St Mary's is one of the largest churches in Suffolk, and inspires a certain amount of awe from the High Street. Most of the fabric is medieval and the building is famous for one of the finest roofs in the country. The tower was built in the 1460s; the stair turret was added in the 19th century.
Here is a view of the south side - the porch on this side is Victorian. Sadly my shot of the north side, showing the enormous medieval porch, is not good enough to show here.
A charnel house stands in the south side of the churchyard - originally constructed to house the bones of people formerly buried in the grave yard to make room for new "inhabitants". This was a common practice in urban churches before the Reformation. The Victorians turned the one at Mildenhall into a picturesque gothic ruin.
Here is the east end from the High Street. The chancel is a Decorated, surviving from a previous building. Here the fabulous tracery of the east window can be seen.
The church also contains the largest Royal Arms in the country and has a huge porch. The 14th century west window is very fine.
The church was locked - I believe there is a local key holder, but I couldn't find the information so will have to see the glories inside on another occasion.
Digital photographs
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