Ilketshall St Andrew is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Bungay and the same distance south-west of Beccles in the East Suffolk district. St Andrew's church is one of around 40 round-tower churches in Suffolk.[a]

Ilketshall St Andrew
St Andrew's church
Ilketshall St Andrew is located in Suffolk
Ilketshall St Andrew
Ilketshall St Andrew
Location within Suffolk
Area7 km2 (2.7 sq mi) [1]
Population291 (2011)[1]
• Density42/km2 (110/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTM379871
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBeccles
Postcode districtNR34
Dialling code01986
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Suffolk
52°25′52″N 1°29′53″E / 52.431°N 1.498°E / 52.431; 1.498

The parish had a population of 291 at the 2011 United Kingdom census. It is one of a group around Bungay known as The Saints, and is located east of the A144 road between Bungay and Halesworth. The parish borders the parishes of Shipmeadow, Ringsfield, Redisham, Westhall, Spexhall, Ilketshall St Lawrence and Ilketshall St John.[1][8][9]

History

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20th Century Map of St Andrew, Ilketshall

In the 1870s John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Ilketshall St Andrew as:

"Ilketshall St. Andrews, a parish in Wangford district, Suffolk; 4 miles SE of Bungay r. station. It has a postal letter box under Bungay. The property is much subdivided. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Norwich. The church has an octangular tower, and is in good condition. There is a Wesleyan chapel."[10]

Churches

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St Andrew's church is a round-tower church, dating from the 12th century.[11] The church sits at a bend in School Road and has an octagonal shaped bell tower.[12] In 1810 there was a screen between the body of the church and the chancel, which was destroyed in December 2001, which revealed a series of wall paintings.[13] These paintings are similar to those found in St Botolph's, North Cove. The image depicts the theme of the 'Wheel of Fortune' and the unpredictable nature of human affairs.[14] A crowned figure is found sitting on top of a wheel rotating it, to which humankind must follow the rotation. The rotation is circular, so a downturn in human affairs must be inevitably followed by an upturn.[14]

 
The Wesleyan Chapel of Ilketshall St Andrew

A Methodist chapel was built in 1840 by the local Wesleyan Society,[15][16] The chapel is a Grade II listed building,[15] with a small garden at the front of the chapel.[17] Worship at the chapel has now ceased.[18]

Notes

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  1. ^ The exact number of round-tower churches in the county is a matter of debate. Some sources list 38,[2][3] others cite between 40 and 43.[4][5][6][7] They almost all date from the late Anglo-Saxon or early Norman periods and were mostly built between the 11th and 14th-centuries. There are around 183 round-tower churches in England, most of them in Norfolk, which has around 124, and Suffolk.[5][7] Four of the churches now in Norfolk were previously in Suffolk before boundary changes in 1974.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Village profile: St Andrew, Ilketshall, East Suffolk District Council, 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2021
  2. ^ Round Tower Churches Map, The Temple Trail. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  3. ^ Suffolk Churches, Weald and Downland Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  4. ^ Norfolk Round Tower Churches, Great English Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  5. ^ a b Hart S (2019) Round Tower Churches, Building Conservation, Cathedral Communications. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  6. ^ a b Knott S Suffolk churches with round towers, Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  7. ^ a b Welcome to the Round Tower Churches Society, The Round Tower Churches Society. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  8. ^ St Andrew, Ilketshall, Healthy Suffolk, 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  9. ^ Knott S (2016) St Andrew, Ilketshall St Andrew, Suffolk Churches. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  10. ^ Wilson, John Marius (1870–72). Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales. Edinburgh: A. Fullerton & Co.
  11. ^ "Ilketshall St Andrew and St John Walks" (PDF). Discover Suffolk. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  12. ^ Howse, Christopher (27 December 2014). "The Strange Round Towers of East Anglia". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  13. ^ "The Saints and the Waveney Valley" (PDF). Discover Suffolk. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  14. ^ a b Marshall, Anne (1 August 2009). "The wheel of fortune: Ilketshall St Andrew, Suffolk". Painted Church. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  15. ^ a b Knott, Simon (July 2008). "Methodist Chapel, Ilketshall St Andrew". Suffolk Churches.
  16. ^ Whites. "Ilketshall St Andrew". Nine Parishes.
  17. ^ "Ilketshall St Andrew, CHurches". Waveney Valley Ecumenical Partnership. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  18. ^ "The Waveney Valley Ecumenical Partnership: Ilketshall St Andrew". Waveney Valley Ecumenical Partnership. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.