Help Conserve a Historic Church Window in Washbrook, Suffolk

Preserving a Much-Loved Suffolk Church

St Mary’s Church is a beautiful Grade II listed building set in a tranquil, rural setting just outside Ipswich. Originally Norman and largely rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries, the church is rich in historic detail, including fine stone carvings, elegant window tracery, canopied stalls, a piscina, sedilia and an Easter Sepulchre. A sensitive Victorian restoration by Edmund Buckton Lamb in 1866 added the roofs, benches, stained glass and baptistry that visitors admire today.

Since being vested to the Churches Conservation Trust in 1993, St Mary’s welcomes hundreds of visitors each year who come to enjoy its peaceful atmosphere and remarkable heritage.

The Window Repair Project

The project focuses on the second window in the south nave, a three-light Perpendicular Gothic window set within a deep, angled stone reveal typical of the 15th century rebuilding phase which was seen in many Suffolk churches. Glazed mainly with clear diamond quarries, the window fills the church with light and features delicate heraldic and symbolic panels in the tracery.

Following senseless vandalism, the lower section of the right-hand main light was badly damaged. To protect the interior, the window has sadly been boarded over ever since, casting a shadow on what is otherwise a bright and joyous church and diminishing visitors’ experience of this peaceful space.

Specialist conservators Devlin Plummer Stained Glass Ltd, based near Norwich, have assessed the damage and recommended careful dismantling of the affected section only. The panel will be releaded, with missing or broken glass replaced on a like-for-like basis, before being reassembled, re-cemented and reinstated to restore its stability and weatherproofing.