Special protection has been given to a church in rural Suffolk that until recently was cared for by the Benedictines of Downside Abbey.
St Benet’s Minster, Beccles, has been listed as Grade II* by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
The listing, announced on 19 January by Historic England means that the church is now protected, and will be eligible for government grants.
The church, huge for the population it serves, was originally intended to be part of a small monastery. It is a tribute to the French Romanesque style by Frederick Banham, a Catholic architect who was mayor of the town and is buried in the churchyard.
John George Kenyon of Gillingham Hall, a convert and friend of St John Henry Newman, bought the land and helped to pay for the church, which was completed in 1890.
St Benet’s is cruciform in shape with a square tower at the crossing said to have been inspired by the Norman tower of the great abbey church at Bury St Edmunds.
In its recommendation for listing, Historic England says St Benet’s is of immense ambition.
It describes a gloriously decorated interior “with a high, barrel-vaulted plastered roof with elaborate stencilling around the arches and a continuous inscription taken from the Rule of St Benedict”.
“The east nave bay has a gilded and stencilled ceiling and the area over the adjacent sanctuary arch is richly painted, imitating fabric. The sanctuary ceiling is domed and decoratively painted and the vault in the east apsidal Lady Chapel is painted dark blue with gold stars.”
Downside Abbey gave up St Benet’s, along with another Grade II* listed church, St Edmund’s, in the neighbouring town of Bungay, in 2021-2022. St Benet’s is now without a resident priest.
It is one of four historic Catholic churches in East Anglia that have been listed or upgraded following Taking Stock East Anglia, a survey of the diocese’s churches funded by Historic England, and organised by the patrimony committee of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Another of the four is Frederick Banham’s last church, St Felix, Felixstowe, which was completed by his son, Fr Cyril Banham, who was parish priest between 1945 and 1961.
The other newly listed church, Our Lady of the Annunciation, King’s Lynn, was built with the support of the future Edward VII.
Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs, Cambridge, had its listing upgraded to II*.
Diana Evans, head of places of worship strategy at Historic England, said: “The listing of these four inspiring buildings reminds us that they are treasure houses where anyone can find quiet, beauty and inspiring architecture.
“They offer space to think about our own experience and add it to the story of all the people who have been there before us. People think they can’t go into a church building if they’re not members of the congregation, but Catholic churches are usually open, welcoming, and free to visit.”
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