St Mary's Church, Redgrave

2013-06-26

A Gothic gem with tombs, statues and churchyard skulls

Five centuries of parishioners have worshipped at St Mary’s, a vast country church set in open fields.

Everything is on a grand scale: the east window is stunning, with glorious stained-glass images of saints and angels. The collection of hatchments and monuments is of national importance.

Tombs have life-size statues in elaborate 17th-century fashions and there are 13 hatchments – wood and canvas coats of arms – more than any other church in Suffolk.

The north-east brick vestry is a rare survival from the 16th-century, and a wander round the churchyard reveals many 18th-century gravestones, some with little carved skulls peeping over the top.