Description

TM 04 SE, 3/4

BURSTALL,
THE STREET

Church of St Mary

22.02.55

I

Parish church. Largely early C14, C15, restored 1866, and 1870-1873 by Frederick
Barnes of Ipswich. Flint and rubble, part rendered, stone plinth, quoins and other
dressings, plain tile roofs. West tower, nave, north aisle, south porch, chancel.
Early C14 square unbuttressed tower in three stages, the upper set back, embattled brick
parapet. West face, rendered niche beneath simple hollow chamfered light. Ringing
chamber, encircled quatrefoil opening with hoodmould with label stops, to north
south and west faces. Above each, a bell opening, a trefoil headed light beneath
moulded hood with worn label stops. Nave: South wall, rendered, three windows, 2-light
reticulated tracery linked by continuous impost band; south doorway restored. C19,
multiple orders of continuous wave and roll mouldings, hoodmould with figure stops,
the moulding running to continuous band at cill level of windows. Medieval door.
South porch, early C15, restored C19, rendered brick base, gabled timber upper stage,
each side a 5-bay timber arcade with cinquefoil headed openings, the spandrels
carved with floral and leaf decoration, entrance arch a single hollow chamfer to
each face, the inner spandrels also with leaf and rose decoration, embattled tie
beam, remains of niche with cusped head, cusped bargeboards. North Aisle: three
windows, 2-light reticulated and curvilinear tracery. North doorway, two orders of
roll mouldings beneath hood mould. Similar bands to those on south wall. 2-light
west window similar to those on south wall, 3-light east window with curvilinear
tracery. Chancel: East wall and east window of 3-light intersecting tracery
restored 1866. North wall, one simple lancet, one trefoil headed light, similar
light to south wall, single hollow chamfered south doorway.

INTERIOR: Tower arch
c1300, largely blocked by 1980's organ. Encircled quatrefoil sanctus bell opening.
Nave, 4-bay arcade, very early C14, of very finely moulded piers and responds, the
west and east faces of the piers having capitals with two bands of fleurons and animal
heads. To north and south faces, the pier mouldings run continuously into the arch,
giving a semi-stilted form, with a figure head boss at the junction; arches of
multiple moulded orders. 4-bay hammer-beam roof, C15 restored 1870's, angels
terminate hammer-beam, corbels in form of faces or foliage, moulded collars, ridge
and side purlins, cornice and frieze, the latter with continuous cusped wave motif.
North Aisle: Moulded rear arches to windows, impost band on north and south walls,
on east incorporates the head of a niche to each side of window, and terminates
in figure stop at angle with arcade. Each niche trefoil headed, beneath pointed
canopy, crowned to left by foliate cluster, to right by mutilated foliage, traces
of red paint. Blocked rood stair doorway. Blocked north. doorway. Roof with
moulded cornice, purlins and rafters. Parclose screen, early C14, timber, open
traceried panels, each light separated by an annulated shaft with moulded base and
cap, the tracery using various mouchette motifs, that to right of doorway with a
pointed head. Ogee headed archway beneath two encircled quatrefoils.
Similar treatment to half-height opening on south side of screen, stepped embattled parapet.
(Cf Westhorpe Church, Mid Suffolk).

Stone tablet to Edward Cage twice Bailif (sic)
of Ipswich d. 9 August 1607, his 3rd wife d. 1631, William Cage his son, 7 times
Bailif (sic) of Ipswich d. 4 November 1645. Nave and aisle benches, some medieval,
but with replaced shortened poppy-heads. Font, octagonal, with four recessed flat
panels, octagonal base, four plain octagonal shafts and one central round stem.
Chancel: Roof, C15 embattled cornice, C19 queen-strut, straight-braced, collar
rafter roof. Screen base, C15, blind cusped Perpendicular traceried panels.
Medieval poppy-head benches. Sedilia with ogee headed niche to each side at cill
level; trefoil headed piscina with plain drain.

Listing NGR: TM0971644579

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17541815

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability