St Nicholas, Small Saxham, Suffolk
Minor Saxham is a handsome village, not much from the edge of the Ickworth estate. The church is established at the japanese finish of the village wherever the most important highway from Bury forks, agricultural autos and 4x4s thundering instantly close to corners hid by ancient yews, the see of the church alone spoilt somewhat by a somewhat exuberant use of street furnishings. And genealogists earning their way below would be let down to discover that the southern side of Minimal Saxham churchyard was quite effectively cleared of all its older gravestones by lawnmower lovers in the 1960s. A few of the more mature headstones have been reset in a line to the south of the nave, with some very good18th century ones close to the porch. An outdated photograph inside the church shows this graveyard as it at the time was, an entrancing jumble of priceless historical memorials. Rather challenging to get a lawnmower amongst, nonetheless, and so they are now gone.
But the huge expanse of grass does, at least, offset Suffolk’s finest round tower, and perhaps England’s. There are historic factors for many others currently being at the very least as attention-grabbing, but are any as beautiful? The bell-stage is Norman, and consequently notably value a gaze, because so a lot of of Suffolk’s round towers experienced their bell levels rebuilt in later hundreds of years. The Victorians did pretty tiny to it, and the exterior physique of the church itself is nevertheless broadly as it was on the eve of the Reformation. The Lucas chapel (a lot more often referred to these times as the Crofts chapel) on the north side of the chancel was created in the 1530s, just right before such matters grew to become theologically unacceptable.
You action by a doorway that is broadly modern with the tower top, and on your remaining are two relatively exceptional archways. The initially, on your left, is a minimal Norman arch, about the similar sizing as the doorway you have just stepped via, but set hardly a metre and a half off of the floor. This has been variously recognized as a tomb recess, an aumbry, a secure for valuables and a doorway into a misplaced chapel. None of these feel appropriate, and it appears more than very likely that it is the aged north doorway, quite possibly moved right here in the 19th century, although to what goal is a thriller. Probably, it was reconstructed simply to seem like a tomb recess – the Victorians went in for that form of matter. It may perhaps have been meant to echo something equivalent in the chancel.
Beside it is just one of the most breathtakingly beautiful tower arches in Suffolk, a remarkable issue in these a tiny church, perfectly attractive, elevating the eye heavenwards. The doorway earlier mentioned it recalls the just one at Thorington, exactly where the tower is also not dissimilar. Down below the arch are panels of the rood display screen, lions, squirrels and eagles struggling with every single other off in the spandrels.
Beside the tower arch is the parish war memorial, with three names on it. Frederick Fisher was wounded at Ypres, and died of his wounds at home in Very little 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 outdoors in a gloomy corner of the churchyard.
Turning eastwards, the quantity and quality of medieval woodwork is hanging for such a humble setting up. It is just not tough to form it out from the 19th century stuff, broadly speaking the newer benches are on the south aspect. Of the medieval bench finishes, a lady at a prayer-desk may perhaps very well be element of an Annunciation, a dragon biting its tail looks alternatively heraldic, and what is probably a lion appears to be like not contrary to the cock-monster at Stowlangtoft.
Mortlock thought that the entrance to the rood stairs currently being six toes off the floor instructed that it had at the time been made use of to store valuables. This could be so, but I think it is significantly more most likely that it is offering us proof of a now-vanished picket part of the stairs that led down into the aisle, as at nearby Denston.
The chancel is at at the time beautiful and plain. The communion rails ended up rescued from the abandoned church at Very little Livermere, and have been reset below. On the north facet, the curious memorial with its heraldic devices is the blocked up entrance to the Lucas chapel, now the vestry. The shields appear from the tomb of Sir Thomas Fitzlucas, which as soon as stood within.
The entrance to the vestry is from the east stop of the north aisle. It is retained locked. However, it is well worth contacting the keyholder outlined on the door, mainly because, from its days as the Lucas chapel, it continue to has the fairly superb tomb of William, very first Baron Crofts, in all its 1670s Restoration glory.
Posted by Simon Knott on 2017-08-20 09:17:54
Tagged: , Very little , Saxham , suffolk , east anglia , church , church buildings , nikon , d5300
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