Gift Day

for 6 hours
Cavendish, St Mary the Virgin
Peacocks Road / The Green Cavendish Sudbury, CO10 8BA, United Kingdom

During October St Mary’s Church is making its annual appeal to the wider village community for help in meeting its insurance costs for another year, as it has previously, when the village has been very generous. You may find this an unusual request if you do not normally attend the Church, but it is an important asset with broader benefits to us all, at the focus of one of the best-known village scenes in the country and it needs to be maintained for future generations. We hope you will feel able to help towards this, especially as it has a very considerable history and is Grade 1 listed.

The cost for the year from October is now over £4,400 including the insurance itself, the required alarm subscriptions & call outs, and the new Smart Water. It is not feasible to cover this with all the other running costs from the resources of a relatively small regular congregation.

Envelopes with details will be delivered to the houses in the village. The Gift Day envelopes can be brought to the church between 10.00 and 16.00 on Saturday 14th October, where people will be ready to welcome you and receive them. Alternatively, they can be posted through the letter box of The Manse, Melford Road, Cavendish, CO10 8AD, marked ‘for St. Mary’s Church’, or in the special box inside the Village Shop.

Online Donations can also be made here: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/2117/page/75449/view/

The church also has a contactless giving machine available (to the right when you enter).

Cheques should be made payable to: “PCC Cavendish” and for those using BACS, the Sort Code is 30-98-31 and Account Number 00594368.

We would be grateful for any contributions.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to anyone who is thinking of attending the Church and note that a list of services is available on the church gate, the shop window and the village magazine.

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Cavendish, St Mary the Virgin

The church is in one of the prettiest settings of any in Suffolk with half-timbered, thatched cottages clustered round it. The handsome exterior reflects the great wealth of the Middle Ages with its impressive stair turret on the 14th century tower rising above the battlements.

What's special?

Light pours in through the vast east window and in the nave is a lavish 16th century gilded altarpiece of the crucifixion. The 19th and 20th century glass is high quality and there’s an elaborate tomb for Sir George Colt who died in 1570.
The priest would have had a room in the tower with a window looking on to the high altar. He had a fireplace for which a chimney can still be seen at the top of the tower.

How old is it?

A Saxon church stood on the site, then a Norman church; another church was started in the 14th century and in 1381 Sir John Cavendish built the chancel. The north aisle, nave arcade and clerestory were added in the 15th century and the Victorians had another go in 1862.

Famous connections

The inspirational Sue Ryder set up a charitable foundation at her mother’s house in the village that became home to people with physical and mental disabilities. She married Leonard Cheshire who founded the Cheshire Homes and the couple lived in Cavendish.

Sir John Cavendish was Chief Justice of the King’s Bench in the reign of Richard II and beheaded during the Peasants Revolt  of 1381.


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Get in touch

The Revd Mark Woodrow

The Vicarage
14 High Street
Clare

CO10 8NY
The Revd Mark Woodrow - Rector
01787 277515
Dr Graham Jenkins - Churchwarden
01787 280030

Our website

What's on

Gift Day

for 6 hours
Cavendish, St Mary the Virgin
Peacocks Road / The Green Cavendish Sudbury, CO10 8BA, United Kingdom

During October St Mary’s Church is making its annual appeal to the wider village community for help in meeting its insurance costs for another year, as it has previously, when the village has been very generous. You may find this an unusual request if you do not normally attend the Church, but it is an important asset with broader benefits to us all, at the focus of one of the best-known village scenes in the country and it needs to be maintained for future generations. We hope you will feel able to help towards this, especially as it has a very considerable history and is Grade 1 listed.

The cost for the year from October is now over £4,400 including the insurance itself, the required alarm subscriptions & call outs, and the new Smart Water. It is not feasible to cover this with all the other running costs from the resources of a relatively small regular congregation.

Envelopes with details will be delivered to the houses in the village. The Gift Day envelopes can be brought to the church between 10.00 and 16.00 on Saturday 14th October, where people will be ready to welcome you and receive them. Alternatively, they can be posted through the letter box of The Manse, Melford Road, Cavendish, CO10 8AD, marked ‘for St. Mary’s Church’, or in the special box inside the Village Shop.

Online Donations can also be made here: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/2117/page/75449/view/

The church also has a contactless giving machine available (to the right when you enter).

Cheques should be made payable to: “PCC Cavendish” and for those using BACS, the Sort Code is 30-98-31 and Account Number 00594368.

We would be grateful for any contributions.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to anyone who is thinking of attending the Church and note that a list of services is available on the church gate, the shop window and the village magazine.

View attachment

Everyday faith

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Our Benefice

Safeguarding

The parish of Cavendish is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Benefice Safeguarding Officer. The Diocese of St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our Benefice Safeguarding Officer. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor. If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority Children or Adults Service.

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