Our Village Church Buildings and Communities

Westerfield

There was a church here when the Domesday Survey was carried out. Parts of the building date from the Norman period. It now has a modern kitchen and toilet

The church sits at the centre of the village and has a good relationship with all residents, including non-church goers, who support the Church Fete and Gift Day each year.

​The Church also includes the Parish Room which is the administrative hub of our group of churches. The admin team meet there every Friday morning.

Westerfield Church Room diary

Tuddenham

The church building dates from the 12th century, with later Victorian period additions. Mains water and drainage were added as part of millennium alterations, and it has a small kitchen area and toilet. The church is Grade 1 listed and in good condition.

​

The church sits at the at the centre of the village at the top of a hill, and is a focal point. Festival services, especially at Easter, Remembrance Sunday, and Christmas are very well supported by the wider community.

The bells are rung on the first Sunday of the month.

Witnesham

witnesham2.jpgSt Mary’s is Grade 1 listed and a church has existed on the site since c1208.  It was added to in the 14th-16th centuries, restored in Victorian times, and in the late 20th century the vestry was renovated and a digital organ installed.

​More recently the church has seen LED lighting and a new AV system added, along with toilets, a servery and the side aisle has been transformed. The overall effect is dazzling!

​inside witnesham.jpgThe congregation of St Marys has worked with Witnesham Baptist Church for many years and continues to enjoy good relations. A church fete and gift day are held each year, both of which are well supported by the village.

​Church guides

Three villages churches -one community

Westerfield, Tuddenham and Witnesham are ancient villages, and each has a medieval church. Farming is still an important part of rural life, as are the local pubs, and a host of local organisations such as the WI. While many of these clubs and organisations operate on a village basis, the churches manage to work both individually and collectively. We share a Vicar and a ministry team, and through some creative timetabling, we manage to hold a service in each of our three churches every Sunday.

We also do other things together; our upcoming service for pets is a great example, as is our Thanksgiving for Life service where we remember our departed loved ones. But it’s not just services, sometimes we organise a joint Lent Challenge, joint Christmas sing-alongs, and joint away-days. The Inspiring Ipswich project, which aims to grow existing congregations as well as create new ones, has been enthusiastically embraced by our churches.  We’ve got a team drawn from all three congregations who are working really well together and have already produced some great new material to help publicise our churches and encourage more people to join us. ​Summer is village fete season. And the church community is right in there, helping to make all three a great success each year – even when we’ve had downpours of biblical proportions!
This website, our page in the local magazine ‘In Touch‘ (click the Westerfield edition), Pew News, and our social media channels are all joint efforts with volunteers from all three parishes helping out.

​And you’ll find many of the people in the congregations involved in all sorts of village life – from pantomimes to choirs.