You’ll notice that St Nicholas is styled a chapel.
This is because it is not a parish church, and never has been.
The history of England’s medieval parish churches is complex, but they were essentially built as Catholic parish churches before the Reformation, and translated directly into the new Church of England in the middle years of the 16th century. The imagery, style and iconography of St Nicholas clearly demonstrate it to be pre-Reformation, but it was actually the private chapel of a Big House, Gipping Hall, home of the Tyrrells, which once stood immediately to the east of the St Nicholas chapel, but was demolished in the 1850s.
The stunning exterior of St. Nicholas is like a finely-crafted jewel. Forget the glum little tower at the west end – this was an unfortunate addition of the 17th century, presumably by a Tyrrell of the time. The rest is a superb example of late Perpendicular architecture.
But it is the interior which is the main attraction with arguably the best medieval stained glass figures in the county. The church is open every day, although be aware that the south door is rather stiff. You step directly into the nave - there is no porch. If the exterior of the building speaks of late medieval glory, you will be delighted to find an interior that still retains much of its prayerbook atmosphere, from the time before the Oxford Movement resacramentalised the Church of England. The glory of the inside is the awesome east window, where surviving glass from other windows is collected. There is much to see, including fragments of Saints and their emblems; but the best are the grieving figures of St John and Mary the Mother of God, reset in their original position. The rood that once separated them has gone, but the glass between is sensitively arranged to suggest a cross.
The above image is from, and the text contains excerpts from Simon Knott's excellent website www.suffolkchurches.co.uk , with grateful thanks.
If anyone would like to expand this Church Micro numbered series please do. Please contact sadexploration via www.geocaching.com so that he can keep track of the church numbers and names to avoid duplication.