St Mary's Church, Hadleigh

St Mary, Hadleigh
St Mary's from the south, 2024
St Mary, Hadleigh is located in Suffolk
St Mary, Hadleigh
Location in Suffolk
52°02′37″N 0°57′11″E / 52.043484°N 0.95318139°E / 52.043484; 0.95318139
LocationHadleigh, Suffolk
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
Websitestmaryshadleigh.co.uk
History
StatusParish church
Foundedc. 878–890
FounderGuthrum (reputed)
DedicationSaint Mary
Architecture
Functional status
Active
Heritage designation
Grade I
Designated26 April 1950
Architectural type
Norman
StylePerpendicular Gothic (mostly)[1]
Specifications
Length163 feet (50 m)[1]
Widthc.66 feet (20 m)[2]
Height135 feet (41 m) (top of spire)[1]
Administration
ProvinceCanterbury
DioceseSt Edmundsbury and Ipswich
ArchdeaconryIpswich
DeaneryHadleigh
ParishBenefice of Hadleigh, Layham & Shelley
Clergy
RectorThe Very Revd Jo Delfgou[3]

St Mary's is an Anglican church in Hadleigh, Suffolk. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and the archdeaconry of Ipswich. Its earliest parts date from medieval times; it is a Grade I listed building and is considered to be "a stunning wool church".[2]

History and architecture

The church is built of flint rubble with ashlar surrounds. It has 14th-century aisles, an aisled nave and chancel, a western tower, a two-storey south porch and a north vestry. It has been described as "a stunning wool church".[2] In the first half of the 15th century, the wealth of the town arose from wool cloth and the church was one of the first wool churches to be rebuilt in that period.[2][4]

The church has a leaded spire and roofs. The broach spire is 71 feet (22 m) tall, giving a total height of 135 feet (41 m). Described by Simon Jenkins as "bold",[5] it is twisted, caused by warping of its timber framework. Dating from the early 14th century, it is probably the earliest surviving spire in the county.[6] Its lead was last replaced in 1926.[2]

In the 15th century all the windows were renewed, apart from those in the tower; additionally the arcades were rebuilt and the northeast vestry, south porch and clerestory were all added. The church received extensive restorations during both the 19th century and the early 20th century.[7]

On 26 April 1950 the church was designated a Grade I listed building. Its listing by Historic England records the principal reasons for designation as its size, the quality of its late-medieval architecture and its interior.[8][7][2][9][10]

Setting

St Mary's churchyard is the site of the town's "most spectacular buildings".[11] The church sits roughly at the centre, and the boundary is delineated by Church Walk. Directly opposite the church's west end stands Deanery Tower. Contemporaneous with the reconstruction of the church, the tower dates from the late 15th century and was built by William Pykenham, Archdeacon of Suffolk and rector at Hadleigh.[a][14] Pykenham intended the tower as a self-sufficient gatehouse to the parsonage which stood closer to the river. It is constructed in red brick.[11] James Bettley and Nikolaus Pevsner, in their Suffolk: West volume in the Buildings of England series, draw parallels with the gatehouse at Oxburgh Hall.[11] Deanery Tower is a Grade I listed building.[15]

The Guildhall or Market Hall stands to the south of the church, across from the graveyard. A timber-framed building of two and three storeys, it dates from the middle of the 15th century.[16] It also has a Grade I listing.[17] The Deanery abuts Deanery Tower and dates from the early 19th century, although the style is Tudor in emulation of the tower.[18] It is a Grade II* listed building.[19]

The church is the subject of a painting by Sir Thomas Gainsborough produced in about 1748. Commissioned by the rector, Rev. Thomas Tanner, following renovations in the 1740s, it was painted on a large 6-foot (1.8 m) canvas by the young Gainsborough, with assistance from Joshua Kirby. The boys playing marbles on a tomb allude to a similar scene in Hogarth's Industry and Idleness which was published in 1747.[20]

Administration

St Mary's is an active parish church in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and the archdeaconry of Ipswich. It is part of the benefice of Hadleigh, Layham & Shelley.[21]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Charles Tracy, in a paper on Pykenham prepared for the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology & History, suggests that an unidentified tomb in St Mary's may be Pykenham's own.[12][13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bettley & Pevsner 2015, p. 272.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tricker, Roy (2011). "St Mary's Church Hadleigh: Its History and Treasures" (PDF). Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Hadleigh, Layham & Shelley Benefice - Timeline". Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Hadleigh St Mary". angelsandpinnacles.org.uk. 2026. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Jenkins, Simon (2000). England's Thousand Best Churches. Penguin Books. p. 653. ISBN 978-0-141-03930-5.
  6. ↑ "Hadleigh, Layham & Shelley Benefice - History". Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Hadleigh, Layham & Shelley Benefice - The Interior". Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Mary, Hadleigh (Grade I) (1036820)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "Provincial. Hadley, Suffolk". Musical News. XIV. London: Robert Cocks & Co.: 504 21 May 1898. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "St Mary's Church – Slow Collapse or Future Renewal?". InTouch. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 Bettley & Pevsner 2015, p. 276.
  12. ↑ Tracy 2007, pp. 296–299.
  13. ↑ "Pykenham, William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/98412. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  14. ↑ Tracy 2007, pp. 272–273.
  15. ↑ Historic England. "Deanery Tower (Grade I) (1194031)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  16. ↑ Bettley & Pevsner 2015, p. 274.
  17. ↑ Historic England. "Hadleigh Guildhall (Grade I) (1194046)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Bettley & Pevsner 2015, p. 278.
  19. ↑ Historic England. "The Deanery, Hadleigh Tower (Grade II*) (1194061)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  20. ↑ James Hamilton (2017), "10. Go over the face very curiously", Gainsborough : A Portrait, ISBN 9781474600538
  21. ↑ "Hadleigh, Layham & Shelley Benefice - Who we are". stmaryshadleigh.co.uk.

Sources

Further reading

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