St Mary-le-Tower is the civic church of
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 ...
and a
Grade II* 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 I ...
building. It was in the churchyard of St Mary that the town charter of Ipswich was written in 1200.
History
Although medieval, the church mostly dates from 1860 to 1870, when it was rebuilt by
Richard Phipson
Richard Makilwaine Phipson (1827–1884)Wilson p. 158. was an English architect. As diocesan architect for the Anglican Diocese of Norwich, he was responsible for renovating almost 100 churches in East Anglia.
Biography
Phipson was born in Ipsw ...
. Rebuilding was funded by George Bacon, banker and philanthropist. St Mary Le Tower is mentioned 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 ...
, demonstrating that the site has been occupied by a church since at least 1086.
Memorials
The church contains a brass memorial on a chancel pier to
H.A. Douglas-Hamilton
Hamilton Anne Douglas-Hamilton (28 May 1853 – 22 August 1929) was Rector at Marlesford, Suffolk and held the office of Honorary Canon of Bury St. Edmunds Cathedral. He was Honorary Chaplain to the Bishop of St. Edmundsbury, and served in South ...
, vicar from 1915 to 1925. There are also four brasses in the chancel floor.
Organ
The church has a large three-manual pipe organ, which has its origins in an instrument by
Renatus Harris
Renatus Harris (c. 1652 - 1724) was an English master organ maker in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
During the period of the Commonwealth, in the mid-seventeenth century, Puritans controlled the country and or ...
of 1690. There was subsequent work by Henry Willis, Spurden Rutt and Bishop and Son. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
Bells
Originally there were five bells and a Sanctus in 1553 of which
Miles Graye
Miles Graye was a dynasty of English bell-founders who had foundries in Colchester and Saffron Walden in Essex during the 17th-century. It is believed that the family cast over 415 bells, many of which remain today.[Thomas Cobbold (1708–1767)
Thomas Cobbold (1708 – 21 April 1767) was an English brewer in Harwich and Ipswich; he succeeded to the family brewing business founded by his father, also Thomas Cobbold.
Family
Thomas married Sarah Cobboll in 1738. Several of their children ...]
*Francis Cobbold 1831 - 1838, succeeded his father
*William Nassau St Leger 1838 - 1860
*Joames Robert Thurrock 1861 - 1890
*Afthil Arthur Barrington 1890 - 1904
*William Melville Pigot 1904 - 1914
*
Hamilton Anne Douglas-Hamilton 1915 - 1925
*Arthur William Watson Wallace MA 1925 - 1928
*Arthur Herbert Streeten MC MA 1928 - 1942
*Richard Hamilton Babington MA 1942 - 1958
*Basil Layton Spurgin MA 1958 - 1972
*Geoffrey John Tarris MA 1972 - 1982
*
Keith Brynmor Jones MA 1982 - 1996
*Peter Kenneth Townley BA. 1996 - 2008
*Charles Alexander Graham Jenkin, BSc 2008 - 2021
*Thomas James Mumford 2021 -
See also
*
List of tallest buildings and structures in Ipswich
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich
Church of England church buildings in Ipswich