St Mary's Church Tattingstone is in the southern half of the village, directly opposite Chedworth Place.

The church is neat, bright and well-kept; all pink-cheeked, as if fresh from its Victorian makeover. This was the work of Henry Hall, and in some ways was rather a drastic one, a reminder of quite what a parlous state the medieval churches of the east coast had fallen into by the middle years of the 19th century.

The north porch opens straight onto the road, which I always like. It is as if the church were thoroughly integrated with its village.

The graveyard spreads beyond, to west and south. But it does not have the secluded atmosphere of many in this district. Tattingstone is where the Shotley Peninsula begins, and, despite being close to both Ipswich and Colchester, the villages of the peninsula feel wild and remote.