St Peter Bruisyard
This is a small, charming church with a notable round tower. Nestled in a valley near a prominent vineyard: worth visiting.
Most noticeable feature of this church is the Norman round tower. It is though that the large amount of round towers in East Anglia (Norfolk having 126 and Suffolk with 42) – 181 in total and only 5 outside East Anglia in Sussex and Berkshire – is because of the lack of appropriate stone. The lack of suitable stone in an area dominated by clay and flint meant square towers were harder to build and flint became more widely used earlier on compared to other parts of the country. One theory is that the early wealth of East Anglia in Norman period meant they could afford to build churches out of flint while in other areas wooden churches were still being used into the Norman period.
It is mainly uses as smaller forms of decoration in earlier churches but also used more extensively, essentially covering whole churches for those built in the later medieval period in Norfolk and Suffolk when the region could afford to build much larger churches. From the nave is an early gothic pointed arch that allows us to see the tower open from the inside and the tower’s stained glass window; also in early gothic style.
The simple chancel and nave are also possibly Norman and at the west end of the nave there are buttresses decorated with knapped flint on the north and south sides. Although we can see a medieval addition of panel tracery with the primary stained glass window in chancel. Knapped flint is when pieces of flint are cut in half to display a dark, smooth surface to the exterior of churches.
The family chapel is also worth looking at. This is a southern transept possibly built or certainly refurbished in the early 16th century with typical red-brick window mullions for the frames in the previously late gothic perpendicular style. This transept is also interesting as a sign of architectural movement between eras because of how red bricks are pottered about amongst the stone and flint, and the top of a former red-brick arch above the window is visible.
St Peter's Bruisyard is a lovely round tower church, nestled in the rural Suffolk landscape and has a range of small architectural features that makes it a great church to investigate. Located just north of Framlingham and notable for the vineyard nearby, this is an excellent church to explore for everyone who is interested in the local historic landscape.