About St Mary's Rickinghall

St Mary’s Church stands at the heart of Rickinghall Inferior – the “lower” village – in the gentle Suffolk countryside just off the old A143 coaching road between Bury St Edmunds and Norwich. One of Suffolk’s distinctive round-tower churches, it has served the local communities for more than 900 years and remains the active parish church for Rickinghall, Botesdale and Redgrave today.

The settlement of Rickinghall Inferior is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, when it already had a church and a recorded population of 36 households. Like its near neighbour Rickinghall Superior (the “upper” church half a mile away on higher ground), the parish was divided into two manors in medieval times. The two churches, both dedicated to St Mary, have always been closely linked and have shared the same priest for many generations, even though the old county boundary between East and West Suffolk once ran between them.

The oldest visible part of the present building is the round tower, which dates from the late 12th century (Norman period). The lower stage is coursed flint rubble with a plain round arch inside. In the 13th century the upper part of the round tower was rebuilt, and in the early 14th century it was given its handsome octagonal belfry stage with Y-tracery windows, ashlar quoins, gargoyles and an embattled parapet decorated with flushwork panels, blank shields and crocketed finials. The tower arch inside still shows the clear diagonal tooling typical of 12th-century work.

The main body of the church was largely rebuilt in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. A wide south aisle was added – unusually, it is the same width as the nave itself – giving the church its distinctive broad, almost square footprint when viewed from the south. The chancel and the elegant two-storey south porch also date from this period. The porch is particularly fine: its outer arch has complex mouldings, and above it is a damaged but still beautiful flushwork frieze with crowned monograms “IHS” and “MR”. Inside, the porch has low arcaded seating and stone benches – a rare and welcoming feature.

By the 15th century the church had reached more or less its present form. Perpendicular windows were inserted in the nave, and the roofs were raised. The interior still contains many original medieval details: the broad pointed chancel arch with stiff-leaf carving on the northern capital, the four-bay nave arcade with complex quatrefoil piers, and a beautiful 14th-century octagonal font in the south aisle whose panels are carved with miniature window tracery (including an exact copy of the east window design).

Like most Suffolk churches, St Mary’s suffered during the Reformation and the Commonwealth, but it escaped major structural damage. The rood loft was removed in the 1540s; some of its traceried panels were later rescued and reused in the Victorian reredos behind the altar (they are noticeably shorter than a full rood-screen dado and are painted in a medieval style).

By the mid-19th century the church was in need of serious repair. Between 1858 and 1859 it was extensively refitted by the architect J.D. Wyatt. While the exterior kept much of its medieval character, the interior was heavily restored – some say “anonymised” – with new seating, pulpit, reading desk, communion rails and floor tiles. The windows were further restored in 1870 and 1891. Despite the Victorian work, the church retains a warm, prayerful atmosphere and many original features survive, including two 17th-century oak chests, a 17th-century communion table and chair, an 18th-century bier, and fragments of older glass in the chancel.

In the 20th century the three churches of the extended parish (Rickinghall Inferior, Botesdale Chapel of Ease and Redgrave) were formally united. St Mary’s Inferior became the main centre of worship. During the Second World War a U.S. military hospital was based in the village (1944–45); a regimental flag presented by the Americans still hangs in the church as a reminder of that time.

Recent years have seen further careful maintenance, including roof repairs and a millennium stained-glass window in the east window of the south aisle depicting Christ the Saviour of the World. The churchyard, with its many mature trees and interesting monuments, continues to be a peaceful green space for the village.

Today St Mary’s remains very much alive. Regular services, community events, baptisms, weddings and funerals all take place here, and the building is open for quiet prayer and reflection whenever possible. It stands as a living link between Suffolk’s medieval past and the present-day life of the parish – a beautiful, welcoming church that has adapted over nine centuries while keeping its historic character intact.

Basil Brown (1888–1977)

Basil Brown, the self-taught archaeologist famous for discovering the Sutton Hoo ship burial in 1939, was a lifelong resident of Rickinghall. Born in Bucklesham, he moved as an infant with his family to Church Farm in Rickinghall Superior, where he attended the local village school before leaving at the age of 12 to work on the farm.

Brown lived almost his entire life in the village, latterly at "Cambria" on The Street. He had deep connections to both of Rickinghall’s St Mary’s churches. He married Dorothy May Oldfield at St Mary’s, Rickinghall Inferior in 1923, and in 1952 he carried out archaeological excavations at Rickinghall Superior, uncovering the long-lost foundations and tiled floor of a medieval Lady Chapel. He also recorded features at the Inferior church, including a Norman font.

A modest and dedicated local historian as well as archaeologist, Brown is fondly remembered in the village. A memorial plaque was installed in St Mary’s, Rickinghall Inferior (the Lower Church) to honour his contributions to Suffolk’s heritage. A blue plaque now also marks his former home in the village.