WEST NORFOLK CRAWL DECEMBER 2024
APPLETON : CHURCH OF ST MARY
Church Post Code PE31 6BB
Church Open (Ruin)
It was a bitterly cold, blustery December day, a week before Christmas; chance to have a day visiting a few churches in West Norfolk that I had failed to get in to, mainly due to covid restrictions when I was previously in the area.
It was still dark when we left Peterborough and according to Google maps it was an hour and 48 miles to the first point of call; the ruined church of St Mary at Appleton, which is on the Sandringham estate, a short distance south from Sandringham itself and West Newton. Kings Lynn is a little less than ten miles away to the south east and the North Sea is a short distance away, across the patchwork of fields to the west.
The round tower church of St Mary, sits almost alone, with just a nearby farm as a neighbour; with the rest of the settlement having long since gone. The village was mentioned at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1986, with the church recorded at that time. It was by no means a small village at that time, with 27 households recorded which put it among the top 40% of settlements at that time.
The population dwindled during medieval times and Appleton Hall, a moated manor house, which was owned by the Paston family burned down in 1707. It appears as if the church was abandoned around that time; with the ruin still standing today.
The church of St Mary dates back to the 11th century, with the tower containing fragments of Roman brick from a local villa. The tower is substantially intact, with the roofline visible against the eastern wall. A south arcade of three bays still stands, with octagonal piers and capitals.
There was a Chantry Chapel founded here to St Katherine in the 14th century, and a piscina is still in place where the Holy vessels used during the Mass in pre reformation days would have been washed. That was back in the days when there would have been a congregation; back in the days when there was a village!
We headed off in a rough westerly direction towards Wolferton; taking a fairly large detour though on the way to drive through Hunstanton on the coast road. The tide was in, the sea was choppy to put it mildly and the wind was strong. Despite that though there were plenty of people parasailing close to shore. I fancied parasailing just about as much as those parasailing would have liked to have spent the day touring churches. Each to their own!
WOLFERTON : CHURCH OF ST PETER
Church Post Code PE31 6HA
Open to visitors
We arrived at the church of St Peter at Wolferton just as a lady was about to open up for visitors. I had previously visited here back in the summer of 2020 when covid restrictions had been lifted but plenty of churches (even some in welcoming and hospitable Norfolk) were still closed. The church here was closed that day and it was great to find it open on this revisit.
Wolferton can be found some two miles or so west of Sandringham House and is probably best known for its railway station. With it being the closest station to Sandringham House it was used a lot by the royal family, from the time that the line opened in 1862 to the time that the station closed in 1969. After spending some time as a museum, the station is now in private hands.
The layout of the village is interesting here, with two roads leading to Wolferton from the A149 which runs from Kings Lynn, and then follows the coastline. These two roads curiously cross over part way to the village then join up as they circle around the back of the village. The church can be found at the south end of the village, with a scattering of houses as neighbours; tucked in behind a lychgate and surrounded by trees.
Wolferton was not specifically named in the Domesday Survey in 1086, with the village recorded with nearby Babingley. The present church was built between 1310 and 1340 with much work undertaken here after a disastrous fire in November 1486. The church was in poor condition in the 1880’s and the church was restored in 1886 at the expense of the Prince of Wales, who was later to become King Edward VII.
The church consists of west tower, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch, north vestry and chancel. The west tower is of three stages, battlemented and with buttresses which run the full height, up to the battlements. There is evidence of much rebuilding in the tower, possibly repairs after the fire.
In his study of the church bells in Norfolk, published by John L’Estrange in 1874, he was brief in his notes for this church; reporting just a single bell here which was cast by William Brend of Norwich who was an active founder between 1582 and 1634.
The door of the south porch is flanked by empty image niches which would have help statues in pre reformation days. The north vestry was built as part of the 1880’s restoration. This is not an easy church to photograph from the exterior due to the amount of trees; but it is a very pleasant setting though even on what was a dull and freezing cold December morning. A bench is set against the south aisle which would have been very pleasant on another day but not that day with the wind roaring in off the North Sea a short distance away to the west.
It was two days before the church Christmas Carol Service, a very large nativity was set up around the font; an angel on the font looking down at the nativity scene below.
This is an impressive interior, with five bay arcades to north and south, with octagonal piers and capitals. There are traces of red in the stonework of the north aisle which is a legacy of the fire.
There is a rood screen at the chancel arch, with a doorway to the north giving access up to the rood loft, upon which would have contained a depiction of the crucifixion; this being destroyed as idolatrous at the time of the reformation. This rood screen dates to 1490, to the rebuilding after the fire, as does the screen separating off the north chapel. However, the screen separating off the south chapel is said to date from 1390; so this one either survived the fire or was moved here from somewhere else afterwards.
Over the chancel arch is a wall painting, with angels at flight blowing trumpets with Christ in majesty at the top; one hand raised in blessing with the other holding a globe.
Moving in to the chancel, there is a fine treble sedilia against the south wall; with the seats graduating in height to the east, with the highest and most symbolically holiest seat being furthest to the east, the holiest part of the church.
The fine east window is of three lights and depicts the ascension. Jesus is central, dressed in a red cloak, symbolic of his blood that was shed; arms outstretched with wounds visible in hands and feet. Below are the 11 disciples; Judas Iscariot missing for obvious reasons and two angels hold a crown of victory above the risen Christ’s head.
One other stained glass window, on the south wall of the south chapel of two lights shows the reinstatement of Peter, who is forgiven by Jesus after Peter betrayed him three times on the night of his arrest. The other panel shows Peter from Acts, in the act of baptising Cornelius the Centurion as Peter became Jesus’ choice as the head of his church. There is a piscina in the south wall here, indicating that the Mass was given out from this chapel.
