Beccles

St Michael, Beccles

Beccles is the most urban of all Suffolk's small towns. It is the seventh largest; but its industrialisation, and the large rural catchment around it, make it seem much bigger than it actually is.

Another part of this illusion is maintained by the sheer scale of St Michael's church, and the accompanying bell tower. St Michael is the only church in Suffolk other than St Andrew, Bramfield, to have a bell tower separate from the body of the church. But the situation is quite different. At Bramfield, the round tower is ancient, and the more recent church was probably built away from it for want of solid foundations.

St Michael's wonderful belfry, a landmark over the Waveney.

Here, St Michael was built first, without a tower. A bequest of 1369 by Robert de Mutford left money for building the 'new church', and the porch, which we'll come to in a moment, was the result of a 1455 will. But in the early 16th century, in a display of piety, power and civic pride, the great square belfry was built to the south east. Solid, faced in stone and lined in brick, it rises almost 100 ft above the street. Apparently, the view from the top is tremendous (and I'm rather hoping that this entry gets me an invitation up there, actually).

The parapet was never built; the Reformation intervened. But why was it built here at all?

The obvious place, at the west end of the nave, is marshy, and the ground falls away to the river. And another reason, of course, is that its actual location is grander and more prominent, set on the side of the former market place.

It is a fine sight to behold, but has suffered from traffic these last 50 years.

The parish could no longer afford its upkeep, and in the 1970s it was sold off to the Borough for the nominal sum of one penny. Unfortunately, they also seem unable to provide for its welfare, and this year it appeared on the 'Buildings at Risk' register for the first time.

We walk westwards of the tower into St Michael's graveyard. it is worthwhile comparing the setting here with that of St Peter and St Mary, Stowmarket, a similarly urban church. There, the graves have been cleared, to create a public space. But the result is a dull, bland dog exercise yard. Here, the gravestones create a setting which is beautiful and worthy.

The great south porch, with its turret beyond.

If St Michael did not have its great bell tower, it would be famous for its south porch. It dominates the whole of the south side, rising above the south aisle on two storeys. It is one of the biggest medieval porches in all Suffolk. Inside, bosses depict incidents in the ministry of Christ. Outside, Marian imagery and heraldry of Bury Abbey survive.

The other interesting feature of the south side is also most curious. It sits against the south wall of the chancel, and looks like a mini-vestry. The door is an entrance to an undercroft, converted for use as offices and public rooms. But the fascinating feature is above. A now blocked doorway leads onto a parapet, an outdoor pulpit, apparently. At one time outdoor pulpits were common, and some preaching crosses survive which marked their location. But no other Suffolk church has one which is actually attached to the side of the building.

And so, I think this may be Victorian counterfeit. The blocked doorway matches one on the north side, except that there, it is the entrance to the rood loft stair turret. I suspect that the demolition of a derelict turret, and the need to provide an entrance to the undercroft, provided the Victorians with a chance to make the church even more medieval than it already was. But I'm prepared to be convinced otherwise.

The outdoor pulpit above the entrance to the undercroft. But all is possibly not as it seems.

Stepping into the church, we see that St Michael is big. Very big. But that's about it, really. A terrible fire, on the night of November 29th 1586, completely destroyed the church, along with 80 adjacent houses. Almost all is rebuilt, or at least reconditioned. The screen is early 20th century, the roof a functional affair from the 17th century, all the other furnishings Victorian. Hardly anything survives from before the Reformation, except the font. This is a cheap and cheerful Purbeck marble job of the 13th century, familiar from many a tiny village church, with its greenish stone and carved blank arcades. It seems rather unusual in such a big church, so perhaps the original font was destroyed in the fire, and this may have come from the now-vanished church of St Mary at the other end of the High Street.

St Michael looking east. It's very big.

The aisles and clerestory are grand enough, but it is all solidly municipal and Victorian, and it is hard to see St Michael as anything other than the rather sombre CofE parish church it has become.

Mind you, some Suffolk churches have managed that without a fire.

St Michael, Beccles, is located right in the centre of town. Beccles itself is where the A145 and 146 meet, about ten miles west of Lowestoft. I have never found this church locked.