Monument record EBG 207 - Churchyard of St Mary the Virgin Church

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Summary

Church, churchyard and separate bell cage of St Mary the Virgin. Possible Domesday minster site.

Location

Grid reference Centred TM 0704 3445 (89m by 73m)
Map sheet TM03SE
Civil Parish EAST BERGHOLT, BABERGH, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

A church is listed in East Bergholt in the Domesday survey. A second church is also documented for East Bergholt and is thought to be located in Shotley (S3).
Church of St. Mary: Perpendicular. W tower (not completed) & brick gable to E crowned by C18 cupola. Also chancel, side chapels, nave, clerestory, aisles, S porch with upper storey. Church partly flint and partly brick. W tower was begun in 1525 with stone base with quatrefoil frieze and a passage through S aisle of coursed flint. A new aisle is mentioned in a document of 1442-3. Battlements decorated with many shields, two storeyed S porch. Polygonal turret in the W angle between porch and aisle. N aisle mainly brick with polygonal turret at E end. Ornate N doorway with canopied niches with shields for decoration. Interior with 5-bay arcades, two centred arches. Med wooden bell cage in churchyard. One storeyed with steep pyramid roof with louvred top. Remains of tomb low down in N chancel aisle. Camels are chief feature (S1)(S2).
Scarfe records this as a possible Domesday Minster (S3).

Sources/Archives (4)

  • <S1> Bibliographic reference: Pevsner N & Radcliffe E. 1974. The Buildings of England: Suffolk. 195-6..
  • <S2> Bibliographic reference: Cautley H M. 1975. Suffolk Churches. 224..
  • <S3> Bibliographic reference: Dymond D and Martin E. 1999. An Historical Atlas of Suffolk (revised edition). Scarfe N, 'Domesday Churches', 1999, 3rd ed, map 21.
  • <S4> Bibliographic reference: Miscellaneous Bibliographic reference. Anon, Church Guide, The parish church of St Mary-the-Virgin, East Bergholt, Undtd.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

Mar 30 2026 9:49AM

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