Take me to church
Suffolk has some of the greatest parish churches in England – in part a consequence of the incredible wealth generated by the wool trade in the run up to the fifteenth century. I won’t pretend to know much about them – there are some great resources online including www.suffolkchurches.co.uk – but they are always worth a visit. Here is a few of our favourites in the neighbourhood:
Aldringham – Every day we walk our dogs past the local church – St Andrews. By Suffolk standards it is modest (it’s only a fraction of its original size – with most of it having been pulled down as it fell into disrepair) but it is well loved and has a quiet contemplative location away from the village.
Blythburgh – one of the gems of Suffolk loved both for its beauty but also for its location – looking out over the Blythburgh marshes. Out on a limb it fell into decay and for this reason maintains many features that otherwise might have been lost – angels, colourful timbers, ornately carved bench ends. It’s also shrouded in mystery too – the killing of congregants by the devilish dog ‘Black Shuck’!
Iken – you can see Iken church from Snape Maltings, perched above reed beds and a lovely walk along the River Alde takes you to its door within half an hour. It is this approach that draws people in and makes it a must see church. That said its modest size belies it’ importance – it is here that St Botolph arrived in England in AD 654.
Covehithe – whilst most people go to Covehithe to see the beautiful, secluded sandy beach you can’t help but marvel at the mostly ruined church that once was on a par with Southwold and Walberswick. As seems so often to be the case, the church was too expensive for a small community to maintain and it was allowed to fall apart – though there is a smaller 17th century chapel built within the ruin.
Wenhaston – guests introduced us to the ‘Wenhaston doom’ and to be honest when we tried to visit, it was closed. It’s worth persevering though (it’s not far from Southwold) to see 15th century vision of the Day of Judgement. Uncommon after the reformation, this panel was only discovered in 1892 by accident – it was laid outside and all whitewash applied centuries before were washed off by the rain. It was then preserved and remains in the church.
Ramsholt – England has about a hundred and seventy medieval churches with round towers, and about forty of them are in Suffolk, mainly in the eastern half of the county. Ramsholt probably isn’t the best example, but the setting is lovely – with barely a village to disturb its peace and quiet. That said, it is only a short walk from the Ramsholt Arms, which on a sunny day is the perfect place to while away the afternoon watching people playing on and beside the River Deben.