Nayland and Stoke by Nayland
Dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, it is one of the largest and finest churches in Suffolk, with a history stretching back to the 10th century, but refashioned in the Perpendicular style by the Howards, Dukes of Norfolk, in the late 1400s.
Its tower dominates the landscape of Dedham Vale, and can be seen for miles around. Its outstanding treasure is the 15th century carved oak doors in the south porch, unique in Suffolk, but the font is very fine, and no less a person than the artist John Constable has said that “the lofty and slender proportions of the tower arch are the crowning beauty of the whole interior.”
John Constable loved this tower, and it appears several times in his paintings, not always in the right place. St Mary is pretty much all of a piece, in the 15th century, although there are some older bits, and a great deal of rather undistinguished 19th century work. But the glory of the church is the red brick tower, completed about 1470 and surmounted by stone spires, reminiscent of Bungay St Mary, away on Suffolk's northern borderland. There are fine views of this from many places, and from many miles away. Close to, it is immense; Stoke by Nayland is, after all, a small village rather than a town, and the setting of cottages only enhances the sense that this tower is enormous. The buttresses are laced with canopied image niches - how amazing it must have looked before the 16th century reformers removed all the statues!
I just love this door which has a mass of carvings on it. It makes you wonder how long it took to complete. But this was completed in an age when time was of little consequence. St Mary has the best late 15th century doors in Suffolk, eclipsing even Otley. The figures are remarkable; they stand proud of Gothic turrets and arches. They seem to represent a Tree of Jesse, effectively Christ's family tree, with Mary at the top and ancestors back into Old Testament times beneath. It is thought the figures in the border are disciples and apostles. Medieval doors haven't survived at all widely in East Anglia, so it is interesting to see them at such close quarters.
Some of the stained glass, which I assume is Victorian.
The font is curious, to say the least. Four of the panels show conventional evangelistic symbols, but three of the other four are unfamiliar. One is an angel, but the others are a woman in a cowl carrying a scroll beside a tree, a man with a sack pointing to a book open on a shelf, and a man with a scroll at a lectern. The iconography is apparently unusual.
A general view looking toward the altar and giving a sense of the enormity of this building.
The front door and window of this old house near the church just appealed to the eye.
Talking of `quirky` doors, short people must have lived here as the bottom of the door appears to have been cut off to make it fit. Below are some of the beautiful ones in Nayland, which is close by. Also one or two general images around the village
You don't see many petrol pumps like these any more, seen in Nayland
Some more of the quirky architecture to be seen around the village of Nayland
So many mile `From` some places and so many miles `To` others - strange!
This C18th stone obelisk-milepost has a a moulded pedestal plinth and a ball finial on the truncated shaft. The shaft is inscribed on 3 sides with mileages as follows:-...on the north (left) face "8 miles to Hadleigh",
...on the west (front) face "55 miles from London, 26 miles from Chelmsford, 22 miles to Bury [St.Edmunds]",
...on the south (right) face "6 miles to Colchester".
It is a Grade II listed monument and has placed immediately adjacent to it a commemorative horse trough commemorating the Coronation of King George V.
All in all, a pleasant morning, and we came away impressed with the magnificent St Mary`s at Stoke by Nayland and the lovely old houses etc. in Nayland. Well worth a visit.
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