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About
St Andrew's Church, Tostock
The Parish
Church, dedicated to St. Andrew is a Grade I listed building,
which stands on the eastern outskirts of the village, set
back from the road and surrounded by trees. An enormous lime
tree towers over the gateway and path to the church. The churchyard
is enclosed on the north side by a flint wall, while on the
south side a cement block wall is the boundary of the recent
extension. The land for the extension was given in 1953 by
Captain Robert Snare and the wall was built by men of the
parish who gave their time and labour to the church. In 1999
the wall was extensively repaired. The Domesday Survey of
1086 noted that Tostock had 'a church with 12 acres of freeland
in alms'. The present building appears to date from the 12th
century. From the appearance of flint work on the south side
of the chancel wall, it suggests the possibility of an earlier
building on the same site.
The church
is built mainly of flint, limestone and redbrick work with
freestone dressings. It has a square battlemented tower, nave,
chancel, south porch and a north vestry. The building, which
we see today, has evolved during the centuries and has undergone
many extensions and alterations to make it fit the requirements
of the parish according to its needs at the time. The exterior
has many interesting features. The tower was constructed in
stages, begun in about 1350, in the late Decorated style,
with both west and north doorways being of the same period.
Completion of the battlemented tower can be dated approximately
to the 1460s as the oldest bell of the present peal of four
dates from that time. (1) Between 1997 and 1999, the parish
was involved in fund raising to restore the bells in time
for the Millennium. The four bells were brought down from
the tower in 1960 when the tower needed repair and the old
bell frame was unsafe. The bells had not rung full circle
for many years previously. The oldest bell, the treble, is
believed to date from 1460. The second bell, cast in 1527
by Robert Reve of Bury St Edmunds, is dedicated 'Sanct Petre
ora pro nobis' - St Peter pray for us. This bell carries an
unique maker's mark. Over the centuries the rim has been chipped
away in an effort to improve the tone but to no avail. The
third bell, also cast in 1527 by Robert Reve, is dedicated
'Sancta Maria ora pro nobis' - St Mary pray for us. This bell
was badly cracked and needed urgent repair work by Soundwell
of Lode. The tenor was cast in 1671 by Robert Gurney of Bury
St Edmunds. It has no dedication, but has an impressed pattern
of coins around the rim. (2) Three new bells were cast in
Loughborough during the summer of 1999. A new treble was donated
by Mr R M Clouston, Diocesan Bells Advisor, in memory of the
late Mrs C F Clouston, and a second new bell was donated in
memory of Brigadier R B T Daniell D.S.O., formerly of Tostock,
by his family. The 'Parish Bell' is dedicated to St Andrew
and carries the names of the Rector and Churchwardens. The
bells were hung in a new steel frame built by Mr A Baines
of Diss, and the new ringing gallery was designed and built
by John Pamment of Norton. The new peal consists of the new
treble, the new second, the 1460 bell, St Andrew, St Mary
and the tenor of 1671. St Peter has been hung separately as
the chiming bell. The first ring of the new peal took place
on Christmas Day 1999.
On the
outside of the tower can be seen the medieval turreted stair
which leads to the bell chamber, and also in the corner where
the tower abuts the nave, is the evidence of work done to
extend and enlarge the church. The original church was much
narrower than the present building, the various levels of
the stone stringcourse and examples of different flint work
show where alterations have been made. At the base of the
tower there is evidence that the buttresses were cut back
and incorporated into the new wider west wall of the nave.
On the south side of the tower there are two scratched mass
dials one on the lower part of the stair turret which is now
very faint and a clearer one on the end block of stone above
the porch. A stick would have been placed in the central hole
and the shadow cast by the sun would indicate the time of
service. The south porch was probably the last part of the
construction, thought to have been completed by 1480. The
two buttresses at the entrance have carvings which have become
very faint, now almost illegible. On the left is the IHS with
a crown, the symbol for Jesus Christ, and on the right is
a crown with MR for St Mary. The holy water stoup has been
blocked up since at least 1750, probably much earlier, while
the empty niche over the entrance may once have contained
a statue of St Andrew. Further along the south side of the
nave wall to the right of the third window can be seen the
position of the turret stair which gave access to the roof
loft, while the doorways can be seen inside the church. At
the east end of the nave wall can be seen two niches, one
on each side, both containing traces of colour indicating
that they may have contained statues of saints. On entering
the church the light from the six long plain windows of the
nave gives a feeling of spaciousness and height.
