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Here we are in the Brett
Valley, the prettiest part of East
Anglia, I think. Nearby Lavenham and
Kersey attract all the tourists, but I
wonder how many of them ever make it out
into these deliciously lovely villages
that huddle in the gentle hills between
Hadleigh and Stowmarket? A mile or so
from its little sister Brent
Eleigh, this village has
the grander church; but, perhaps, the
less interesting one.It certainly has a
splendid setting: this was one of the
great wool-producing villages of the
Brett Valley in late medieval days, the
busiest and richest part of England in
the 15th century. Up
from the village high street, St Peter's
powerful 15th century tower can be seen
for miles around, and it is a pleasant
foil to the mightily sombre St Peter and
St Paul, Lavenham, a couple of miles
beyond it. St Peter's tower would perhaps
be more typical of the churches of the
nearby Stour Valley, with the stair
turret climbing beyond the battlements.
It certainly makes itself known - in this
hilly country, every view is like a
painting.
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The tower sits close to the
road, with a fascinating west doorway carved with
little animals. There was a huge rebuilding here
in the late 15th century, as you might expect.
The top of the power has deliciously decorated
flushwork and a weather vane dated 1969. The
graveyard constrains the building tightly to
south and north, but then sprawls away to the
east. Looking back, you can see that the long
chancel is entirely 19th century.
You enter through the south
porch. While this part of Suffolk is well-known
for some deliciously atmospheric and historically
significant interiors, this is something
different. There was an overwhelming Victorian
restoration here in the full flush of Anglican
triumphalism, leaving a fairly urban and even
slightly anonymous feeling, although this is
obviously a well-loved and cared-for place. It
would have been interesting to see this church in
the 18th century, when it was full of box pews -
the door of one of them survives in the
south-west corner, labelled Free for Women.
Also at this end is an elegant Early English tub
font on pilasters, retaining its Perpendicular
font cover.
| The nave
was rebuilt at the time of the tower,
retaining an arcade
from an earlier church, but otherwise
being all of a Perpendicular piece. There
is a massive Queen Anne coat of arms
above the chancel arch, almost of a size
with that at Mildenhall.
In one respect it looks rather out of
place, given that we are used to seeing
them at the west end, but of course is in
its original place; they all hung above
the chancel arch in the days when the
church was considered an arm of the
state. The chancel is
wholly Victorian in construction and
character, and has some fascinating
windows by the Ward & Hughes
workshop. They depict scenes from the
life of Christ - the summoning of the
Disciples, the raising of Jairus's
daughter - but if you look closely you
will see that some of the figures in the
scenes have 19th century faces, and are
wearing 19th century clothes. These are
memorial windows to the figures worked
into the scenes, and the brass plaques
that name them are also by Ward &
Hughes. The best one is the astonishing
consumptive figure of Jairus's daughter,
who is represented by Winifred Frances
Fisher, a 17 year old girl who was suddenly
called home in 1892. Her plaque
notes that she was Perfected in a
short time. She lies on her death
bed, her silvery curls flowing across the
pillow in a perfect moment of late
Victorian sentiment. Rather odder is the
figure of her father, in full 19th
Century formal wear, who peers curiously
from behind the backs of St Peter and St
Andrew as they are called on the lake
shore to give their lives to Christ.
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Simon Knott, September 2009
   
    
   
 
  
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