Ringshall was a small village among fields like so many other villages until a large area of land there was taken for RAF Wattisham at the beginning of the war. RAF Wattisham changed to an Army Air Corps Apache Helicopter force base in 1993 and occupies a large area of land with the villages of Wattisham, Ringshall and Gt Bricett on it's boundaries.
Ringshall church is about two miles from the village centre off the road up a short track on a rise. The tower is unusual as it hasn't had much alteration since it was built in late Norman times.
Stepping in is like stepping into a Suffolk barn with it's rough cut oak beams and rafters, probably reused when the church, like so many others was restored by the Victorians.
and also on the tower you can see where the roof was lowered when it would have been changed from thatch to tiles in the C19
More recently work has been done replacing stone around some of the windows.
It was a gloomy day and a bit dark inside with the only colour being two Victorian stained glass windows in the sanctuary
More about Ringshall tomorrow
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I love the Good Shepherd stained glass. And approve of sensible pulpit steps with a solid handrail!
ReplyDeleteBetter steps than one church I visited where they were roped off - unsafe!
DeleteWhat a lovely atmospheric church. It must have been very peaceful inside.
ReplyDeleteI rarely see anyone else visiting - sometimes a cleaner -but usually very quiet
DeleteLove that Medieval font. What a lovely church - good to see the structure of fixing the ceiling in place. At Ynyswen we had beams protruding from the front wall where they had put a further story on and just put them in place then built the wall around them.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how things were changed but some stay the same
DeleteIt's plain and simple, a comfortable and comforting place to be.
ReplyDeleteA typical Suffolk church - but so far from the village
DeleteAbsolutely SO precious ! We love visiting ancient churches . Goodness , the stories they could tell ! The prayers of hopes and joys of our ancestors .
ReplyDeleteI visited your blog - what a lovely garden you have
DeleteSuch a lovely church
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Very typical Suffolk - about the 120th I've visited I reckon!
DeleteThe stone exterior and arched entry are striking. The arch oak beams throughout are impressive. There were no cranes to lift ceiling beams into place. Imagine the effort it took to build the church.
ReplyDeleteThe church looks well maintained and loved.
When you start to think just how they were built 900 years ago it gets impossible to imagine
DeleteGoodness, it must have taken forever to put all of those stones in place to build the walls. What a huge amount of work!
ReplyDeleteMost Suffolk churches are built from flints as we have no stone to use in this part of England
DeleteA beautiful little church.
ReplyDeleteYes - another one!
DeleteAn interesting structure. Thanks for the explanations. Is it still active?
ReplyDeleteYes it is used at least once a month maybe more
DeleteRingshall Church is lovely, went to a Christmas service there recently.
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This might be a different Ringshall I think
DeleteIsn't it funny how the world conspires - I don't know that it was in your part of the country but I recently listened to an audiobook where the main character ended up in a group of villages that that the air force base had commandeered and I had never before contemplated it - and lo, your post.
ReplyDeleteA lot of land was taken in WWII and much is still being used for the military. I doubt much compensation was given , a lot of people lost their homes too, as well as land.
DeleteI really like the entrance to the church and of course the beams across the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
How did they get those beams up there 900 years ago? Amazing
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