Church Of St Mary

The Church of St. Mary is a medieval parish church located in Uggeshall. The chancel was restored in the 18th century, and the lace was added in the 19th century. The church comprises a nave, chancel, truncated west tower, south porch, and north vestry. It is constructed of flint and stone rubble, with the nave being plastered and featuring stone dressings. The east wall of the chancel, dating to the 18th century, has a chequerwork design of red brick and flint, while the north and south chancel walls from the 19th century have two bands of knapped flint. The roofs are thatched.

Only the lower stage of the 15th-century square tower remains, which has diagonal buttresses and a largely original three-light west window, beneath which is a stone inscription. The tower supports a weatherboarded and gabled belfry. The nave walls date back to the 12th century and are partly made of herringbone rubble. There is a break in the walling towards the east end, suggesting a later extension or the incorporation of part of the former chancel. The north and south doorways from the 12th century have semi-circular arches, with the north doorway now blocked and the south doorway remodeled in the 15th century.

On the north side, the nave has two two-light square-headed Perpendicular windows, one of which has been renewed. The south side features one three-light Perpendicular window and three 19th-century windows, including one lancet and two with Y-tracery. The porch, likely from the 18th century, is timber framed, plastered, and thatched. The early 14th-century chancel has two bays and has been largely rebuilt, with most windows dating to the 19th century, although the Priest's doorway and parts of the southeast window appear to be original. The three-light east window features curvilinear tracery, probably from the 18th century.

Inside, there is a well-preserved 15th-century arched-braced nave roof with eight bays, featuring a crenellated wallplate and collars. The wall posts of three trusses at the west end retain original carved figures at their bases, along with shields on the westernmost truss. The eastern roof bay was treated as a canopy of honour and shows traces of original colour. The chancel has a 19th-century scissor-braced rafter roof and lacks a chancel arch. There is a simple angle piscina in the south sanctuary and a well-preserved 15th-century font with a carved bowl and four lions against the stem. An early 17th-century carved pulpit sits on a 19th-century stone base, and the nave contains a set of 19th-century poppyhead benches.