St Mary’s, East Raynham

Open daily dawn to dusk.
Parking nearby
On a bus route
Grade II*

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St Mary's Church is set in rolling parkland, between Raynham hall and the lake. It was designed in 1858, copying the design of the previous 15th century church. Nearby St Margaret's Church in West Raynham was already in a ruined state and so St Mary's became the heart of a new joint parish. The jewel in the crown is the richly decorated Easter sepulchre in the chancel from 1499 commemorating Sir Roger Townshend and his widow. Another interesting memorial is to Townshend of Kut, a well-known General in his day. In 1915 he led 30,000 British soldiers against ottoman forces at Kut-al-Amara in Iraq which resulted in a huge military disaster. The Townshend family still live in Raynham Hall. The elegant stained glass windows at the east of the aisles date from the 1950s.

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