Reads like a medieval detective story. A splendid book... should be treated as a companion volume to The Stripping of the Altars. JULIAN LITTEN, CHURCH TIMES In the late medieval churches of the former deanery of Dunwich there are many features which were provided by testamentary gifts; this study of three thousand wills from fifty-two Suffolk parishes, written between 1370 and 1547, records such material and spiritual bequests. Many purchased prayer (the prayers of the poor being particularly sought), vital for the swift passage of the soul through Purgatory; other testators left...

The documents in this volume bring to life the day-to-day business and upkeep of the large church of Mildenhall, belonging to a parish whose manor was the richest in the possession of Bury St Edmund's Abbey. The Collections record the weekly offerings gathered in aid of church building and maintenance. The churchwardens' accounts provide evidence for such matters as repairs to vestments and books, the cost of candles, and payments to the various tradesmen employed. The later accounts also show the impact of the Reformation on the church, with the pulling down of the rood, destruction of the...