Churches

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St Mary, Haddiscoe

First appeared in Let's Talk! Norfolk, September 2005

Some of Norfolk's loveliest, most historic churches are hidden away in woods, down country lanes, well off the beaten track. St Mary's, Haddiscoe is not like that.

Standing high and proud above a turn on the A143 Yarmouth to Bury St Edmunds road, it is visible for miles. But it is no less magical for that.

It is one of those churches that can be read like a history book, with something from every century since before the Norman conquest.

That landmark tower alone has a Saxon base, two levels of Norman work above, and a 15th-century chequerboard topping with battlements that look - but probably are not - Victorian.

Step into the late-medieval porch and you are confronted by a doorway at least 300 years older. It is a beautiful example of the classic carved, round-arched Norman doorway, of which several survive in this part of Norfolk .

Much rarer is the substantial stone carving above, which is also Norman and depicts a throned priest in ritual vestments. This is said to depict St Peter, but the things he is holding up do not appear to be keys. Without knowing what they are, or what was the mysterious damaged object above his head, it is impossible to identify him confidently.

Probably just as old, and well worth examining as you pass through, is the ironwork of the door itself.

Once inside, you are immediately confronted by the rather fine heads of St Christopher and the Christ child, though the rest of that traditional wall-painting is sadly missing.

Set into the church floor are some charmingly rustic black ledger stones commemorating with simple language and stylised skulls local folk who died in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Local? One stone is actually engraved in Dutch, a reminder of the engineers and dyke-keepers who brought their skills from Holland to East Anglia to turn brackish marshes into workable farmland.