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St
Andrew, Themelthorpe
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I
wonder how many people outside of Norfolk have
heard of Themelthorpe. There must be plenty even
in the county who don't know it, and as for St
Andrew, I think it would even be possible to live
in the parish itself and not be aware of the
church's existence. The graveyard is an intensely
secretive space, surrounded on all sides by high
trees and set back about fifty metres from the
quiet road. A few cottages along the
road make its isolation complete, and you would
not even guess that the church was there if it
wasn't for the elegant little gates with their
wooden sign. The walk up to the graveyard is
along a narrow path between a hedge and a
flower-filled cottage garden, and your first view
of St Andrew comes as you step into the
graveyard.
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The
building is very simple. Not much has happened here since
the 13th century. With the exception of the porch, this
is the church which our ancestors before the Black Death
knew, and here it still is, a touchstone down the long
generations. The nave is older; you can still see where
the Norman walls were extended eastwards, probably about
the time the tower was built.
The
interior is entirely rustic, and even the 19th century
restoration has left it feeling local and homely. Despite
the elusive nature of the church, it is obviously well
used and well loved. There were fresh flowers and the
altar is was immaculate.
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is one significant and lovely medieval survival
here. This is the figure brass of William Pescod,
who died in 1505. It is hidden under the nave
carpet, and you would not know it was there if
you did not think to look for it. He stands
simply in a tunic, his hands at prayer, his hair
in the pageboy style of the early 16th century. There are
pieces of three other pre-Reformation brass
inscriptions, two of them to members of the
Pescod family and the other to a Tork, now
mounted on the nave wall. Fragmentary and
evocative, they are appropriate things to find in
this place.
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Simon Knott, May 2006
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