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St Mary's Church, Thornham Parva

Coordinates: 52°18′41″N 1°05′33″E / 52.3114°N 1.0926°E / 52.3114; 1.0926
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Church of St Mary
Map
LocationEye, Suffolk
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
Previous denominationRoman Catholic
History
StatusActive
Architecture
Functional statusParish church
Heritage designationGrade I listed
Designated1955
Administration
DioceseSt Edmundsbury and Ipswich

St Mary's Church is a medieval church in Thornham Parva, Suffolk, England. Much of the fabric dates from the 12th century, and it is a Grade I listed building.[1] Originally the church served not only Thornham Parva but the neighbouring village of Thornham Magna, which is now a separate parish.

A church on the site was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and there are still traces of Anglo-Saxon stonework in the present building. The roof is thatched. Inside the building are early-14th-century wall paintings—on the south wall the early years of Christ and on the north wall the martyrdom of St Edmund.[2] The church also houses a famous altarpiece, the Thornham Parva Retable, which is thought to have been created in the 1330s for a Dominican priory,[3][4] probably Blackfriars, Thetford.

The architect Basil Spence died in 1976 at his home at Yaxley, Suffolk, and was buried at Thornham Parva.[5] The graves of Dame Anne Warburton, the first female British ambassador, and the violinist, Frederick Grinke, also lie within the churchyard.

References

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  1. ^ Historic England, "Church of St Mary, Thornham Parva (1285113)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 November 2017
  2. ^ "Suffolk Churches". suffolkchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Altarpiece restored". Yorkshire Post.
  4. ^ "The Hamilton Kerr Institute in Cambridge has restored a 15-ft long medieval altarpiece", History Today, 2003.
  5. ^ "SPENCE, Sir Basil (1907–1976)". English Heritage. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
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52°18′41″N 1°05′33″E / 52.3114°N 1.0926°E / 52.3114; 1.0926