Ilketshall St Andrew

Population time series graph of St Andrew, Ilketshall

The average age of a St Andrew, Ilketshall resident is 43.9.[10] The population of St Andrew, Ilketshall has fallen slightly over the last two centuries (1801-2011). There was a sudden drop in the total population between 1891 and 1901. This is because there was a significant drop of 5% in the production of wheat and barley being produced in Suffolk between 1891 and 1901.[11] This is because agriculture was the largest sector of employment at the time.[12]

A bar chart showing both the male and female 1881 occupational statistic for St Andrew Ilketshall

In 1881 the largest employment sector for males in 1881 was agriculture with 88 men. The total farming area for St Andrew, Ilketshall was 1,718 acres of land,[13] the soil being generally heavy; subsoil, and sandy clay. The predominant crop grown at the time was wheat, barley, and bean.[13] The main industry of the time was agriculture.[12] As of 2011, there were 142 residents of St Andrew, Ilketshall aged 16 to 74 in employment.[14] The largest sector for employment as of 2011 in St Andrew, Ilketshall is 'wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles'.[14] The rate of unemployment in St Andrew, Ilketshall is 3.6% which is both higher than the average for Suffolk and the national average (4.7%).[15][16] Today agriculture accounts for only 9.2% of the total economically active people in St Andrew, Ilketshall.[14] Unskilled labour is the leading form of employment in St Andrew Ilketshall is the such as "Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles".[14] This can be shown from St Andrew Ilketshall having a significantly higher level of residences with either no qualifications 29.8%.[16]

According to the 2011 census, 96.9% of the residence are 'White British'.[17]

There is a total of 114 households in St Andrew, Ilketshall.[18] Over the last 20 years, average house prices have gone from £205,489 to the current price of £341,886 which is a change of 273.25%. The majority of housing in St Andrew, Ilketshall is either owned or mortgaged which is 69.4%.[19]

The St Andrew round-tower church dates from the 12th century.[21] The church sits at a bend in the road of School Road. As is common in parts of East Anglia the church has an octagonal shaped bell tower[22] built in the Saxon, Norman Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, and an embattled western tower.[13] A modern statue of St Andrew watches out from the niche on the porch, which was built at the start of the Anglican Reformation.[23] The graveyard of the church has had no clearance of older gravestones.[23] In 1810 there was a screen between the body of the church and the chancel, which was destroyed in December 2001,[5] which revealed a series of wall paintings.[24] These paintings are similar to that found in the nearby St Botolph, North Cove.[23] The image depicts the theme of the 'Wheel of Fortune' and the unpredictable nature of human affairs.[25] A crowned figure is found sitting on top of a wheel rotating it, to which humankind must follow the rotation. The rotation is circular, so a downturn in human affairs must be inevitably followed by an upturn.[25] The church is still running services.[26]

The Wesleyan Chapel of Ilketshall St Andrew

The second church within St Andrew, Ilketshall is an old chapel, St Andrew Methodist Chapel built in 1840 by the local Wesleyan Society[27][28] The chapel is a Grade II listed building, built with windows in the early Victorian style when Gothic was preferred.[27] It is well-maintained with a small garden at the front of the chapel.[29] Worship at the chapel has now ceased.[30]