St Peter 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 around south of the market town 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 villages surrounding Bungay which make up the area known as The Saints.All Saints & St. Nicholas, St Michael and St Peter, South Elmham
Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 2021-02-23. The parish is sparsely populated with an estimated population in 2005 of around 40. It borders the parishes of St Margaret South Elmham, St Michael South Elmham, All Saints and St Nicholas South Elmham,

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), East Suffolk district. The parish is part of the area known as The Sai ...

and Flixton. The parish council operates jointly with All Saints and St Nicholas and St Michael.

History

The parish is believed to be part of the land given by

Sigeberht of East Anglia Sigeberht of East Anglia (also known as Saint Sigebert), (Old English: ''Sigebryht'') was a saint and a king of East Anglia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was the first English kin ...

, the ruler of the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

Kingdom of East Anglia The Kingdom of the East Angles (; ), informally known as the Kingdom of East Anglia, was a small independent Monarchy, kingdom of the Angles (tribe), Angles during the History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon period comprising what are now t ...

Felix of Burgundy Felix of Burgundy (died 8 March 647 or 648), also known as Felix of Dunwich, was the first bishop of the kingdom of the East Angles. He is widely credited as the man who introduced Christianity to the kingdom. Almost all that is known about hi ...

during the 7th century. In the

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, St Peter was included as part of the area recorded as South Elmham in Wangford Hundred. A population of 108 households was recorded.(South) Elmham (All Saints, St Cross, St James, St Margaret, St Michael, St Nicholas and St Peter)
Open Domesday. Retrieved 2021-02-23. By the early 12th century, the land was held by the

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. Th ...

, before being seized during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and transferred to

Edward North, 1st Baron North Edward North, 1st Baron North ( 1504 – 1564) was an English peer and politician. He was the Clerk of the Parliaments 1531–1540 and Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire 1557–1564. A successful lawyer, he was created the first Baron North, gi ...

in 1535. By the late 16th century the Tasburgh family from the Flixton area had become dominant in the parish. The parish has always been sparsely populated, reaching a population of 129 in the 1801 census, but falling to below 100 by 1851 and below 50 by 1951.

Culture and community

There are no local services other than the parish church, which is dedicated to

St Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

. This dates from the 12th century and is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

.Knott S (2008
St Peter, South Elmham St Peter
Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-02-23.Church of St Peter
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 2021-02-23. Two former public houses are known to have operated in the village; both are believed to have closed by 1927. St Peter's Hall, a moated Grade II* listed manor house with elements from the 13th century, is the location of St. Peter's Brewery, founded in 1996 on the site.About St Peter's Hall & Restaurant
St. Peter's Brewery. Retrieved 2021-02-23.St Peter's Hall
List entry,

. Retrieved 2021-02-23. It was the home of the Tasburgh family, a prominent local family. Suckling AI (1846) 'South Elmham, St Peter', in ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk: Volume 1'', pp.229–232. Ipswich: WS Crowell.
Available online
at British History Online. Retrieved 2021-02-23.) The brewery operates a public bar and restaurant on the site during the summer months. Businessman and former

Formula One Group The Formula One Group is a group of companies responsible for the Promotion (marketing), promotion of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Formula One World Championship, and the exercising of the sport's commercial rights. The ...

chief executive

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...

was born in the parish at a property close to the church, now called Hawk House and formerly one of the pubs in the village.Russell S (2011
Bernie Ecclestone: from rural Suffolk to the throne of Formula One
''

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 ...

'', 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2021-02-23.

Notes

References

Villages in Suffolk Civil parishes in Suffolk Waveney District {{Suffolk-geo-stub