St Cross South Elmham is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk.

[5] The Sancroft part of the name comes from the sandy nature of the soil in the area surrounding the church of St George.

[8] St Cross is known for its views of the English countryside and was home to the poet and writer Elizabeth Smart for the last years of her life.

Before this it was part of the lands owned by the See of Norwich until the reign of King Henry VIII, its revenues distributed to the Church.

In 1870–72, St Cross South Elmham was described by John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales as "St. Cross, or Sandcroft, a parish in Wangford district, Suffolk; adjacent to the river Waveney, and to the Waveney Valley railway, near Homersfield r. station, 5 miles SW of Bungay.

"[10]In 1868 The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland described St Cross as"South Elmham St.Cross, (or Sandcroft), a parish in the hundred of Wangford, county Suffolk, as above, 5 miles S.W.

"[11]The parish contains South Elmham Hall, surrounded by a four-acre moat and which was formerly the country residence of the Bishop of Norwich.

[5] The hall is currently known as Bateman's Barn and offers guided historic tours of the house and its grounds during the summer months.

The remains date from Roman times, before the Norman conquest of Britain and the building is believed to have been the private chapel of the Bishop of Norwich during his residence at South Elmham Hall.