Hawkedon, Suffolk

We must be going gaga! There is a much earlier entry for Hawkedon, so we went here before, although neither my wife nor I remember it!!  Anyway, see that entry too (January 2016).

This is a delightful church in a quiet village not far from Bury St Edmunds. It is built in a valley with lovely views. Most of the church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, but the porch is 16th century. According to something I read, the tower was struck by lightning in the late 1800s. It has some famous bench ends amongst its simple gems. Unlike many churches, it has a gallery.

Hawkedon St Mary Church, Suffolk

Hawkedon, is not far from Denston, so it is worth combining visits.  Hawkedon Church is much smaller than Denston.

The village of Hawkedon consists (these days) of widely scattered cottages and farms. At one time maybe there was more of a centralised village? The tower is 14th century. When we visited Hawkedon, the grass outside the church was very squelchy making access to the church somewhat difficult. We visited on a Sunday (early afternoon) but I have no idea if the church is normally open.

Hawkedon is famous for its bench ends and its font.

The square font is probably Norman, although many of the support pillars are later replacements.

There is a gallery which was added in the 20th century from which good views of the interior may be obtained.

The bench ends may pre-date the the Reformation, but this is questioned.

Little remains of the old rood screen, although part of the sequence of images can be seen in the dado.

The east window contains medieval glass fragments.

On the south wall of the nave is a plaque that was changed from Charles II to George II by changing a C to a G. There are other hatchments in the nave.

See http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/hawkedon.htm for a lot more detail.  As always, Simon's pages are filled with detail and photos.

As we were quite close to home, we did not eat out.