St Mary's Church, Chilton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Chilton |
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St Mary's Church seen from the northwest
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| OS grid reference | TL889423 |
| Location | Chilton, Suffolk |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | St Mary's Church, Chilton, Suffolk |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Mary |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Designated | 23 March 1961 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Perpendicular Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Flint nave, chancel and porch; brick tower and north chapel |
St Mary's Church is an old church in Chilton, Suffolk, England. It's a very special building, protected as a Grade I listed building. This means it's super important historically! The Churches Conservation Trust now looks after it.
The church is about 500 meters (or 550 yards) south of the old Tudor Chilton Hall. It's also about 2 kilometers (or 1.25 miles) east of Sudbury town center. Farmland surrounds the church to the north and east. To the south and west, you'll find the Sudbury bypass and some newer buildings.
Contents
History of St Mary's Church
The main parts of the church, called the nave and chancel, were built in the 1400s. They are made from Flint, a type of stone. This building style is known as Perpendicular Gothic. The south porch, which is like an entrance hall, is also made of flint. It has brick corners, called quoins, for strength and decoration.
Later Additions and Changes
Later, in the 1500s, more parts were added to the church. These include the Crane chapel, a special room north of the chancel, and the tall tower on the west side. A new window, in the Tudor style, was also put into the nave. All these additions from the 1500s are made of brick.
The Crane Chapel and Family Tombs
The Crane chapel was built as a chantry chapel. This was a place where special prayers were said for the dead. It holds the tombs of George Crane, who died in 1491, and Robert Crane, who died in 1500, and his wife. On George Crane's tomb, there is a stone statue of him lying down. This statue is made of alabaster, a smooth, white stone.
After the English Reformation, the chapel became the Crane family's mausoleum. A mausoleum is a building that holds the tombs of a family. A large monument to Sir Robert Crane and his two wives was added to the wall. Sir Robert died in 1643, but he had this monument carved much earlier, in 1626, by an artist named Gerard Christmas.
The Church's Later Life
By the 1970s, the small number of people living in Chilton parish could no longer afford to keep the church open. The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich decided to combine the church's duties with another church nearby. St Mary's was then declared "redundant," meaning it was no longer needed for regular services. In the 1980s, the church building was given to the Churches Conservation Trust. This trust helps to look after old churches that are no longer used for worship.
Architecture of the Church
The tall west tower of the church has strong brick buttresses on its corners. Buttresses are supports that help hold up the walls. Both the tower and the nave (the main part of the church) have flint battlements. These are the decorative, castle-like tops of the walls. The tower also has pointed decorations called crocketted pinnacles at its four corners.
The Crane chapel has two sections, called bays. Its two northern corners have diagonal buttresses, which are also for support. The south porch has a decorative brick top, called a moulded parapet.
See also
