Vicar and priest in charge  :- Revd Canon Richard J Ginn   Tel:- 01728 648271
Associate Priest  :- Revd Mrs Liz Morris        Tel:-  01728 667095
Ordained Local Ministers :-  Revd Susan Warne  Tel  :-  01728 668410
                                      Revd Ann Bayman   Tel  :-  0777 0828872
                                      Revd Liz Cole          Tel:- 01728 648244


Churchwardens :-  Mr Barrie Davis  Tel:-  01728 668477
                          Mr Lester Crook Tel:- 01728 602651

Local Methodist Minister:- Revd Mark Booth  Tel:- 01728 830733

Local Roman Catholic Priest:- Revd Roger Spencer   Tel:- 01502 723207

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  A brief history of Yoxford Parish Church

Perhaps the traffic outside on the AI120 seems very busy with farm lorries weaving their way through parked cars, with all the noise and congestion. Well, this spot has been a place of noise and traffic and business for centuries, and for all that time this building has been here to allow people to seek the quietness that the human spirit needs, and to offer their prayers and thanksgivings to God.

If you went back in time 200 years, the Three Tuns Inn would have stood in the Street, and this village would have been throbbing with the life of the London to Yarmouth road, and the regular coach service that stopped at the Three Tuns. If you wen t back 800 years, the roads outside would have been full of traffic, for the road from the west led to the great port of Dunwich in the east. Grain had been exported from Dunwich since Roman times, and much of the trade in and out of Dunwich passed along this very road until the port was wrecked by the great storm of 1286.

It is not known when a church first stood here, but the present building was begun in the year 1400. When you enter through the present north door, you are standing at the west end of the north aisle that was added in 1837. As the commercial prosperity of this village and the whole country ebbed and flowed down the years, so this church has changed and developed.

A parish church has several purposes. This is a place built and designed for the worship of God. Consequently, the church is important because, just by being here at these busy cross roads, people are reminded to acclaim the presence of God in the midst of life. Within the building worship is offered to God in prayer and praise. His word, the Bible, is read from the lectern and the application of God's word to our life today is explained in sermons from the pulpit. The pulpit dates from about 1620, which speaks of the continual effort of the church down the years to ensure that we keep focussed on our proper role of following the teaching of Jesus Christ and of witnessing to the love of God.

Part of the work of the Church throughout all ages is to present the passing nature of life on earth as against the prospect of eternal life in heaven. There are many memorials in this church in many forms. Some are memorials to individuals, but there are also memorials to people that we think about in groups. Thus the glass of the East Window is in memory of the the men of Yoxford who died in the First World War. The organ was reconstructed as it stands today as a thank offering by the women of the parish for the safe return of men who survived serving in that war.

Many of the individual memorials are connected with the local gentry, particularly the names of Hopton, Brooke and Blois. The ten painted ‘hatchments' around the church, like the knights helmet hanging in the south‑east corner, derive from the funerals of these gentry families in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and are preserved as a mark of the esteem in which these families have been held down the years. The brasses cover the period 1418‑1618 and again reflect the importance of significant local families,, as employers, as landowners, as merchants, and as holding accumulations of wealth that could guarantee local well‑being in difficult times.

But this church building, like every parish church, was built for the benefit of every member of every generation, not just for the privileged few. The font has stood in this church for more than half a millenium, and may be the original one provided in the 15th century. The font reminds us that every human being is invited to follow Christ and to be baptised as a mark of commitment to the Christian life.

The pews remind us of the welcome that awaits everyone who comes to share in the worship that we offer on earth, to begin to prepare to share in the worship that is offered in heaven. Below the east window stands the communion table, where bread, and wine are prepared for worshippers to share..

Behind the font is the Ringing Room. There the bell‑ringers stand to swing the bells in the tower above. The six bells date from the years 1655‑1684. Again, visitors have to be impressed by the continuity of life in this ancient building. People have come to this church at every stage of the human journey, to offer their tears as well as their joy, to look for wisdom as well as compassion, to affirm the value of all that is good in human life, and above all to spend time in the presence of God.

Please come to visit this Parish Church. Just by standing within its walls you will share in its history and become part of that history. May you know the companionship of God on your path through life. Those who use and care for this sacred building would welcome your prayers for their work and witness. It is a great privilege to share in maintaining the traditions of divine truth and worship.

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