Holy Trinity church

Blythburgh is an English village in the coastal Suffolk marshes, under a hundred miles from London, and four miles from the North Sea at Southwold. It has a population of about 300. Blythburgh is best known for its church, Holy Trinity, and its role in the Aldeburgh Festival. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... A village is a human settlement commonly found in rural areas. ... Suffolk (pronounced suffuk) is a large traditional and administrative county in the East Anglia region of eastern England. ... The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Southwold is an ancient town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, at the mouth of the River Blyth. ... The Aldeburgh Festival is an English festival, largely revolving around classical music. ...

Holy Trinity church

Known as the Cathedral of the Marshes, Holy Trinity was founded in 1125, run by Augustinians from the nearby priory (founded 1130) who rebuilt the existing church in 1412. The priory was closed by Thomas Cromwell in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Events May 23 - Lothair of Saxony becomes Holy Roman Emperor on the death of Henry V. War ends between Toulouse and Provence. ... The Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430), are several Roman Catholic monastic orders and congregations of both men and women living according to a guide to religious life known as the Rule of Saint Augustine. ... A priory is an ecclesistical circonscription run by a prior. ... Events February 13 - Innocent II is elected pope An antipope schism occurs when Roger II of Sicily supports Anacletus II as pope instead of Innocent II. Innocent flees to France and Anacletus crowns Roger King. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan. ... Thomas Cromwell: detail from a portrait by Hans Holbein, 1532-3 Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex ( 1485 - July 28, 1540) was an English statesman, one of the most important political figures of the reign of Henry VIII of England. ... Events Treaty of Nagyvarad. ... The Dissolution of the Monasteries (referred to by Roman Catholic writers as the Suppression of the Monasteries) was the formal process, taking place between 1536 and 1540, by which King Henry VIII confiscated the property of the Roman Catholic monastic institutions in England and took them to himself, as the...

The church underwent a series of disasters, man-made and natural. The most dramatic of the latter variety came in August 1577, when a storm hit the area, and during morning service lightning hit the church, "cleft the door, and returning to the steeple rent the timber, [and] brake the chimes". The falling spire damaged the font and the roof (which wasn't repaired until 1782), destroying the angels in the west end bays, and the door still shows burn marks (known as the devil's fingerprints). Events March 17 - formation of the Cathay Company to send Martin Frobisher back to the New World for more gold May 28 - Publication of the Bergen Book, better known as the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, one of the Lutheran confessional writings. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

During the 17th century Holy Trinity was badly damaged when Parliament set out to remove what the puritans deemed to be superstitious ornamentation from churches; Blythburgh was assigned to William Dowsing, a local puritan, and on 8 April 1644 he went to the church and ordered the removal of "twenty superstitious pictures, one on the outisde of the church; two crosses, one on the porch and another on the steeple; and twenty cherubim to be taken down in the church and chancel [...] and gave order to take down above 200 more within eight days". (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Parliament of England can trace its roots back to the early medieval period. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... // Events February to August - Explorer Abel Tasmans second expedition for the Dutch East India Company maps the north coast of Australia. ...

Angel from the ceiling of Holy Trinity

General neglect also played its part in the church's deterioration, resulting in part from rural poverty, and in part from the rise of Methodism (a Primitive Methodist chapel was founded in the village in the 1830s). The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... Events and Trends Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Dutch-speaking farmers known as Voortrekkers emigrate northwards from the Cape Colony Croquet invented in Ireland Railroad construction begins in earnest in the United States Egba refugees fleeing the Yoruba civil wars found the city of Abeokuta in south-west Nigeria...

By the late 19th century the church was in a very poor state of repair, and in 1881 a restoration fund made possible the repair of the church, and then its maintenance after its reopening in 1884. While the fabric was restored, modern taste ruled out any return to the 15th-century colour scheme of the church; the thirty-six angels, set back to back in pairs on the arch-braced, firred, tie-beam roof were brightly painted in red and green with much use made of tin foil and gold leaf. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...

In 1962 the acoustic of the building was discovered by Benjamin Britten, and some of the concerts of the Aldeburgh Festival are performed in the church. 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976) was a British composer, conductor and pianist. ... The Aldeburgh Festival is an English festival, largely revolving around classical music. ...

Sources and external links

• Hugh Roberts, Mary Montague, & Barry Naylor. Holy Trinity, Blythburgh: Cathedral of the Marshes. Jarrold Publishing, 1999.
• History Notes — Blythburgh Society
• Holy trinity, Blythburgh — The Suffolk Churches Site
• Blythburgh, Suffolk — photographs of the church and its scorched door