St Mary of the Assumption Ufford Info

The Parish Church of the Assumption of Mary
Ufford

Dear pilgrim and visitor to our web site, we welcome you in the name of Jesus Christ to this fine and ancient house of God here in Ufford. We invite you to visit our wonderful church via the web, set out below are just some of the key areas of interest. We do hope that you will enjoy your virtual tour.

Worship in St Mary of the Assumption Ufford.

1st Sunday

8.00 a.m. Holy Communion (BCP)
11.00 a.m. Morning Prayer (Common Worship)

2nd Sunday

11.00 a.m . Sung Eucharist

3rd Sunday

8.00 a.m. Holy Communion (BCP)
11.00 a.m. Famly Communion Service

4th Sunday

11.00 a.m. Sung Eucharist
6.30 p.m. Evensong (BCP)

5th Sunday

10.00 a.m. United Benefice Service alternates Melton/Ufford

Saturday Evening of the 2nd Sunday

5.00 p.m. Short service of prayer and Reflection

Every Saturday

10.00 a.m. Holy Communion (Common Worship)

11.00 a.m. Parish Mass 1st, 2nd and 4th Sunday

11.00 a.m. Family Service 3rd Sunday.

6.30 p.m. Evensong 1st Sunday

Saturday: Holy Communion at 10.00 a.m.

Saints Days: Mass as announced.
Confession by arrangement.

St Mary’s Church stands firmly in the renewed Catholic tradition of the Church of England. We aim to be a spiritual home for all our resident parishioners, but also those who come looking for a more “catholic” expression of worship and spirituality. Our commitment to theological study, investigation of the faith, along with our deep interest in the concept of pilgrimage is what makes St Mary of the Assumption such a special and welcoming place. We are aware that in today’s modern world, many people are searching for a worthwhile spirituality to under gird their busy lives. If you would like to know more about us, please contact either michael.hatchett@yahoo.co.uk or ruth.hatchett@yahoo.co.uk. Do come and join us for worship soon.

1. As you enter St Mary’s through the wonderful South Porch which was added in the late C15 you will notice the tall flushwork panels as well as the triple canopied niches over the entrance. The base course displays the crowned chalice and wafer symbol of the Mass. The porch has a good roof, decorated with bosses, and in the C19, stone diaper work was added round the plain inner doorway. In the porch you will see the restored Holy Water stoup, still very much in use.

2. In the nave - which still has fragments of Norman walling along with a re-used Norman doorway in the chancel the visual impact is powerful to say the least. The arcade consists of two parts. The two east bays are of circa 1200, with massive round pier and responds; the four centred arches are Perpendicular. The west bays are later; octagonal pier and two-centred arches. You will notice that all the arches are double-chamfered. The nave is filled with light from the eight clerestory windows against the four bays below. As you look up, you will see the fine painted roof with alternating hammer beams and tie-beams supporting moulded principals which rise to the ridge-piece without any collar beam. The roof of both nave and chancel display a good deal of the original colour left on the principal timbers, including the sacred monograms of IHS and MR - the first being the letters in English for Jesus Hominum Salvator - Jesus, Saviour of Mankind. The MR referring to Maria Regina - Mary Queen .

3. Perhaps it is the Font cover in Ufford Church that is the most sought after attraction for the pilgrim and visitor alike. Pevsner spoke of this font cover as “A prodigious and delightful piece reaching right up to the roof”. Munro Cautley calls it “the most beautiful in the world”. This fine font cover, circa 1450, with its richly crocketed carving and tiered finials is surmounted by a Pelican in her piety - an ancient symbol of the Christian Eucharist. As Christ feeds his faithful with his own body and blood, so the Pelican plucks its own breast to feed its young. How appropriate that the Sacrament of Baptism is the gateway to all other Christian sacraments, not least the Holy Communion.

4. The base of the Rood Screen and the empty beam above is all that now survives of the ancient Rood (The Crucified Lord with St John and Our Lady on either side) The empty and massive beam remains with its moulding and carving. The base shows in primitive style St Agnes, St Cecilia, St Agatha, St Faith, St Bridget of Kildare and St Florence. Date 1440-60.

The South aisle Chapel is dedicated to St Leonard. Sir Ninian Comper designed the new stone altar and fittings as a memorial to the men of the parish who died in the First World War. Note to the right an Early English angle piscine with dropped sill sedilia for the clergy to sit during Mass. Notice also in this chapel the fragment of medieval decoration on the wall above. Imagine what this church looked like when all was adorned in this manner- the roof , the walls, the font cover, all in polychromatic splendour.

5. As you enter the Chancel you will notice that the Sanctuary area is not that of a simple Suffolk village church. Since 1896 this parish has stood firmly in the Tractarian Tradition of “High Anglican” worship. The daily Mass has been part of this tradition along with the centrality of the Holy Eucharist in worship and adoration. The High Altar Candlesticks and Crucifix are dated 1707 and are of Italian origin. The Stations of the Cross, Statues of the Saints all remind us of the need for visual aids in our earthly worship.

Just as you enter the Chancel, immediately behind the base of the rood screen you will see the misericords with the Willoughby shield on the north side, and two cheerful masks on the south. The purpose of these being to assist the priest when the psalms were being said or sung. Today the building you see is not just a museum, but a living, praying parish church. The daily psalms and prayers are still offered, as is the celebration of the Holy Mass on Thursdays and Saturdays and of course Sundays. We hope that you have enjoyed your visit to our much loved place of worship, and that you will return again soon.

The Ufford Benches

A great many of our visitors are intrigued by the C15 benches that occupy our nave. They stand on castellated sills, and their low backs are charmingly gnarled, with leaf trail carved on the majority of them.

The ends of the benches are buttressed on both sides of a tracery panel which is then divided in some cases into two or three sections. Their poppy heads are extraordinarily varied - some with human head finials, some with heraldic emblems, and some with fruit. The second poppy head from the back is particularly notable, for its lobes are carved with pairs of creatures which have long sinous necks, and hooded human faces at their rear ends. There is a fine stag on the elbow below them, its neck in a chained crown, and a lady wearing a butterfly headdress is carved on one of the elbows on the aisle side - which dates the benches roughly between 1450 and 1485.

Just in front of the font is the most famous of all the benches - namely the bench known as the “Margaret and Catherine”. This carving illustrates the C15 hair styles and chair styles. Also one can see a number of animal grotesques, and perhaps the one on the front bench in the nave is a medieval carvers idea of a camel, the beast that symbolised Jesus Christ, stooping to assume the burden of the world’s sin.

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