England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Sternfield St Mary Magdalene

The Parish

The parish of Sternfield lies in eastern Suffolk just over a mile south of the market town of Saxmundham. Sternfield sits on the B1121 road, a linking road joining Saxmundham with the A1094 running onward to Aldeburgh. There is very little to Sternfield, the church stands within the grounds of Sternfield House of the 18th century whilst along a lane running south from the B1121 there is a short run of cottages. Like most of Suffolk Sternfield would have primarily been engaged in arable farming as it is today, at the time of this transcript, of course, horses rather than machinery would have worked the land and fields would have been more compact and utilising a rotational system. Modern developments have come to the parish, the Ipswich to Lowestoft branch line just tucking itself into the parish for a short distance. A small streamdrains the parish southwards soon meeting the River Alde which turns water eastwards passing the iconic Snape Maltings before reaching the North Sea many miles further south its course deflected by the immense spit of Orford Ness. Sternfield is sited at around 10 metres above the sea in gentle terrain where heights within a few miles rarely rise above 30 metres. Sternfield parish was small even for a county with many small parishes, covering just under 1,100 acres it would have supported a population of around 200 parishioners. All the more astonishing as its Domesday Day entry claims it amongst the largest 20% of settlements in the land by population, a barely credible result given today's status, shared by 3 landholder with the major share with Roger Bigot its assets of 11 ploughs backed by small meadows lends credence to the genuine status as a humble rural manor like today.

The Church

St Mary Magdalene's church stands east of the B1121 to the west of Sternfield Hall, which was originally built as its rectory. The church is masked totally from the road by thick bands of mature trees. Pevsner tentatively claims masonry in the nave as from the 12th century Norman Romanesque period but is clearly unsure of that fact, the windows are a mixture of 15th century Perpendicular and more modern creations. The hammerbeam roof to the nave is better documented with bequests for its construction dating to the 1620s. The western end has an unbuttressed tower also Perpendicular in style but from the early period of that fashion, the latter half of the 14th century. The chancel at the eastern end has had a varied history, originally probably of the 14th century it was rebuilt in brick in the middle of the 18th and then returned to a more familiar Gothic-like style during the Victorian restoration of 1877 which also added the northern vestry. Great care must be taken when parking along the B1121 as it is straight and often carries fast traffic, a shady pathway turn off marked by blue signs and traverses the trees to reach a churchyard which has trees all around the western and northern side of the church but the photographer will be thankful that the favoured aspects are preserved.