The St Mary church in Great Bealings, Suffolk is a strikingly rural setting in the north-east fields of Ipswich. The 15th-century tower boasts an image niche, and the Victorian and Edwardian-inspired stonework of the nave and chancel is mainly new. The north porch is significant and features the Seckford family’s iconography and an image niche, and the interior area of the church is detailed with 19th and 20th-century glass. The set of the Works of Mercy in the west window, attributed to Ward & Hughes, is the best glasswork in the church. Other notable works include the carvings by Henry Ringham as well as the medieval originals found towards the west. The church also contains two grand monuments, one facing stern puritan expressions of John and Jan Clench, while the other is dedicated to Thomas and Margaret Seckford, descendants of the person who built the porch. The church’s most touching display is the late 19th-century brass located by the north door to Charlotte Allen.
Posted by Simon Knott on 2016-10-30 14:06:32