St Mary's Church, Bungay

St Mary's Church, Bungay
St Mary's Church, Bungay, from the west
St Mary's Church, Bungay Location from Suffolk
Coordinates: 52°27′20″N 1°26′16″E / 52.4556°N 1.4379°E / 52.4556; 1.4379
OS grid reference	TM 337 898
Location	Bungay, Suffolk
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Churches Conservation Trust
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	9 May 1949
Architectural type	Church
Style	Perpendicular Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Flint and stone

St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the town of Bungay, Suffolk, England. The church and the ruins of the adjacent priory are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and are under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in the centre of the town on St Mary's Street, the A144 road.

St Mary's was built as the church to a Benedictine priory. This was established in the late 12th century, but the main part of the present church dates from the 14th–15th century. The Domesday Survey records a church dedicated to the Holy Cross in the town, and it is thought that St Mary's stands on the site of an earlier Saxon church. The priory was closed in 1536 as a result of the dissolution of the monasteries, St Mary's became a parish church, and a grammar school was established in one of the priory's chapels. In 1577 the church was struck by lightning, and this event led to the Legend of the Black Dog (see below).

The church was damaged in a great fire in the town in 1688. The roof of the south aisle and some of the fittings, including benches and possibly the pulpit, were burnt, but the roof of the nave was not damaged. The south aisle was re-roofed in 1699, and the church re-opened in 1701. In 1879 the tower was repaired, and the rest of the church was restored, at a cost of £3,000 (equivalent to £280,000 in 2015). During the 20th century the size of the congregation declined and the church was declared redundant. Its benefice has been united with that of Holy Trinity Church. A society, The Friends of St Mary's, cleans the church and organises concerts and other events in the church.