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Our history
Up from the village high street, St. Peter’s powerful fifteen-century turret climbing beyond the battlements dominates the skyline. The church is aligned west to east with a handsome tower at the west and the chancel to the east.
A church has stood on this site for over a thousand years, initially quite small, and built of timber and thatch. But this present building dates from around 1350.
Monks Eleigh was one of the great wool-producing villages of the Brett Valley in the late medieval days, the busiest and richest part of England in the fifteen-century. Having a splendid church was a source of great pride, and the well-to-do spent freely on the church in their parish.
The tower which is approx. 80 feet high and as it stands today was rebuild in the fifteen-century after a bequest from a local worthy. It originally had a wooden spire which was added in 1630 and housed the Sanctus Bell. It was sixty feet high on a base of 14 feet 6 inches. This structure was removed in 1845 after it was deemed too dangerous and the original bell was replaced and relocated to the top of the tower as you see today.
The west doorway at the foot of the tower, displays fifteenth century carving and ‘flushwork’ – patterns made on flat surfaces by incorporating polished black flints from the fields.
The current entrance to the church is the South Porch. Either side of this porch are the remains of flint consecration crosses. The doors are oak and have original carved panels although weathered and worn.
The nave was re-build at the same time as the tower, in the late fifteen-century retaining an arcade from an earlier church. This arcade is fourteen-century with octagonal pillars, the sides, cap and base are all concave.
There is a huge Queen Anne Coat of Arms over the Chancel Arch hanging unusually in its original place, to reinforce the link between the sovereign and the church.
The single framed braced rafter roof to the nave retains about three feet of the ‘Canopy of Honour’ to the rood. This is a frequent feature of the rood and is often referred to as a ‘celure’ or ceiling, its main purpose was to protect the rood from dust and bat droppings! In the majority of Suffolk Canopies the structural timbers would have been gilded or coloured in the eastern bay of the rood only.
The roof itself is simple inclined beams built above the nave pier arcade and merely resting on the aisle walls. The pattern is known as ‘wagon tilt’. All the timbers have been repaired over the year’s but a good deal of the original carpentry and carving remains.
The approach to the rood loft stairs is by a door which is unusually 7 foot to the sill in the south aisle. Access was probably by a set of wooden steps. The term ‘rood’ refers to a large wooden screen that separated the chancel from the congregation. They grew in popularity and by the beginning of the reformation, they were magnificent wooden screens with depictions of the crucifixion towering above. The doors were needed so that the clergy would have access to the hundreds of candles that needed constant attention. The rood became an object of veneration that rivalled the altar.
The rood also changed the construction of churches during the period. The sheer scale meant that churches could no longer be comparatively low buildings as in the twelfth and thirteen-century but would need high roofs to accommodate these magnificent structures.
There is a niche in the north-east corner with a cusped ogee arch, which probably formed part of a Lady Chapel and currently houses the Mother’s Union banner. The Lady Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary was maintained by the parochial Guild of craftsman was always the largest chapel in a church or cathedral and was always east of the main altar. It would have been separated from the main body of the church by elaborate wooden screens, such as still survive at Brent Eleigh Church.
The pre-reformation pulpits are very rare in Suffolk and have only been identified in fifteen churches in the county. Monks Eleigh is a fine example and rises from a covered pedestal with squared tracery in the bottom of the panels, with applied tracery in the top, supported on post and groined coving.
The main altar is a fine, solid Stuart holy table which is higher than average and does not appear to have been altered.
The organ now stands in front of the very tall tower arch and near it stands an oak carved pillar poor box dated 1636.
Close to the north door stand the 13th century baptismal font which is older than any part of the church. It is a fairly plain square bowl of Barnack stone from Northamptonshire, standing on five pillars. The wooden cover is of a later period, but includes some ancient pieces of wood carving.
The Chancel is almost entirely Victorian. By the late Tudor times, the wool trade had become dramatically less profitable, and times were much harder.
Many churches fell into disrepair. Here, in the 1850’s the Chancel had to be demolished and rebuilt on the original foundations. The Chancel itself, is unusually deep and only a few feet shorter than the nave. It contains a series of stained-glass windows showing the scenes of the life of St. Peter, and some interesting Victorian representations of the people in whose names the windows were given.
Compiled and written by Jan Kelsall
Sources
- Suffolk Churches Great & Small – Roy Tricker & George Pipe
- Suffolk Churches and their treasures – H. Munro Cautley
- Monks Eleigh Benefice – M.R. McKeon
- Church Pamphlet – Anonymous