St Mary’s Church Ickworth History
Ickworth Church with ’The Marquess of Bristol’ rose in the foreground which is a rose variety named after 7th Marquess of Bristol
Ickworth Church is the oldest building on the Ickworth Estate, and the only reminder of the earlier parish of Ickworth, which included a medieval manor house and village. A church was first mentioned here in the Domesday Book of 1086, as a possession of the Abbey of St Edmunds in Bury, but no trace has been found of this building. The earliest parts of the existing church date from the mid-13th to 14th centuries. The church plan dates different areas of the church spanning the centuries.
In 1432 the estate passed to the Drury family and then, through marriage, to the Hervey family who subsequently became the Earls and Marquesses of Bristol. Thomas Hervey (d. 1467), was the first member of the Hervey family to be buried at the church alongside his wife Jane, and daughter, who was heiress of Henry Drury of Ickworth. You can see his inscribed stone monument on the floor of the chancel, alongside those of other Hervey family members.
First and second redevelopments
The church has undergone four major redevelopments since its medieval beginnings. The first was in 1778, when the 3rd Earl of Bristol, Augustus John, built the tower, laid down memorials to family ancestors, built a burial vault, and converted the pulpit into a three-decker.
The second major redevelopment was carried out in the early 1830s by the 1st Marquess of Bristol. The south aisle and family pew were built with a new family vault below, the north and west porches were added, the tower was heightened and bestowed a clock. It is thought that William Ranger oversaw this redevelopment. He was a civil engineer and pioneer of small factory-made concrete blocks, for which he held two patents. In the south aisle and vestry, you can clearly see Ranger's concrete blocks. These concrete blocks were unprecedented in church buildings at the time which make the south aisle such an architecturally significant construction.
1910-11 restoration
The third redevelopment by the 4th Marquess of Bristol took place in 1910-11, to the designs of architect Arthur Conran Blomfield, who was also working on Ickworth House. This replaced the north porch, the tower pinnacles and the roof. A completely new stained glass was installed in the east window, dedicated to the memory of the 3rd Marquess of Bristol who had recently died. During the installation, a number of 16th-century stained-glass roundels were moved to windows in the nave and chancel. It was during these works that the historically significant medieval wall painting of the Angel of the Annunciation was discovered.
Modern history of the church 1980’s - 2013
The Church Commissioners declared Ickworth Church redundant in 1984, this was done against the wishes of the Hervey family. This was due to the weakening financial position of the Church of England, and the fact that Ickworth Church was seen as potential competition to St Leonard’s Church, Horringer. Two years later the church and churchyard were purchased by the 7th Marquess of Bristol. Unfortunately, very little maintenance was subsequently carried out and its condition deteriorated rapidly. By 1998 it was put on English Heritage's Heritage At Risk register.
The 7th Marquess died in 1999 and ownership of the church was unresolved until 2005, when it passed to the 8th and current Marquess of Bristol. The 8th Marquess of Bristol decided that the best way to restore and protect the church for future generations was to create a charity to own it. In 2006 the 8th Marquess of Bristol founded the Ickworth Church Conservation Trust and transferred ownership of the church from himself to the trust, with himself becoming trustee and chairman of the new charitable trust. The role of the new charity was to restore and safeguard the future of the church and churchyard.
After major fundraising efforts by 2012 the £1.2m required to restore the church was raised from generous grants from Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, and others. In June 2013 an opening Service of Blessing was held by the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and the church reopened to the public.
The Church today
This is a picture of the key individuals who were involved with the restoration of Ickworth Church, and taken in June 2013 when the church was re-opened to the public. From left to right, John Porter (who now heads the church volunteers), Simon Pott (church trustee), The 8th Marquess of Bristol (church chairman and trustee), Stuart Hobley (HLF), Karen Knight, Henry Freeland (the church architect), John Ette (English Heritage).
The Church is owned by the Ickworth Church Conservation Trust (registered charity number 1116545) with the Marquess of Bristol, the Rector of Horringer cum Ickworth and Simon Pott FRICS acting as trustees with the Marquess of Bristol also acting as the Chairman.
The church is open on a daily basis, and run by a dedicated group of volunteers who make sure the church is cared for so that the public are able to enjoy it. Events, christenings and services of blessings can be held in the church. The Hervey family continue to be buried in the vault and churchyard.
The church is very lucky to have a core group of amazing volunteers, who make sure the church can be enjoyed by the public and keep it open and in a clean state of repair.
More information on the church can be found at www.ickworthchurch.org.uk
Donate to Ickworth Church
Ickworth Church gets no funding from the National Trust, nor any other organisation. It is completely reliant on donations from the public for its survival. All donations are hugely appreciated. Donations can be made here http://easydonate.org/ICCT or else by text message. To donate the amounts specified below by text, just text ICCT to the respective number.
To donate £1, text ICCT to 70201
To donate £3, text ICCT to 70331
To donate £5, text ICCT to 70970
To donate £10, text ICCT to 70191