Old Minister Ruins

TM 38 SW 4/45 1.9.53

SOUTH ELMHAM ST. CROSS Old Minister Ruins

II

Ruins. Traditionally thought to be those of a Minster relating to the See of Elmham created in the C7, although the surviving structure seems likely to date only from the C11. In flint rubble, coursed where the outer: surfaces remain. The building had the form of a small Romanesque church, with nave, a narthex to the west, and an apsidal east end, although nothing remains of the latter above ground level. The nave, 38 feet long and 27 feet wide, has walls still partly standing to a height of 14 feet, with evidence for window openings. The narthex is 26 feet square, and had windows on each side and a wide west door. The building is surrounded by a large square enclosure with a bank and ditch, said to be of Roman origin, though this is unproven. For the most recent account of the site cf. N. Smedley and E. Owles, Excavations at the Old Minster, South Elmham, Procs. Suff. Inst. Arch. for 1971 Vol. XXXII, part I pp.1-16. Further excavations in 1985, undertaken by the Suffolk Archaeological Unit in conjunction with Sheffield University, failed to produce any further evidence of the origins of the building. Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Listing NGR: TM3073282657