Many visitors to Ludham are surprised at the size of its beautiful old church. This reflects the great wealth of the population when it was built during the 14th and 15th centuries, replacing an older, smaller and far less impressive structure. Nobody knows when the first church was established in Ludham but it is well known that Christianity existed during the Roman Occupation and that, with the major immigration of Angles and Saxons in the mid 5th Century, this religion was not entirely lost to the pagan hordes. It is known that a church of some kind existed in Ludham in the early 11th Century as it is mentioned in a charter from Edward the Confessor thought to be dated around 1047. This church, probably of wood and thatch, was originally a rectory until, in 1220, the church revenues were appropriated to St Benet's Abbey. This meant that the Abbot became rector and appointed a vicar. St Benet's Abbey was never dissolved during Tudor times. Instead, Henry V111 appointed the last Abbot Bishop of Norwich and, by act of parliament, took the revenues and lands to himself and granted the Abbey and its possessions to the bishopric. The Bishop of Norwich remains Abbot of St Benets to this day. These two events had important implications for Ludham church:
1. The present Chancel is on the site of the original 11th Century building which was the 'monastic' church. Responsibility for the maintenance of this part of the church has devolved upon the Church Commissioners and not the parish!
2. The Bishop of Norwich remains Abbot of St Benet's and is, therefore both rector and patron of the Ludham living. There is a board in the church with a list of all vicars from 1318.
3. The Abbey owned a large home farm built in 1450 and now called Ludham Hall. This later became the country seat of the Bishops of Norwich.
The 14th Century saw the flowering of Norfolk Churches and this was when the present Ludham Church was built, possibly from the wealth of the nearby Abbey which had achieved great prominence and riches. Of the 14th Century flint and stone church, only the tower and chancel remain. The nave was rebuilt some 100 years later, on about the same footprint, in early perpendicular style with a tall clerestory carried on arcades with octagonal pillars and with a splendid hammerbeam roof. A truly lovely rood screen was erected in the Church in 1493.
The posted co-ordinates are for the church itself. To log this cache you will need to have a walk around the inside of the church (normally open during the day) and note some of the interesting details. Once the final co-ordinates have been calculated It is a shortish walk to the cache. Having found the cache my recommendation would be to continue along the paths and lanes in a sort of circle for a pleasant walk of about a mile in length.
The cache is located at N 52 42.ABC E 001 31.D(ExF)G
Where
A= the number of old wooden chests in the corner of the church by the war memorial plaques.
B=The position (when counting from the left) of St Edward on the Rood Screen. Beware unwary cachers have mixed up their saints several times during the first few attempts at this cache - don't add to the number!
C= Vicar of Ludham Charles Trimnel 171C.
D= The number of stone angels supporting one side of the hammerbeam roof of the nave. Do not count the aisles.
E= As you face the altar, on wall on the right there are E niches.
F= the number of Woodwoses carved into the font
G= The year that Sarah Riches died 16 G7
There is limited parking available outside the church.
small prize for the FTF
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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