St Mary the Virgin Church - Colchester

St Mary the Virgin Church is an Anglican church located in the picturesque village of East Bergholt, Colchester, in the United Kingdom. The church's official address is The St, East Bergholt, Colchester CO7 6TA. If you plan to visit, you can contact them via phone at 1206392646 or check their website at constablecountrychurches.co.uk for more information.

Upon arrival, you will notice the church's stunning architecture, which dates back to the 14th century. The church features a wheelchair-accessible car park and entrance, making it easy for everyone to attend services or events. St Mary the Virgin Church is known for its beautiful stained glass windows, historic tower, and serene atmosphere.

As an Anglican church, St Mary the Virgin Church offers a variety of services, including Holy Communion, Morning Prayer, and Evensong. The church's website provides a schedule of services, as well as information about upcoming events and special occasions.

One of the unique features of St Mary the Virgin Church is its connection to the famous painter, John Constable. Constable was baptized at the church and later painted several scenes of the church and surrounding area. Visitors to the church can see a display of Constable's work and learn more about his connection to the church and community.

St Mary the Virgin Church has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from visitors, with an average rating of 4.6/5 based on 77 reviews on Google My Business. Many reviewers comment on the church's beautiful architecture, peaceful atmosphere, and friendly staff.

Reviews of St Mary the Virgin Church

Drew Taylor

4/5

Liked exploring this church and it's links with the Constable family. Informative and interactive video display showing the bell cage and how it worked.

Andrew Thomas

5/5

Fascinating historic church without the usual tower, and in its place a very unusual bell cage in the grounds. This was erected in 1531 as a temporary measure in anticipation of a new tower being constructed, but this never happened and so the bell cage stands to this day. The bells are rung on Sundays. The church itself seemed very well kept with beautiful stained glass windows. Contactless terminal took donations inside.

Roy

5/5

Any visitor to Suffolk is thoroughly spoilt for choice when it comes to discovering old, curious churches, some of them exceptionally huge & impressive for their very rural locations. St. Mary's, East Bergholt, is something else again, not only does it impress outwardly by its sheer size, but it contains & is surrounded by all sorts of curiosities. It's open to the public & has something of a museum feel about it, with such features as scale models of the church & bellcage, as well as local history documents. St. Mary's provides full information about what unique features to look for, both inside & outside. There are numerous souvenirs available to buy in aid of church funds to maintain this venerable building. St. Mary the Virgin is famous for having no belltower, but the full peal of bells are located in the churchyard, in a rustic wooden cage. Also in the churchyard are the graves of John Constable's parents (tomb in corner near Memorial Garden), his lifelong influential friend, mentor & fellow artist, Johnny Dunthorne (tomb near the red-brick wall), as well as Willy Lott (gravestone near the southern church wall), the bachelor farmer whose home the painter immortalised in 'The Haywain'. The elaborate church porch with small overhead priest's room, was once painted in detail by Constable. His study was notable for the attention to detail of the sundial, kept maintained by John Dunthorne's father. It bears a Latin inscription; "Life is alike shadow". Period photos reveal that this stubby stonework aspect of the building was once almost hidden by rampant Ivy. St. Mary's is well known for its so-called 'Wolsey Tower', despite its construction never having been completed. When the original tower collapsed, Cardinal Wolsey, (who came from nearby Ipswich), was approached to fund the rebuild. Thomas Wolsey was regarded as the second most influential man in England, after King Henry 8th. However, following his fall from grace with the monarch, Wolsey went to prison, where he soon died, so his tower for St. Mary's was never realised. The resulting bellcage was only intended to be a temporary home for the bells, but remains in use on-site, nearly half a millennia later. St. Mary's is located in central East Bergholt, on the sharp corner with the T-junction to Flatford. The churchyard runs up to the old red-brick wall, separating the site from another of former ecclesiastical purpose, Old Hall.

R G

5/5

Such a beautiful village church, and what an amazing bell cage! - I’ve never seen one before and it’s really interesting- the bells are huge! - we didn’t hear them ring but I will return sometime to hear them and watch them being rung. A very picturesque little village.

Andrew Pearson

5/5

An interesting church building, famed for its lack of bell tower instead sporting a wooden bell cage in the Churchyard built as a temporary structure in the 1530's in lieu of the bell tower! The church is still in use and very much part of the local community.

Andrew Larkin

5/5

Wonderful church without a bell tower. The bells are located in a 'bell cage' built in 1531 as a temporary measure until the bell tower is completed!

sheila figg

5/5

Interesting little church, stopped en route to visiting flatford mill linked to The Haywain. The church bell is interesting too

Derek Haden

4/5

Very imposing structure, very striking appearance.
The bells are housed in a Bell Cage, a wooden structure off to the side of the Church.
I read about the Bell cage and the Bells being restored, having to be sent to a specialist caster and tuner in Loughborough. The next day I saw a short feature on TV about John Taylor, Bell Caster and Tuners, ironic!.