located just to the southeast of the village of Metfield, Suffolk, England. Metfield was built as a standard, Cl ...

, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

airfield built in 1943 and used by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, extend into the west of the parish. An explosion in July 1944, caused by the mishandling of a number of bombs, shook the surrounding area, including St James.Metfield

American Air Museum in Britain Imperial War Museum Duxford, also known as IWM Duxford or simply Duxford, is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Duxford, Britain's largest aviation museum, houses exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraf ...

. Retrieved 2021-03-02. Other than the church few services remain in the village. It has a village hall and a recreation ground which was transferred to the control of the parish council in 2020.Noble J (2020
Village recreation ground taken over by parish in bid to improve usage
''

East Anglian Daily Times The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich. History The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August ...

'', 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2021-03-02. A

community orchard A community orchard is a collection of fruit trees shared by communities and growing in publicly accessible areas such as public greenspaces, parks, schools, churchyards, allotments or, in the US, abandoned lots. Such orchards are a shared res ...

is located to the west of the village. The village

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, the ''White Horse'', closed in 1991.St James South Elmham White Horse
Suffolk Pubs,

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founded on 16 ...

. Retrieved 2021-03-02.

References

External Links

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