This church was locked when I've visited a couple of years ago so I was pleased to see the 'Church Open' sign.
When Simon Knott [Suffolk Churches website] visited here in 2018 he was told by the lady who let him in that the church was heading for redundancy, to be taken over by the Historic Churches Trust as it wasn't being used for services . But it seems this didn't happen and the church is now open at weekends and has a once a month service.
Opposite the door into the church is the WWI War memorial
Above it is the huge remains of a Medieval wall painting of St Christopher carrying the Christ Child over the water.
Octagonal font with seven saints and Christ carved in the panels
Every window has some stained glass, mostly Victorian
A very bad photo of a drawing showing who's who in the East window glass
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People come here specially to see the Flemish wood panels of the reredos. They were given to the church by an owner of Stowlangtoft Hall and date from the 1480s. But in 1977 they were stolen and disappeared for five years until the were found in an Amsterdam gallery. Legal proceedings to get them back failed but luckily they were bought and all costs paid by a Dutch businessman and returned to the church. Now the Sanctuary and the panels are alarmed so hopefully they won't be stolen again.
Like the last church I visited at Framsden, Stowlangtoft also has misericord seats with carvings that survived better than Framsden.
There are lots of excellent carvings on the pew ends too
There's an online church brochure HERE for more information.
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I always love the church visits , theyre opening a few in lincolnshire for a scheme at the moment and if i can sneak out i visit those locally , im also planning to sneak into Lincoln at the weekend to see the Roman ruins under a disused bank
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tour, it's a very interesting church
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. What a world we live in when things are stolen from churches . Happy ending that a nice man bought them and gave them back. Bad and good people in one simple story.
ReplyDeletePenny
Perhaps Friends of Friendless Churches stepped in to save the church. The wood carvings are beautiful in their own way and wasn't it good of the Dutch businessman to buy back the panels.
ReplyDeleteSuch amazing carvings. I'm glad the stolen ones were found and returned
ReplyDeleteThere certainly seems to be a lot to see in that church. It's great that it's still in use and the story about the theft and the incredible kindness of the Dutch businessman is a good example of the worst and the best in human nature. It would make a good film.
ReplyDeleteDid they ever learn who was responsible for the theft? Who discovered them in Belgium?I love Tracy's comment.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful church with some lovely stained glass windows. Glad it is still used. Thank you for visiting.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting history that church has. Love the carvings.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
The carvings, stone and wood, are quite lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone - I forgot to add the details of the link to the Churches Index http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/stowlangtoft.htm more details about the theft and recovery are there.
ReplyDeleteThat East window is an absolute masterpiece. ❤️
ReplyDeleteThe church is a historic treasure. Thankfully it continues on and looks to be well maintained and open to the public.
ReplyDeleteIt is shocking to think someone stole the very large beautifully carved panels only to have a generous Dane purchase them and return them to the church.
I suppose with the church left open thieves could have all the time they wanted to remove carvings and such. Was someone there when you visited?
ReplyDeleteNo it was very quiet
DeleteThe carvings are amazing. I am so glad that they survived on the pews, and that the carved panels were returned to the church.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
You have the most beautiful small churches. They have such personality and beauty. The history is so interesting.
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