St Mary the Virgin's Church, Cavendish 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 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

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

in Cavendish, Suffolk.

History

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

church at Cavendish 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 ...

. The church is mostly 14th-century, with building dating from about 1300 to about 1485, with some 19th-century additions and alterations. The oldest parts of the church, dating from about 1300, are the Tower, the Porch and the lower parts of the walls of the aisles. In 1350 the South aisle walls were rebuilt to their present height and new windows were inserted.

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

awarded the church 1 star in his ''England's Thousand Best Churches''.

Exterior

The exterior of the church is dressed with

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

. Above the parapet is a stair turret. The 14th-century tower is surmounted by a lantern. The building of the chancel was made possible by a bequest from Sir John Cavendish in the 1380s. During the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

Sir John's son, also named John, was responsible for the death of

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. Wh ...

. As a result, Sir John was lynched by his parishioners. He reached the church where he pleaded

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

by grasping the handle of the church door, but was taken to the market place at

Bury St. Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A ...

and beheaded by a mob led by

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

on 15 June 1381. He was buried in Bury St. Edmunds. His bequest to St Mary's was made by way of recompense. The nave was probably the work of

Reginald Ely Reginald Ely or Reynold of Ely ( fl. 1438–1471) was an English master mason and architect working in Gothic architecture in the Kingdom of England in the 15th century.

, designer of

King's College Chapel King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan ...

in Cambridge.

Interior

The church contains a 16th-century Flemish

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

, in the North aisle, showing the crucifixion. It is set in a frame by Sir

Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the des ...

. Until the late 1530s, a chantry altar probably stood in the church, perhaps for a guild. There is a

squint Squinting is the action of looking at something with partially closed eyes. Squinting is most often practiced by people who suffer from refractive errors of the eye who either do not have or are not using their glasses. Squinting helps momentari ...

that would have allowed the chantry priest a view of the high altar. The canopied niche to the right of the chest contains a modern image of the Madonna and child. The altar was replaced by a tomb chest for Sir George Colt, who died in 1570. There is a large roundel memorial in the South aisle to

Sue Ryder Margaret Susan Cheshire, Baroness Ryder of Warsaw, Lady Cheshire, (''née'' Ryder; 3 July 1924 – 2 November 2000), best known as Sue Ryder, was a British volunteer with Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, and a membe ...

and

Leonard Cheshire Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist. Among the honours Cheshire received as ...

, best known for their war relief work in the years after 1945. At the east end of the south aisle is the tomb chest for Sir George Colt, who died in 1570. In the early years of the 21st century. The resulting interior is "a fit-for-purpose Anglican worship space which is clean, bright and comfortable".

Organ

The church has a two manual pipe organ dating from 1884 by Henry Jones and Sons. A specification of the organ can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

Bells

Administration

The Parish of Cavendish is part of the Stour Valley Team Ministry, along with the Parishes of: * St Peter and St Paul's Church, Clare *St Mary's Church,

Poslingford Poslingford is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, near to a stream that feeds the into the Chilton stream and then the Suffolk Stour. The main part of the village follows the line of The St ...

*St John the Baptist's Church, Stoke-by-Clare *St Leonard's Church,

Wixoe Wixoe is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the northern bank of the River Stour, two miles south-east of Haverhill, in 2005 its population was 140. It consists largely of Victor ...

*All Saints Church, Hundon

References

External links

Cavendish, St Mary the Virgin
at achurchnearyou.com
Cavendish, St Mary the Virgin
at angelsandpinnacles.org.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavendish Church of England church buildings in Suffolk Grade I listed churches in Suffolk Borough of St Edmundsbury