Thornham Parva Church, Suffolk
Visit St Mary's for the magnificent Retable and old Wall-paintings
The attractive thatched Norman church of St Mary's at Thornham Parva near Eye in Suffolk, UK is a jewel well worth a visit.
The little thatched church at Thornham Parva is a delightful Norman church. It is located a little west of the Ipswich to Norwich road A140, near Eye.
St Mary’s stands a little way apart from its parish village of Thornham Parva, like many of the churches in East Anglia. It is well worth a visit, because it contains several treasures out of keeping with just a parish church. You can approach the church via a green lane, but there is also parking nearby.
As you approach the church, the attractive setting resolves to a thatched church in the trees with a square thatched tower. Unusually, you enter the church through the small North Door.
Retable
As you enter the church, the font is in front of you. If you look left you see the altar and the magnificent retable screen. This came originally from Thetford Priory, but was rescued from the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th Century. It was rediscovered in a barn in the early 20th century, and the owners donated it to St Mary’s, where it is now displayed over the altar.
Wall paintings
Above you and in front of you are the remains of the mediaeval wall paintings. Unlike in many other European countries mediaeval wall paintings are rarely preserved in Britain, as they were generally whitewashed after the conversion of the country from Catholicism. These paintings were restored in the 1970s, and only after the restoration was it possible to make some sense of the sequences, which run from right to left in chronological order. The one on the North wall depicts the martyrdom of St Edmund, showing him fleeing from the Viking invaders, being killed and then the head and body being reunited. Finally the body is transported over a narrow bridge. The paintings on the South wall show the Annunciation of Christ to the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. The wall painting predated the installation of some of the stained glass windows, so some of the paintings in the sequence have been lost even in mediaeval times.
Laurence Whistler engravings
Two of the stained glass windows on the south side include two remarkable glass engravings by the celebrated 20th century artist Laurence Whistler. One if of the sun bursting through over a mountain, with the inscription “Full many a glorious morning have I seen, flatter the mountain tops with sovereign eye”, and the other is a dedication to the wife of a local landowner.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
