St Mary the Virgin East Bergholt

Any visitor to Suffolk is thoroughly spoilt for choice when it comes to discovering old, curious churches, some of them exceptionally huge & impressive for their very rural locations. St. Mary's, East Bergholt, is something else again, not only does it impress outwardly by its sheer size, but it contains & is surrounded by all sorts of curiosities. It's open to the public & has something of a museum feel about it, with such features as scale models of the church & bellcage, as well as local history documents. St. Mary's provides full information about what unique features to look for, both inside & outside. There are numerous souvenirs available to buy in aid of church funds to maintain this venerable building. St. Mary the Virgin is famous for having no belltower, but the full peal of bells are located in the churchyard, in a rustic wooden cage. Also in the churchyard are the graves of John Constable's parents (tomb in corner near Memorial Garden), his lifelong influential friend, mentor & fellow artist, Johnny Dunthorne (tomb near the red-brick wall), as well as Willy Lott (gravestone near the southern church wall), the bachelor farmer whose home the painter immortalised in 'The Haywain'. The elaborate church porch with small overhead priest's room, was once painted in detail by Constable. His study was notable for the attention to detail of the sundial, kept maintained by John Dunthorne's father. It bears a Latin inscription; "Life is alike shadow". Period photos reveal that this stubby stonework aspect of the building was once almost hidden by rampant Ivy. St. Mary's is well known for its so-called 'Wolsey Tower', despite its construction never having been completed. When the original tower collapsed, Cardinal Wolsey, (who came from nearby Ipswich), was approached to fund the rebuild. Thomas Wolsey was regarded as the second most influential man in England, after King Henry 8th. However, following his fall from grace with the monarch, Wolsey went to prison, where he soon died, so his tower for St. Mary's was never realised. The resulting bellcage was only intended to be a temporary home for the bells, but remains in use on-site, nearly half a millennia later. St. Mary's is located in central East Bergholt, on the sharp corner with the T-junction to Flatford. The churchyard runs up to the old red-brick wall, separating the site from another of former ecclesiastical purpose, Old Hall.
Mar 20th, 2023

Fantastic church with its unique bell cage in the graveyard grounds well worth the time to visit and look around this fascinating church
Jan 17th, 2023

Wonderful church. Very unusual gate, and the bell cage too. Fascinating.
Jan 14th, 2023

Absolutely Beautiful Church
Dec 10th, 2022

Oct 22nd, 2022