God knows, we all love a good moan. I had come to Dickleburgh at the end of a long day, in rain that was suddenly strengthening beyond the mere drizzle I'd cycled through from Redenhall. I hoped to shelter from it here in the church, or at least in the porch in the traditional manner - one of the functions of such structures was to provide shelter for pilgrims and travellers. But it was not to be. As the heavens emptied on me, I was reduced to rattling the outer doors of the porch in frustration, for I was kept out by a fearsome padlock.

This was, I'm afraid, entirely my fault. But I kicked and cried like a bullied child, and moaned piteously about my predicament when I came to write about it. Gale Hodgkinson, the kind and gentle Lay Reader at Dickleburgh, saw my article and contacted me accordingly: Dear Simon, I have just found your lovely site when browsing the web. I was looking at references to Dickleburgh. You seem to have had an unfortunate experience and, as a lay reader in the church I apologize for that. Dickleburgh church is, in fact, open during the day, and regularly used for private prayer and weekday worship as well as worship on Sundays. If you should be in the area again we would love to welcome you. By the way the notice board on the road side has more information than the porch. Best wishes for your church visits, Gale Hodgkinson.

What a super message! It was far nicer than I deserved. And I will go back to Dickleburgh, and I look forward to seeing all there is to see and reporting back to you about it.

Until then, I can tell you that All Saints sits hard against the western side of the high street, once busy with traffic between Ipswich and Norwich, but now mercifully bypassed. The exterior, as so often in East Anglia, is an extensively restored late medieval rebuilding pressed against an earlier tower. Lots of the nave and chancel window tracery appears to be Victorian, although there are spectacular image niches on the east end of the chancel, and some interesting figures and symbols on the nave walls and porches.

Peter Stephens, who doesn't turn up as late in the day as I do, kindly lent his interior shots, below. A bright, colourful largely 19th century interior. It looks lovely. Thank you to Peter, and thank you to Gale. What nice people!

Simon Knott, July 2005