On Sunday 11 January 2026, St Edmundsbury Cathedral will mark Plough Sunday with the blessing of a tractor and plough during the Choral Evensong service at 3.30 pm. The service is an opportunity to celebrate farming and agriculture in the county and begins in the Cathedral before Clergy and congregation make their way out to the Norman Tower where the plough will be located. This year, the plough is provided by the Elveden Estate.

The observance of Plough Sunday on the First Sunday of Epiphany goes back to the 1800’s, but there is also a much older observance, associated with the first working day after the twelve days of Christmas. Often, work in the fields would not start back until after Plough Sunday.

The Reverend Canon Katy Cunliffe, St Edmundsbury Cathedral Precentor, said, “Plough Sunday reminds us that before we can give thanks for the Harvest, there is a lot of hard work to be done. We give thanks for all those who work the land contributing so significantly to our communities here in Suffolk, and, at the start of the agricultural year, we ask God’s blessing upon them and upon their work.”

The service will also act as a farewell to The Venerable Sally Gaze who is Archdeacon for the Rural Mission for the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and also sits on St Edmundsbury Cathedral Chapter. The Very Reverend Joe Hawes, Dean of St Edmundsbury, said, “In addition to being a member of the Cathedral Chapter, Sally has worked hard to develop and grow the church across the rural communities of Suffolk over the past six years. We thank her for all she has done and wish her well for the future.”