St Mary's Church is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

parish church in the Church of England in

Kersey, Suffolk Kersey is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district in Suffolk, in the east of England. The main street has a ford across a stream. Its principal claim to fame is that a coarse woollen cloth called Kersey cloth takes its name from it. ...

The Shrine at St Mary's

In Medieval times St Mary's was an important site of pilgrimage with a shrine filling the whole north aisle. This survived Henry VIII's dissolution program but was destroyed around the time of the Civil War. On 8 March 2020 the shrine was re-hallowed and more information can be found at www.kerseychurch.org The newly re-hallowed Shrine and church is host to arts and music events. Jazz evenings take place twice a year, classical music concerts, film evenings, dances and various other events happen regularly. The co-ordinator can be reached at kerseychurch.org/fosm The Shrine was rehallowed in the presence of Leading Aircraftman Dougie Vince. The bomber on which he served as engineer was attacked by an ME 109 as they returned from a raid on western Germany. The navigation instruments were destroyed and a fire started toward the rear of the aircraft. The navigator had no positional fix and fuel was critically low. The RAF, however, had installed two searchlights in the churchyard of St Mary's Kersey which illuminated the church tower, giving pilots a known navigational reference point. As a result, the church gained the nickname of the “Thank God Church”. Mr Vince's bomber fixed their position and landed at a nearby airfield. The tail gunner died in the fire and Leading Aircraftman Vince's hand was almost burnt away as he fought the flames using an extinguisher that had become red hot in the flames.

History

The oldest parts of the church date to the twelfth century. A reconstruction of the church is thought to have started with the north aisle which was joined to the nave by an arcade and completed in 1335. Work then started on the tower, but was delayed by the outbreak of the black death in 1349. The tower was completed in 1481 and the north and south porches were then added.

External and internal architecture

The church is of flint and stone and stands on high ground to the south of the village. In about 1335 the north aisle was built and the tower's foundations laid. The tower was completed in 1481. The tower has four stages. There are diagonal buttresses, a castellated parapet with flint chequerwork and an octagonal stair turret. The south porch has two bays with buttresses rising to crocketted

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s. The north porch is similar but less elaborate. Inside the church, the ceiling has moulded and carved beams and carved panels. The nave roof has

hammer beam A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "...the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams ...

s alternating with tie beams with arched braces meeting in the centre. There are two

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

s, one 12th-century and another 15th-century. There is a 15th-century lectern and chancel screen. The north aisle has a defaced stone carved frieze. The chancel was rebuilt in 1862 by King's College, Cambridge, and a small vestry was added in the north east corner.

Internal fittings

Organ

The church contains a two manual pipe organ by Bishop & Son of Ipswich and London. A specification of the organ may be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. It was resited in 2012–3 to make room for kitchen and toilet facilities at the west end of the north aisle.

Tower

The tower is home to a community book crossing, housing over one hundred books. The resource was used extensively during Covid times and is much loved by the community. Weddings and funerals enter through the 15th century West doors, noting the curiously off-set tower, nave and chancel. The tower contains eight bells.

Rood screen

The church is noted for retaining a small section of its medieval rood screen. It was recovered from a local farm and restored. The panels show saints and kings, one of the Kings being

Edmund the Martyr Edmund the Martyr (also known as St Edmund or Edmund of East Anglia, died 20 November 869) was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death. Few historical facts about Edmund are known, as the kingdom of East Anglia was devastated by t ...

, shown holding an arrow. File:Section of Rood Screen, St. Mary's Church, Kersey (1).jpg File:Section of Rood Screen, St. Mary's Church, Kersey (2).jpg File:Section of Rood Screen, St. Mary's Church, Kersey (3).jpg

Parish status

The church is part of a

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

which includes four other parishes:Benefice of Elmsett with Aldham, Hintlesham. Chattisham and Kersey at achurchnearyou.com
/ref> *St Mary's Church, Aldham *St Peter's Church, Elmsett *St Nicholas' Church, Hintlesham *All Saints and St Margaret's Church, Chattisham

Clergy

*Thomas Clarke 158 *Robert Gumyill 1607 - 1613 *Thomas Miller 1635 *John Sloper 1638 - 1644 *John Burgess 1644 - 1646 *William Alcocke 1647 - 1653 *Nathaniel Snow 1654 - 1666 *Thomas Horne 1670 - 1683 *George Wroth 1683 - 1686 *George Williams 1686 - 1689 *Gregory Doughty 1689 - 1724 *Charles Thackham 1724 - 1725 *Everard Sturgis 1725 *John Lane ???? - 1740 *Nathaniel Kent 1740 - 1766 *John Howes 1766 - 1773 *Henry Ingles 1773 - 1774 *Alexander Akehurst 1775 - 1777 *James Chatres 1777 - 1778 *John Gee Smith 1782 - 1785 *William Cole 1785 - 1787 *William Moore 1787 - 1789 *Thomas Barrow 1789 - 1801 *Thomas Hart during 1797 *Joshua Hird 1801 - 1803 *Joah Furey 1803 - 1807 *Sterling Kelty 1807 - 1810 *Stephen Hurnard Hawtrey 1810 - 1812 *Sterling Kelty 1812 - 1817 *Alfred James Trash 1817 - 1823 *Charles Hatch 1823 - 1836 *Charles Chapman 1836 - 1849 *Abraham Humie 1849 - 1878 *Cecil Gordon Moore 1878 *Alford Dean Mozeley 1878 *William Brice Gray 1879 - 1907 *Alford Dean Mozeley 1878 *William Brice Gray 1879 - 1907 *Frank Benet Phillips 1907 - 1915 *Thomas Harding Soulby 1915 - 1922 *Daniel Kent Ambrose 1922 - 1936 *Roger Ernest Tempest 1936 - 1942 *William Walter Lillie 1942 - 1947 *William Hugh Nottage Mumford 1947 - 1955 *Sydney Edward Caller 1955 - 1961 *Howard Donald Lewis Thomas 1961 - 1967 *Christopher R. W. Goddard 1968 - 1973 *Henry Tait 1974 - 1975 *Albert Richard Johnstone 1975 - 1980 *Gerald Harrison 1981 - 1988 *William James Sands 1989 - 1922 *Ian A Wilson 1993 - 2002 *Janet M Simpson 2003 *Trisha & Tim Ffrench 2007 *Jackson Crompton-Battersby 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kersey Church of England church buildings in Suffolk Grade I listed churches in Suffolk St Mary's Church