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It
was a pleasure to come back to Stanton in 2008
and discover that it really hadn't changed from
eight years before. I had fond memories of this
building. Suffolk has more than a few churches
whose towers have collapsed over the years, but
only one or two where this has happened in the
modern era. All Saints lost its southern tower in
1906, and consequently we have lots of
documentation and photographs. If it had happened
a hundred years earlier, we would not have this
evidence, and the Victorians would have built a
new one in its place. This, of
course, did not happen, which is unfortunate for
the people of Stanton, but perhaps rather more
interesting for the church historian. Of course,
if the Victorians had done their usual job of
rebuilding the thing in the first place, All
Saints would not be the striking building which
it is today.
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What makes All Saints even more interesting
is that it was a southern tower which collapsed. East
Anglia has about fifty churches with these, and they
double as porches. All Saints, rather curiously then,
appears to have a south porch with a turret on top, which
is incongruous, until you know the reason why. The large village of Stanton once had
two parish churches. The other, St John, is now a ruin in
the village burial ground. But it was once a more
substantial church than this, which was the favoured of
the two by virtue of its convenience in the village
centre. Internally, All Saints is not perhaps
particularly exciting, although the 1870s restoration was
relatively kind, and there is still a great sense of a
rural, rustic space. And the tall chancel arch is very
elegant indeed. With the open rood loft entrance, you can
easily imagine how it must have looked soaring over the
crucifix.
Roy
Tricker credits the Victorian restoration to a Mr Markham
of London. The parish could not afford to have the tower
restored as well, which probably explains why it fell. To
the south is the splendid late medieval arcade and aisle,
with an original roof and a gorgeous tomb recess that
climbs up to it. The chancel is also largely
Victorian.There are little clerestory windows to the
south, but generally this is a very light church, thanks
to the clear glass that shows the decorated tracery to
best advantage.
| A curiosity of
the church is the east window. It depicts a
version of Holman Hunt's The Light of the World.
This painting was a great favourite of the
Victorians, and you can find it in hundreds of
English churches, but the representation here
dates from as late as 1955. This was a
particularly innovative decade as far as church
art went, and the modernist glass in Suffolk
churches which is contemporary with this window
is some of the most striking and memorable work
you will find in the county. How odd, then, that
such a traditional image should have been
installed here! I wonder if it replaced a
Victorian version of the same image? The church sits on a little
square, with a shop directly opposite. I can
thoroughly recommend their home-made sandwiches.
As I came out of the shop, I noticed a couple of
so-called 'hoodies' sulking in the shelter
opposite. Perhaps they were waiting for the bus
into Diss. I couldn't help feeling a little sorry
for them. Stanton is a remote village, and I
don't suppose it is brimming with excitement.
Whilst I recognise and warm to its sedate charms
now that I am in my forties, I don't think I
would have wanted to grow up in a place like this
as a teenager. Even worse for them was something
I discovered as I cycled up the long hill to
Walsham-le-Willows and passed the windmill. At
that point, my mobile phone emerged from the
silence of the valley behind me reconnected
itself to the outside world. The poor things
can't even text each other.
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Simon
Knott, 2000, updated 2008
    
   
  
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