Ipswich, St Mary at Quay Church

A lovely little Perpendicular church surrounded by the bustle of modern Ipswich, St Mary's is crammed into a site beside the docks. The church was built over the period from 1450-1550 and is a very good example of a largely unaltered Perpendicular design.

The most interesting feature of the building is the superb double hammer-beam roof. The roof features beautifully carved figures of angels and saints, with further carving on the spandrels. The font is 15th century.

In its heyday, the church would have been full of fine memorials. Unfortunately, the church suffered from flooding and needed constant repair. It was damaged by German bombs in WWII and never reopened.

As a result, many memorials were removed, and today the interior presents a rather barren appearance. Several of the finer memorials can still be seen, however, at the Ipswich Museum.

St Mary's is no longer used for regular worship and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The last time we visited the church was undergoing a major restoration and was covered in scaffolding and 'keep out' signs. The Churches Conservation Trust anticipates that the work will be completed in 2016 and the church should reopen to visitors again.

Note: Do not confuse St Mary at Quay Church with St Mary le Tower Church, also in Ipswich.