All Saints church in Darsham dates to the Norman period, though the
impaxct of that earlier work was somewghat swept away by Victorian
era restoration. The village of Darsham lies 5 miles north of
Saxmundham, 3 miles from the coast at Dunwich. The church is built
of flint, as so many are in this area of east Suffolk, with a nave,
chancel, south porch and a 15th century west tower.
The oldest features of All Saints are a pair of Norman doorways.
One serves as the main entrance, while the north door opposite has
been blocked up. Both of these doors show very worn Romanesque
carving, and are probably of 12th century date, perhaps about 1120
or even earlier.
The nave was raised in the 15th century and lare Perpendicular
windows added. The windows in the chancel are slightly earlier,
ranging from the 14th to the 16th century. There is an octagonal
font supported by carved lions, a royal coat of arms to George IV,
and carved oak pews, but the major historic interest at Darsham is
provided by some very nice mid-17th century memorial brasses,
including that of Anne Bedingfield (d. 1641), which shows the
costume of the deceased woman in very fine detail. On the wall is a
very impressive - and very Jacobean - memorial to another
Bedingfield, Sir Thomas, who served as Attorney General of the
Duchy of Lancaster under Charles I.
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I
would just ask that you could let
Sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church
numbers and names to avoid duplication
To view the church micro stats page, please click here
Happy Hunting.