The Saints, Suffolk

The Saints are a group of villages in Suffolk, England, near 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 small towns of Halesworth, Harleston, Bungay and Beccles.

South Elmham comes from the Anglo-Saxon "hamlet_(place) where elms grew" and is first mentioned in Domesday Book as Almeham; North Elmham is in Norfolk, thirty miles away.

The Saints are

• All Saints South Elmham
• St Cross South Elmham (church actually dedicated to Saint George)
• St James South Elmham - Benjamin Franklin's great-great-grandmother was Alice Elmy born at Frenze Hall near Diss on the Suffolk /Norfolk border in England, but her family were from St James.
• St Margaret South Elmham
• St Mary South Elmham (known as Flixton)
• St Mary South Elmham (known as Homersfield)
• St Michael South Elmham
• St Nicholas South Elmham (church no longer present)
• St Peter South Elmham

• Ilketshall St John
• Ilketshall St Lawrence (aka Stone Street)
• Ilketshall St. Andrew
• Ilketshall St Margaret

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 N. Elmham or South Elmham, Suffolk is the site of East Anglia's second See ("Helmham"), founded in the reign of King Ealdwulf (c.664-713) according to Bede.

External links

• Where it all began — South Elmham Minster
• The Saints from suffolkchurches.co.uk
• The Mystery of the two Elmhams
• The Brewery and Hall — St Peters
• Flixton Parish — aka St Mary South Elmham