The village of Offton can be found in the gentle folds of Suffolk. It has a truly rural flavour, approximately 10 miles northwest of Ipswich. Some one hundred fine farmhouses, pretty cottages and modern dwellings lie strewn along a winding road. So does a stream by the name of The Channel.

Over the years, all conveniences have disappeared. The handsome Georgian vicarage was sold by the Church commissioners many moons ago, as was the Victorian school. The Post Office too has been a private home since long. Strictly speaking, there is no pub. The one commonly associated with Offton lies outside the parish's boundary.  
Simon Knott, the man behind www.suffolkchurches.co.uk, writes ‘...In King Offa's time, when England was being forged by the interplay between the three great kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex, there was a castle, and it may be that the king of Mercia himself had one of his homes here, giving his name to the village in the process. This may only be a story, but it is a good one and there was a castle, on the hill above the church.

St Mary is a pleasing mixture with an elegant unbuttressed 14th century tower and windows of all periods. To the south of the church is one of the county's most unusual outdoor tombs; a weeping woman holds a horse by the head, while a body lies slumped on the ground. This depicts the final scene in the life of Robert Wyard, who was found dead beside his beloved horse in 1867.

Step through the wooden porch and into the church. Inside, all is pleasantly 19th century, with the floor tiles of 1887 and 1870s stained glass overwhelming the medieval. The architect was Frederick Barnes.  
I am very fond of 19th century stained glass, when it is not pompous, stuffy or poorly executed. I'm pleased to say that the glass here is very good indeed.
There is a fine Annunciation scene and the east window has the parents suffering their little children to come unto Christ, a splendid work of 1870. It has a slight hint of the surreal about it, since the little girl at Christ's feet looks exactly like Tenniel's Alice.

The glass was given by John Thompson, vicar here from 1858 to 1903, in memory of his daughter Helen. When Thompson arrived Offton church was derelict, but under his helm, it changed to almost exactly the condition it is in now, so the whole building is testament to this remarkable man.
One piece of glass, which is much older, is that of the arms of the splendidly named Bohuns, who were lords of the manor in these parts in the 14th century.

This church has one of the finest surviving medieval holy water stoups in the county, with a triangular hood. Mortlock thought it strange it had survived, given that in 1644 Dowsing visited and gave express orders for its removal, but there is no reason to think that it was not simply blocked up and then rediscovered by the Victorians.

 
The space under the tower is dedicated to the bells and boards record notable rings. The font stands near the south door, making a pleasing focus. It includes the symbol of St Edmund on its panels.

St Mary's Offton is a lovely church. I liked it very much.’



With thanks for permission by Mr Simon Knott to publish a condensed version of his report on Offton Church.