St Nicholas, Tiny Saxham, Suffolk
Minimal Saxham is a handsome village, not far from the edge of the Ickworth estate. The church is set at the japanese end of the village where the major road from Bury forks, agricultural motor vehicles and 4x4s thundering all of a sudden all-around corners concealed by historic yews, the check out of the church by itself spoilt considerably by an exuberant use of road furnishings. And genealogists building their way here would be dissatisfied to learn that the southern aspect of Tiny Saxham churchyard was really effectively cleared of all its more mature gravestones by lawnmower lovers in the 1960s. A couple of of the more mature headstones have been reset in a line to the south of the nave, with some very good18th century types in close proximity to the porch. An previous photograph inside the church exhibits this graveyard as it as soon as was, an entrancing jumble of priceless historical memorials. Fairly tricky to get a lawnmower among, however, and so they are now absent.
But the wide expanse of grass does, at minimum, offset Suffolk’s finest spherical tower, and most likely England’s. There are historic causes for others getting at minimum as appealing, but are any as beautiful? The bell-stage is Norman, and therefore significantly truly worth a gaze, for the reason that so several of Suffolk’s spherical towers experienced their bell phases rebuilt in afterwards generations. The Victorians did incredibly tiny to it, and the outdoors entire body of the church alone is even now broadly as it was on the eve of the Reformation. The Lucas chapel (more usually referred to these days as the Crofts chapel) on the north aspect of the chancel was designed in the 1530s, just ahead of this kind of matters grew to become theologically unacceptable.
You action by means of a doorway that is broadly present-day with the tower top, and on your remaining are two alternatively impressive archways. The very first, on your still left, is a low Norman arch, around the same dimension as the doorway you have just stepped by, but set scarcely a metre and a 50 % off of the flooring. This has been variously recognized as a tomb recess, an aumbry, a safe for valuables and a doorway into a misplaced chapel. None of these appear to be correct, and it looks a lot more than probable that it is the previous north doorway, probably moved in this article in the 19th century, despite the fact that to what goal is a thriller. Most likely, it was reconstructed only to glimpse like a tomb recess – the Victorians went in for that sort of detail. It may perhaps have been intended to echo one thing comparable in the chancel.
Beside it is 1 of the most breathtakingly attractive tower arches in Suffolk, a tremendous factor in these types of a modest church, correctly gorgeous, increasing the eye heavenwards. The doorway earlier mentioned it recalls the one particular at Thorington, wherever the tower is also not dissimilar. Beneath the arch are panels of the rood screen, lions, squirrels and eagles struggling with each individual other off in the spandrels. Beside the tower arch is the parish war memorial, with 3 names on it. Frederick Fisher was wounded at Ypres, and died of his wounds at dwelling in Minimal Saxham in 1919. The other two on the memorial are brothers, George and William Sansom. George was killed at Neuve Chapelle in 1915, William on the Somme in 1916. The two brothers are also remembered on Frederick Fisher’s headstone outside the house in a gloomy corner of the churchyard.
Turning eastwards, the amount and excellent of medieval woodwork is placing for this sort of a humble making. It isn’t challenging to type it out from the 19th century things, broadly talking the newer benches are on the south side. Of the medieval bench ends, a woman at a prayer-desk may possibly effectively be aspect of an Annunciation, a dragon biting its tail appears to be somewhat heraldic, and what is in all probability a lion appears to be like not compared with the cock-monster at Stowlangtoft.
Mortlock thought that the entrance to the rood stairs staying six toes off the floor recommended that it experienced once been applied to store valuables. This might be so, but I think it is much far more likely that it is providing us proof of a now-vanished wooden area of the stairs that led down into the aisle, as at nearby Denston.
The chancel is at the moment lovely and plain. The communion rails were rescued from the abandoned church at Minimal Livermere, and had been reset below. On the north side, the curious memorial with its heraldic devices is the blocked up entrance to the Lucas chapel, now the vestry. The shields occur from the tomb of Sir Thomas Fitzlucas, which at the time stood within.
The entrance to the vestry is from the east finish of the north aisle. It is retained locked. Even so, it is value speaking to the keyholder stated on the doorway, simply because, from its times as the Lucas chapel, it still includes the rather magnificent tomb of William, initially Baron Crofts, in all its 1670s Restoration glory.
Posted by Simon Knott on 2019-07-19 16:24:12
Tagged: , Little Saxham , Suffolk , East Anglia
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