Monument record TDD 005 - Church of St Mary

St Mary's church is within diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, archdeaconry of Sudbury, deanery of Mildenhall. Status : rectory (S1). Structure is : chancel, nave, S aisle, S porch, W tower. The style of architecture is largely Decorated. Most of the fabric of the church, including the porch, is C14. The chancel contains a Decorated E window of 3 lights wehich has reticulated tracery. The top reticulation motif has been replaced by a circle enclosing 3 cusped spherical triangles. The window is flanked by niches on the inside. The side windows of the chancel are Perpendicular. In the S wall near the E end of the chancel was a piscina but this has now been stopped up. There is a stone seat in a window on the S side of the chancel. The chancel arch is Perpendicular. In the nave there is a tomb recess in the N wall. The font is a plain stone octagon, the pedestal having small pillars at the four corners. There is disagreement as to the date : Bryant claims it is Norman, whereas Baker says it is very good C14 work. On the N side of the nave the upper windows are Perpendicular, the lower ones are good Decorated. The W window is circular and deeply splayed. The nave roof is a strict reproduction in oak of the old one, a simple hammer-beam and arch-braced roof of C15. The clerestory is Perpendicular with 3 clerestory windows on the N side and 4 on the S. A set-off externally on the N wall shows where the C15 clerestory was added. The arcade has 4 pointed and double-chamfered arches, supported by 3 octagon plain pillars. The windows of the S aisle are mostly Decorated but the E window is Perpendicular and contains old stained glass. In the NE corner of the S aisle are the stairs to the rood loft. In the S wall, at the E end, was a piscina. The W tower is of flints, square and embattled with 2 buttresses. Over the door, on the W side, are niches and a quatrefoil window. The tower is Perpendicular in style. The S porch is tall and gabled, the side windows have 'Y' tracery. There are some good old oak seats in the church, some with poppyheads and others with animals (S2).
A major restoration of the church was undertaken by C Kirk of Sleaford in 1876. A new vestry was built and the flat chancel roof was removed to reveal previously hidden tracery. Unfortunately an alien form replaced the original design. The S aisle was extended and the nave given a new roof, a reproduction in oak of the old hammer-beam one. Where possible old carvings were kept and reused (S2).