St Mary and St Peter's Church is an active

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the village of Barham near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. It contains a

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

statue of Madonna and the Child originally held at St Peter, Claydon. It is in the deanery of Bosmere, part of the archdeaconry of Ipswich, and the

Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is a Church of England diocese based in Ipswich, covering Suffolk (excluding Lowestoft). The cathedral is St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the bishop is the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is part ...

History

A church is recorded as being within the village of Barham in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. Architectural features in the tower of long-and-short work (or quoins), which is typical of Anglo-Saxon architecture, suggests the church dates from Saxon times. It was known as St Mary from at least 1538, when the parishioners included the inhabitants of Barham Green. In 1975, the parish extended to include the village of Claydon, and when St Peter's Church in Claydon was officially made redundant, St Mary was retitled as St Mary and St Peter.

Monuments

The best known monument in the church is that of the

statue of Madonna and Child originally held at St Peter's Church, Claydon. Crafted as a war memorial in commemoration for those in the village who died in the Second World War it was moved to St Mary after the closure of St Peter. Other monuments and brasswork have been part of the church but were removed or destroyed over the course of its history. In the Chancel of the Church were monuments to Jon Southwell, grandfather to Thomas Bedingfield as well as a tomb used for the burial of an unnamed inhabitant of the local estate of

Shrubland Hall Shrubland Hall, Coddenham, Suffolk, is a historic English country house with planned gardens in Suffolk, England, built in the 1770s. The Hall was used as a health clinic in the second half of the 20th century and briefly reopened as a hotel ...

Current status

St Mary and St Peter's Church was

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

at Grade I on 9 December 1955. Communion services, using the Book of Common Worship are offered on every Sunday morning at 8am except on the fifth Sunday of a month. On the first Sunday of each month a shorter communion service based on the Book of Common Worship is held at 10am, on the second and fourth Sundays a full communion service is held at 10am. On the third Sunday of each month at 10am a community worship service is held. This service is aimed at a wider age range of the congregation including families with children, adults and those with little or no experience of the Church. The services are often run by community groups or local charitable organisations otherwise unaffiliated with the Church itself. Where a 5th Sunday falls within a month a family communion service is held at one of the three parishes served by the same parish grouping. One in three of these is held at St Mary and St Peter; the others being held at St Mary's Church, Great Blakenham or St Peter's Church, Henley.

Notable clergy

William Kirby 1782–1850 Entomologist

References

{{reflist, 30em Church of England church buildings in Suffolk Grade I listed churches in Suffolk

History

Monuments

Current status

Notable clergy

See also

References