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These
days, this lovely church is open every day from June to
September. back in 2001, I arrived as the rain began to
fall, and the church was locked without a keyholder. I
rang up one of the churchwardens, who couldn't have been
more helpful, and he pointed me in the direction of no
less than three keys. However, I only needed one, which
was soon obtained, and I let myself into this
over-restored but genuinely interesting building, a
shelter from the storm. You, gentle reader, may remain
outside a while, and examine the exterior.
The instantly identifiable Fornham All
Saints.
You will
see that this is an early church, which the late 15th
century aisles cannot disguise.
The nave and chancel are of a similar
age. Do not be fooled by the great Arthur Bloomfield's
crisp 1860s replacement of roofs and windows; this
building has been here a long time. Ignore especially his
stylish, although rather alarming, tower pinnacles.
The
squint from the transept to the high altar.
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Come
inside, before you get completely soaked. We stand
in the chancel, looking
back into a nave full of continuity, from
medieval benches and medieval niches to
contemporary copies and contemporary images.
There
is a north transept, which
was almost certainly a chantry
chapel; witness the squint to the high
altar. The brasses are all collected together at
eye level on the wall here, as was a large
hatchment when I visited, which had clearly
fallen from elsewhere. Curious to see one at such
close quarters.
Up
in the chancel, the sedilia and piscina are,
curiously, the wrong way round, with the sedilia
further east. One wonders how this came about,
and how original the arrangement it is.
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in all, this is a lovely church, and a great
shame that it is kept locked. There are
three Fornhams; to the north of here, St
Genevieve has been derelict for centuries, and I
do like to visit a ruined church. But I had an
appointment in Bury, to the south, so I have had
to leave St Genevieve until another time. On my
way, however, I would pass Fornham St Martin; a slog
uphill in the rain for me, while you, gentle
reader, need only click here.
Fornham
All Saints is just to the north of Bury St
Edmunds, on the A1101 to Mildenhall. I found it
locked, but the churchwarden tells me they plan
to list a keyholder.
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The more
you look at it, the more curious that piscina
looks.
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