Saxlingham – St. Mary’s Church

I’m going to lump the Saxlinghams together for the purposes of this blog, but this ruined church is in Saxlingham Thorpe.

St. Mary’s was first built in around the tenth century, although the tower dates from the fifteenth century and was one of the last parts to be added. The tower, which once had two bells, retains most of its original height and like the rest of the church is constructed using flint with brick dressing.

Looking towards the end of the church at the chancel, which was extended in the late medieval ages and it’s still evident where the building was extended by the change of stonework.

Repairs to the church stopped in 1684 and it soon started to fall down. Some interiors and structural elements were taken to the nearby St. Mary’s Church in Saxlingham Nethergate. Now surrounded by trees, there was a medieval village around here, but people moved away for agricultural needs and it was that population movement that led to the church falling out of use.