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Tuesday, 4 July 2023

The Oddest Elephant You Ever Did See

When visiting Bressingham the other week we arrived with plenty of time to spare. However in England, wherever you are, there's always something else to see if you know where to look. And so it was that we set off to hunt for quirky big game in the village of South Lopham.



While naturalists might look elsewhere, followers of this blog may well have already guessed that I'd go searching in the parish church. The first thing that strikes you as you make your way across the churchyard is that massive tower. But we'll ignore that particular "elephant in the room" for a moment to investigate a tiny stone angel in the bottom right of the above photo.



This tiny gravestone commemorates the short life of a little girl who passed away, aged just nine, in 1930.



Now to that tower. Something about it looks all wrong; more like a castle than a church perhaps. And it's not only its massive bulk. The influence of Gothic architecture on our churches is so strong that those round-headed arches take us by surprise. Interestingly there is a more normal pointed window low down in the tower - that must be a later insertion, because this tower is solidly Norman, built in 1100 AD. The other arches were never openings but were entirely decorative - apart from those at the top were left open to allow the bells to be heard.



Around the back of the church is a Norman door that has since been infilled.



Inside you can see the two mighty arches that support the weight of the tower. If you stopped to think about it - arches nearly 1,000 years old holding up tons of stone - you'd never venture beneath them to view the chancel, but of course that's exactly where we're going next.



It's a rather unusual chancel, lighter than many and with more bare stonework than fancy carving. The large, plain glass east window gives an entirely different feel from the more usual stained glass. I can't see any elephants yet!



There's only one coloured window and it's a very nice example, though more modern than most of this ancient church, dating from the late 1800s.



It was this odd little square window that caught my eye. Someone else agrees as they've embroidered its likeness on a kneeler.



Cricking my neck to examine the roof I find what looks like medieval carving on the roof supports. Still no elephants, but getting a bit warmer.....



Aha! This looks more likely. The carved bench-ends of old pews and choir-stalls are often home to a whole menagerie of extraordinary beasts. We need to have a closer look.



These look like dragons to me - though obviously neither I, nor the medieval mind that imagined them, had ever seen one. They've taken a battering over the years, as you can see.



This looks like a dog which is holding a rabbit or hare. Animals catching or devouring prey are frequently depicted in such carvings - I don't think anyone knows why.



Here's another favourite subject - "a pelican in her piety". As everyone in medieval times knew, a pelican uses her beak to spear her breast to draw blood to feed her offspring. What kind of imagination came up with a "fact" like that?* This poor old pelican has also been deprived of her head at some stage.



And this, believe it or not, is South Lopham's very own eccentric elephant! If the artist had ever seen one then he clearly hadn't looked too closely. My own feeling (for what it's worth) is that someone had seen an elephant - a few had been brought to England and were exhibited at fairs - and had drawn a sketch for the carver. But the wood-carver looked at it and couldn't believe what he saw. Surely those feet must be wrong and it must have hooves like a horse. And what is that long thing where the nose ought to be? I know, it's a beak! It's such a pity that the ears have broken off, who knows what was there: donkey ears, horns, antlers?



And that's how we wasted a little time till Bressingham Gardens were open to the public.


Take care.


* I know some of you will want to know how the pelican story originated. You could start by looking here:


30 comments:

  1. It reinforces the fact that the exotic animals that are familiar to all of us today were unknown to most back in the day, and there was no genial David Attenborough cheerfully introducing them on the TV screen, so it’s perhaps not surprising that fanciful beasts were created.

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  2. Yo creo que no ha sido tiempo perdido. Lo que he visto en tus fotografías es bastante interesante.
    Un abrazo

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  3. Simple lovely church displaying its class. Looking at the 'elephant' photo and then the dog and rabbit and I thought the dog was more elephantine that the real elephant.

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  4. Fascinating Thank you.
    The parents of that nine year old girl must have been well off - and now her grave remains where theirs have disappeared?

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  5. Fascinating lively carvings!
    I wonder if the false windows in the tower were meant to make it look more than just a church tower?

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  6. I enjoyed the search for the elephant. It's a lovely church and I like the simplicty of the chancel and the little window too:)

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  7. Quite a lot of money went into building that church. Were there bells in the tower still? Loved the stories behind the carved figures. Thank you!

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    1. Apparently there is a ring of six bells, one of them four feet in diameter! That's a big bell in anyone's book. As is usually the case you can't see them from inside the church.

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  8. When I think back to the churchyard in 'my' Lincolnshire village John I remember quite a few graves of children had angels as their gravestones. In those days plenty of children died young - now a different story thank goodness.

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  9. Just seeing the word "elephant" made me think of my mother. When she was little and went to the zoo for the first time, she fell in love with elephants. She wanted to stand by them, watch them, and not leave. Her parents finally told her that they spoke with the zookeeper, and he said he would send her an elephant in the mail. She checked the mailbox everyday for a long while for that elephant to arrive. I gave her many stuffed elephants over the years. Thank you for reminding me.

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  10. A lovely old church with fascinating carvings. Thanks for the tour and sharing your knowledge, John.

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  11. I love the tours that you take us on in churches. The age of the tower is amazing.

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  12. What a fascinating and unusual church. I really enjoy being taken inside these places with you.

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  13. Fascinating especially the carvings. Thank you for correcting me about the Chuck Berry statue.

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  14. That's a weird looking elephant! Your theory sounds plausible.

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  15. I would never have looked at that carving and tbough, "elephant". The dog looks more likely, except for the poor dangling hare. The square window, perfection.

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  16. As the old expression goes, you do know how to have fun! I loved this visit.
    I keep reading about churches closing there. Is that true? And is anything being done to preserve them? Sad when you think of the solace they have given people over such a long, long time.

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    1. There are some churches closing, though I must say the church is doing a better job at keeping their buildings open than banks or shops. Many are Listed Buildings so their fabric has to be preserved even if services cease. The Churches Conservation Trust (a charity) takes care of many of these. More frequently a small number of churches share a vicar and services are rotated among them. My local church has amalgamated with a neighbouring village so we get an early service one week and a normal morning service the next.

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  17. It is incredible to observe these old artefacts and carvings and statues.

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  18. Well, that's no waste of time as far as I'm concerned. Nice tour through a very interesting church.

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  19. Fascinating elephant. I enjoy you exploration of the ancient churches!

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  20. What looks normal or not about architecture in different ages of Britain or religious symbolism is above my head, but I found these wooden animals are all intriguing containing the creators imagination and thoughts, and your process of speculating, too.

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  21. O am always amazed at how well preserved these churches are! And so beautiful! Thank you for taking us on another fascinating adventure. Hugs

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  22. Fascinating carvings and so well preserved!

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  23. The craftsman probably carved that elephant based on the descriptions he heard. It brings to mind the story of the poor elephant who starved to death at the Tower of London. The unfortunate beast had been a gift and his caregivers did not realize he was not a carnivore.

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  24. I was curious to see this statue of an elephant, a little-known animal in the past! I saw this week another small elephant statue on the "Elephant Tower" in Cagliari...

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  25. Well I've seen, and even rode, several elephants (African and Asian) but never climbed on one like this! Fascinating.

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  26. Hi John - amazing statues and photos - thanks for letting us see them. I thought the elephant might have been a walrus ... who knows though!! Incredible to see the carvings ... cheers Hilary

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