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 Programme

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

11 January: Three Short Talks by Members – “The Hidden History of the Ickworth Estate” by Peter McGee, “Suffolk Workhouses & Stowe Lodge” by Dot Marsden, and “The Fens” by Sylvie Marshall

8 February: Rick Lewis, “Medieval Carpentry in Rural Suffolk of the 14th & 15th Centuries“

14 March: Stephen Poulter, “Suffolk’s Lost Heritage“

11 April: EHG’s 24th Anniversary Meeting. Jacquie Norman, “Tudor Costumes, Part 2“

25 April: Tour of Woodbridge’s Sutton Hoo Ship Project – 11.30am. Limited places, check with Secretary on 01359-242601

9 May:  Jill & Richard Mann, “Edith Cavell, East Anglia’s WW1 Heroine“

13 June: 7pm, AGM – immediately followed by Sarah Doig, “The Real Basil Brown, from Rickinghall to Sutton Hoo and Back“

Saturday 13 July:  Summer Outing, 11.30am-1pm. Ely Museum. Tickets available at our April, May and June meetings – £5.50 for members, £6.50 for non-members – cost includes a private tour.

12 September: 

£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, “Framlingham, Castle on the Hill”

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.

Latest Updates

World War 1 Book For Sale

Read the Synopsis here