Skip to content
The Great Britain Guide

Historic churches · East of England

St Mary's Church, Kersey

Norman & medievalFree admission

St Mary's Church, Kersey — church in Kersey, Suffolk, England, UK.

St Mary's Church, Kersey, historic churches in Suffolk

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
30 min–1 h
  • Free entry

About

St Mary's Church, Kersey is a historic church in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1350. Heritage designation: Grade I listed building. Affiliated with Anglicanism. Wikidata describes it as: "church in Kersey, Suffolk, England, UK". Coordinates: 52.0577°, 0.9189°.

Photo gallery

Heritage listing

Details KERSEY CHURCH HILL 1. 5377 (east side) Church of St Mary TM 04 SW 42/425 23.1.58 I GV 2. A C14 and C15 flint and stone church standing on high ground to the south of the village. The north aisle was built circa 1335 and the foundations of the tower were laid. It was completed in 1481. The west tower is of 4 stages with diagonal buttresses, a castellated parapet with flint chequerwork, and an octagonal stair turret. It forms a prominent landmark. The south porch has 2 bays with buttresses rising to crocketted pinnacles, chequerwork panels on the front and a castellated parapet with chequerwork. The ceiling has moulded and carved beams and carved panels. The north porch is similar but less elaborate. The chancel was rebuilt in 1862. The nave roof has hammer beams alternating with tie beams with arched braces meeting in the centre. The interior fittings include 2 fonts, one of the C12 and another of the C15, a C15 lectern and chancel screen. The north aisle has a defaced stone carved frieze. Listing NGR: TM0020743946 Legacy The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system. Legacy System number: 276573 Legacy System: LBS

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

St Mary's Church is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Kersey, Suffolk.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The oldest parts of the church date to the twelfth century. A reconstruction of the church is thought to have started with the north aisle which was joined to the nave by an arcade and completed in 1335. Work then started on the tower, but was delayed by the outbreak of the black death in 1349. The tower was completed in 1481 and the north and south porches were then added.

Description

In medieval times St Mary's was an important site of pilgrimage with a shrine filling the whole north aisle. This survived Henry VIII's dissolution programme but was destroyed around the time of the Civil War. On 8 March 2020 the shrine was re-hallowed and more information can be found at www.kerseychurch.org The newly re-hallowed Shrine and church is host to arts and music events. Jazz evenings take place twice a year, classical music concerts, film evenings, dances and various other events happen regularly. The co-ordinator can be reached at kerseychurch.org/fosm The Shrine was rehallowed in the presence of Leading Aircraftman Dougie Vince. The bomber on which he served as a flight…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
52.0577, 0.9189
County
Suffolk
District
Babergh
Parish
Kersey
Postcode
IP7 6EF
Parliamentary constituency
South Suffolk
Established
1350

Sources

Other places nearby

Loading nearby places…

Nearby

Other places from this era

More places in this region

Frequently asked questions

Where is St Mary's Church, Kersey?
St Mary's Church, Kersey is in Suffolk, East of England, United Kingdom (postcode IP7 6EF), in the parish of Kersey.
When was St Mary's Church, Kersey built?
Built or established in 1350.
Is St Mary's Church, Kersey a listed building?
St Mary's Church, Kersey is officially recognised as Grade I listed building listed.
Is St Mary's Church, Kersey free to visit?
Yes, St Mary's Church, Kersey is free to enter.
How do I get to St Mary's Church, Kersey?
Drivers can navigate to postcode IP7 6EF. It sits within the South Suffolk parliamentary constituency.