From whichever direction you approach the centre of Middleton, the graceful lead- covered needle spire of Holy Trinity Church dominates the scene.

Saint Felix, the first Bishop of Dunwich, brought Christianity to this part of East Anglia in the 7th century. Middleton at the time was probably a pagan settlement, and its first Christian church may well have been a simple structure of timber, clay and thatch. Possibly the present site was used, and it could have been rebuilt later by the Anglo Saxons using flint and stone; but no traces of earlier buildings remain.

The 12th and 13th centuries saw the building developing to that which is externally recoqnizable today. Internally there have been many changes over the centuries; not the least caused by a fire in 1955 which destroyed the thatched roof and all the pews.

Apart from striking the hour the five ancient bells are silent. Three were recast in London in 1779, being returned by sea through Aldeburgh. Bells were ringing in 1620 when a complaint was made to the Bishop of Norwich that Fordley bells were disturbing Middleton worshippers, and vice-versa. As the two churches were adjacent, this was not so surprising. The Bishop resolved the problem by ensuring that there was only one priest for the two churches. Soon afterwards Fordley Church was demolished, and is lost without trace. It is possible that the stones on the north side of the chancel, including the Sarcophagus cover, came from Fordley church.Church Services  More information  www.suffolkchurches.co.uk   www.r.ginn.btinternet.co.uk

Graveyard plans

IndextoMiddletonChurchyard.pdf

                                         MiddletonChurchyardinscriptions.pdf