History of St Mary's Church, Walpole
Welcome to St Mary's Church, Walpole
Walpole derives its name from a combination of the Anglo Saxon pol-a pool and weala-a foreigner-a Britain, and in the Doomsday Book is spelt Walepola.
This church obviously occupies a very early site though the earliest work to be seen today is Saxon. This is evident in the very ancient south wall and more obviously in the quoins south east of the nave and pilasters north and south of the chancel where these are formed with erratics.
No written evidence of this period has been found. It is not until the 12th c. that written evidence appears. In nearby Sibton had been founded in 1150 the Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary by William Cheyney sire de cayneto, the only Cistercian foundation in Suffolk.
The Breviary of Suffolk by Robert Reyce affirms that the Abbot of. Sybton Robutus Rose was Lord of the Manor of Sybton, Wallepole and Cuckeley. This was in 1315. It may therefore be inferred that the church in Walpole was, probably, until the time of the dissolution in 1536 served by the monks of Sibton Abbey. It was certainly a wealthy Abbey Reyce reports that its "first fruits" were £250 15s 7d and was paid in tenths of £25 Is 6|d. St Mary's church is basically a 12th c., building with fragments of Saxon work still showing and with the work of the 1870s in evidence-when the tower and spire were remodelled, the gallery removed and the Church extended to provide a North Aisle. The single bell was retained. It bears the cast in date of 1786. From the porch the Norman door leads into the church. The only feature of the porch itself is the scratch or mass dial on the right hand side as it is entered. Immediately inside the church is a holy water stoup. The lip of the bowl was broken off in the 1500s but the recess now houses a small statue of the Virgin. At the junction of the nave with the chancel is the blocked off entrance to a rood loft and there is some visual evidence that there was an external stairway leading from it.
Within the chancel in the sanctuary is a cedilla and also a cusped picina both of which were preserved when, in 1877 the central pulpit desk and reading desk were removed and choir stalls put in.
The Parish census of 1831 showed 658 people living in Walpole, by 1844 this had dropped to 615, today the figure is close to 200.
The large population in the early 19th c. was presumably the reason for the construction of a gallery along the west end in 1827.
Today there is no evidence of the gallery apart from a small set of Hanoverian Royal Arms high tip on the west wall above the presumed line of the gallery.
The spire again needed attention in 1962 when the King Post had to have a new piece scarfed in and the lead sheathing replaced by oak shingle. The report of 1760 by T Martin that there was once a good steeple with 5 bells seems to dispose of the suggestion that the steeple is a recent innovation. The 1982 Quinquennial inspection had cast doubts on the safety of the Bell and steps were taken to secure it temporarily.
In 1984 Mr Clouston the Diocesan Bell Surveyor inspected it and reported that it must be rehung in new mountings. He said that the Bell was cast in 1786 he went on to report that the return of 1553 had said that there were three bells and further that T Martin had on September 13th 1760 written "they tell me that there was once a good steeple and 5 Bells. Finally Davy reported on the 26th of June 1806 that there was a single bell.
In the 1950s it became increasingly difficult to find space for further burials in the church yard. The Parish Council therefore acquired a new piece of ground for the purpose down by the Watergate foot path, a 1OO yards towards Halesworth. However it was not until 1990 that the Churchyard was finally closed to further burials by an Order in Council, and its maintenance taken over by the District Council. Two War Graves of 1918 and 1919 are to be found in this area. It was of course here that the original School had stood being demolished in the mid 1800s when the State made provision on the Cookley Walpole boarder.
Many sources refer to a Jacobean Altar Table, but this was removed and it is said burnt, being heavily worm eaten. The present Altar was placed in position in 1958, an inscribed board on the wall of the sanctuary records the details. At about the same time the small manually blown organ which had stood by the chancel door was replaced by the present G & M Holdiche electrically blown organ for which space was made at the east end of the north aisle.
"St Mary's Walpole Monthly Visitor", the parish magazine of November 1905 records the bringing into use of oil lamps. These replaced candles and were not superseded by electricity until 1946. The oil lamps were sent to market at Halesworth and were purchased by the Old Chapel where they hang today.
The Pastoral Care of Walpole seems to have been fairly settled from the 1300s to the 1500s when it was overtaken by the turmoil of the reformation bringing many changes.
In 1654 Samuel Manning MA was appointed not only as Pastor of the independent Chapel of the Congregationalists, but also as Vicar of Walpole and Cookley and remained Vicar until his ejection in
1662 following the Act of Uniformity.
In 1840 Robert Kemp became not only vicar of Walpole but also of Wissett. At that time the census shows that there were two resident clergymen in Walpole yet the Sacrament of Holy Communion was celebrated in St Mary's only four times in the year. In November 1957 Bramfield and Walpole then separate parishes were united under one Vicar with the vicarage at Walpole this led in 1976 to these parishes joining with Wenhaston and Thorington to form the larger benefice but now with the vicarage at Wenhaston. Perhaps it was inevitable that following these moves that in May 1985 Walpole was informally removed from the Wenhaston group and equally informally attached to the Halesworth Team Benefice. This move was finalized by an Order in Council which with effect from July the 1st 1989 brought Walpole into the Halesworth Team Benefice now of eight parishes.