St Mary's Church, Washbrook facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Washbrook |
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St Mary's Church, Washbrook, from the south
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| OS grid reference | TM 110 426 |
| Location | Washbrook, Suffolk |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 22 February 1955 |
| Architect(s) | Edmund Buckton Lamb (restoration) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 12th century |
| Completed | 1866 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Flint with some brick and stone dressings, tiled roof |
St Mary's Church is an old Anglican church in the village of Washbrook, Suffolk, England. It's not used for regular church services anymore, which means it's a "redundant" church. This special building is protected as a Grade II* listed building because of its history and beauty. The Churches Conservation Trust looks after it. You can find it in a quiet spot in the countryside, about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Ipswich.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
The oldest parts of St Mary's Church were built way back in the 1100s (the 12th century). But most of what you see today was built later, in the 1300s (the 14th century). In 1866, the church got a big makeover. This "restoration" was led by an architect named Edmund Buckton Lamb. During this time, a new room called a baptistry was added on the north side.
What the Church Looks Like
Outside the Church
St Mary's is built mostly from flint stones and some brick. It also has stone decorations. The roof is covered with special tiles that are red and black, laid in a pattern like fish scales. The church has a main hall called a nave and a smaller area for the altar called a chancel. There's a porch on the south side and a small room (vestry) and baptistry on the north.
The tower on the west side is made of flint and has three levels. The top of the tower has a brick battlement (like a castle wall). There are strong supports called buttresses on the corners. A small stair turret (a mini-tower) is on the southeast corner. This turret has narrow vertical openings.
Near the bottom of the tower, you can see a cool pattern of stone and flint in a checkerboard design. On the west side of the tower, there's a large window from the 1800s. You'll also find single openings for bells on the north, west, and south sides.
The south porch was added in the 1800s. It's made of wood on a base of brick and flint. Its roof also has the same banded tiles as the main church. This porch leads to the main door, which was built in the 1800s but looks like it's from the 1300s.
The walls of the nave and chancel also have a special band of stone and flint panels. To the left of the porch, there's a window with fancy stone patterns called tracery. To its right, there's a small, narrow window, which might be from the 1100s. Other windows on the south side were added in the 1800s. The east end of the church has diagonal buttresses. The large east window, also from the 1800s, has three sections. The windows on the north side of the church look similar to those on the south.
Inside the Church
Inside the church, the stone carvings in the chancel are very beautiful. These carvings are found in the six-part arcades (arches), the window tracery, and the special seats with canopies for the clergy. You can also see a sedilia (seats for priests) and a piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels). There's even an Easter sepulchre, which was used in medieval times for Easter rituals.
In the baptistry, there's a font from the 1400s. This font has an eight-sided bowl. It stands on pillars that have four carved lions. Under the bowl, you can see carvings of angels holding shields, mixed with roses and acanthus-like leaves.
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