St Mary-at-Elms, Ipswich
Following Ipswich`s Artethon trail in 2011, I came across No 4 in my list, which was TAM. Honoria Surie, the artist who made Tam, was born in Hertfordshire in 1944. She trained at Watford School of Art and is now a painter and potter. The bronze of Tam, the artist's daughter, is Surie's first work in the field of sculpture and is sited on a short plinth on the grass triangle between Black Horse Lane and St Mary Elms Church. The statue is made of bronze and has a calm and serene feel to it in keeping with its location
Sculpture of a teenage girl sitting cross-legged in dungarees molding a ball of clay.
Then, as if by magic, I found another piece of art nearby on the porch of the small church, St Mary Elms, popularly known by Ipswich people as simply the Elms. A return visit to the church had to the wait until 2019!
The three small niches above the porch door of the Church, furnished with contemporary relief sculptures by Charles Gurrey in 2006. The three modern sculptures worked in Ancaster hard white limestone replaced those which would have been in place until the 16th century Anglican Reformation. The sculptures depict The Blessed Virgin, depicted as Stella Maris, Our Lady Star of the Sea because of the importance of this dedication for the ancient port of Ipswich (left), St John the Evangelist holding the gospel inscribed with his symbol, an eagle (right) and in the centre Christ as the Saviour of the World with the lettering: 'SALVATOR MUNDI' - Latin for Saviour of the World.
Another one of the Artethon Trail to register!
Fast forward to today (2019) and a visit to the church itself. It is a rather cute, little Anglo-catholic shrine.
To quote from an internet source: "until the early 1990s, the Elms maintained a militantly Anglo-catholic tradition, and a fairly steady congregation of people who liked that kind of thing. But the decision of the Church of England to go its own way on the issue of women priests had consequences here, and a number of the congregation were received into the Catholic Church. The surviving parish members might have just soldiered on in that martyred fashion beloved of Forward in Faith members in the mid-1990s, but instead the church renewed itself as a welcoming and sacramental space for pilgrims, strangers and passers-by, not just for Mass and the devotions of the Anglo-Catholic faithful, but simply as a peaceful place." Quotation from http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/
Situated, logically, in Elm Street this ancient church has its own significance in the history of Ipswich. There was an earlier church near this site, dedicated to St Saviour, but St Mary-at-Elms is known to have existed by 1204 and may be older. In a charter of 1204, both St Mary-At-Elms and St Saviour's are named among the possessions of the Austin Priory of the Holy Trinity, which was situated on the site of Christchurch Mansion. St Mary-at-Elms is again named as a possession of Holy Trinity in 1291, and it remained so until the priory was dissolved in 1536. It was rebuilt in the early 14th century and it had a nave and chancel, together occupying the length of the present nave, with north and south transepts, and presumably a tower. The north aisle and the west tower, both of brick, were added in the 15th century. In 1848 the south porch was repaired and the 12th century doorway restored. There was a restoration by R. M. Phipson in 1860, with the major rebuilding of the chancel by E. F. Bisshopp in 1883.
The Norman doorway is by no means Suffolk's finest. But there is considerable evidence to show that the door, and its decorative ironwork, is as old. It is probably the original 11th century door. This would make it one of the earliest structures still in use for its original purpose in the county.
Our Lady Grace of Ipswich
The High Alter
Around the walls of the church are Stations Of The Cross.
To quote from Catholic Online: The Stations of the Cross are a 14-step Catholic devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ's last day on Earth as a man. The 14 devotions, or stations, focus on specific events of His last day, beginning with His condemnation. The stations are commonly used as a mini pilgrimage as the individual moves from station to station. At each station, the individual recalls and meditates on a specific event from Christ's last day. Specific prayers are recited, then the individual moves to the next station until all 14 are complete.
I photographed all of them around the interior wall of the church, and they can be seen HERE. You will notice that there are 15 stations in this church.
The somewhat bizarre memorial on the north Chancel wall - not sure for whom, as it is all in Latin.
The "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" (A Christogram being a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a religious symbol within the Christian Church.)
This one was on the banner on the wall of the church. The story goes that this symbol was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. That`s just one of the stories.
This Millennium Wall hanging was decorated by members of the congregation, here in St Marys. From top, and moving clockwise, each segment represents a century since Jesus time, and from a christian point of view. Very clever I thought. To see the list of what they represent, click HERE.
All the glass work in the windows is 19 Century, as in many churches. Originals, no doubt trashed by the Puritans!
A gateway to the north of the St Mary-at-Elms tower takes you through to the St Mary-at-Elms cottage of 1487, named by many as the oldest inhabited building in Ipswich. It once stood in the grounds of Thomas Seckford's estate and housed those who looked after his stables. Thomas Seckford (1515-1587), M.P. for the borough, founder of Woodbridge School and courtier of Elizabeth I, built a mansion, Great Place, at the north of the estate fronting Westgate Street. In 1846 the dilapidated mansion was partially demolished to cut through Museum Street. (Incidentally the bulbous bannisters – and perhaps the staircase – in Arlington's Restaurant, Museum Street come from Great Place although I have not seen them myself). The cottage was restored in 1984-5 and now houses a Parish Room on the ground floor with a flat above.
So an interesting couple of visits to an area I had not visited before. Despite being within 2-300 meters of it many, many, times!
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