The foundation stone in the west wall was laid by the wife of Samuel Hoare MP in April 1891. The completed church was consecrated in October of the same year. The churches of East and West Beckham had been united in 1888 and then in 1990 the church of St Helen, East Beckham was dismantled and its stones saved for reuse. St Helen’s had been in a ruinous condition for some 200 years. In the same year All Saints Church, West Beckham was also pulled down and more materials saved for the new church.
The site between the two parishes was given by the Rev John Gunton, and the ground plan copied from that of the original West Beckham Church.The architects were Habershon and Faulkner of London and the cost was $1,345. Their special feature was the design of the rose window in the west wall with the bellcote above. They used white rectangular knapped flints around the arches of the north windows and the rose window.
The walls are faced with round flints of roughly equal size taken from the sea shore and set more compactly than in medieval work. The same stone surface to the walls is used on the inside, but the courses of good quality brick give it a pleasing effect which is quite surprising.
A memorial stone out of West Beckham church has been reset in the exterior east wall. It is dated 1838 and is interesting because it refers to an inhabitant of East Beckham which indicates that the two parishes were already using one church.
The porch has an outer entrance which is almost entirely made from the salvaged stones from East Beckham church. The nave south windows are copied from the square headed Perpendicular Period windows of the nave of West Beckham Church, whereas the north windows have the cusped Y tracery of the Decorated Period chancel from the same church. Bath stone was used where there was insufficient medieval stone and it has mellowed to the yellow colour which enables us to distinguish it.
The chancel arch is almost entirely reconstructed from East Beckham. A few stones at its apex are clearly new ones. The pscina is is a Victorian one. A Marble memorial to the right of the chancel arch is a tasteful reminder of the Rev. Edward Catmur Jarvis who inspired the building of this church. The organ was the gift from his daughter.
The communion rail is a polished wooded one set on wrought iron stems with tubular brass extensions to close the extension to the sanctuary. The altar frontal was made by Mary Coggins with a cross, grapes and ears of wheat in striking gold and silver against a green background.
Victorian commandment boards flank the east window in their traditional position and have been painted in a decorative style.. Here can be seen a symbolic bunch of grapes and sheaf of wheat made in blacksmith’s wrought iron. The Dove of Peace is also represented - this is a simple feature of all the six parish churches in the benefice.A text is set along the north wall just below the wall plate which quotes Isaiah 55.6 – “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while he is near”.
The glazing of a north window includes the emblem of the Holy Trinity. This puts God (Deus)in the centre of the triangle comprising the Father (Peter), the son (Fil ius) and the Holy Spirit (Spiritus). On the scrolls connecting the centre it says EST (is), meaning the son of God; and the scrolls around the outside say NON EST (is not) meaning that the Son is not the Spirit etc
The War Memorial on the North Wall gives the names of those who died in the Great War (1914-18), and outside next to the path is a stone inscribed with the names of all the parishioners who served in the forces in that war. Pictures of the former churches can be seen hanging on the South Wall.
The site of All Saints Church, West Beckham, is now used as the cemetery. The outline of the porch, nave, and chancel with buttresses is still visible and it had the ruin of a round tower which collapsed in 1783. St Helen’s Church, East Beckham was near the River Beck not far from its source. The Beck flows down to the River Bure and thence to sea at Yarmouth. West Beckenham parish contains the source of the Beck and also the source of the River Glaven which flows out to the sea at Cley.
You are looking for a small screw top container large enough for geocoins and situated outside the church boundary.
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