The nearby Layer Marney palace was intended to be The Palace which surpassed both in size and grandeur Cardinal Wolsey's Hampton Court. It was started in 1515 by Henry Marney, 1st Baron Marney, KG (c. 1447 – 4 May 1523) and Lord Privy Seal to Henry VIII, but he died before it could be completed. As a Knight of the Garter he was ennobled as the first Baron Marney. Other offices of the land he held included Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (of Henry VIII) and Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard.
His son, John, 2nd Lord Marney, continued the building work but died just two years later, leaving no male heirs to continue the family line or the construction. What was completed was the main range measuring three hundred feet long, the principal gatehouse that is some eighty feet tall, that is eight storeys in the flanking semi-octagonal turrets, a fine array of outbuildings, and a new church. The original intention was to have a large range of buildings built around a large open square courtyard with the gatehouse being the imposing carriage entrance, it would have been immense and some idea of how it would have looked can be seen in a scale model housed in the gatehouse.
It remains the tallest example of a Tudor gatehouse in Britain, contemporaneous with East Barsham Manor and Sutton Place in Surrey, with which latter building it shares the rare combination of brick and terracotta construction. It is a beautiful Tudor building surrounded by formal gardens and parkland with magnificent views to the Blackwater Estuary. Built of soft red brick, with a delightful warm tone, Layer Marney Tower achieves an extraordinary synthesis of grandeur and intimacy, that has delighted visitors ever since the Marneys began construction. In building on this scale the Marneys were following the example of their monarch, Henry VIII, who believed that a building should reflect the magnificence of its owner. Henry Marney as Lord Privy Seal, Captain of the Bodyguard and many other influential positions clearly intended to display his status through his new building. Many other courtiers wished to do the same, and just as they rivalled each other for influence and power at court, so they tried to out-do each other in the splendour of their buildings. The Marneys enthusiastically entered this game of one upmanship, building tall, with lavish use of terracotta and stucco, together with decorative detailing derived from Italy and probably designed by Henry VIII's architect Guiliamo de Travizi. Henry VIII was so impressed by the building he came to stay in 1522,in what must have been a giant building site, his daughter, Elizabeth I also came here to stay during her reign.
The tomb of Henry, 1st Lord Marney is perhaps the high point of all that was built, combining beauty, innovation and a lightness of touch and can be found in the church which he had built. The tomb is to be found between the chancel and the north arcade of the church, the effigy of Henry is life sized, in black marble, whilst the chest tomb and surrounding canopies are in white marble. The various shields on the tomb sides would have been painted at one time and the canopy gilded but this has worn and flaked off over the years. Henry is depicted as wearing full C16th armour and cloak, without helm, and his hands are held in a position of benediction. He is laid in the typical position of feet facing east.
A hand-written notice at the foot of the statue states:-
'HENRY FIRST LORD MARNEY'
Sheriff of Essex
Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster
Executor to Countess of Richmond
Privy Councillor to Henry VIII
Captain of the King's Bodyguard
Fought in Battle of Spurs: 1513
Knight of the Garter
Lord Privy Seal: 1522
Baron Lord Marney: 1523
Died in London May 24: 1523
Buried here at Layer Marney
There are many other good features in the church including a C15th rood screen with ogee arches; a C14th alabaster tomb with effigy in armour, with bascinet, of Sir William Marney c.1360; the tomb to John, 2nd lord Marney also with recumbent effigy; the north wall of nave has a large painted figure of St Christopher bearing Christ and holding a ragged staff. With its landscape background it is presumed to date from c.1520 and was uncovered during the 1870 restoration.