pumpkinstrokemarrow

North Norfolk turned out to be rich in churches. A lot richer than one might think likely for a stretch of not very good farming land, but I will wonder about that another day.

Started off with Wighton Church, in the village where we were staying, a large place with a flint exterior, a small congregation, a tower, two aisles, a nave and a chancel, kept open more or less the whole time, this openness seemingly the product of the 'Open Churches' initiative of the Diocese of Norfolk. But not so quiet that it did not run to a couple of cheerful cleaners on the following Friday.

The north aisle was used to display some obsolete agricultural implements and the coffin carriage (if that is the right term) illustrated. The carriage seemed like a good idea: one could load the thing up at home, walk it to the church for the service and then on into the yard for the burial. No need for any other carriages, horseless or otherwise. Quite a lot of the churches we went to had them, although, sadly, none of them appeared to be in use. And they wouldn't really do in Epsom where the walking and pushing involved would be a bit much for us older participants. And more or less out of the question if one opted for a cremation - which would be miles and miles away.

The next visit was to the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham, a very important place in its day, started up by a Saxon noblewoman with a rather French sounding name (perhaps her married name) just before the Conquest, broken up by Henry VIII and with restoration starting towards the end of the 19th century. Oddly enough the biggest element of the shrine is (high) Anglican, with the Catholics holding the ground at the Slipper Chapel, the last of what used to be the way-stations on the way to the shrine proper. Anglican was sufficiently high to have relics, these including a piece of the True Cross, some relics derived from a martyrdom by barbecue and a replica of a nail from the True Cross. Now I can see how a relic might come to be important, but I have not yet been able to find out how a replica of a relic comes to be a relic itself. And at least two of the rugs in side chapels appeared to be of Muslim origin. All rather impressive none the less.

On an ecclesiastical par with Our Lady of Knock, said by John McGahern in one of his novels to function as a sort of matrimonial agency for those of middle age, although there was no sign of that sort of thing at Walsingham. Oddly, Walsingham is a much older shrine than Knock, despite the zeal of the Irish in the first millennium.

The Anglican bit of http://www.walsingham.org.uk/ seems to creak a bit but the Catholic part is up and running. On the ground we also have space for both the Greek and the Russian Orthodox.

A couple of days later, more or less by accident, to Binham Priory (http://www.binhampriory.org/), not that much older than that at Walsingham, but which turned out to be a very well presented bit of architectural and ecclesiastical heritage. The priory was all ruined apart from what had been the nave of the priory church and was now the parish church, rather nicely touched up with the help of Lottery money and such like. Touching up which stretched to a brand new DT.

Interested by the ruins of some large and fancy columns outside, columns which were faced with a thin layer of dressed stone but which were flint rubble inside. The things must have been made by building a shutter, as one would for concrete, setting the face stones, facing out, on the inside of the shutter and then filling the thing up with flint and mortar. Quite a palaver, particularly when you came to the arches which sat on the columns and which appeared to have been made in the same way.

To retain a sense of proportion, a quick look at the nearby Langham Church, distinguished by sloping columns to the south aisle. Like those of St David's in Pembrokeshire, in which last case I think the sloping was on purpose, something to do with balancing the forces of nature.

For variety, then spent some hours in Blakeney where we were interested to find an outside wall mounted combined thermometer and barometer, originally sold by Negretti & Zambra, once a name to be conjured with in the world of scientific instruments. This one was in a natty oak, glass fronted box maybe two feet high, six inches wide and four inches deep. The barometer's mercury tube looked to be about half an inch in diameter with a float carrying a vernier scale sitting on top of the mercury. Was I seeing straight? Maybe the answer is to be found at http://www.negrettiandzambra.co.uk/.

Onto to the very grand Blakeney Church out on the road to Wiveton (just to confuse). One large tower, one small tower, one chancel, one nave and two aisles. Lots of fancy woodwork including a hammer beam roof to the nave. Some interesting stained glass. A grade one listed building, one of the no less than 96 churches listed by English Heritage for North Norfolk. Maybe it is not such an accolade after all. Or maybe I have not quite got the hang of their web site.

Rounded off our little tour at the end of the week by going back to Walsingham, visiting the Catholic shrine then the Anglican. Tea and and toasted tea cake taken with the Catholics while we were waiting for two bus loads of pilgrims to clear the (new) church associated with the (old) slipper chapel. New church rather impressive. The cloister ran to a few martins, the first we have seen for a while.

Wound up the visit with BH buying me a third edition of a nice picture book about the Old Testament by one John Drane. Excellent souvenir.