Letheringham (St. Mary)

LETHERINGHAM (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Plomesgate, hundred of Loes, E. division of Suffolk, 3 miles (N. W.) from Wickham-Market; containing 164 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Deben, and comprises 1143a. 9p. The soil is various, in some parts light, and in others a rich loam; there are some fertile tracts of meadow on the banks of the river. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Church-Patronage Society, with a net income of £42: the tithes have been commuted for £122. The church consists of a nave and tower; the former, being in a ruinous condition, was restored about 60 or 70 years since: there are some slight remains of the chancel, which contained numerous handsome monuments of the families of Wingfield and Naunton. Here was a small priory of Black canons, a cell to the monastery of St. Peter, Ipswich; it was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and at the Dissolution had a revenue of £26. 18. 5. Sir Robert Naunton, author of the Fragmenta Regalia, on obtaining possession of the priory, built a large house near its site, of which part has since been pulled down, and the rest converted into a farmhouse.