St Mary's, Ickworth, Nr Bury St Edmunds

Restored St Mary's Church

Lambs on the estate

This 900 year old church is in the middle of the National Trust Ickworth Estate.

It is no longer in regular use, but it has recently been restored. It has a fine blue clock on the tower.

Inside

Inside

The church is about a 600m walk from the main car park. It is on the left walking towards the walled garden.

Do not confuse this church with the one just outside the estate, which is passed on the way in to the Ickworth estate and house.

Ickworth House

Teas and food are available at the National Trust cafe in the main house.

The Ickworth Estate is worth a visit at any time of the year.

See http://www.ickworthchurch.org.uk/ .
See also http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ickworth/ .

Round Church

The Round, Cambridge

The church of Holy Sepulchre, also known as "The Round Church" or just "The Round" in Cambridge was built around 1130AD.  It is one of very few round churches in England.  It was used as a church until just a few years ago, although now it is a visitor centre. The Round is one of the oldest buildings in the city.

When I first lived in Cambridge I used to go to services at "The Round" quite often, and was warmly welcomed although it was rather too evangelical for me really.  The congregations got too big, so they moved to a bigger church in the city, long after we had moved out of Cambridge. For many years in the early 1970s the church hall across the road was used for overflow.

The Round Church is located right next to the Cambridge University debating chamber. There are lots of places to eat on Bridge Street nearby.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Sepulchre,_Cambridge.

Swaffham Prior

Swaffham Prior's twin churches

Hatchments in St Mary's

This parish in East Cambridgeshire has two churches sharing a single churchyard.  It became a single parish back in the 1600s. Both churches date from the twelfth century, or even earlier. Both are very old.

Window in St Mary's

St Mary's on the left is still regularly used for services.  St Cyriacs and St Julitta's, on the right, is used for exhibitions, concerts and some special services. The latter has no fitted pews and very good acoustics. St Mary's has a large inner glass door, between the tower area and church proper, to keep the main church warm. This was added as a millennium project in memory of local boys killed in road accidents.

St Mary's

When we visited today, Feb 6th 2015, there was a bright blue winter sky and the outside temperature was cold at about 3 degrees C.

Village sign

Swaffham Prior is a quiet village situated some 10 miles east of Cambridge. Many who live here are retired or commute into Cambridge city. The village is situated high up (well for Cambridgeshire!) on the chalk and overlooks fen to its north. The village has many fine, old, houses. It feels old.

The village has a by-pass and it was easy to park outside the churches in the

St Cyriac + St Julitta's

street. Both churches are usually unlocked.

As well as having 2 churches, the village has 2 windmills, one of which is still used to grind corn. Lane's Bakery in Burwell sells this flour.

View from St Mary's

There is a pub about 200m from the Swaffham Prior churches, on the same road, on the same side, serving food.

See http://www.swaffham-prior.org.uk/ and
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaffham_Prior .

Eye Church

Eye church tower

Part of rood screen

Eye has a very fine church with a splendid tower. We heard the bells being rung a
few years ago. There has been a church on the current site since 1066. The church was restored in 1868 and the 15th century rood screen was restored in 1925.

Across the road from the church, on a nearby hill, are the remains of a motte and bailey castle that dates originally from just after the Norman Conquest. The Eye website www.eyesuffolk.org/eye-castle/ has confusing data about the castle. It was sacked in 1265 and was largely restored in the 19th century. I am unclear how much of it is original and how much is a Victorian folly. It looks original.

Eye castle

There was plentiful parking near the church and we ate at low cost just up the road from the church at Beard's Deli where ham and scrambled egg on toast was £3.50. The cafe, attached to a deli, was small and simple but ideal for lunch.

Weather on our visit today was cold, although the church and cafe were warm. The church was having a new organ installed. Outside the temperature was 2-3 deg C but dry. There was still some snow on the ground, but most had melted.