Church of All Saints is a Grade I listed building in the East Suffolk local planning authority area, England. A Medieval Church.
Church of All Saints
- WRENN ID
- weathered-banister-mist
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- East Suffolk
- Constituency
- Waveney Valley MP: Adrian Ramsay (Green)
- Country
- England
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval
- Address
- Church of All Saints, Church Lane, All Saints and St. Nicholas, South Elmham
- OS grid reference
- TM 329 828
- Coordinates
- 52.39365, 1.42267
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of All Saints is a former parish church, now under the care of the Redundant Churches Board, dating to the 12th century with significant additions and alterations from the 14th century, some 15th and 17th century features, and a substantial restoration in 1870. It comprises a continuous nave and chancel, a south aisle and south porch, and a round west tower. The construction is in random flint with freestone dressings and a lead roof.
The north side of the church has three single-light round-headed Norman windows with deep internal splays, two 14th century single-light cusped windows, and two 13th century two-light windows with cusped plate tracery. The south aisle has three Y-tracery windows extending the full length of the nave and chancel, and a three-light east window with intersecting tracery. A north doorway has been removed and the opening blocked. The small, round west tower is in three stages, with the top stage rebuilt and a battlemented top. The lowest stage has coursed rubble flint, a Norman west window with deep inner splay, and small, round-headed windows to the second stage. The south porch is primarily medieval, with a facade of flint and stone chequer work, but was heavily Victorianised, featuring a simple Victorian Romanesque south doorway.
Internally, a 14th century arcade separates the south aisle from the nave and chancel; the arches adjacent to the chancel have been raised into a stilted form. The chancel has a much-restored Early English style piscina, with recesses to each side, the eastern recess almost reaching ground level with a drain. A 12th century font features a large square bowl decorated with shallow blank arches, a central column, and four small outer colonettes on a rectangular scalloped base. Two small 15th century benches with poppyheads and animals on the arm-rests are located at the back of the nave; these were formerly in the porch and are heavily weathered. The remaining nave benches have poppyheads, some 15th century and some good 19th century reproductions. A 15th century stone panel with a shield and elaborate leaf surround in high relief is situated above the door to the tower stair in the north-west corner of the nave. The tower arch has an elaborately carved Jacobean panel door, with some later replacements. The remaining interior fittings are Victorian. The nave roof, dating to the 15th century, is a five-bay structure with arched braces and high cambered collars. The chancel roof, heavily restored in the 19th century, has arched-braced collars, moulded purlins, and appears fundamentally 17th century.
Local climate
Church of All Saints sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 88% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 69% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 23 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 76% of listed buildings. Of these, 12 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- No EPC on record for this property
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- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
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