EastCambs

Isleham

A village on the edge of the fen near the Suffolk border, with a rare Norman priory church and the River Lark close by.

The small Norman priory church at Isleham, a low stone building with a steep tiled roof and rounded east end, standing on a lawn
Isleham Priory Church. Photo: John Sutton, CC BY-SA 2.0

Village by the Suffolk border

About Isleham

Isleham lies on the eastern edge of the district, where the fen meets the higher ground of Suffolk. Its best-known building is the Priory Church of St Margaret of Antioch, a small Norman church that belonged to a Benedictine priory and was later used as a barn, which helped it survive almost unaltered. It is cared for by English Heritage.

In 1959 a farmer ploughing near the village uncovered the Isleham Hoard, more than 6,000 pieces of Bronze Age metalwork and one of the largest such finds in Britain. In 1850 the young preacher Charles Spurgeon was baptised in the River Lark at Isleham, where the river now has a busy marina.

Isleham Priory Church Isleham village website

Isleham at a glance

  • Isleham Priory Church (English Heritage), free to visit
  • The River Lark and Isleham Marina for boating and riverside walks
  • Restored lime kilns, part of the village’s industrial past
  • New homes off Fordham Road: see Live here

Things to do in Isleham

  • Isleham Priory Church

    A small, little-altered Norman church that belonged to a Benedictine priory, later used as a barn. Cared for by English Heritage.

    Isleham

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Community in Isleham

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