BRIEF HISTORY
The Building of the church
The first church was built in 1190 by Aubrey de Vere, 3rd Earl of Oxford, the owner of Hedingham Castle and a great landowner in the area. His wife had recently established a convent in Hedingham, and the right to appoint a vicar was given to the nunnery. When Henry VIII suppressed the Convent in 1536, the rights were given to the Earl of Oxford, and later to the owners of Gosfield Hall, who finally ceded their rights at the end of the 20th century.
As you approach Gosfield Church through the lych gate, a silver star can be seen, painted on the corner buttress. It is the de Vere star or mullet of the Earls of Oxford. When the buttress was rebuilt in 1560, the 16th Earl of Oxford has just paid for a new roof to the chancel, and as a compliment to him his star was placed on the corner which faces towards Hedingham. So the connection between the de Veres, Hedingham and Gosfield is remembered.
