St Mary

A rural church on the edge of modern life.

Akenham, Suffolk

Opening times

Open first Saturday of the month May to August.
Key available at other reasonable times.

Address

Akenham
Suffolk
IP1 6TQ

Up a track and through fields, though now on the edge of Ipswich housing developments, St Mary's remains rural and remote.

This small and simple flint towered church dates mainly from the later Middle Ages, apart from the brick south chapel added in the 16th or 17th century. The interior is simple but beautiful and contains a wonderful carved font with traceried panels around the bowl. A piscina in the chapel and a blocked north doorway in the nave were uncovered during recent repairs.

The solitary gravestone to the north of the church of a two year old boy (who died in 1878) helped to alter the Burial Laws of England.

This church is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust

Key features