St. Mary the Virgin church is of Norman foundation and although the two round-headed windows to the north have been externally renewed, inside they retain their original splays and, in the case of the easternmost, which lights the chancel, vestiges of twelfth century paintwork, now of indiscernible design. Most of the church’s other mediaeval features are Perpendicular but there is an attractive tomb recess in the nave N. wall of Norman-Transitional date, as shown by the order of colonnettes with water leaf capitals. The arch bears a keeled roll.
The tower is constructed of Kentish ragstone and is dateable to the years 1416-25 by the fact that the work is known to have been paid for by John Wakering, a native of the parish, during his period of office as Bishop of Norwich. It is constructed in three stages, embattled and diagonally-buttressed, and surmounted by a slender, shingled spire. The three-light W. window has supermullioned tracery and at either side, two niches, placed one above the other, the lower having little traceried spandrels. The bell-openings are two-light and square-headed, and the stair turret projects at the tower southeast angle and is square for the first stage, before turning octagonal with small broaches and finally protruding above the tower itself.
The nave retains one Perpendicular window but the rest are Victorian. Internally, the chancel arch is not much earlier than the tower arch, there is a rood stair set in the northeast nave angle, and the nave still has its early king-post roof.
I hope you enjoy finding this cache.
Happy Caching.
John.
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
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