Monday, 4 August 2025

St Mary's Church, Brome

 This is another of those churches that is really 'just up the road' and I wonder why I've not been before.

It has an unusual round tower and inside are some things not often seen in small village churches and Brome really is a very small village.


In from the road through the lovely Lych Gate


Looking very different to many village churches

Fantastic flint work. Below is a curious bit outside  between tower and nave 


Usually the font is straight ahead when entering but this is different - it's in the base of the round tower


Looking down the nave to the altar


Yet another Suffolk church with memories of the USAF who were based on one of the many airfields here during WWII


Mother and child


Very unusual and  ornate Victorian stone pulpit


More carved stone on the Reredos behind the altar and the altar rail. The sculptural work was all done by Thomas Jekyll a well known sculptor of the time.
(editing in to say that I made a mistake here and Jekyll was the designer and James Williams the Ipswich sculptor. Thank you Ang for making me check!)



Carved tombs more suited to one of the much bigger town churches, dating from 1544




All the tombs and memorials are for parts of the Cornwallis family who were a powerful and  important family at  the end of the Medieval period and into Elizabeth 1st reign.





This is a beautiful stained glass window with an usual design for a small village church



 



More of the history and more photos HERE - Simon Knott's  Suffolk Churches website.

Back Soon







32 comments:

  1. A lovely post. Thomas Jekyll is the Norfolk guy who designed the fabulous gates at Sandringham [the place where people laid all their flowers after the Queens death 3 years ago]

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    1. Thank you for making me check the facts. I was in a hurry writing and didn't research properly

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    2. I wonder if he's related to Gertrude Jekyll of gardening fame?

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  2. Lots of interesting features in this one. I always find flint work attractive.

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  3. I don't think I have ever seen a village church with a round tower before. Very unusual!

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    1. Norfolk has the most and then Suffolk. I've visited several now

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  4. What a truly fabulous church. Beautiful.

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  5. What an amazing church in such a small village. The stained glass is my favourite part. Catriona

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  6. That Lych Gate is lovely, and why on earth does that little bit between the tower and the knave remind me of an owl!!

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  7. That is such an interesting church, full of hidden delights.The rose window is beautiful.

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    1. It's more like something from a bigger church

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  8. Another beautiful and intriguing church, TQ
    Alison in Devon x

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  9. In your "spare time" you could write a history of how this little gem came to be. Or you could write a historical novel about it. I am gifted in identifying projects for other people, glad to share with you.

    Ceci

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    1. Someone should write a historical novel about it but not me!

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  10. The detailed flint work and the design really does set this church apart. The Lynch gate with walls on either side immediately sets expectations. I've never seen an alter with sculptures like this and the view of the alter is lovely with the Nave set aside. The numerous tombs are unusual too.
    The church almost seems a little museum-like. A real treasure.
    Thank you for a great introduction!

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    1. It's such an unusual church for a small village

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  11. Beautiful church. Those stained windows are so pretty and that one entrance outside between tower and nave is interesting. I wonder why that is there? Boy we sure don’t have churches like that here - with the exception of the California missions. So much history in many of your old churches.

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    1. We are so lucky to have all this history in every village

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  12. It’s rather lovely and full of so much history. I always think that lych gates are an interesting addition too,

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  13. What an amazing church! I do love the tower.

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  14. What an amazing church for such a small village. The stained glass is amazing.

    God bless.

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  15. What a pretty church, both inside and out. When I saw the font, I thought, there's money in this village - an important family who invested in their church and indeed, that appears to be the case. The reredos and pulpit must have cost a king's ransom to sculpt. Some rather posh tombs too. Well worth a visit.

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  16. Interesting church, don't see many with round towers around here. That Reredos is something else

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