St Mary's Church is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

parish church in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

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 Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's dissolution programme but was destroyed around the time of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. 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 a flight engineer was attacked by a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...

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 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 rear gunner, Mick McGoven, 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 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. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

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

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es, a castellated

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

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 main ...

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 beams alternating with

tie beam A tie, strap, tie rod, eyebar, guy-wire, suspension cables, or wire ropes, are examples of linear structural components designed to resist tension. It is the opposite of a strut or column A column or pillar in architecture and structura ...

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

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

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 In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

. The chancel was rebuilt in 1862 by

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, 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 Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. 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 Elmsett is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around three miles north-east of Hadleigh, it is in Babergh district. In 2005, it had a population of 826, reducing to 788 at the 2011 census. History The first record of Elm ...

*St Nicholas' Church,

Hintlesham Hintlesham is a small village in Suffolk, England, situated roughly halfway between Ipswich and Hadleigh. It is in the Belstead Brook electoral division of Suffolk County Council. The village is notable for Hintlesham Hall, a 16th-century Gr ...

*All Saints and St Margaret's Church,

Chattisham Chattisham is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located around two miles west of Ipswich and half a mile south of the A1071, it is part of Babergh district. In 2006 its population was 140, increasing to 167 at the 2011 Census. ...

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