St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham
| St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | www.onesuffolk.co.uk/StMichaelsChurchFram/ |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Michael |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Framlingham, Suffolk |
| Diocese | St Edmundsbury & Ipswich |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | The Revd Canon Mark Sanders |
| Curate(s) | The Revd Mary Lamb, The Revd Michael Womack |
| Laity | |
| Reader(s) | Terry Gilder, Jean Ellison-Taylor |
| Organist/Director of music | Paul Narey |
St Michael the Archangel in Framlingham, Suffolk, known affectionately as St Mike's, is a Church of England church dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It was the burial site of the Howard family. The church was declared a Grade I listed building in 1966.
The Church of Saint Michael, Framlingham, has been built, rebuilt and added to down the ages. A surviving feature, the capitals of the chancel arch, date from the twelfth century but the majority of the church was built in the Perpendicular style between 1350 and 1555. The roof is especially glorious with intricate fan tracery which conceal hammer beams. The roof itself dates from about 1521.
Framlingham was a major seat of the Earls and Dukes of Norfolk. Vast estates of the Norman Bigods were forfeited to Edward I and Framlingham came to Thomas of Brotherton, eldest son of Edward and Margaret of France. After many other changes of inheritance, in about 1635 Sir Robert Hitcham bequeathed the Framlingham estate to Pembroke College, Cambridge, who remain Lords of the Manor to this day. The church contains many fine tombs including that of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
One of the most noted features of the church is the world famous Thamar organ. Only eight large-scale organs in total survived the English Civil War, and only three of those are Thamars. The other examples being in Gloucester Cathedral and St Nicholas's church in the hamlet of Stanford upon Avon, Northamptonshire.
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