April 2023 by Roy Barclay
St. Mary's is one of the 12 medieval Ipswich churches (& one of 4 named in honour of Mary the Virgin). But, it's the only one of the medieval town centre churches to be sited on the opposite side of the River Orwell, being the most southerly located of all the town centre churches. Although as closeby the Dock area as St. Clement's, St. Peter's, & St. Mary-at-the-Quay, St. Mary-at-Stoke has not become quite so isolated by the congested one-way system that traps those churches on a narrow traffic island. So the church not only retains its own green space, but actually has very pleasantly secluded churchyard. St. Mary-at-Stoke is a beautiful, traditional style small church with a short tower, so despite its hilltop location, it doesn't stand out from afar. Of all the town centre churches, its grassy churchyard remains one of the best, overlooking what was once the heart of old Ipswich. The interior benefits from the use of stained glass in its tracery windows. The East window has been compared, unfavourably with looking "like a carpet", because of its intricate patterned design, but in fact is a true work of art.
