St Mary's Church, Badley
Suffolk
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About this church
A church frozen in time
St Mary's is one of Suffolk's most remarkable medieval churches - its setting and unmodernised interior give an atmosphere of great peace and stillness. To discover its charm, you must begin with a journey - a mile's walk or drive down a rutted track across Suffolk farmland, to a small valley of trees and birdsong. The flint-and-brick church has nothing for company but a sixteenth-century farmhouse and the wildlife of its pretty churchyard.
Passing through the sturdy medieval door with its iron grille, you step into a time capsule - a church scarcely changed for 300 years with plain walls and a brick floor set with memorials to the Poleys, once owners of the house nearby. The seventeenth/eighteenth-century arrangement of the pews, which incorporates Medieval benches, combined with fragments of a screen with seventeenth-century panelling, where the oak is silvery-grey with age, make an extraordinary ensemble. There are monuments and memorial slabs to the Poleys and others.
Please click here for a free audio tour
A contribution can also be made by texting "BAD" to 70970 to donate £5 or 70191 to donate £10. Thank you.
This church costs £2,233 a year to maintain
Please make a contribution towards its upkeep at our donate page
Access information
There are steps to access this church.
Facilities & hire
Due to the historic nature of our buildings, this church only has natural lighting. There is no heating, running water or toilet facilities.
- Church available for hire
Directions
3 miles south east of Stowmarket off B1113. North of Needham Market on B1113 Follow Historic Church sign along track to church.
Transport
Nearest railway station: Stowmarket (2 miles) or Needham Market (2.2 miles).
History & further information
Why not make your visit more enjoyable and informed by finding out more about this church before you visit? You can download a range of publications below including the relevant county guide, and any walk round guides we have for this church.
This free of charge short guide contains details of all the churches we care for in Suffolk. Printed copies of the county guide are also available at the church.
