The parish church of Southwold is dedicated to St Edmund, and is considered to be one of Suffolk's finest.

[3] It lies under one continuous roof, and was built over about 60 years from the 1430s to the 1490s; it replaced a smaller 13th-century church that was destroyed by fire.

The earlier church dated from the time when Southwold was a small fishing hamlet adjacent to the larger Reydon.

By the 15th century Southwold was an important town in its own right, and the church was rebuilt to match its power and wealth.

Knapped and unknapped flints are arranged in patterns, textures and designs and create the stone work.

In World War II the church was narrowly missed by a German bomb that destroyed houses in the nearby Hollyhock Square.

New Zealand-born glass artist John Hutton's 1971 engraved window depicting St Edmund at the moment of his death and martyrdom is located in the north chancel of the church.

[8] However, a peal of Oxford Treble Bob Major was rung on 26 July 1858, indicating that the tower possessed a ring of eight prior to 1881.

The bells hang in a timber frame installed in 1897 by George Day & Son of Eye, Suffolk.

[8] The church has a three manual pipe organ, originally built by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd in 1887 and later rebuilt by the Thaxted firm Cedric Arnold, Williamson & Hyatt in 1966.

The specification, drawn up by Sir Frederick Ouseley, a Professor of Music at Oxford University, may be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.