St Andrew's, Tostock
Tostock is a name I'd seen on road signs so many times from childhood en route to visiting relatives in a neighbouring village and yet I'd never set foot in the place until now. I had heard the church was worth seeing, especially for its wood carvings, and was not disappointed.
St Andrew's at Tostock stands at the eastern edge of this peaceful village, enclosed in its delightfully rural churchyard set back from the road. It is a fairly small building and externally most features point towards a 15th century / late medieval date. It is a building of real charm on a small scale, though whilst the nave is fairly short it is exceedingly wide despite the lack of aisles, an unusual arrangement.
Inside the width of the nave is all the more apparent, it almost seems as wide as it is long, and all under its handsome original double-hammerbeam roof (sadly shorn of its original embellishments by post-Reformation iconoclasts, though the headless remains of the small carved post-figures of saints remain on the pendants. Originally there would most likely have been angels looking down from the sawn off rafters). It has to be said the interior on the whole has a surprisingly Victorian feel to it thanks to restoration and many of the fittings, and yet the greater part of the woodwork in here is medieval.
The real treasure of this church is its collection of late medieval benches, all carved with figurative (mainly animal) adornments and poppyheads as are found in several of the better known churches in this part of Suffolk. As in other such cases these have been augmented by cleverly matched Victorian work but this is mostly concentrated at the front few rows of the nave and the bulk of the rest is genuine original work. The only disappointing factor is the condition of some of them, many of the figures have suffered damage over the years (wear & tear rather than deliberate vandalism) and quite a few of the creatures lack faces or limbs; it should be remembered however that more famous sets nearby look so complete because they have seen careful restoration of their more timeworn elements, whereas at Tostock the originals have been left untouched by the carvers who only added newer figures to augment them.
Tostock church is well worth a look for anyone who enjoys the carved animal benches of East Anglia (they are the main attraction here), and happily normally seems to be kept open for visitors to admire.
St Andrew's, Tostock
Tostock is a name I'd seen on road signs so many times from childhood en route to visiting relatives in a neighbouring village and yet I'd never set foot in the place until now. I had heard the church was worth seeing, especially for its wood carvings, and was not disappointed.
St Andrew's at Tostock stands at the eastern edge of this peaceful village, enclosed in its delightfully rural churchyard set back from the road. It is a fairly small building and externally most features point towards a 15th century / late medieval date. It is a building of real charm on a small scale, though whilst the nave is fairly short it is exceedingly wide despite the lack of aisles, an unusual arrangement.
Inside the width of the nave is all the more apparent, it almost seems as wide as it is long, and all under its handsome original double-hammerbeam roof (sadly shorn of its original embellishments by post-Reformation iconoclasts, though the headless remains of the small carved post-figures of saints remain on the pendants. Originally there would most likely have been angels looking down from the sawn off rafters). It has to be said the interior on the whole has a surprisingly Victorian feel to it thanks to restoration and many of the fittings, and yet the greater part of the woodwork in here is medieval.
The real treasure of this church is its collection of late medieval benches, all carved with figurative (mainly animal) adornments and poppyheads as are found in several of the better known churches in this part of Suffolk. As in other such cases these have been augmented by cleverly matched Victorian work but this is mostly concentrated at the front few rows of the nave and the bulk of the rest is genuine original work. The only disappointing factor is the condition of some of them, many of the figures have suffered damage over the years (wear & tear rather than deliberate vandalism) and quite a few of the creatures lack faces or limbs; it should be remembered however that more famous sets nearby look so complete because they have seen careful restoration of their more timeworn elements, whereas at Tostock the originals have been left untouched by the carvers who only added newer figures to augment them.
Tostock church is well worth a look for anyone who enjoys the carved animal benches of East Anglia (they are the main attraction here), and happily normally seems to be kept open for visitors to admire.