Monday 29 November 2021

St. Mary's Church in Hadleigh

 St Mary's Church in Hadleigh is a very large church, another one funded by the importance of wool in the past.

Below is a photo of a postcard of the church which I bought because.............................

.........this is how it looked when I visited a couple of weeks ago
 


lots of repairs going on under what is the oldest spire in the county which is 71 foot tall on top of the 64 foot tower.

Zooming into see the clock with bell cast around 1280


 The church gets a mention in the 100 treasures book because of it's magnificent ancient carving of the wolf with the head of King Edmund. The wolf is thought to be a caricature of the clergy at the time.

 It's much bigger than many pew end carvings although I have seen smaller ones elsewhere and probably dates from the C14. BUT if you follow the link at the end of the post Simon Knott thinks it is something different.

The large church has many stained glass windows and several include dedications for the person in who's memory they were made.




 

In the window below each panel is for a separate  person


A more modern window on the north aisle


 This photo below show how large and wide this town church  is


 In the south chapel the window tells the story of Rowland Taylor who was burned to death in 1555 by Catholic Queen Mary because of his enthusiasm for the previous Protestant religion


This wooden cross has a  board explaining it once held the weather cock on top of the spire



Many more photos and a much fuller explanation of everything in the church is on Simon Knott's Suffolk Churches website HERE
 
I took a few other photos that didn't come out very clearly so haven't included them
 
Back Tomorrow
Sue

15 comments:

  1. Nice photos. In 1555 Queen Mary was reigning in England and had many heads chopped off. Queen Ann reigned from 1665 – 1714. Have a great day, Valerie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whoops - how did I get that wrong when I was just copying the note! - I've corrected it - Thank you

      Delete
    2. You're welcome. We had to learn all of the kings and queens and their dates when I was at school!

      Delete
  2. Lovely photos. I think the church is in a lovely setting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful photos and how different when the sun is shinning. So much interesting in the inside of the church.
    Took back memories of Hadleigh.
    Hazel 🌈🌈

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful church but those horrible chairs! Whatever happened to the pews? (I see a few in the side aisles.) I loved the old box pews in a church you featured recently.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful church such craftsmanship But being burned for a difference in religion yikes although people are still killing each other in the name of religion.
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a fascinating church Sue. Many thanks for including this one. As for martyrdom- Bishop Robert Ferrar was also burned at the stake for his (Lutheran) faith in Nott Square in Carmarthen, in 1555. Bloody Mary had a lot to answer for.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice to see it's undergoing renovations, rather than being left to slowly fade away. The church windows are beautiful! --Elise

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have never seen pew ends that large! The modern stained glass is stunning. Arilx

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is a magnificent church. I also want to know where the rows of pews are? I'm hoping the pews are out for some maintenance and this is why we see chairs. The stained glass windows are very expansive and the color of the glass is deep and vibrant. Sunday service at this church must be lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's a beautiful place and lovely that the original features like the weather cock cross have been maintained and displayed so well - I love a bit of stained glass - your pictures are great, showing really deep colours.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I keep returning to the pics of this church. Beautiful stained glass and the wolf with the head carving really grips my attention.

    ReplyDelete