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'Wickham' was the name given
to their villages by the very earliest
English settlers in what would become
known as East Anglia, and thus it can be
assumed that villages with the word as
part of their name are among the longest
continually occupied settlements in
England. Suffolk has three such villages,
but whatever was on the site of this
church before, and there must have been a
church of some kind here since at least
the 7th Century, local money enabled a
massive rebuilding in the 14th and 15th
Centuries. The church sits at the heart
of the village, but is hidden: a little
lane winds off of the village high
street, taking you up towards the west
end. The tower and west doorway make a
fine sight as you approach. To the north
of the church is a magnificent yew tree. Most
unusually for this part of Suffolk, the
church is kept locked. There is a
keyholder, but I had been several times
before and not found them in, so it was
not until the early spring of 2011 that I
saw inside for the first time. And I must
be honest and say that the best thing
about this church is its exterior, with
two fine porches and grand Perpendicular
windows.
I stepped into a building
which was largely Victorianised inside,
although there are plenty of earlier
survivals and some idiosyncracies. The
font is contemporary with the rebuilding,
its tracery-patterned panels in good
condition, although the shaft has taken a
beating. Above it rises a good west
gallery. The seating in the nave is a
mixture of all ages, presumably most of
it locally made. There is no 19th Century
stained glass, and with the huge windows
it was as light in the nave as the day
was outside. The south side of the nave
is a good setting for an etched window of
1998 depicting the Summons in the palest
of colours, with the instruments of the
Passion and the symbols of St Peter at
the heads. On a bright day it must all
but disappear. It is signed Walter
Wilson hoc sculpsit ('Walter Wilson
etched this').
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| The three image
niches to the north of the chancel arch
are unusual, but the off-the-peg 19th
Century stone reredos can be found in
hundreds of churches great and small, all
around the former British Empire.
However, note that the altar rails which
hem it in with their deliciously lathed
balusters are late Stuart, probably soon
after the 17th Century Restoration, and
thus one in the eye for the local
Puritans, of whom there had been many.
Finally, I always like to find locally
made jam for sale in a church, and the
jar I bought here proved excellent.
However, with the church kept locked, and
the key a fair walk away, I don't suppose
that they do much passing trade. |
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Simon Knott, April 2011
   
 
   
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