Village Sign
The double faced sign on Crown Mill Green, near to the railway crossing, depicts two different periods of Elmswell’s history. It was unveiled with much ceremony and celebration on the 30th June 1995.
Side one remembers the visit of King Henry VI in 1433 and shows the Lancastrian King being welcomed by the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds. In the foreground a Benedictine monk is seen setting a snare for a rabbit. It was the Normans who first introduced rabbits to England and the Abbot kept a warren at Elmswell for the supply of meat and pelts. On the left is the tomb of the 16th Century Chief Justice of Ireland, Sir Robert Gardener, who gave the village its almshouses. The Kiln on the right symbolises the discovery in 1964 of a Roman-British Kiln.
Side two symbolises the coming of the railway and our agricultural heritage. Tucked away in the background are the almshouses and the pigs represent the Bacon Factory. St John’s Church appears on both sides of the sign. Visible for miles, this great landmark church stands on the hill at the western approach to the village. The stone symbols on the tower and south façade are said to be a ‘numerologist’s paradise’.
The designs include every siginigicant astrological grade from one to forty and many esoteric symbols, such as pentagrams, chalices and potted lilies. Below each montage is a ribbon bearing the village name and above are the shields of Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk to complete the address.
