I’ve actively started to talk to people about my blog, I’ve told friends, family, colleagues and even some customers of mine about it. And almost everyone has given me to recommendations of churches to visit. Mostly in the area, and living in Norfolk/Suffolk, there is so many scattered around in such a small area. A colleague/friend of mine, gave me a suggestion to go visit Gillingham church, baring in mind I live 10 minutes away from here… I have never noticed the church. That’s because it’s on the other side, divided by the bypass that leads to the Norwich/Yarmouth roundabout. If you’re coming off this roundabout towards Beccles, it is up a road on the left, straight off the roundabout. You’ll see Gillingham manor, and if you go left straight down it is there on the right. I’ll put a map of where it is on the locations page.
I visited this Norman church twice, on Easter Monday with my best friend, that’s when we went around to a few others, and back again to take some more pictures, both days were dull yet when the sun came out it brighten it up. It is very much kept the way the Normans built it, with two aisles added in the 19th Century, the north and west door are Norman.
As you can see from the picture the tower isn’t exactly where it would be on a church, it is positioned between the nave and the Baptisty. The windows are 15th Century, Perpendicular style, with also a small section of the screen that hangs on the north wall nearer the front of the church, has 15th Century colouring and carvings.
If you carry down a little way past St Mary’s towards a gate, if you go past it just up on your right, you can see the ruins of the All Saints church, unfortunately the tower remains, but upon going further into the overgrown wooded area, you can get a impressive to look at what remains of the tower. I found out that St Mary’s and All Saints were two separate parishes, until 1629 when they were united into one. By 1748, it was pulled down to mend the roads. It was of 15th Century built, so it wasn’t as old as St Mary’s.
I never knew there was a ruined church so close to where I live, and I like a good ruins, and it was interesting to see, it was eerily stunning of what was left behind, which seems to of been a large place, as the foundations can be found at some distance from the tower.
This is really a cute tucked away church, and well worth a visit. Thank you for reading this weeks post!
recourse’s:
http://gillingham-pc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/2011/11/09/local-churches/
Tucked Away Churches 