Kelsale

St Mary and St Peter, Kelsale

Saxmundham may not be the most attractive of Suffolk's small towns, but Kelsale is a lovely suburb. The old village centre of Kelsale, protected by County planning policy, still has a convincingly rural feel, and the church on the hill contributes to this.

Sheer delight. E.S. Prior's definitive Arts and Crafts lychgate.

Your first sight, walking up from the old High Street and crossing the bridge over the stream, is E. S. Prior's magnificent lychgate of about 1890, probably the single finest Arts and Crafts movement structure in the whole of Suffolk. Mortlock, with uncharacteristic understatement, describes it as 'one of the best in Suffolk'. One wonders where there's anything else that comes even close; just Prior's work at Brantham, perhaps.

The south aisle, with the tower at its west end.

On stepping through it, St Mary and St Peter looks rather curious, with the tower at the west end of the south aisle, as at Westhall.

It is so for similar reasons; a large new nave was built to the north of the old on in the 14th century. it has to be said that the church is not wholly successful in its current form; it really is rather an awkward shape now, and the battlements and pinnacles on the tower are rather vulgar.

However, this is a bit harsh, I think, because the wide and wild graveyard, with its enormous number of trees, softens everything.

In addition, the 15th century porch is superb, and somehow a shield with the instruments of passion on it has survived in the spandrels.

The south aisle was lengthened in the late 19th century with the addition of a reading room, intended for the education of children, and their accomodation during services. As we shall see, it is still used for both these purposes.

So, we step through into the west end of the nave, and enter a gorgeous open space, cleared of all clutter; stone flags on the floor, and glorious light flooding in through the massive west window. The great font sits on the stone flagged floor; it is of typical Suffolk design, but of quite different proportions, as though a giant hand had squashed it.

The font melts like a ripe cheese in front of Shaw's reredos.

The former reredos sits below this window; installed in the 1870s by Norman Shaw, it cut off much of the east window, and was moved, firstly to the side of the chancel, and then to its current position. It bears some examination, especially the way that the Old and New Testament stories match each other across the crucifixion.

From the 1870 reredos: the Tree of Knowledge (OT)...

...and the Tree of Life (NT).

Turning east, we get another delightful surprise, for the restoration of this church was carried out under Prior's direction, in the Arts and Crafts style. The benches are jolly garden furniture, and they face an exquisite screen of wrought iron and brass, reminding me of the parclose screens at Lowestoft Our Lady Star of the Sea.

The screen is surmounted by Prior's jewel-like rood group; bronze figures shocked into relief by their wrought iron settings, angels that mount either side of a firmament of stars, dizzy in the space.

The rood group.

Glass in the nave includes splendid work by William Morris, Ford Madox Brown and Edward Byrne-Jones. The great pulpit is 17th century, and was famous enough to serve as a model for the one at Aldeburgh. At the east end of the south aisle sits its upturned tester, now a table surrounded by chairs. On the window sill behind stands a quaint Victorian reminder that 'there is a time to speak, and a time to keep silent'.

The curious dedication of the church is, obviously enough, a 20th century invention, like the same at Barham and Stowmarket. Here, the previous (19th century) dedication to St Mary has subsumed the dedication of the adjacent parish of Carlton. The medieval dedication of the church was probably to the Assumption.

This lush interior is not to be missed; along with Star of the Sea, this is as fine a document as East Anglia has of the Arts and Crafts movement.

St Mary and St Peter, Kelsale, is located at the northern end of Saxmundham's urban sprawl, in the heart of the old village centre. I found it open.