Ipswich Minster

Last updated

Ipswich Minster
Saint Mary-le-Tower church
St Mary-le-Tower Church Ipswich Suffolk.jpg
The tower of the church
Suffolk UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ipswich Minster
Location in Suffolk
52°03′30″N1°09′19″E / 52.0584°N 1.1554°E / 52.0584; 1.1554
Location Ipswich, Suffolk
CountryEngland
Denomination Church of England
Churchmanship Central
Website https://www.ipswichminster.org
History
Dedication Saint Mary
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade II*
Designated19 December 1951
Specifications
Spire height176 feet (54 m)
Administration
Diocese Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich

Ipswich Minster, previously known as St Mary-le-Tower, is the civic church of Ipswich, Suffolk, England and a Grade II* listed building. [1] [2] It was in the churchyard of St Mary that the town charter of Ipswich was written in 1200. [3]

Contents

History

Although medieval, the church mostly dates from 1860 to 1870, when it was rebuilt by Richard Phipson. [4] Rebuilding was funded by George Bacon, banker and philanthropist. The church, then known as St Mary-le-Tower, is mentioned in the Domesday Book, demonstrating that the site has been occupied by a church since at least 1086. [5]

Redesignation as a Minster

On 19 January 2025, the church known as St Mary-le-Tower, was redesignated as Ipswich Minster in recognition of its increasingly important role in serving the community of Ipswich. [6] [7]

Memorials

The church contains a memorial brass, on a chancel pier, to H.A. Douglas-Hamilton, vicar from 1915 to 1925. There are also four brasses in the chancel floor.

Organ

The church has a large three-manual pipe organ, which has its origins in an instrument by Renatus Harris of 1690. [8] There was subsequent work by Henry Willis, Spurden Rutt and Bishop & Son. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. [9]

Bells

Originally there were five bells and a Sanctus in 1553 of which Miles Graye I of Colchester recast the Treble in 1607 and the Tenor in 1610. The church was the first in Suffolk to achieve a tower a peal of 12 bells in 1865. With the addition of a sharp second in 1980, the current bells are all by John Taylor & Co, of Loughborough (except for No. 7, which is by Mears & Stainbank of London).

Incumbents

See also

References

  1. ↑ official website
  2. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Mary le Tower (1235800)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. ↑ St Mary Le Tower, Suffolk Churches website
  4. ↑ The Buildings of England; Suffolk. Nikolaus Pevsner. Yale University Press. ISBN   9780300096484
  5. ↑ "St. Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich | 267586". Emporis. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  6. ↑ Ipswich, Diocese of St Edmundsbury and. "A prominent Ipswich church will be redesignated by the Bishop as a Minster - Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich". www.cofesuffolk.org. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Ipswich church is redesignated as a Minster". BBC News. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  8. ↑ The Organ, its History and Construction. Hopkins & Rimbault. 1st Ed: 1855
  9. ↑ "The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.