Externally, St John the Baptist is a bit of a curiosity. The more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes.The body of the church itself is not unfamiliar, a simple 13th century nave without a separate chancel. But the tower that rises from the west end of it is something else again, as are the three pyramid obelisks at the west end. The red brick is common around these parts, but the style is wholly out of keeping with what we have come to expect in Suffolk. This is because St John the Baptist is one of the few churches in England to have been extensively rebuilt during the Commonwealth period of the 1640s and 1650s, when the Church of England was suppressed, and English parish churches were taken over by all kinds of congregationalist sects. Here, there seems to have been a very brave Squire, Thomas Essington, who at the height of the Cromwellian persecution rebuilt the tower, and supported it internally with Tuscan columns and an arcade. The Essington faith was strong; and as well it should be, for the 1650s were a terrible time for the family. Thomas himself died during the rebuilding, in 1656, and his five year old son died the same year.
For many years, Brightwell church was open day and night, probably a relic of its Anglo-catholic shrine days, but a loss of nerve in recent years, as well as some vandalism, has meant that the church is now kept locked. There is no keyholder notice, although the friendly Rector is happy to open up. However, it is an awful shame to find it kept locked at a time when more and more churches are making themselves open to strangers and pilgrims.
If anybody would like to expand the series, then please do so. However, I would ask that you could let Sadexploration know first, so that he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
To view the church micro stats page, please click here