A fine church! A church that reflects the wealth that was here in the past. It was good to chat for a time to the lady who was unlocking. We headed off south back on to the coast road but heading back towards Kings Lynn, noting Castle Rising over to the right; the school trip destination of most Peterborough based primary school children over many years! Our destination was West Lynn, with the vagaries of the English weather being that by the time we had travelled the ten miles or so we arrived in pleasant sunshine.
WEST LYNN : CHURCH OF ST PETER
Church Post Code PE34 3LA
Open to visitors
West Lynn is a suburb of Kings Lynn, which at one point in time was known as Old Lynn; which sits against the west bank of the River Great Ouse. This was a new church for me, but I had photographed the church from distance, from the other side of the river in fact, when visiting Kings Lynn a few years previously.
There has been a church on this site since 1271. Before that time the church was to be found closer to the river, but suffered very badly from flooding hence the rebuild. Back during the English Civil War the church grounds at West Lynn was used by Parliamentary forces for cannons as Kings Lynn itself was besieged.
The church can be found central in this busy bustling suburb and consists of west tower, nave with north and south transepts, north and south porches, north vestry and chancel. The tower here dates to the 14th century, with the rest being mainly 15th century. The small spirelet on top of the tower dates from the 18th century. The church was in a poor state of repair; the chancel collapsed and the chancel arch was subsequently bricked up. Money for a restoration in 1905 was raised by the selling off of some ancient bells and the striping off of lead from the roof; a tradition that sadly continues today in places, but for other reasons than fund raising for the church! The chancel was rebuilt in 1934.
There is a single bell hanging here now, which is inscribed ‘PETRUS ADETERNE DUCAT NOS PASCUA VITE’ which translates as ‘Peter lead us to eternal life’.
The visitor approaches the church by a path to the north east, with entry through the north porch. The square battlemented tower is of four stages with a single bell
A turret for a sanctus bell is to be seen at the east end of the nave; this being a reminder of pre reformation days when the sanctus bell would be rung at the Raising of the Host during the Mass. Also catching the eye is the outline of a previous roofline set in to the eastern wall of the tower.
Moving inside, nave runs seamlessly in to chancel; there are no aisles here, just north and south transepts branching off. At the east end of the north transept, a squint allows someone to be able to see the high altar during the Mass. A graduated double sedilia with piscina alongside can be found in their traditional places on the south wall. The chancel was rebuilt in parts with the original stonework from the previous chancel but I think that the sedilia and piscina date from the 1934 rebuilding.
The east window is of four lights and was made by William Jay Bolton. This dates from 1849 and was originally positioned within the bricked in chancel arch. It depicts the scene on Easter morning, with an angel of the Lord appearing to the three Mary’s. The golden haired angel stands outside the empty tomb, as usual pointing upwards towards Heaven ‘He is not here he is risen’ but the angel also points towards the fourth light, to the far right of the design, where the empty cross with ladder still propped up against it; with a sign at the top containing the initials ‘INRI’ which in full reads ‘Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum’ which translates as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews"
The reredos depicts Christ crucified on the tree of life at the centre, flanked by Mary the Mother of Jesus and John. To the left as we look at it we also see st Nicholas and St Peter who carries the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. To the right we see St Thomas of Canterbury and St George killing the dragon.
The altar has a purple cloth, the liturgical colour for Advent, which would remain until it would be replaced with a white cloth on Christmas Day.
The church here is most known for its fine seven sacrament font, which dates from around 1400. These fonts illustrate the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church and there are around 40 of these in the country, of which 38 are found in Norfolk and Suffolk. These show the marks of the reformers, who appeared to take more exception to some of the designs than others.
The fonts are eight sided, and the eighth panel here has a much defaced depiction of the Holy Trinity. With regards the seven sacraments we have baptism, confirmation which was administered to infants back in the day. We see penance, with the priest hearing confession, followed by the Mass; with the priest at the altar during the Elevation of the Host. This is another panel that the reformers took great exception to. We also see ordination, with a Bishop ordaining a priest, marriage and holy unction, where the priest is at the side of a bedridden sick parishioner, holding their hand while others at the bed side are at prayer.
Baptism
Ordination
Confession
Confirmation
The Mass
Marriage
Extreme Unction/Last Rites
The Holy Trinity
High up in the medieval ceiling we see angels holding shields, including instruments of Christ’s passion, and we also see disciples, some of whom carry symbols which denote the manner of their martyrdom. I had no zoom with me on the day, due to mine breaking on a previous trip out so I haven’t included any photographs of these as my basic lens didn’t do them justice.
Also of interest are two misericords, one of which is of particular interest, showing the marks of the reformers. Some female figures at prayer have remained untouched but the central figure has been chiselled away; just a pair of feet remaining from the original carving which someone deemed idolatrous during the 16th century.
Leaving West Lynn we headed back over the River Great Ouse and headed south west, towards the Wiggenhalls. There are two of the four churches there that I had not been inside; Wiggenhall St Mary the Virgin and Wiggenhall St Germans. The former, which is redundant and cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust, was closed again; due to a fall of masonry but St Germans was open and it was good to be able to see the wonderfully carved medieval bench ends. I have put my photographs from my visit there on to the page for the Wiggenhalls, which can be also be found in the Norfolk section of this site.
We pressed on, with half of out West Norfolk crawl completed, heading off to the ruined church of St Mary at Tilney Cum Islington; with that church along with visits to Walpole St Andrew and West Walton included on a forthcoming page.