St Mary
Brent Eleigh, Suffolk
Just one mile east of the tourist hotspot of Lavenham, St Mary’s possesses hidden gems with the earliest and finest set of altar wall paintings in England (according to experts).
For about 150 years, between the end of the 14th century and the middle of the 16th, Lavenham was one of the richest towns in Britain. In 2025 we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the completion of the church tower.
Many of Lavenham's splendid timber framed buildings date from this prosperous period, as does the church. The church itself was built, or rather rebuilt, partly in celebration in the years immediately following the Tudor victory at the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485. The instigator was John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, one of the most powerful men in England, and Thomas Spring II and his son Thomas Spring III. John de Vere was captain of Henry VII's army at the Battle of Bosworth, and he wanted to thank God by enhancing Lavenham church, Lavenham was one of his many estates in East Anglia. Thomas Spring was a wealthy cloth merchant. Between them they created a most beautiful church, a fine example of late medieval English church architecture, completed just before the Reformation changed things for ever.
Work began with the stupendous tower, built of flint faced with limestone imported from Northamptonshire. Set into the tower, and clearly visible from the ground, is the de Vere star, one of their symbols. The other de Vere symbol, a wild boar, can be seen in the south porch and in the nave.
Next to be rebuilt was the nave; the only feature left from the 14th century nave was the rather odd spirelet, kept to hold the Sanctus bell. The chancel was also not rebuilt, and retains its fine 14th century arch.
The glory of the interior is the nave, with its elegant piers and fine 15th century roof, the rare 14th century chancel screen, and the screens at the ends of the aisles. These two parclose screens are outstanding. The north one, made in the 1520s, is the finest, and was built by the Spring family. It has wonderful, intricate wood carving. The south screen is less elaborate and was built by the Spourne family.
There are excellent misericords in the chancel. They include musicians, a jester, and an ibis and a spoonbill, reminders that East Anglia in the Middle Ages was very much wilder and wetter than it is now, and these two birds, very rare in Britain today, were common then.