Colin Crosby Heritage Tours

St. Mary`s Church (East Bergholt)

St. Mary`s Church is the parish church of the pretty Suffolk village of East Bergholt.

The priest`s room above the porch is the subject of one of John Constable`s paintings, and the centre window of the South aisle is in memory of the painter, who was born in the village. There is a memorial to John`s wife Maria in the chancel.

Golding Constable and his wife Ann, his parents, are buried in the churchyard.

The tower was begun in 1525 at the expense of Cardinal Wolsey, a native of Ipswich. But after his downfall and death, the work was abandoned and the tower remains partially built.

The unique bell cage in the churchyard houses the church`s five bells, the oldest of which was made about 1450. The cage was erected as a temporary measure in 1531. The bells are not rung by rope, but by hands applied directly to the bells. They are the heaviest five bells in the world.

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