St Mary the Virgin
East Bergholt, Suffolk
Grade I Listed medieval church with unique bell cage.
Below the windows appears, in flint flushwork, a lengthy inscription inviting prayers for the soul of a benefactor, Thomas Mors, a cloth manufacturer who died in 1500. His wife, who died later, in 1510, left money for an elaborate porch to be built, which when constructed in 1532, tactlessly obscured the end of her husband's pious inscription.
Higher up on the walls there are letters of the alphabet in flintwork. Apart from demonstrating Thomas Mors' wealth to the passersby (work with such detail would have been very expensive), experts differ as to the significance or meaning of the letters.
By the 19th century the church was in a poor condition, and so was heavily restored in the 1870s by architect Henry Woodyer. This has given the interior a Victorian flavour, but it remains a handsome church with a lofty perpendicular nave with four bays of slender columns, two aisles and clerestory.
At the east end are two chapels, and the chancel has an east window with Victorian glass. High on the chancel wall above the arches is a striking Victorian mural of old testament scenes and the Last Supper.