Linstead Parva, Suffolk - St. Margaret of Antioch
Linstead Parva was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Lineftede, but the first record of a church here comes from the early 13th. century, when Roger de Huntingfield gave St. Margaret's to the Cluniac monastery of Mendham, founded by his father William. St Margaret's began as a chapel of ease to Mendham Priory and marked the boundary of the priory estate.
The earliest part of the present building dates from the early 13th. century, but it almost certainly replaced an earlier timber building on the same site. The nave roof is higher than the chancel, and there is no tower, just a belfry over the west gable, housing a single bell, cast at the famous Whitechapel Foundry in 1789.
Two original 13th. century windows survive in the north wall of the chancel. The nave windows were inserted in stages between the 14th. and 16th. centuries to admit more light. These are set within Tudor brick surrounds and were paid for by individual local families. One of those families were the Everards, residents of Lowther Hall in Linstead Magna, and descendants of William de Huntingfield who founded Mendham Priory.
The medieval church would have been richly furnished, but like so many other churches in East Anglia it suffered at the hands of the 17th. century iconoclast William Dowsing, who visited Linstead Parva in 1644 and removed statues, pictures, tie-beam carvings, and the entire rood screen.
In the late Victorian period, the church at neighbouring Linstead Magna grew derelict, so St. Margaret's was restored, at the expense of Lord Huntingfield, to serve both parishes. As a result, most of the internal furnishings are 19th. century. New pews were erected, incorporating medieval bench ends from St. Peter's in Linstead Magna. These bench end carvings include a roaring lion and a man falling asleep.
The church sits in a pretty churchyard, with large and abundant trees all around, they form a tunnel effect as you approach the south porch.
The church gained Grade: I listed building status on the 7th. December 1966. (English Heritage Legacy ID: 286130).
Linstead Parva, Suffolk - St. Margaret of Antioch
Linstead Parva was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Lineftede, but the first record of a church here comes from the early 13th. century, when Roger de Huntingfield gave St. Margaret's to the Cluniac monastery of Mendham, founded by his father William. St Margaret's began as a chapel of ease to Mendham Priory and marked the boundary of the priory estate.
The earliest part of the present building dates from the early 13th. century, but it almost certainly replaced an earlier timber building on the same site. The nave roof is higher than the chancel, and there is no tower, just a belfry over the west gable, housing a single bell, cast at the famous Whitechapel Foundry in 1789.
Two original 13th. century windows survive in the north wall of the chancel. The nave windows were inserted in stages between the 14th. and 16th. centuries to admit more light. These are set within Tudor brick surrounds and were paid for by individual local families. One of those families were the Everards, residents of Lowther Hall in Linstead Magna, and descendants of William de Huntingfield who founded Mendham Priory.
The medieval church would have been richly furnished, but like so many other churches in East Anglia it suffered at the hands of the 17th. century iconoclast William Dowsing, who visited Linstead Parva in 1644 and removed statues, pictures, tie-beam carvings, and the entire rood screen.
In the late Victorian period, the church at neighbouring Linstead Magna grew derelict, so St. Margaret's was restored, at the expense of Lord Huntingfield, to serve both parishes. As a result, most of the internal furnishings are 19th. century. New pews were erected, incorporating medieval bench ends from St. Peter's in Linstead Magna. These bench end carvings include a roaring lion and a man falling asleep.
The church sits in a pretty churchyard, with large and abundant trees all around, they form a tunnel effect as you approach the south porch.
The church gained Grade: I listed building status on the 7th. December 1966. (English Heritage Legacy ID: 286130).