England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Spexhall St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Spexhall lies in northeastern Suffolk roughly 2 miles north of the market town of Halesworth. Spexhall sits a half mile west of the A144 road which links Halesworth with Bungay. Spexhall is a curiously dispersed settlement, once purely an estate village supporting Spexhall Manor, a 16th century timber-framed manor house re-fronted in red brick in 1888. There is no real village centre merely a loose aggregation of farms and cottages across the extent of the parish. Like most Suffolk parishes Spexhall is today almost totally arable whereas in earlier times one would have seen a more rotational usage of the land. Modern developments just creep within the parish area, the railway line between Lowestoft and Ipswich passing through the southeastern quadrant but not granting a station. Spexhall is drained southeastwards by a small tributary of the River Blyth which is met to the east of Halesworth, the Blyth makes the short journey to the North Sea arriving between Southwold & Walberswick. Spexhall is sited at around 30 metres above the sea in gentle terrain where local high points rarely rise much above 40 metres. Spexhall parish was typically sized for its area, covering just under 1,500 acres it would have supported close to 200 parishioners. Spexhall is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Peter's church stands on the western side of Wash Lane accompanied by a few farm buildings and looking onto open fields. A round tower in East Anglia normally indicates an early church but whilst St Peter has 12th century origins the tower in this case is an early 20th century copy, created because the origin version fell in 1725. Genuine 12th century Norman Romanesque fabric can still be found in the church, however, as demonstrated by the northern doorway. Little else remains of early medieval times two doorways, one now blocked, date from the early 14th century Decorated period whilst most windows indicate the main body probably dates from the later 14th century Perpendicular period. Most of the eastern end of the church was rebuilt in 1713 in a style including a trellis-like pattern using flint & brick. A typical Victorian restoration of 1877 completes the main changes to this much-modified church albeit the copy-tower looks to be a good likeness to a typical early round tower yet completed in 1911. A broad gravelled parking area sits outside the entrance allowing an extended visit to the rather shady-looking churchyard. Close set trees and a tightly cramped churchyard create a few issues for the photographer and remove some viewpoints too.