The Odd Couple

I've walked past on so many occasions and always said I'd come back and have a proper look one day. Well, today's the day - and while we're about it I'll pay a visit to its bigger friend, just down the road.

Yes, we're at the church-in-miniature in the heart of Thetford Forest. What we see is a mostly Victorian church that was built for the vicar of nearby Brandon, though there was a church here before and some of it was incorporated into the restoration/rebuild. There was a village here too but all that's left of it are one or two houses near the church and this:

This might be the moat of the one-time manor house. But lets pop inside the little church.

This is the view from the pulpit and, as you can see, there's very little room for a congregation. In 1851 the vicar recorded that the average attendance for the Sunday service was just nine.

That must be the tiniest rood screen you'll ever see, and beyond it lies the smallest of chancels.

There may just be room for two people at the altar rail! Even so it's got a very pretty roof.

Despite its modest size and secretive location, a lot of effort has been put into the restoration and it's been suggested that it may be the work of Augustus Pugin, the leading architect of the Gothic Revival, who also designed the interior of the Houses of Parliament. If not Pugin, then his son, Edward.

There's a very nice window, which not only has strong colours but also has enough clear glass to let some light in and tempt us back outside.

And here we can gaze up at the tiny tower from the equally small churchyard which has just a half-dozen or so graves. One of them records the passing of Crosier Raine - no idea who he was, but I like his name!

There's just room for some flowers too.

Then we'll wander westwards for a mile or so through the forest. This is usually a good place to find Woodlarks, but not, alas, today.

We had to be content with watching the ponies. Then we reached a minor road, crossed a railway, crossed the bridge over the river and made our way into the village of Santon Downham. When we crossed the river we also passed into the county of Norfolk. The little church we saw has the double distinction of being the smallest church in Norfolk and the only church in Norfolk to be in the St Edmondsbury diocese in Suffolk.

Santon Downham is not a very extensive place either having a population of just 240. It's completely surrounded by Thetford Forest and was for many years the headquarters of the Forestry Commission in the area. I presume that many of the present population are still employed in forestry.

The above picture shows you what your SatNav will tell you is the "city centre" of Santon Downham. All you can see, apart from trees, is a bus shelter, some distant houses and the church.

It's an impressive building despite being nearly surrounded by the commercial forestry operations. 

There are some unusual carvings around the base of the tower which apparently record the initials of the wealthy donors who paid for it. But above the south door is this:

It seems to represent a wolf, whose tail has turned into a plant of some kind. Meanwhile he seems to be eating a similar plant. What can it all mean? Wolves and forests go together, I suppose, though this carving must be much older that the forest, which was largely planted in the twentieth century. Lets go around to the north door and see if we can go inside.

It all looks suitably rustic and the door is always open during daylight hours.

Inside you'll find a fairly typical village church. However the more you look the more you realise how it's been re-modelled and restored over the centuries. One of my favourite features is quite modern....

It's a stained glass window showing St Francis surrounded by local birdlife. At his feet is a Golden Pheasant, a breed which was introduced here and flourished for a while, though there are now very few of them. Mention them to Les and he'll tell you how he once saw one near here while I wasn't paying attention and missed it! 

Outside on the green there's a memorial  to the end of the Great War. Even in a tiny place like this three young men were lost in that terrible conflict. But we'll make our way back to the bridge and follow the river back to our starting point.

So here we are on the banks of the River Little Ouse. I really should have taken a picture of the bridge, which had its moment of fame back in the 1970s when Captain Mainwaring and the brave men of the Dad's Army TV series attempted to blow it up. Needless to say it's still standing!

Take care.