Churches

St Andrew, Westhall

First appeared in Let's Talk! Suffolk, October 2003
Edited versions were also published in the East Anglian Daily Times and Eastern Daily Press

AMERICANS, having no ancient heritage of their own, love to import bits of ours. Old clocks, barns, farmhouses - even the old London Bridge - have found new homes in the USA.

From the east - the Norman nave (now the south aisle), the tower and the chancel

The rood screen - saints James, Leonard, Michael and Clement

Transfiguration - Moses, Christ and Elijah - and Saint Anthony of Egypt

Saints Catherine, Dorothy, Margaret and Apollonia

Moses, with "horns of light", Aaron with commandments

Now, if all goes according to plan, some pieces of one of Suffolk's loveliest churches could be winging their way across the Atlantic.
But don't worry. It's not part of some devious scheme to rob us of one of our rural treasures. Rather the opposite, in fact.

The idea of sending pieces of Westhall church roof to America is the brainchild of churchwarden Adrian Simpson-James. The aim is to raise much-needed cash to renew the roof and preserve some of the most remarkable historic artworks in the country. And yes, I do mean the country, not just the county.
Now there's a good chance that, even living in Suffolk, you have never heard of Westhall. And it's possible, even if you live in the village itself, that you don't really know St Andrew's church.
After all, it's nearly two miles by road from the heart of the village, down a shady lane that goes nowhere else. Only 31 of the parish's population of just over 300 are on the church roll, and the average Sunday congregation is about 10.
Yet here, in a spot about as secret as Secret Suffolk gets, you will find the sumptuous early 16th-century font that graces the cover of eminent historian Eamon Duffy's ground-breaking book The Stripping of the Altars.
There is a gorgeously painted rood screen, with one scene which Duffy considers to be of national historical importance.
This depicts the Transfiguration, a new feast in the church calendar at the end of the 15th century, soon to be swept away in the 16th by the Reformation. It commemorates a scene from the Gospels in which Jesus reveals his divinity in a vision, conversing with Moses and Elijah, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.
The screen also shows other saints, including St James in pilgrim garb, St Michael slaying a dragon, St Agnes with a lamb and St Apollonia, the patron saint of toothache sufferers.
There are a number of medieval wall paintings in the church, including a large and rare one of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.
All this beautiful, fascinating and moving history is under threat from a collapsing roof.
Adrian Simpson-James, a retired headteacher who lives in the village, is co-ordinating the appeal to save the church.
He explains, "A year ago last Christmas a piece of wood fell out of the roof. We had an inspection and in December English Heritage told us they'd give us £60,000 towards the estimated cost of the roof repair.
"They also gave us a schedule of other repairs that needed to be done and paid for by us as a condition of the grant.
"In round figures we're looking to raise £20,000 towards the total repair.
"Applications are also going in to the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust, who know this church well, the Diocesan Buildings Trust and the Historic Churches Preservation Trust. Those three are likely to give a few thousand, depending how much they've got.
"I've written to 130 charities across the UK and businesses which have an interest in this area. Most will no doubt be explaining why they can't help, but one or two may come up with money.
"I've also been on the internet tracking down Episcopal churches (which represent the Anglican church in America), dedicated to St Andrew, with large congregations, saying 'Can we please have some money?'
"And I'm offering them a piece of our roof to prove we really need it."
The problems with the roof were thought originally to stem from another thing that makes this glorious building so remarkable. When the church was enlarged in the 14th century, instead of demolishing and replacing the 12th century building - as was more usual - they built a grand new nave on the side of it.
This created a V-shaped valley between two thatched roofs - and it was feared that over the centuries the damp might have got into the valley, causing the roof timbers to rot.
An architect's inspection, however, has revealed no damp at all, but instead gave the grim news that the roof is infested with death watch beetle - and the final bill might be a lot more than was first feared.

Which is where the appeal to America might prove vital.
A piece of carved medieval timber no longer strong enough to hold up the Westhall roof might make a very welcome thank-you present to show off in an American church - once the guilty insect larvae and the eggs have been eradicated.
And while the tiny congregation in Westhall obviously cannot afford to maintain their venerable building, the American churches have plenty of people - and plenty of cash.
Adrian says, "These churches have got more ministers than we've got congregation. There's a church of St Andrew in Houston, Texas, with a congregation of 2,500."
What they do not have in Houston is anything approaching the age and - dare I say it? - the holiness of St Andrew's Westhall.
For Adrian, it's not the Seven Sacraments font, the rood screen or the paintings - awe-inspiring as they are - that make it a labour of love to save this church.
He says, "If there's any one thing it's probably the south aisle. It's just its sheer age. It's been here almost 1,000 years. The sense of continuity is quite incredible.
"Imagine this as the whole church, with simple lancet windows, not the larger ones that were put in later. It's so tiny.

That wonderful font. This picture, like those of the screen above, is by Simon Knott and retains his copyright. You can see his excellent page on Westhall church here

"Yet its west front was quite grand, with a colossal doorway for such a little church."
That Norman doorway has been preserved from the weather for centuries, because the 14th century tower was built up against it, and what was once an outside door is now an internal archway.
And Adrian says, "I love that doorway. I love the fact that it's not finished.
"It seems likely that the stones around the outside of the arch were supplied as blanks and the local craftsmen here would then put faces on them."
Much work has yet to be done, and much money raised, to make all this safe for future generations to enjoy. But Adrian Simpson-James is already looking ahead to when the work is finished.
He said, "I look forward to having a good Easter celebration - but it depends what they find. We don't know how much work will have to be done until the workmen get it stripped.
"But English Heritage obviously think it's very substantial, because £60,000 is a huge amount to get from them - I believe it's as much as they gave for the restoration of the cloisters in Peterborough cathedral. English Heritage really do value this church."
And so they should. The fear is still very real, though, that their cash may not be enough to save a church that should be regarded as a national treasure. And that celebration feast might be one or two Easters away yet.

• Westhall church is about a mile and a half off the A145 Blythburgh to Beccles road, four miles north-east of Halesworth. Travelling north on the A145, take the left turn signed Westhall, go straight across the B1124, follow the road about half a mile, then look out for a sharp right turn. The church is at the end of the lane.
• Since this article was written, the repairs to Westhall roof - which proved even more seriously damaged than estimated - have been completed. There remains, as with all historic buildings, a constant need for vigilance and maintenance. If you wish to help, contact Adrian Simpson-James.