Saint John -Beachamwell

Saint John -Beechamwell

The village of Beachamwell is blessed by the presence of the two ruined Churches of All Saints and Saint John. Both Churches are in the process of being swallowed by the Earth that provided the materials for their construction. Saint John has a tower that speaks to the traveller across the fields even if the voice is now ever so quiet with the passing of time.

There is no obvious graveyard at this site with any memorials having disappeared years ago as is the way with such things

Saint John -Beachamwell
Crumbling walls in a sea of sheep

© Godric Godricson



© Godric Godricson


 

Saint John -Beachamwell
© Godric Godricson





Princess Diana’s great-great uncle

Robert Cavendish Spencer
Died 1830

"The tomb of Princess Diana’s great-great uncle, now completely neglected in the middle of a dusty car park in Valletta, will be restored as part of a ‘horse deal’ to allow Bank of Valletta to get permission to restore the nearby House of the Four Winds as its new chairman’s office".

For the full story take this link to "The Malta Independent On line".

Veneration of relics





Hymns

of the Holy Eastern Church 

John Brownlie

 (1857-1925)

"The veneration of saints and relics took its rise on the overthrow of paganism at the time of Constantine. It was very natural that those who had suffered martyrdom at the hands of pagan persecutors should at that time be remembered; and so it came to pass that churches were considered honoured above all others which contained the relics of those martyrs. The bones of Christ's witnesses were removed from their lonely graves, where they had lain long neglected, and were deposited under Christian altars. Saint's days were appointed upon which their deeds were rehearsed and their lives commemorated. From a veneration of the saints it was a short step to their invocation, and what helped the Church to take that step was the difficulty felt by men in regarding Jesus Christ as being at once God, and the Mediator between God and man".

The ruins of Saint Andrew - Southolm Juxta Hale

I'm interested in Church ruins because they often contain lost graveyards and a source of social history. Regrettably the site of  Saint Andrew (Southolm Juxta Hale) is a bit of a mystery. I know where the Church should be in the landscape although there is clearly nothing on the surface. Industrial ploughing has taken away the site of the building in the plough soil and the locals have robbed out the stone and flint. Whilst the remains of the departed are no longer commemorated they continue to rest in this magnificent environment.

From the Anglican Church website.... "Holme Hale was originally two lordships: Holm and Hale, both held in the 14th century from Lord Fitzwalter: Holm by Sir Robert de Hulmo and Hale by Sir Edmund de Illeye. The two lordships were separate, distinct places, each with a church dedicated to St Andrew. The Black death in 1349 decimated the population, and the two lordships were eventually combined in about 1375, doubtless on the authority of Edward III"

It's a pity that the modern Church of Saint Andrew in the nearby village of Holme Hale has always been locked when visited. Doubtless through the needs of the Anglican clergy and community.



Saint Andrew - The deserted village of 'Southolm Juxta Hale'.
The faithful departed under the field
© Godric Godricson















Shingham - Saint Botolph



Saint Botolph - Shingham
The Church stands in admirable isolation

© Godric Godricson

I love "Planet Norfolk" partly because it has so many interesting places and it throws up surprises in abundance.

I like to be surprised by Churches and graveyards in out of the way places and I found Shingham in this manner.

I'd never heard of the place before although the Church is a little jewel. The graveyard is large and has the air of a site that has at some point been cleared of many memorials and left as a large parkland. Saint Botolph sits in this park and dominates the consecrated site like a ship in a dry dock. At some point it feels as though the Church will slip its moorings and sail away.

This Grade 1 listed Church is Norman and has a beautiful door although (after peeking into the wndows) the interior has gone to rack and ruin under the disinterested watch of the Anglican Authorities who argue in an animated way about the sex lives of consenting adults whilst  national treasures slip away into the ground. The Church needs to be protected from the 'care' of the Authorities before the building finally crumbles away like others in this area. If this is the care that a grade 1 listed building receives then I query the fate of the others.



Saint Botolph - Shingham
The Norman arch

© Godric Godricson



Saint Botolph - Shingham
Detail from the Norman arch

© Godric Godricson



Saint Botolph - Shingham

Detail from the Norman arch

© Godric Godricson