Welcome to Elmswell History Group

Welcome to our website – please make yourself at home and enjoy exploring our many pages.

Our village has plenty of history, the earliest part of which is described in our publication “Marker for the Millennium” (click onto this link to see it in full).  

Our history group exists to make this information known more widely and also, with our monthly talks, to learn more about East Anglia’s history in general.  


We hope you will consider coming to a meeting, as we are a very friendly group, and always offer a warm welcome to visitors and new members.  

Our current programme of talks and events is shown below.

We would love to hear from you, whether you are interested in local history generally (particularly if you are a current or former Elmswell resident and/or have any connections to our village), helping us with our researches, thinking of joining our group, or have comments or suggestions about this website.

Please click this link to contact us.

2024-25 Programme

Unless otherwise stated, our meetings begin at 7.30pm at the Wesley Hall, School Road, Elmswell, IP30 9EE

12 September 2024: 

£12 Annual Subs due, plus £4 per attendance (or Visitors are always welcome at £6 per attendance).

Speaker Neil Langridge, “Hop Cultivation in Suffolk“

10 October: Barbara McElroy, “Royal Connections of Framlingham, Castle and Town”

14 November: Andy Peachey, “Archaeology on Anglia One’s Cable Route”

12 December: Chanters Jigge, “A Merrie Olde Christmas” – an entertaining evening of seasonal readings and songs performed by this talented musical duo on a variety of traditional instruments.

9 January 2025: Members’ Evening – three short talks, being a selection of members’ own researches.

13 February: Mike Walker, “The 1173 Siege of Haughley Castle & Battle of Fornham“

13 March: Don Mobley, “U.S. Military Aviation in East Anglia“

10 April: Our 25th Anniversary Meeting & Celebratory Party. Speaker Lydia Franklin, “Saving Britain’s Heritage over the Past 50 Years, focussing on East Anglia”

8 May: Claire Jowitt, “The 1682 Shipwreck of HMS Gloucester off the Suffolk Coast”

12 June: 7pm, AGM, then Neil Instrall, “The MIDDY Railway“

July: Summer Outing, TBC

Latest Updates

World War 1 Book For Sale

Read the Synopsis here