Although Peasenhall and Sibton are two separate parishes, there is litted distance between the end of one and the beginning of the other and collectively they function as one village. After the Conquest, William granted the manor of Peasenhall to the influential Bigod family and that of Sibton to Sir William Malet. And it was to Sibton that just under a hundred years later the Cistercians arrived to build thier Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sibton is known chiefly for its abbey (only the ruins remain) the only Cistercian house in Suffolk.

There are a few signs here still of the ancient abbey founded in 1149 for the monks of the Cistercian order. Appearently it was a very active and prosperous community, well-endowed by the wealthy. It came into the possession of the Duke of Norfolk and much later when the walls began to crumble the material was used to help build Abbey House nearby.

The fishpond that the monks used to provide themselves with fresh fish can still be discerned. At the church entrance is a beautiful thatched lych-gate which is a memorial to the fallen in the Great War. A Norman doorway within a porch built 800 years later introduces the church interior with its richly decorated font and Jacobean pulpit.

In the churchyard is a stone that tells us:-

'The world's a city full of crooked streets. And Death's a Market Place where all may meet. If Life were merchandise that men could buy, Rich men would live and only poor men die.'

The sentiment seems trite enough in the modern world but when written was probably a challenging and risky thing to say. Perhaps that is why the author had first placed himself out of reach of any reproof or reprisal.