St Mary's Church, Mildenhall Explained

St Mary's Church, Mildenhall
Coordinates:	52.3428°N 0.5092°W
Osgraw:	TL 71026 74598
Location:	Mildenhall, Suffolk
Country:	England
Denomination:	Church of England
Website:	mildenhallanglicanchurches.org
Dedication:	St Mary
Heritage Designation:	Grade I listed
Bells:	10
Parish:	Mildenhall
Deanery:	Sudbury
Archdeaconry:	Suffolk
Diocese:	Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich

St Mary's Church is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England^[1] in Mildenhall, Suffolk.

History

The church is mostly 14th century. Simon Jenkins awarded the church 4 stars in his 'England's Thousand Best Churches'.^[2]

Memorials

• Sir Henry Barton, Lord Mayor of London 1416 and 1428. Cenotaph. South aisle.
• Sir Henry North (d.1620) alabaster tomb chest with effigies of him and his family. South aisle.
• Roger North, d.1651 and Thomasina North, d.1661. Wall tablets
• Sir Henry North (d.1671) . Wall tablet. Chancel arch.
• Sir Henry Warner (d.1617) and Edward Warner, and to Mary Warner (d.1601). Wall tablet. Chancel.
• William Coe (diarist) (d.1729). A floor slab in the vestry.
• Henry Bunbury (d.1722). Wall tablet. South aisle.
• Revd. John Hunt (d.1736). Wall tablet. Chancel.

Parish status

The Parish of Mildenhall is part of the Mildenhall Team Ministry, along with the Parishes of:

• St Mary the Virgin's Church, Barton Mills
• St John's Church, Beck Row with Kenny Hill
• St Laurence & St Peter's Church, Eriswell
• St Andrew's Church, Freckenham
• St Ethelbert's Church, Herringswell
• St James's Church, Icklingham
• St Christopher's Church, Red Lodge
• St Mary & St Andrew's Church, Tuddenham with Cavenham
• St Andrew's Church, Cavenham
• St Peter's Church, West Row
• All Saints' Church, Worlington

Bells

The church has a ring of 10 bells with the largest 8 bells cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry by Mears & Stainbank between 1887 and 1913. The ring was augmented to 10 with addition of 2 new trebles in 1946 cast by Gillett & Johnston in celebration of peace for the end of the World War II. The bells hang in steel & cast iron frame made by Mears & Stainbank and installed at the same time as the bells 4 to 9 were rehung in 1914. The tower is affiliated to the Suffolk Guild of Ringers.^[3]

Bells of St Mary's Mildenhall^[4]

Bell	Date	Note	Diameter	Founder	Weight				lb !kg	-	Treble	1946	G	25.75inches			-	2nd	1946	F	26.5inches			-	3rd	1887	Eb	28.5inches
					4th	1913	D	30inches
5th	1913	C	31.75inches
6th	1913	Bb	34.25inches
7th	1913	Ab	37.5inches
8th	1913	G	39inches
9th	1913	F	42.5inches
Tenor	1887	Eb	48.5inches

Organ

The church has a two manual pipe organ dating from 1865 by Father Henry Willis. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.^[5]

Notes and References

1. The Buildings of England: Suffolk: Nikolaus Pevsner.
2. Simon Jenkins, English's Thousand Best Churches, Penguin 2009,
3. Web site: The Suffolk Guild of Ringers, Mildenhall . 2022-04-19 . www.suffolkbells.org.uk.
4. Web site: Dove Details. 2020-08-01. dove.cccbr.org.uk.
5. Web site: The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR.