File:Holy Trinity church Barsham Suffolk (2928393069).jpg

Chest with a date of 1675 marked on it.

There was a church in Barsham, at the time of the Domesday Survey, to which belonged twenty acres of glebe, valued at 3s. The patronage was appended to the manor at the above period, and has never been disunited.

The church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and comprises a nave and chancel of the same width: the latter is covered with red tiles, but the former, which is somewhat loftier than the chancel, is thatched with reeds, and there is a south porch covered with lead. A small north aisle or chapel was taken down about sixty years since, the removal of which has materially injured the stability of the fabric. At the west end of the nave stands a round tower, in which hangs a small solitary bell, though there were three at no very distant period.

The edifice is probably raised upon the site of that mentioned in the Domesday Book, but has no claims to Norman antiquity. The oldest feature discernible in it is a lancet window in the south wall of the chancel, near its junction with the nave, at the lower part of which is a lychnoscope, now plastered over, though the original and massive hinges are visible. The other windows, except that at the east end, are in the style which marks the reign of Edward II., and contain each a single shaft, with here and there a fragment of ancient painted glass. A screen of oak divides the body of the church from the chancel, which must have been erected about the time of James I., if we may judge of its age by the fashion of its design—a bold step at a period so shortly subsequent to the Reformation, and one which must have subjected the Rector to the charge of abetting popery. This incumbent was Joseph Fleming, who held the rectory from 1617 to 1636, and who, as appears by his arms, carved on a corbel, raised the present substantial but inelegant roof of the chancel in 1633. To him, also, I attribute the construction of the eastern window—the most remarkable feature in the edifice. This is formed by stone ribs or mullions, which cross each other diagonally; producing a series of lozenge-shaped lights. On the exterior face of the wall, the diagonal ribs are extended throughout; the interstices, beyond the limits of the glass, being filled with squared flints. The effect is very singular, and in design has, most probably, no parallel. The font, which is coeval with the church, stands in an open space at the west end of the nave.

The Font at Barsham Church. On the floor of the chancel lies the brass effigy of a warrior, in the military costume of the latter part of the fourteenth century. There are no armorial bearings attached to this monument, and the circumscription is lost, but it must, without doubt, have been placed to the memory of Sir Robert Atte Tye, who was buried here, soon after the year 1380; and whose widow, by will, proved in 1385, desires to be buried in Barsham church, by the side of her late husband. The costume strictly agrees with this appropriation. The present parish clerk, a very aged man, relates a tradition connected with this monument. He says, when this warrior died, four dozens of wine were drank, according to his last directions, over his grave, before the coffin was covered with earth. Strange as such a relation may sound to our ears, it is, in all probability, true. For in the will of James Cooke, of Sporle, in Norfolk, made in 1506, it is ordered, "I will that myn executors, as sone as it may come to ther knouleg that I am dede, that they make a drynkyng for my soul to the value of vis, viiid, in the church of Sporle." The drynkyng was accordingly held in the middle aisle.

An altar-tomb of richly moulded brick stands against the north wall of the chancel. It bears no inscription, but most likely covers the remains of Thomas Blennerhasset, Esq., who was buried in May, 1599.

There are likewise several floor-stones commemorative of former Rectors, and one which especially attracts attention by the variously coloured marbles of which it is composed. It is placed to the memory of the Rev. Thomas Missenden, who died in 1774, after an incumbency of thirty years.

Dr. Maurice Suckling, Prebendary of Westminster Abbey, and Rector of Barsham, was buried here in 1730.

Benjamin Solley, Rector, died Dec. 6, 1714.

Horace Suckling, Clerk, Rector, died April 12, 1828, æt. 57.

There are also monuments to the following persons:

Horace Suckling, youngest son of Robert Suckling, of Woodton, Esq., died August 15, 1751.

William Suckling, Esq., died Dec. 15, 1798, aged 68.

Elizabeth Flavell, eldest daughter of the Rev. Horace Suckling, died July 30, 1833.

Samuel Lillistone, Esq., of Beccles, died June 26, 1829, aged 72.

Eliza Lane, died June 10, 1831.

John Eachard, three times Bailiff of Great Yarmouth, died June 24, 1657. His wife died in the same year.

The Lady Dionesia Atte Tye was buried in the church porch, according to the directions given in her will, in 1375, where a very ancient gravestone, robbed of its brass effigy and armorial bearings, covers her remains.

The register books of Barsham commence in 1558, and down to 1615 were kept in English, and are badly written. After this period another hand occurs, by which the entries are very neatly made, and in Latin. There are a few breaks in the succeeding books, which seem to have been much neglected. In "1559, Thomas, son of Edwarde Tye, was baptized, on the 22nd of Marche." In all probability this was a descendant of the ancient race, formerly Lords of Barsham.

"Anno D'ni 1584. The olde ladie Itchingham was buried the 30th of Julie." The age of this lady is not recorded, but it must have been very advanced, as her youngest daughter, Mary, married John Blennerhasset, Esq., in 1523; and supposing her to have been only forty years old when her youngest daughter was married, she must even so have reached her hundred and first year: but the probability is she was ten or fifteen years older. She was, therefore, with justice called the "olde ladie" Echingham. A good proof this of the salubrity of Barsham Hall, notwithstanding the lowness of its site.

The tithes of the parish have been commuted for £463, and the glebes set at the same time at £160 per annum. These amount to rather more than eighty acres, the land tax on which is redeemed. The churchwarden holds a piece of land producing about 30s. per annum, given for the benefit of the poor, by a benefactor whose name is not recorded.