Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed building in the East Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 7 December 1966. A Medieval; restoration 1891 Parish church.

Church of St Mary

WRENN ID
scattered-porch-rook
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
East Suffolk
Constituency
Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP: Patrick Spencer (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
7 December 1966
Type
Parish church
Period
Medieval; restoration 1891
Address
Church of St Mary, Church Lane, Earl Soham
OS grid reference
TM 236 632
Coordinates
52.22235, 1.27295
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Mary is a parish church that dates back to the medieval period and was restored in 1891. It features a nave, chancel, west tower, and south porch. The building is constructed from random flint and stone rubble, with a knapped flint tower and a plastered nave. The nave has a lead roof, while the chancel is covered with plain tiles.

The late 15th-century tower is notable for its four-stage diagonal buttresses, two of which have original inscriptions. It has a crenellated parapet, flushwork detailing on the plinth, buttresses, and parapet, and a fine west doorway adorned with two orders of carving on the arch, a hoodmould with carved spandrels, and an original door. The tower also features a three-light west window flanked by trefoil-headed, ogee-canopied empty niches, with an additional empty canopied niche above, as well as two-light openings in the bell chamber.

The late 15th-century nave consists of three bays and retains mostly original windows. The late 15th-century porch exhibits rough flushwork chequering and has an original figure at the apex of the gable. The south nave doorway is distinguished by fleurons on the jambs, arch, and hoodmould, along with carved spandrels and an original door.

The early 14th-century chancel has two bays and features two-light Y tracery windows, with a Priest's doorway on the south side. The east end was modified in the 19th century and includes a three-light window in the Decorated style.

Inside, there is a remarkable original double hammerbeam nave roof with six bays, featuring a carved cornice and figures positioned against each wall post under ogee arches. The church also contains a 15th-century octagonal font with a carved bowl and stem, which has an original inscription on the base, along with a 17th-century font cover. There is a set of 26 poppyhead nave benches with traceried ends, installed in 1940, which include some 15th-century work but have undergone significant 20th-century restoration and renewal. The church features a fine 17th-century pulpit complete with a tester, the Arms of Charles II in the south nave, mid-17th-century turned altar rails, and a piscina under a moulded ogee arch in the sanctuary. The church is graded I for its surviving medieval work.

Local climate

Church of St Mary sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 670 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 79% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 26 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 73% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. The Old Rectory Grade II 37 m
  2. Earl Soham War Memorial Grade II 47 m
  3. Fir Tree Cottage Grade II 57 m
  4. The Gables Grade II 86 m
  5. The Elms Grade II 188 m
  6. Norfolk House Grade II 218 m
  7. Park Cottage and Honeysuckle Cottage Grade II 221 m
  8. The Willows Grade II 274 m
  9. The Red House Grade II 314 m
  10. The Stores Grade II 350 m