A Church Tour

As you enter the church through the south porch, you will pass through the glass inner doors that were erected to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the founding of the church in 1290. To your left, on the west wall, the window contains the oldest examples of stained glass in the church. The other windows in the church contain striking examples of Victorian stained glass.

Set in the north wall behind a small wooden door set in the wall , opposite the entrance are steps to the Parvise. A Parvise is a small room, often over a porch, which at St Mary's was used by visiting priests.

Next to the door of the Parvise the brass plaque commemorates Canon C.R. Manning. The Mannings, a notable Diss family have provided many Rectors of Diss. The Mannings provided an unbroken line of Rectors from 1778 until 1916.

The Victorian pews are gated, an unusual feature. Another unusual feature is the clock mounted inside the church. This is in fact, one face of the Church clock, the other faces are external.

Two side chapels were built in the early Fifteenth century, Corpus Christi , on the left as you face the alter, no longer exists as a chapel as the space is now occupied by the organ. St Nicolas Chapel, a place for quiet prayer on the right was restored in 1921 as a memorial to the fallen of the Great War.

The Choir and Clergy stalls were built in 1877 when the organ was installed

The tomb in the church along the north wall of the church next to the area of the organ is that of William Burton of Cock Street.He bequeathed a sum of money to the poor of Diss on the condition that his tomb was preserved. Failure to preserve it would result in the money going to the nearby village of Roydon. If Roydon failed to maintain the tomb, the money would go to Bressingham, another nearby village!