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- 1. St Mary, Preston St Mary, Suffolk, England
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Parish church Preston St Mary is in the rolling arable land between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, towards the W of the county. The nearest town is Lavenham, 2 miles to the W. Preston stands on a low hill above a stream to the E that runs S into the river Brett. It is an attractive village; its main street occupied by houses and a pub, with the church at its southern end, facing the street and alongside the hall. St Mary's has an aisled nave with a N porch, chancel with N vestry and W tower. The nave has a 15thc. clerestory and three-bay aisles with 15thc. windows. The N porch is 15thc. too, but very elaborate with flushwork decoration, niches on the buttresses and a battlemented parapet. The chancel is 14thc. in its details, with one reticulated N window and flowing tracery in the E and S windows. The N vestry is 19thc., with a N window with Perpendicular-style tracery. The tower has diagonal buttresses to the E, a polygonal SE bell-stair and a battlemented parapet with gargoyles below. The W face has a 15thc. doorway with kings as label stops and niches to either side and above for statuary. The bell openings are two-light reticulated with triangular heads. The nave, aisles and chancel are of flint, septaria and reused brick or tile - a typical Suffolk mixture. The tower is of roughly-knapped flints. The church contains an important early Romanesque font.
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