Covehithe

St Andrew, Covehithe

A church within a church - St Andrew in the shell of its former self.

The great churches of the north Suffolk coast are in various states of survival, according to the fortunes of history. Southwold is the complete municipal church, wonderful in nearly every respect. Blythburgh has been pulled back from the brink, a stunningly beautiful space fitted perfectly for the spiritual aesthetics of the late 20th century. Covehithe is the third church in this triangle of huge churches, but one needs to visit the others first to fully appreciate what was once here.

St Andrew is a ruin now. All that remains is a vast curtain of walling, which is almost complete. It dwarfs the tiny later church within the shell. The eastern end is especially impressive, with the rood loft stairs in the north wall still accessible, and what was clearly a vaulted crypt in the chancel.

"Enoch Girling put it out" - that is to say, he was one of the two churchwardens who put out the contract for the building of the new church, where you'll find this plaque on the south wall.

This church was rebuilt at about the same time as Southwold and Blythburgh. As at Blythburgh, an earlier tower was incorporated. This tower still survives today. The rest of the church, however, was derelicted in 1672 by the local people. This was not out of any malicious intent; rather, the upkeep of such a great church placed too great a burden on such a tiny village at a time when public worship was a low-key and rather sober affair.

It was a question of priorities, and a reminder that these great churches were not designed solely for congregational worship.

So, they got permission to remove the roof, and built the much smaller church against the west tower. Something similar happened at Walberswick, just the other side of Southwold.

The rood loft stair in the north wall of the old church, framed by two great windows. The stairway is some way back from what is apparently the chancel arch, suggesting that this was merely the sanctuary.

Dowsing had visited the church in the 1640s, and destroyed about 200 images in stained glass, but there is no suggestion that he had anything to do with the condition you find the old church in today - and, of course, the other interior devotional objects had been destroyed 100 years before Dowsing.

Inside the tiny new church, which is thatched, the original font is preserved. The little memorials either side of the communion rail are to those who 'put it out' - ie, put out the contract for the building. Unless one is a historian of the late 17th century, there isn't a lot to see in here. Of more interest is the external east wall, where you can find numerous lumps of masonry built into the base from the old church, including some decorated carvings, perhaps from shrines, piscinas and sedilias. These are rather mournful, if dwelt upon.

Much better to be about in the wild shell that surrounds it. Come here on a wild day in Autumn or Winter. These ruins are a more primitive affair than the similarly preserved ruins of the Abbey at Bury, or of Stanton St John. The tower is a very fine one, and was once an important landmark for ships at sea. Trinity House once ensured its survival, but nowadays the tower is in the care of the Redundant Churches fund, as are the ruins. The church itself, however, is not redundant, and still maintains regular services.

Covehithe itself is a lonely place, on the way to or from nowhere, and it contrasts greatly with busy Southwold and genteel Blythburgh.

Enjoy it while you can, because in 50 years time this church will not be here. By then, the sea will have carried it away, to join its Dunwich neighbours to the north.

St Andrew, Covehithe, lies 2 miles east of the A12 near Wrentham, and is clearly signposted. The new church is open everyday - the ruins are always open.

The great west tower - a beacon to ships at sea.

Faintly absurd in its setting - but look out for the moving relics of the former church in this wall.