It wasn't unusual for 15th century Suffolk communities to rebuild their churches in the fashionable perpendicular style.
The grand tower attracts attention, but it conceals the fact that the walls of the nave and chancel are just a curtain, surrounding an open space. Within this space is a smaller church, of little architectural interest, but of considerable social and historical significance. The ruins suggest a large building much like Blythburgh and Southwold churches. The grand arrays of windows in the south and north aisles allow it to be imagined like Blythburgh, full of light.
So what happened here? Within 50 years of this great Catholic church being erected in the 1490s, the Catholic faith was driven out by the forces of King Henry VIII. Instead of living the colourful, sacramental life for which the building was erected, the parishioners became listeners, subject to the congregational, Anglican worship of the new Church of England. Simply, there were not enough of them to sustain such a large building. A new smaller Anglican church was therefore built inside the west end of the south aisle - the old structure completely dwarfs it, and if you stand at the west end of the old nave you are outside, gazing up at the impossibly high roofline with its sanctus bell window.
The current church is full of moving little details; the memorials to fishermen lost at sea, the collection of medieval coloured glass rescued from the ruins and put together as a mosaic in the south aisle.
The above 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.