The new
red carpet given in memory of Mr P Chapman and Miss O Phillips
adds a touch of bright warm colour to the simplicity of the
interior. The church is cleaned by parishioners and fresh
flowers always decorate the chancel and porch, indicating
that this ancient building is much loved and cared for. The
nave windows consist of three three-light perpendicular windows
dating from approximately 1460 on each side. The west window
of late Decorated period, about 1350 now contains a memorial
window to George James Edward Brown of Tostock Place, who
died in 1857. This was installed in 1872 by his widow Mrs
Catherine Brown. The east window is a three light lancet of
Early English style of 1300s, with three quatrefoils above.
The glass is now mainly Victorian with some fragments of medieval
glass remaining. Repairs were also made to the stonework of
the window during the 19th century restorations. The chancel
contains two windows of the Early English period, while the
sanctuary window was discovered during the restoration of
the chancel in 1889, having previously been covered up.
 
Above:
The Green Man carving, and two details from the pew carved
ends
The font
is a real link with the past, babies having been baptised
here for so many centuries. The nave contains twelve rows
of benches, the first four on each side being Victorian copies,
the rest are wonderful medieval originals with carvings on
the pew ends of birds, animals and imaginary beasts. The heavy
oak seats are rough hewn planks, not meant for comfort, so
today we supply cushions for those who find the seats too
uncomfortable. The pews show signs of having been altered
or reordered at various times. The wall benches were provided
during the major restoration of 1848. In the 1830s the visiting
Archdeacon ordered the churchwardens to provide more seating
for the congregation - they finally did somewhat unwillingly
'there is already ample accommodation for the entire parish
if they cared to attend!'(3).
The pulpit
to the left of the arch and the reading desk were part of
the 1848 restoration, paid for by the Revd W G Tuck, Patron
and Rector from 1861-1887, and Mr G J E Brown of Tostock Place.
A magnificent roof of arched braces alternating with double
hammer beams spans the nave, unusual in its single span of
27 feet. It is believed to be among the earliest of its kind
in Suffolk, dating from 1460-1480 and has such decorative
features as traceried spandrels, carved arch-braces, moulded
upper collars and king posts. The chancel arch is of Early
English style dating from 1300, and to the right hand side
is a niche, possibly once an altar, which contains the Parish
Memorial to those who died in the First World War. Unusually,
this memorial is a painting of 'The Altar Of Sacrifice' by
the Hon Marion de Saumarez of Shrubland Hall, near Ipswich.
There is a list of thirteen names of men of this parish who
died in the war, and one name, an airman, who died in the
Second World War. These names are read out at our Remembrance
Day service every year. The position of the roof loft stair
can be seen on the south wall, near the arch. The doorway
at ground level is now blocked up, but the upper doorway is
open. It is possible that the enlarging and heightening of
the church in the 1450s was to accommodate a structure as
large as the rood loft and screen, which fitted across the
Chancel arch. (4). Above the loft or beam hung the rood, a
figure of Christ crucified with St Mary and St John.
A parapet
in front of the loft was known as the candle-beam. Tostock
residents of the early 16th century showed their devotion
to the church and saints by leaving money in their wills.
In 1507, Isobel Fynche left '20 shillings to the making of
the candle-beam'. In 1508, Thomas Byxby left '5 nobles to
the candle-beam'. There is no record of when the roof loft
and screen was removed but it is most unlikely they survived
into the 17th century. They were ordered to be removed in
1548 and again in 1559, after reinstatement in the reign of
Mary I, though the screen may have survived for longer. In
1664, on February 5th of that year, William Dowsing, the 'Parliamentary
Visitor for demolishing Superstitious Pictures and Ornaments
of Churches in the County of Suffolk', arrived at Tostock
church on his journey through the county. His journal records
that at 'Tostick we broke down about 16 superstitious pictures
and gave orders to take down 40 more and to level the steps.
