Ipswich Minster, previously known as St Mary-le-Tower, is the civic church of Ipswich, Suffolk, England and a Grade II* listed building.[ official website][ St Mary Le Tower, Suffolk Churches website]
History
Although
medieval, the church mostly dates from 1860 to 1870, when it was rebuilt by
Richard Phipson.
[The Buildings of England; Suffolk. Nikolaus Pevsner. Yale University Press. ] Rebuilding was funded by George Bacon, banker and philanthropist. The church, then known as St Mary-le-Tower, is mentioned in the
Domesday Book, demonstrating that the site has been occupied by a church since at least 1086.
Redesignation as a Minster
On 19 January 2025, the church known as St Mary-le-Tower, was redesignated as Ipswich Minster in recognition of its increasingly important role in serving the community of
Ipswich.
Memorials
The church contains a
memorial brass, on a
chancel pier, to H.A. Douglas-Hamilton,
vicar from 1915 to 1925. There are also four brasses in the chancel floor.
Organ
The church has a large three-manual pipe organ, which has its origins in an instrument by
Renatus Harris of 1690.
[The Organ, its History and Construction. Hopkins & Rimbault. 1st Ed: 1855] There was subsequent work by
Henry Willis, Spurden Rutt and Bishop & Son. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
Bells
Originally there were five bells and a Sanctus in 1553 of which
Miles Graye I of
Colchester recast the Treble in 1607 and the Tenor in 1610. The church was the first in Suffolk to achieve a tower a peal of 12 bells in 1865. With the addition of a sharp second in 1980, the current bells are all by John Taylor & Co, of
Loughborough (except for No. 7, which is by Mears & Stainbank of London).
Incumbents
-
Thomas Peacock 1542
-
John Somerton 1555
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George Webb 1577 - 1606
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Nathaniel Roe 1608 - 1614
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Mr Nuttall 1615
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John Ward 1616 - 1620
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John Gooding 1620 - 1624
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Samuel Ward 1624 - 1627
-
Mr Skinner 1628 - 1630
-
Mr Raymond 1630 - 1632
-
Samuel Ward 1632 - 1635
-
John Ashborn 1635 - 1636
-
Gawen Nash 1637 - 1641
-
William Fincham 1649
-
Mr Chapman ???? - 1662
-
John Burrough 1662 - 1670
-
Hugh Roberts 1670 - 1672
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Samuel Brunning 1674 - 1677
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Samuel Gotty 1677
-
Joseph Cutlove 1678 - 1707
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Dr. Thomas Bishop 1708 - 1737
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Thomas Bishop 1737 - 1777
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Thomas Cobbold 1778 - 1831, grandson of Thomas Cobbold (1708–1767)
-
Francis Cobbold 1831 - 1838, succeeded his father
-
William Nassau St Leger 1838 - 1860
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Joames Robert Thurrock 1861 - 1890
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Afthil Arthur Barrington 1890 - 1904
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William Melville Pigot 1904 - 1914
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Hamilton Anne Douglas-Hamilton 1915 - 1925
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Arthur William Watson Wallace MA 1925 - 1928
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Arthur Herbert Streeten MC MA 1928 - 1942
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Richard Hamilton Babington MA 1942 - 1958
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Basil Layton Spurgin MA 1958 - 1972
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Geoffrey John Tarris MA 1972 - 1982
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Keith Brynmor Jones MA 1982 - 1996
-
Peter Kenneth Townley BA. 1996 - 2008
-
Charles Alexander Graham Jenkin, BSc 2008 - 2021
-
Thomas James Mumford 2021 -
See also
-
List of tallest buildings and structures in Ipswich
