St Mary's Church, Badley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Badley |
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St Mary's Church, Badley, from the south
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| OS grid reference | TM 062 559 |
| Location | Badley, Suffolk |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 9 December 1955 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Flint and brick with freestone dressings Roofs tiled |
St Mary's Church is an old church in the village of Badley, Suffolk, England. It is no longer used for regular church services. This special building is protected as a Grade I listed building. This means it is very important! The Churches Conservation Trust looks after it. You can find the church about 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Stowmarket. It's a bit hidden, down a track about a mile long.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
Some parts of St Mary's Church are very old. They date back to around the year 1200. Most of the church, however, was built in the 1400s. The roofs were added in the early 1500s. The top part of the tower was also rebuilt during that century. The south porch was first built in the 1300s. But it was mostly rebuilt much later, in the 1900s.
What the Church Looks Like
Outside the Church
The church is mostly made from flint stones. The south and east sides are covered with a smooth finish called stucco. The tower is built from flint and brick. The very top part of the tower uses orange bricks. Special cut stones, called freestone, are used for details. The roofs are covered with tiles.
The church has a main area called the nave. There is a porch on the south side. It also has a chancel, which is the part near the altar. A tower stands on the west side. The south doorway is very old, from around 1200. Most of the windows were added in the 1400s. They have three sections of glass. The large window on the west side has five sections. There is also a narrow, tall window, called a lancet window, from around 1200. You can see it on the north wall of the chancel.
Inside the Church
The font, where baptisms happen, is from the 1200s. It is made of Purbeck marble. It has an eight-sided bowl. The wooden cover for the font is from the 1600s. It has a decorative top shaped like an acorn.
The wooden benches, called pews, are from the 1400s to the 1600s. Most of them are from the 1500s. There is one special bench from the 1400s. It has animals carved into its supports. Part of a screen from the 1400s, called a rood screen, was used to make some special box pews in the 1600s. These pews were changed and moved around in the 1600s. They have stayed the same since the 1700s.
The pulpit, where sermons are given, is from the 1600s. It looks simple. It has a reading desk decorated with arch shapes. The communion rails, made of iron, are from about 1830. In the sanctuary, the most sacred part of the church, there are panels from the 1700s. They show the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed.
Near the south door, there is a stone slab from the 1200s. It is shaped like a coffin. Many of the memorials inside the church are for the Poley family. There is a memorial on the wall in the chancel for Edmund Poley, who died in 1548. It also remembers other family members. Above it, you can see a colorful family crest and tall, pointed shapes called obelisks. Another large monument, in a fancy style called Baroque, is for Sir Henry Poley, who died in 1707. There are 17 stone slabs on the floor in the chancel and nave. Most of these are also memorials to the Poley family. The church also has a small organ with one keyboard and five different sounds. It was built by Bevington.
Outside the Churchyard
The churchyard is the area around the church. It holds the war grave of an airman who died in World War II.
See also
