Westhall, St Andrew

This Parish has not as yet registered with the Parish Giving Scheme and as such unfortunately you are not yet able to set up a direct debit or make a one-off gift to this Parish. If you would like to in the future, please 'Register your interest' and we will convey your interest onto the Parish.

Our church is special. Those looking for a classic Suffolk church will be stunned by the magnificence of the building that they find. Described by Simon Knott as one the finest in Suffolk, and on a par with Blythburgh, it comprises three churches in one with the south aisle being the basis of a Norman church with main nave C13 and the chancel C14. This combination leads to church with some special attributes - un-weathered Norman doorway hidden in the tower, the famous font still with gesso work, wall paintings (including a 'horned' Moses), the screen with the unique panels of the Transfiguration.

The church was originally built by the side of substantial stream, or even river, with the village to the East. This site was abandoned following the Black Death in the late C13 and the current village grew up on the higher land to the north where farms and windmills were sited. The arrival of the railway in the C19 brought labouring men for its construction and some settled here.