pumpkinstrokemarrow

I did not find the Slipper Chapel, the attached candlarium (rather warm and aromatic) or the church very holy. The whole place rather reminded me of a holiday camp with its extensive provision of car parks, seats, drink, grub and toilets for the large number of pilgrims. Very few of whom were actually present on our day.

Back along the road to take in the church of Houghton St Giles. A much more holy place which, amongst other attractions, had a very ancient rood screen, complete with medieval painted panels. It seems that there a number of such screens in Norfolk, and we were indeed to see another later in the weekend.

And so back to Walsingham for tea in one of the many tea rooms. Ours was clearly one of the better, as the lady of the house was spotted coming in with a very large swede to go with the Sunday roasts. Proper veg.. Although we made do with tea and cake. Then onto the relatively newly built shrine proper, presumably on the site of the one done over by Henry VIII. Another large facility designed in red brick for lots of people. Which included a rather impressive church, although we were not able to inspect it properly as a service was in progress. The sort of service that seemed to consist mainly of a catalogue of various frightful complaints together with honourable mentions for the various Toms, Dicks and Harrys who had them. The catalogue recited in a North American accent. I suppose the place has become a English Lourdes.

The next day, to the church at Old Hunstanton, where we saw another rood screen. This one had been quite extensively restored, but the paintings looked original enough. Another feature of the church was a semi-detached entry porch with elaborately carved round open windows to both sides. Something else of which we were to see more later in the weekend. Outside, something entirely new to me. A stone gate, a stone version of a wooden farm gate, lying on its side and doing service as a grave stone. Inscription about being the gate to heaven. Looked at least a hundred years old. Rather expensive thing to make, I would have thought. The village surrounding the church, such as it was (neither shops, pubs nor bus stops) was very twee and constructed in an eclectic mix of low grade red stone, flint, chalk and rubble. Would have looked a bit tatty new but age had calmed it down nicely.

The day after that, to the giant church at Snettisham, apparently the model for the cathedral church at Fredericton, although I am not sure I would have known from the picture at http://www.christchurchcathedral.com/. There was also the second coffin trolley that I remember coming across, the first being somewhere in the Somerset Levels. Complicated but lightweight wooden contraption with iron wheels and leather straps. But the church was most notable for us in that, it provided a public toilet, something parish churches rarely do. With the lavatory basin more or less on top of a black stone marking the grave of someone from the 17th century. BH tells me that parochial councils can get into a bit of a twitch about this sort of thing. Clearly the priest needs facilities, on the other hand one does not want to mix the sacred with the profane. Some sort of sensible compromise needed. But that might well be the pointer to why such things are not generally available, or at least visible to the public. Which reminds me of something in, perhaps, George Elliot about how people who work churches, either as priests or lady volunteers, are far less precious and holy about them than the rest of us. Must try and track down the reference.

I am punting for her, given her youthful enthusiasm for the church and the fair amount of church in her novels. Not Austen but I guess Trollope is a possible. He did churches too.

The last church was the second Norman church at Castle Rising. That is to say, the first Norman church had got buried in the castle embankment. Another rather impressive place with some interesting carvings on corbels, capitals, the ribs of arches, the blind colonnades worked into the faces of walls (which I think have a proper name, but I can't bring it to mind) and around doorways. Some of it was probably quite old and some of it reminded me of older English strapwork. I suppose the Normans had to put up with their Saxon masons reverting to type from time to time if they wanted to get the job done at a reasonable rate. Plus there was another rather elaborate semi-detached porch.