St+James+Directories

WHITES

SOUTH ELMHAM ST. JAMES, a straggling village, 6 miles N.W. by W. of Halesworth, and 7 miles S. by W. of Bungay, has in its parish 289 souls, and 1301A.3R.10P. of land, part of which, on the south side of the parish, is called St. James's Park, and was anciently a demesne of the Bishops of Norwich, who occasionally resided here in the 12th and 13th centuries, as already noticed. Wm. Adair, Esq., is lord of the manor, but part of the soil belongs to N. Micklethwaite, Esq., the Rev. John Lewis, and a few smaller owners. The Church is a small structure, with a tower and four bells, and the benefice is a discharged rectory, valued in K.B. at £8, and now having a yearly modus of £384.10s., in lieu of tithes. Wm. Adair, Esq., is patron, and the Rev. Courtenay Boyle Bruce, B.A., incumbent. The Town Estate, consisting of a house, outbuildings, and 15A. of land, let for £20 per annum, was left in 1679, by Catherine Skaiffe, for the repairs of the church and superstitious uses; but after the Reformation,it was vested in trust to apply the rents so far as necessary in repairing the church, and to pay one half of the overplus towards casing the poor rates, and apply the other half in such charitable uses as the trustees should think fit. The Town House, formerly the poorhouse, is let on lease for £2.10s.a year, which is applied with the rent of the Town Estate.

Brown Joseph, tailor & shopkeeper Buxton John, blacksmith Burton James, vict. White Horse Mann Job, boot and shoe maker Page Wm. wheelwright

FARMERS John Aldrich Buckingham Jas. Butcher Henry Chambers James Chambers Geo. Chambers Wm. Cunningham J. Hunting John Lay James More Richard Page James Thurston Wm.(and farrier)

KELLYS

SOUTH ELMHAM ST. JAMES is a parish 7 miles north-west from Halesworth, 7 south from Bungay and 4.5 south-east from Homersfield station. The church of St. James, which occupies the highest site in the county, is a building of flint and rubble of various dates, the tower and west end being Norman with a transitional Norman devil's door; part of the old rood screen of 1340 remains, and there is a Norman font; it consists of chancel, nave, south aisle, south porch and a western tower containing 4 bells: the pulpit is Jacobean : there are 250 sittings. The register dates from the year 1584. The living is a rectory, net yearly value £404, with 10 acres of glebe and residence, in the gift of Sir R. S. Adair Bart. D.L., J.P. and held since 1925 by the Rev. Thomas Bennett B.A. of Keble College, Oxford. The church estate consists of a house and 15 acres of land, now let for about £14, together with £9 rent of cottage, the funds being vested in trustees under a scheme of the Charity Commissioners framed in 1884: the town estate consists of an acre of land on Greshaw Green, let for £1 1s. yearly. Part of this parish, called "St. James' Park," was aciently a demesne of the Bishops of Norwich. Sir R. S. Adair Bart. D.,L., J.P. is lord of the manor, and the land is mostly owned by the farmers. The soil is loam; subsoil, clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley and beans. The area is 1,315 acre; the population in 1921 was 191.

Sexton, William Wright. Post Office, St. James. Letters through Halesworth. The nearest M. O. office is at Metfield & T. office at Rumburgh

COMMERCIAL. Marked thus * farm 150 acres or over, Boast Wm. farmer, The Laurels Brown Frederick, farmer Chilvers George HY. farmer. Church farm Cooper Robert, farmer Crockford Chas. builder Crockford Rose Ann (Mrs), shopkeeper, Post office Lines Alice May (Mrs.) smallholder Ling Alfred J. White Horse P.H. Narborough Alfred shopkeeper & rate collector for South Elmham St James, All Saints-cum-St Nicholas, St. Cross & Homersfield Naunton William Samuel, farmer Thurston Ernest, farmer Tuson Lionel Cecil, farmer
 * Hadingham Edward. farmer & landowner, Western & Hamplands farms
 * Hall Maud (Mrs.) farmer, Park farm
 * Watts Arthur, farmer, Rookery farm

DUTT

South Elmham St James church (4.5m S.E.of Homersfield) has an E. E. S. doorway, and a Norm. font. Note also (1) some Dec, screenwork; (2) a Perp. font cover; and (3) some brasses, but of no particular merit.