Around Sedgefield


Sedgefield is an ancient village founded in Norman times. Today, it could now be classed as a small town as housing estates are growing rapidly around the old village centre. The population is about 5,500, Here you will find images of the churches, graveyards and buildings of interest in the Sedgefield area.

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St Edmund’s Church was made a Grade 1 listed building in January 1968. It stands in the centre of the town and much of it was built between 1246 and 1256 although there have been a number of additions since. The tower was added in 1490 and the porch in the C19th.

The parish of Sedgefield was founded around AD 900. It is open to visitors on Saturday mornings and often on weekdays during the summer months. There are very early brasses and a rare Elizabethan carved screen inside the church.

The parish includes the villages/settements  of Bradbury, Butterwick, Embleton,Fishburn, Foxton and Mordon.

The Sedgefield Annual Shrove Tuesday Ball Game

The annual Shrove Tuesday football match originally took place between the Farmers and the Tradesmen of the parish and has been played since the 13th Century.  The ball game starts at 1pm when a small leather ball is passed three times through the bull ring and then it is thrown and kicked around the village  everyone trying to get a touch.  The eventual aim is to score a goal in one of two places  at either end of the village a process which often takes several hours. The winner is the person who returns to the village green and passes the ball through the bull ring three times.

Ball Game Sculpture

The Sedgefield Shrove Tuesday ball game sculpture was designed by Brian Sutherland and made in 2000 by David France. It was erected to commemorate the millennium, The sculpture is outside St Edmund’s Church.

The Market Cross