St Mary-le-Tower
Saint Mary-le-Tower church
The tower of the church
St Mary-le-Tower is located in Suffolk
St Mary-le-Tower
St Mary-le-Tower
Location in Suffolk
52°03′30″N 1°09′19″E / 52.0584°N 1.1554°E / 52.0584; 1.1554
LocationIpswich, Suffolk
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipCentral
Websitehttp://www.stmaryletower.org/
History
DedicationSaint Mary
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade II*
Designated19 December 1951
Specifications
Spire height176 feet (54 m)
Administration
DioceseDiocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich

St Mary-le-Tower is the civic church of Ipswich, Suffolk, England and a Grade II* listed building.[1][2] It was in the churchyard of St Mary that the town charter of Ipswich was written in 1200.[3]

History

Although medieval, the church mostly dates from 1860 to 1870, when it was rebuilt by Richard Phipson.[4] Rebuilding was funded by George Bacon, banker and philanthropist. St Mary Le Tower is mentioned in the Domesday Book, demonstrating that the site has been occupied by a church since at least 1086.[5]

Memorials

The church contains a brass memorial on a chancel pier to H.A. Douglas-Hamilton, vicar from 1915 to 1925. There are also four brasses in the chancel floor.

Organ

The church has a large three-manual pipe organ, which has its origins in an instrument by Renatus Harris of 1690.[6] There was subsequent work by Henry Willis, Spurden Rutt and Bishop and Son. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[7]

Bells

Originally there were five bells and a Sanctus in 1553 of which Miles Graye I of Colchester recast the Treble in 1607 and the Tenor in 1610. The church was the first in Suffolk to achieve a tower a peal of 12 bells in 1865. With the addition of a sharp second in 1980, the current bells are all by John Taylor of Loughborough (except for No. 7, which is by Mears & Stainbank of London).

Incumbents

  • Thomas Peacock 1542
  • John Somerton 1555
  • George Webb 1577 - 1606
  • Nathaniel Roe 1608 - 1614
  • Mr Nuttall 1615
  • John Ward 1616 - 1620
  • John Gooding 1620 - 1624
  • Samuel Ward 1624 - 1627
  • Mr Skinner 1628 - 1630
  • Mr Raymond 1630 - 1632
  • Samuel Ward 1632 - 1635
  • John Ashborn 1635 - 1636
  • Gawen Nash 1637 - 1641
  • William Fincham 1649
  • Mr Chapman ???? - 1662
  • John Burrough 1662 - 1670
  • Hugh Roberts 1670 - 1672
  • Samuel Brunning 1674 - 1677
  • Samuel Gotty 1677
  • Joseph Cutlove 1678 - 1707
  • Dr. Thomas Bishop 1708 - 1737
  • Thomas Bishop 1737 - 1777
  • Thomas Cobbold 1778 - 1831, grandson of Thomas Cobbold (1708–1767)
  • Francis Cobbold 1831 - 1838, succeeded his father
  • William Nassau St Leger 1838 - 1860
  • Joames Robert Thurrock 1861 - 1890
  • Afthil Arthur Barrington 1890 - 1904
  • William Melville Pigot 1904 - 1914
  • Hamilton Anne Douglas-Hamilton 1915 - 1925
  • Arthur William Watson Wallace MA 1925 - 1928
  • Arthur Herbert Streeten MC MA 1928 - 1942
  • Richard Hamilton Babington MA 1942 - 1958
  • Basil Layton Spurgin MA 1958 - 1972
  • Geoffrey John Tarris MA 1972 - 1982
  • Keith Brynmor Jones MA 1982 - 1996
  • Peter Kenneth Townley BA. 1996 - 2008
  • Charles Alexander Graham Jenkin, BSc 2008 - 2021
  • Thomas James Mumford 2021 -

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Mary-le-Tower.
  1. ↑ official website
  2. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Mary le Tower (1235800)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. ↑ St Mary Le Tower, Suffolk Churches website
  4. ↑ The Buildings of England; Suffolk. Nikolaus Pevsner. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300096484
  5. ↑ "St. Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich | 267586". Emporis. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  6. ↑ The Organ, its History and Construction. Hopkins & Rimbault. 1st Ed: 1855
  7. ↑ "The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR".
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