The Forncetts are a group of workaday villages that run in to each other to the north-west of Long Stratton. I first came here in the Summer of 2006. To the south of here, all the churches are open all day, every day, but we had obviously crossed a benefice boundary, for here was the first church of the day that we found locked. And here's a strange thing. The keyholder is listed as being at a bungalow on the high street. Well, we went and knocked, but there was nobody there, and the bungalow had a decidedly abandoned air. Later, I asked around other Norfolk church explorers I am in contact with, and I could not find anyone who had ever found the keyholder of Forncett St Peter at home.

In a sense, that is not as bad a loss as it might be elsewhere, for the best thing about St Peter is its exterior, specifically the great Saxon round tower, complete almost to the top, and probably the best Saxon round tower in England. Only the parapet is relatively modern. There is a magnificent north porch with the symbols of St Peter and St Paul, perhaps indicating the medieval dedication of the church. The church has aisles, and after nearby Long Stratton is probably the biggest round towered church in the county. Unusually, there is a west door into the tower.

The church is set far back from the road in a huge, delightfully overgrown graveyard. It is all just about right - with, of course, the nagging crimp that most people don't get inside. To cut to the chase, then, we came back on the Historic Churches Bike Ride day later that year, although not by bike I must confess. The two welcomers were very agreeable, and the inside appeared well-kept and well-used, if a little gloomy. This is a late medieval building which underwent a substantial and relatively early Victorian restoration, and what we see today is an 1850s vision of what the medieval church might have been like.

Best of all are the bench ends, one of several Victorian sets in East Anglia that replicate the 15th century style so perfectly that at first it is difficult to tell that they are not old after all. I wondered if they might be the work of Ipswich woodcarver Henry Ringham, who was active at this time and did a lot of work in the Norwich Diocese. Several of them are obviously intended to be parts of series - the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Works of Mercy, the Labours of the Months, and so on. Lust and Avarice are notable members of the first series, and the Works of Mercy bench ends include Sheltering the Homeless and Comforting the Dying. There are also several pairs of Saints, all apparently Disciples.

The window by Frederick Oliphant of St Peter and St Paul dates from the 1850s restoration, and there is a later and more sentimental depiction of the Presentation in the Temple which is very good. A curiosity is the window depicting Christ with the children, rendered in a naive, probably local hand.

There are a couple of medieval survivals. Apart from the font, there are two brass inscriptions to members of the Barter family, and a large late-15th century alabaster tombchest with two incised figures on top, which Pevnser told us was to Thomas Drake and his wife. The chancel is plain and simple and rather lovely.

All in all, a nice church, and I could see no reason why it should not be more easily accessible, for there is much of interest to see. And, of course, many people like to visit the inside of churches for spiritual reasons, to say a prayer or to experience the sense of the numinous, or even only to find a touchstone down the long generations of Forncett's past. As things stand, strangers and pilgrims are missing out on the hospitality of Forncett St Peter. Perhaps the parish could consider finding another keyholder?

Simon Knott, November 2006, updated May 2007