Monument record NKT 002 - Church of St Mary

This church is in the diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, the archdeaconry of Sudbury and the deanery of Mildenhall. Status: rectory (S1). The structure is: chancel, nave, clerestory, S aisle, N aisle, S porch, embattled W tower with shingled spire. The style of architecture is chiefly Perpendicular (S2).
In 1856 the chancel was rebuilt in heavy Victorian Gothic style. At the time of this restoration the C13 piscina, in Early English style, was discovered. Contained within it was a purse which held three Nuremburg jettons. On a beam in the nave roof, carved in capitals, is the following: "James Smith, Samual Briant, Churchwardens 1695". On the W side of the same beam is the date 1693. The font is a stone octagon in the Perpendicular style with a panelled bowl. Both arcades consist of five arches, which are double-hollow chamfered and supported by quatrefoil piers with castellated capitals. They are C14 in form. The S arcade is possibly original, certainly there was a clear effort to preserve the gothic style of the period. The W tower is constructed from flints, square and embattled. It is Perpendicular, C14 and much restored. On top of the tower is a small shingled spire, and on the SE corner of the battlement is a cupola for the clock bell. The S doorway is Perpendicular and C15: it is crocketed with a finial and the principals end in pedestals. There is an angel at the apex of the arch. Many of the windows have been modernised and they contain some good C20 glass. Considerable portions of the old roofs remain and a fragment of old woodwork from the pews bore the date 1494 (S2). In 1856 the church was enlarged and repaired. A new gallery which ran the whole length of the church replaced the old galleries. In 1868 J M Clark converted the N transept into a N aisle. The new N aisle had four Perpendicular windows, an organ chamber at the E end and a gallery over it. A vestry was built on to the N of the chancel. In 1887 the church was thoroughly restored again (S2).