At the sign of the Barking lion...

St Mary, Little Wratting

At the sign of the Barking lion...

 

www.suffolkchurches.com - a journey through the churches of Suffolk

 


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Hmm... a dedication stone from somewhere.

Very curious. To the left is the roodstair, but the right hand buttress is probably something to do with the 16th century Turnour chapel.

Pleasantly 19th century - the chancel. A survivor from a Turnour memorial sits on the windowsill.

The chancel again.

 

How very Essex. Little Wratting on its ancient mound.

On the map, this appears a tiny, remote place, down a narrow lane lost in the hills of south-west Suffolk. In realitiy, we are a few hundred yards from the offensive bulk of a vast pig slaughtering and processing complex. In the other direction, the industrial battlements of Haverhill shimmer on the horizon.

But the graveyard is a peaceful place, and planning regulations keep the pig murderers at arm's length - for now, anyway. The graves are sparse, suggesting some 20th century clearance, but the whole piece is pleasantly Victorian in character; this belies the fact that we are on a hill-top in a circular churchyard, and so probably in an ancient place.

Also suggestive of origins far back in the mists of time is the dedication stone placed above the south door. The writing appears Saxon, although the meaning is unclear. Such things are common elsewhere, but most unusual in East Anglia. We may well conclude that it did not come from here originally, but was purchased by some enthusiastic antiquarian and put in place when the church was restored in the 19th century. The door beneath, which we may safely assume is original I think, is probably 12th century, wood, iron and all.

Fortunately, the porch that shelters these is open, because if they were inside the church you would not see them. The door was firmly locked, and no keyholder was listed. It felt a rather unloved place, although recent notices in the porch suggested that it hasn't been abandoned completely yet.

Mortlock recalls that inside I missed 15th century benches, fragments of 14th century glass and the screen. One great curiosity which you can see through the south windows is that there is a fragment of arcading set in the north-west corner of the chancel, just beside the chancel arch. This is a tiny survival of a chantry chapel that once stood to the north of the chancel, dedicated to the Turnour family, but demolished in the early 18th century. The kneeling woman on a fragment of stone that you can see in the left hand column sitting on a window ledge is probably from one of the Turnour memorials.

St Mary, Little Wratting is on a hilltop above the Bernard Matthews factory just to the north of Kedington. I found it locked without a keyholder.


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