We took a superstitious inscription with "ora pro nobis'".
These pictures would have included the carved angels in the
roof, statues of saints, coloured glass windows and figures
on pew ends (5). In the chancel stands the electric organ,
purchased in 1985 to replace a Victorian harmonium. Miss K
Mash was organist for 76 years until her retirement due to
ill health in 1997. There are memorial tablets to local families
on the walls of the chancel, several to the family of the
Revd Orbell Ray and his wife Priscilla, who lived in Tostock
Place. He was a wealthy yarn maker with a business in Bury
St Edmunds, and related to the Oakes family, wool merchants
and bankers. The Revd Orbell Ray was a financial benefactor
to the parish and assisted the Rector at times, taking baptisms
and burial services. He died in 1829, aged 89. His eldest
son Orbell Ray, has a memorial here and is buried in an iron-bound
grave at the north east corner of the chancel.
Beneath
the choir stalls is a poignant small black tablet to Adelaide
Matilda Oakes, aged 11 days, who died in 1811. She was the
child of the Revd James Oakes and his wife Elisabeth. There
are two memorial tablets above the pulpit to the Brown family
of Tostock Place. The first is in memory of George James Edward
Brown who died aged 34 in February 1857. He fell ill with
smallpox after being vaccinated against the disease, and in
order to save his wife and two year old son from infection,
he went to stay at the Angel Hotel in Bury where sadly, he
died. He is also commemorated by the west window installed
many years later by his widow. The other memorial is to his
eldest son Walter, born in 1855 who died in 1905. The list
of Rectors of St Andrew's church dates from 1308, an almost
unbroken line from the past to the present. Beside the communion
table several ancient tombstones have been incorporated into
the floor, one dedicated to Sir Robert Potken, Rector who
died in 1556, and another belonging to Maurice Moseley, Rector
in 1795. The longest serving Rector was the Revd James Oakes,
1796 to 1861, the second son of the Bury banker and diarist,
James Oakes. Mr Oakes purchased the living of Tostock for
his son on his marriage, and rebuilt the rectory for him.
Land was also purchased to provide the family with financial
means, until the Revd James Oakes's estate grew to the size
of the present Rectory Farm, making him one of the three major
land owners in the Parish. The other two were the Revd Orbell
Ray, related to the Oakes, and Mr George Brown, banker, of
Tostock Place.
There
was considerable rivalry between the Revd Mr Oakes and Mr
Brown - both were very busy building and improving their respective
properties at the same time, and both men had a considerable
impact on the lives of the villagers. Mr Brown was probably
a dissenter, although he helped to provide a Sunday School
and also supported the church, and served as overseer of the
poor. Those villagers with nonconformist leanings and any
with a grievance against the church, gravitated towards Mr
Brown. In a further chapter it is explained that nonconformist
meetings were being held by licence in 1839 in a barn in Tostock
owned by Mrs Brown. The village seemed to polarise between
the Rector and the banker, with people taking sides. Finally
the rivalry came to a head in January 1816 over the payment
of the Poors Charity.
The Poors
Estate Charity was set up by Lawrence Wright of Tostock in
his will of 1674. He left land in Beyton and Tostock to be
rented out and the proceeds thus derived to be used to provide
for the poor. The Charity Board of 1817 kept in the belfry
stated that the deserving poor were ' to be provided with
flannel petticoats, worsted stockings, coals and other necessities'.
This charity is still in existence today, the land being the
allotments in Church Road, and rents from the allotments are
used to give an annual payment to elderly residents at Christmas.
