St Mary's Church, Bungay
Encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, Bungay, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the town of Bungay
, Suffolk
, England. The church and the ruins of the adjacent priory
have been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and are under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church stands in the centre of the town on St Mary's Street, the A144 road.
. This was established in the late 12th century, but the main part of the present church dates from the 14th–15th century. The Domesday Survey
records a church dedicated to the Holy Cross in the town, and it is thought that St Mary's stands on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The priory was closed in 1536 as a result of the dissolution of the monasteries
, St Mary's became a parish church
, and a grammar school
was established in one of the priory's chapels. In 1577 the church was struck by lightning, and this event led to the Legend of the Black Dog (see below).
The church was damaged in a great fire in the town in 1688. The roof of the south aisle
and some of the fittings, including benches and possibly the pulpit
, were burnt, but the roof of the nave
was not damaged. The south aisle was re-roofed in 1699, and the church re-opened in 1701. In 1879 the tower was repaired, and the rest of the church was restored
, at a cost of £3,000 (£ as of ). During the 20th century the size of the congregation declined and the church was declared redundant. Its benefice
has been united with that of Holy Trinity Church. A society, The Friends of St Mary's, cleans the church and organises concerts and other events in the church.
and stone in Perpendicular style. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory
, north and south aisles, and a tower. The tower stands at the west end of the south aisle, and it is surmounted by four tall crocket
ted pinnacle
s. There is no chancel
. The tower is 110 feet (33.5 m) high. There are ruined remains of the priory in the churchyard to the east of the church.
are supported on five columns consisting of clustered shafts. The west window is particularly large, and has complicated tracery
in its upper part. The bosses
in the roof are carved with a variety of objects, including angels, a lion, two-headed eagles, and a bat. Near the entrance to the church is a dole cupboard, carved with a rat. Bread was placed in the dole cupboard to be given to the poor. Part of the church has been converted into a War Memorial Chapel. This contains a 17th-century Flemish panel depicting the Resurrection that was given to the church by the author H. Rider Haggard
. The two-manual
organ was made by E. W. Norman, and was moved to the church from Rose Hall, Bungay. It was rebuilt in 1961 by Walker. The ring
consists of eight bells, all cast in 1820 by Thomas Mears II of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
.
which dashed around the church, attacking members of the congregation. It then suddenly disappeared and re-appeared in Blythburgh church 12 miles (19 km) away, injuring members of the congregation there. The dog has been associated with Black Shuck
, a dog haunting the coasts of Norfolk
, Essex
and Suffolk. An image of the Black Dog has been incorporated in the coat of arms
of Bungay, and has been used in the titles of various enterprises associated with Bungay.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the town of Bungay
Bungay
Bungay is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England.Bungay may also refer to:* Bungay railway station* Frank Bungay , former professional footballer* Stephen Bungay , British management consultant, historian and author...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England. The church and the ruins of the adjacent priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
have been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and are under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. The church stands in the centre of the town on St Mary's Street, the A144 road.
History
St Mary's was built as the church to a Benedictine prioryBungay Priory
Bungay Priory was a Benedictine nunnery in the town of Bungay in the English county of Suffolk. It was founded in about 1160 by Roger de Glanville and his wife the Countess Gundreda and dissolved in about 1536 during the dissolution of the monasteries at which time it consisted of a prioress and 11...
. This was established in the late 12th century, but the main part of the present church dates from the 14th–15th century. The Domesday Survey
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
records a church dedicated to the Holy Cross in the town, and it is thought that St Mary's stands on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The priory was closed in 1536 as a result of the dissolution of the monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, St Mary's became a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, and a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
was established in one of the priory's chapels. In 1577 the church was struck by lightning, and this event led to the Legend of the Black Dog (see below).
The church was damaged in a great fire in the town in 1688. The roof of the south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
and some of the fittings, including benches and possibly the pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
, were burnt, but the roof of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
was not damaged. The south aisle was re-roofed in 1699, and the church re-opened in 1701. In 1879 the tower was repaired, and the rest of the church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
, at a cost of £3,000 (£ as of ). During the 20th century the size of the congregation declined and the church was declared redundant. Its benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
has been united with that of Holy Trinity Church. A society, The Friends of St Mary's, cleans the church and organises concerts and other events in the church.
Exterior
The church is constructed in flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and stone in Perpendicular style. Its plan consists of a nave with a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, north and south aisles, and a tower. The tower stands at the west end of the south aisle, and it is surmounted by four tall crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ted pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s. There is no chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
. The tower is 110 feet (33.5 m) high. There are ruined remains of the priory in the churchyard to the east of the church.
Interior
The arcadesArcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
are supported on five columns consisting of clustered shafts. The west window is particularly large, and has complicated tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
in its upper part. The bosses
Boss (architecture)
In architecture, a boss is a knob or protrusion of stone or wood.Bosses can often be found in the ceilings of buildings, particularly at the intersection of a vault. In Gothic architecture, such roof bosses are often intricately carved with foliage, heraldic devices or other decorations...
in the roof are carved with a variety of objects, including angels, a lion, two-headed eagles, and a bat. Near the entrance to the church is a dole cupboard, carved with a rat. Bread was placed in the dole cupboard to be given to the poor. Part of the church has been converted into a War Memorial Chapel. This contains a 17th-century Flemish panel depicting the Resurrection that was given to the church by the author H. Rider Haggard
H. Rider Haggard
Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform around the British Empire...
. The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was made by E. W. Norman, and was moved to the church from Rose Hall, Bungay. It was rebuilt in 1961 by Walker. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of eight bells, all cast in 1820 by Thomas Mears II of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
.
Legend of the Black Dog
The church was struck by lightning on Sunday, 4 August 1577. During the thunderstorm an apparition appeared, consisting of a black Hell HoundHellhound
A hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon...
which dashed around the church, attacking members of the congregation. It then suddenly disappeared and re-appeared in Blythburgh church 12 miles (19 km) away, injuring members of the congregation there. The dog has been associated with Black Shuck
Black Shuck
Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia...
, a dog haunting the coasts of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and Suffolk. An image of the Black Dog has been incorporated in the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of Bungay, and has been used in the titles of various enterprises associated with Bungay.