St Mary's

Peaceful country church with an interesting history. Pleased to find it unlocked.

It's a small church, locked mostly. Some architectural interest. Site of old Priory.

Nice church

Only open for funerals etc and Sunday

Dating back to 1123 the Church of St Mary the Virgin was given as part of the foundation gift of a priory of St Benedictine Nunswhich was built to the south of the church.The present chuch was built in 1744 out of the ruins of the earlier building and extensibly refurbished in 1888.The church is open to visitors.

St. Mary's is a tiny rural Essex church located on Abbey Hill, just outside the village centre of Wix, (& within walking distance of the nearby church at Wrabness). The building shows distinctly different stages of red-brick building & it's very obvious that the contemporary church is built upon another original structure. This was in fact a small Priory built for a Benedictine order of nuns, of which only one wall now remains. The arches in the old Priory wall are clearly visible in the windowless north side of the church, while subsequent extensions have added a modern porch & pentagonal chancel. St. Mary's interior is small & plain, but with an entire corner occupied by a full size church organ. Nonetheless, it's especially attractive by its simplicity, with some small but beautiful stained glass windows. However, the total absence of windows in the former Priory, (dissolved in 1525), means the northern wall of the nave casts the interior rather gloomy. From outside, the windowless Priory wall causes St. Mary's to look more like a farm building. Alike neighbouring Wrabness church, St. Mary's has no belltower, the bell being housed in a wooden cage in the small, hedge secluded churchyard. It's noticeable how very uneven the grass is around the very old tombs & gravestones & how so many of them are set at random angles or have actually fallen over. All indicative of very active moles taking their toll underground this rural Essex churchyard, (something that needs to be kept in mind if visiting, as the unmown, lumpy ground poses a trip hazard). St. Mary's hosted commemorative meetings on-site to celebrate 900 years passing since the 1122 founding of the original Priory, during 2022