The original rules stated that five trustees should administer
the Charity, the Chairman always being the Rector. However,
by 1815, the number of trustees had dropped with none being
replaced, leaving the administration solely in the hands of
the Revd James Oakes. He collected the money and decided who
should receive the annual payment. Naturally he chose those
poor persons who attended church, thus ignoring the claims
of non attenders. For those already receiving parish relief
the extra money would have been a welcome bonus, though residents
of the workhouse were not eligible. On 6th January 1816, the
Revd James Oakes was in church, preparing to make payments
to the chosen poor from a small purse, when in marched Mr
Brown and his supporters. He snatched the purse containing
£6 from the Rector and accused him of ignoring the rules,
and of being 'an enemy of the people' . On March 23rd 1816,
at Bury Crown Court, the Revd James Oakes brought a charge
of assault against Mr Brown. After much deliberation the charge
was finally dropped as 'intent to injure' could not be proved.
The affair rumbled on for some time with both parties writing
long letters to the Bury and Norwich Post, giving the public
their various opinions on village 'politics' . Finally an
appeal was made to the Lord Chancellor as an independent adjudicator,
who approved the proposals of a parish meeting held on 18th
March 1816 at which it was decided to appoint twelve trustees:
Mr Brown, Chairman, the Revd James Oakes, the Revd Orbell
Ray, Harrington Willis, John Bacon, John Bristow, William
Bauley, Orbell Ray junior, George Boldero, John Jannings and
the Revd R Kedington. The list includes land owners, farmers
and tradesmen.(6) The Revd James Oakes was succeeded by the
Revd W G Tuck in 1861.
The Revd
William Tuck lived at Tostock House and it was he who had
initiated the major restoration of the Church in 1848 when
he had purchased the living of Tostock from the Revd Mr Oakes,
during whose long incumbency the church had fallen into considerable
disrepair. In 1887 the Revd Julian Tuck followed his father
as Rector of Tostock. He was a renowned botanist and naturalist.
Again he paid for a complete restoration of the Chancel which
was the incumbent's responsibility, while the nave was supposed
to be cared for by the people. In 1889 the completion of the
work was celebrated with a commemorative service on St Andrew's
Day. The large brass candlesticks used every Sunday were given
on this occasion by Miss Tuck, the rector's sister, and the
beautiful altar cross was also donated in memory of the Revd
S H Owen of Burstall Staffordshire, whose curate the Revd
Mr Tuck had once been. Some older residents still remember
Julian Tuck, as he remained Rector until 1933, with his love
of flowers and wildlife. Stories were told of how his sister
sometimes had to drag him into church to take the service
to get him away from some fascinating plant in the churchyard.
He was also remembered by the schoolchildren as he administered
punishment in the village school. The churchyard is a well
kept peaceful place of mature trees and moss encrusted ancient
gravestones, contrasting with the neat rows of headstones
in the modern extension. The oldest grave identified so far
is that of John Bulbrooke, gent, who died in 1641, a simple
slab engraved with a coat of arms on the south side of the
chancel. Nearby is the resting place of Susan Howlett who
died in 1688, a beautifully carved stone with a cherub. The
Tuck family grave is an imposing tomb, surrounded by iron
railings, while nearby stands a plain wooden cross dedicated
to Gilbert Tuck, son of the Revd Julian Tuck, who died on
active service in France during the first World War. He was
buried in France and is commemorated on the War Memorial.
Near the porch stands a row of four headstones, the last one
being a double headstone to the memory of Thomas Chapman who
died June 1756 aged 111, and his wife Elisabeth.
A member
of Tostock Women's Institute writing in 1930 commented that
Tostock 'was a very healthy place to live, where people live
as long as they like' . So many people of Tostock lie in this
quiet place, some, like George Brown remembered with an elegant
tomb beneath a great yew tree, others with carved headstones.
But many parishioners would have come here unrecorded, soon
forgotten, as in 1771, the Town Book entry for 4th May stated
'payment for burial of George Wright's wife a pauper on parish
relief, a coffin 8/-, for the winding shroud 3/-, for the
laying out of her 2/- , for the affedavy 6d., Samuel Copsey
for Bell and grave 3/-, for reading the burial 2/-'.(7) This
church and churchyard is truly the heart and soul of the parish
it serves.
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