---
title: "St Michael the Archangel, Beccles"
description: "Located in Beccles, Suffolk. Built Later 14th century; south porch mid-15th century; detached tower early 16th century. Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Grade I. Perpendicular style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Suffolk","Beccles","Grade I","Perpendicular","Detached Tower"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/st-michael-archangel-beccles"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T01:16:30.324Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T14:53:51.333Z"
location: "Beccles, Suffolk"
country: "England"
county: "Suffolk"
town: "Beccles"
address: "Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 9HE"
postcode: "NR34 9HE"
built: "Later 14th century; south porch mid-15th century; detached tower early 16th century"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["Michael"]
diocese: "St Edmundsbury and Ipswich"
grade: "I"
style: "Perpendicular"
materials: "Flint; freestone south porch; detached tower faced in Roche Abbey stone"
website: "http://www.becclesparish.org.uk/st%20michael's.html"
openingHours: "Open for visitors from 9am to 5pm every day in summer and every morning in winter and has the fascinating history of the church on display."
parish: "Beccles with Worlingham, North Cove and Barnby"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1186885"
gridReference: "TM 421 905"
accessNotes: "Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby"
---

# St Michael the Archangel, Beccles

St Michael the Archangel is the Grade I parish church of Beccles, Suffolk: a large Perpendicular town church with a famous detached bell tower, in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.

## Overview

The present church was built in the second half of the fourteenth century, replacing an earlier building. There is no structural division between nave and chancel; wide aisles run the full length of the church, some 147 feet. Flint is the main walling material. The two-storey south porch, an unusually lavish East Anglian freestone composition, was added in the mid-fifteenth century (a bequest of 1455). Historic England listed the church at Grade I on 16 March 1948 (list entry 1186885).

The free-standing tower stands to the south-east, on firmer ground: the west end of the churchyard falls toward the river and was judged unsafe for a heavy steeple. Construction ran through the first half of the sixteenth century (bequests 1515–47). The tower, separately listed Grade I (1298972), is faced with Roche Abbey stone and stands about 97 feet high.

The church is the principal church of the parish of Beccles with Worlingham, North Cove and Barnby.

## Further Information

- [Historic England list entry 1186885](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1186885)
- [Detached tower, list entry 1298972](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1298972)
- [Beccles parish: St Michael](https://becclesparish.org.uk/churches/st-michael-the-archangel/about/)
- [Wikipedia: Beccles bell tower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beccles_bell_tower)