St Mary's Church, Redgrave, Suffolk

A Gothic Gem

St Mary’s, Redgrave (Grade I Listed) is separated from the current village of Redgrave by about 1km and stands as an aloof Gothic sentinel on its rise above the Suffolk countryside.  It is a substantial medieval church built mostly in Decorated Gothic between c. 1280-1350 and includes some much renovated reticulated tracery in the chancel windows and north side of the nave. The south aisle and clerestory are later Perpendicular additions and the brick-built west tower is 18th century. The interior includes extremely fine quatrefoil arcade piers with slender shafts and fillets in the diagonals and there is also an ornate Perpendicular triple sedilia with canted canopies and lierne-vaulting inside. The hammer-beam roof is also a medieval original and the general ambience inside the church is one of stately, if slightly overblown, medieval grandeur.

Tomb Monuments and Hatchments

In the post-medieval period the church became intimately associated with the Bacon family, and there are a series of monuments and hatchments of the family, most notably the white and black marble effigies to Nicholas Bacon and his wife Anne Butts, made in 1616 by Nicholas Stone. Also of note is the brass for Anne Butts inlaid in the chancel floor and the marble monument to Sir John Holt (d.1710) by Thomas Green. The thirteen hatchments, more than any other Suffolk church, are mostly Bacon commissions.

Repair and Conservation

Philip Orchard of Whitworth Co-Partnership architects surveyed the church in 2005 and specifications were commissioned by TCCT to divide the programme of repair and conservation into two main phases: exterior and interior. The exterior repairs were completed in September 2006 and have included major work to the drainage, stone conservation of the east window, re-roofing the vestry, replacement and repair to the ashlar facings and flint walls around both nave and chancel and a raft of smaller works of repair and consolidation. Phase II included extensive re-plastering and limewashing of the chancel and nave and a range of repairs to fittings including the pew stands and pulpit. However, the church’s interior was generally in a good state of repair and the major expenditure during Phase II was for the conservation of the monuments. This included the cleaning and consolidation of all monuments in the church and also the conservation of the hatchments, one of which is in a perilous state.

Local Support

Although there are only c.500 residents in Redgrave they have an excellent track record of initiating and supporting community activities producing a comprehensive Parish Plan in 2005 and forming the Redgrave Church Heritage Trust. TCCT has been working closely with the RCHT and held a public meeting in the church in September 2005 to explain to the 70 villagers present  the work of the TCCT, the conservation and repair plans and to reassure them about the holding of services and events. Since then the two trusts have signed a Local Management Agreement which enables the RCHT to arrange events and deal with minor problems quickly and locally. The RCHT have also worked closely with the CCT to install a toilet block in the base of the tower and a kitchenette in the SW corner of the church. This has helped to transform the church into a community venue capable of hosting a range of events, services and concerts.