St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds

St Mary's is one of the largest and most historic church buildings in the country and is the civic church of Bury St Edmunds. It has one of the longest aisles (213') of any parish church in England, and also has one of the largest west windows. This stained-glass window was paid for by local landowners as a thanksgiving for the bumper harvest of 1854. At the dissolution of the Abbey in 1539 the tomb and body of Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk were transferred to the sanctuary in St Mary’s. The East window was given by Queen Victoria and depicts Mary Tudor's life in marrying the King of France, widowhood and the return to England with Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. St Mary's is a Grade 1 listed building built on an earlier site during C14/5 The C14 north doorway within the Nottyngham porch. This ornate porch, built in memory of John Nottyngham and his wife, dates from the 1440s. The C14 flint-faced tower predates the main church. A short stretch of the precinct wall of the Abbey of St Edmund adjoins the north-west angle buttress of the tower. The south aisle, in fourteen bays The last four bays to the east were an extension forming a chantry chapel given by Jankyn Smith between 1463 and 1473. He also gave the slightly earlier extension to the north aisle to form a chapel, and the sanctuary. The font is 1506 dated by bequests at that time. In 1920 the Cenotaph was built to honour the men of the Suffolk Regiment who fell in World War 1 - it was moved to it's present position in 2014 and rededicated to it's present position and rededicated on the 100th anniversary on the first Suffolk Regiment death in WW1. The latter is now the chapel of the Suffolk Regiment converted in 1935 to commemorate the 250th anniversary and it is now also the Regimental Chapel of the Royal Anglican Regiment.

St Mary's Church, or the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Bury St Edmunds is one of the largest parish churches in England with claims to the second longest aisle and largest West window The church’s foundations dates back to 1125, but the first church on the site was built in the 7th century by King Siegberht of East Anglia. Little remains of the Norman church as it as almost entirely rebuilt in the Perpendicular style in 1425. Further renovations and extensions took place up until the 16th century, including reconstruction of the nave, aisles and tower. The nave features an impressive hammerbeam roof, with eleven pairs of ornately carved angels. The Decorated chancel dates from 1290 and is the final resting place of Mary Tudor, Queen of France and sister of King Henry VIII. Mary died in June 1533 and was interred in the Abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries her remains were moved to St Mary’s. Marble Kerbs were erected around her tomb at the suggestion of King Edward VII during his visit in 1904.