I had arrived at Wattisfield after my disheartening experience at Hepworth; I thought Wattisfield much the prettier village, but I couldn’t help thinking it is a little spoilt by the A143 which runs through just to the north of the church.

The church is set in a lovely triangle, surrounded by fine half-timbered houses. A gorgeous ivy-covered Victorian Rectory sits just to the south east. The churchyard is raised up above the road, suggesting that the highway has cut down over the centuries, and that this is an ancient place.

Reflecting this, the tower is a bald example from the 13th century, but it has had gorgeous narrow Perpendicular windows set into it. And, although much of the tracery in the church windows has been renewed, their shape dates them from this same late medieval time. The open north side of the churchyard is neat, with lots of interesting headstones. A path leads up to the simple north porch, an unusual wooden survival from the eve of the Reformation, and the door, which I found locked.

Mortlock and Cautley find little to say about the interior, but even if there are no significant historical features, I still love to soak up the feeling of a place where, in Eliot’s words, prayer has been made valid. Here, over the centuries, this community has worshipped God in different ways; but it was always the same community, always the same God. I love stepping into that sense of continuity. However, this wasn’t possible. On an earlier version of this entry, I mentioned that I was very disappointed about this.

I was contacted by a nice man called Tim Leedham, the treasurer of the PCC. Far from being defensive about my moan, he was both apologetic and charitable, and tells me that the Parish are correcting immediately the impression that they might be unfriendly. A keyholder is now listed, and visitors are most welcome.

This is excellent news, and I commend you to their hospitality. Afterwards, like me, you must wander around to the south side of the church. Here, in complete contrast to the dour north side, you'll find an elegant and ornate south porch. It is a 15th century festival of knapped flint and red brick, with Marian monograms, an angled sun-dial, and a terracotta shield denoting the de la Pole family, who had it built. It speaks of something beyond the functional, beyond the merely necessary.

The graveyard this side is a riot of overgrown tombs, an absolute delight. That day, as I watched, the sun came out; the ancient stones gleamed in their crust of lichen, a spiral of chaffinches boiled into the trees, and I surrendered myself to a sense of the presence of God.

St Margaret, Wattisfield, is in the centre of the village on the A143 Bury to Diss road, just to the east of Stanton. A keyholder is now listed; if planning a visit, you might like to e-mail Tim Leedham.

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