Ipswich St Mary at Elms

Image: © Adrian S Pye Taken: 27 Oct 2007

This piece was written before the serious fire on Saturday 25th of July 2010. The church is back in use and little of the information below has changed. See also > http://www.stmaryattheelms.org.uk/st_mary_at_the_elms/Home_Page.html Deceptively old with its ‘new’ Tudor red-brick tower. The neat crenelations, octagonal corner-posts and double belfry openings make it quite attractive and comfortable in the modern office-block surroundings. The porch and walls seem more ancient than they are, having been deliberately aged by facing with knapped flint in the Victorian period. The church has Norman origins, as the south doorway will bear out, with an engaged shaft to each jamb. Even the ironwork may be contemporary. Much was altered on the inside too. The chancel was added in 1883 and the north aisle lengthened, and at the same time the fine hammerbeam roof was constructed. The west gallery was removed and the fittings replaced with new. All this modernisation took place while the building stood in open ground. It is now virtually surrounded by houses and offices, diminishing its lovely appearance, as with so many lovely Ipswich churches.

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