Peasenhall

St Michael, Peasenhall

Despite being an almost total rebuild of 1860, and a rather functional one at that, this is still a church which repays the effort of a visit.

Firstly, because Peasenhall is a fascinating village; it is that rare thing in Suffolk, a 19th century industrial settlement. It was the home of the Suffolk Seed Drill Company, invented by owner James Smyth. Their factory sits right up against St Michael's north wall.

St Michael, with the Suffolk Seed Drill factory beyond.

A drain runs the length of the high street, politely called a brook, and even more politely called the River Yox, although this is just a nickname derived from neighbouring Yoxford, rather than the other way round.

Through the cherry trees, the porch.

The church sits across the Yox from the street. The residents of Sibton Hall paid for the rebuilding, which consisted of the nave and chancel in their entirety. The 15th century tower was extended, and the only real survival was the contemporary porch.

And what an excellent porch it is! At the end of an avenue of cherry trees, as at nearby Cransford, we find Suffolk's best preserved woodwose and dragon in the spandrels, squaring up to each other like something out of the St George story.

The inside of the church is rather gloomy, the whole piece furnished and decorated in the evangelical tradition, including a text above the chancel arch. The lovely late Norman font was retained from the earlier building.

The dragon squares up...

...but the woodwose, in an echo of St George, is ready.

Wandering around outside, one might almost imagine oneself in the industrial midlands or north; a factory stands close to the south wall, and workers' cottages line the churchyard.

The village was the scene of one of Suffolk's great crime mysteries in the early years of the 20th century. A maid was murdered in the big house beside the church. A local man was arrested, but the jury could not reach a verdict. Copies of the book 'The Peasenhall Murder' can be found in substantial quantities in Suffolk secondhand bookshops.

The chancel arch, of 1860.

The ancient font, retained from the earlier church.

This village forms a joint parish with the nearby hamlet of Sibton, where St Peter is one of the most fascinating churches in this part of Suffolk. It is also part of the benefice of Yoxford, the three villages forming a most interesting group.

Factory workers cottages adjoin the churchyard.

St Michael, Peasenhall, is in the centre of this busy village on the A1120 Yoxford to Stowmarket road, just west of Yoxford. I've never found it locked.