Church of St George

The Church of St George is a parish church largely dating to the 12th, 14th, and 15th centuries. It is located in South Elmham St. Cross and was originally listed as the Church of St Cross. Constructed of rubble flint with traces of old render, the church features freestone dressings. The east end of the nave and chancel have crow-stepped brick gables, while the nave has a slate roof and the chancel has plaintiles.

The north wall of the nave exhibits coursed flintwork up to the clerestorey, and the chancel shows evidence of a later extension. Two Norman doorways are present in the nave’s north and south walls; the north doorway is plain and blocked, while the south doorway has a single order of colonettes, a volute capital, a flower capital, plain abaci, and a roll-moulded arch. The priest’s doorway in the chancel has a Tudor hood-mould in rendered red brick. Windows include a 2-light and a 3-light window on the north side of the nave (one with Y-tracery), two 19th-century replacement windows on the south side of the chancel, and a 3-light east window with cusped intersecting tracery. The clerestory features 2-light windows with traceried heads and hood-moulds in red brick, rendered.

A 14th-century south porch is faced in random black knapped flint and has a shallow-pitched lead roof. Inside, the church has a 2-bay open timber roof with moulded arched braces and purlins, florets to the cornice and a small niche with a shallow pointed arch in the east wall. The 14th-century tower is constructed of black knapped flint and rubble stone, with three stages, a string course, diagonal buttresses with chequerwork bases, a crenellated parapet, a stair turret on the south side, and cusped Y-tracery windows to each face of the top stage.

The church was repaired in 1841, and many interior features date to this period, including benches, the pulpit, a chancel arch in Early English style, and a boarded chancel roof. The fine, high 15th-century tower arch has capitals with damaged heads and fleurons. A good font sits on a low octagonal base, featuring four seated lions around the shaft and four seated lions alternating with four angels bearing shields around the bowl. Remains of the rood stair are located behind the pulpit. The late 15th-century arch-braced nave roof is in six bays, with collars just below the apex, moulded braces and purlins, and a carved and decorated cornice. An ancient studded and banded chest is located at the back of the nave.