Nettlestead is one of those villages that is very small, just scattered houses and farms along small lanes with a population of around 100 and tucked away a few miles south-west of Needham Market. I'd certainly never been there before.
There is a plaque in the church marking the night of 12th August 1940 when the church was seriously damaged as German bombers, returning from bombing raids on the industrial Midlands, unloaded their remaining bombs over the Suffolk countryside
The font is the only thing inside that has survived from the medieval period and has some unusual carvings and many cracks. ( I have no idea what those things are, poking out from behind the font . I didn't notice them when I took the photo)
Very strange animals and creatures on each face of the font
There is no stained glass - it was destroyed by William Dowsing in 1644 on his journeys around the east, ridding churches of anything the Puritans considered too decorative. He wrote a journal of all his journeys around Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
When you read of his instructions it's a wonder anything survived in any churches. Often items were plastered over or removed and hidden before he got to the churches.
In December 1643 the Earl, as their captain-general, appointed him "Commissioner for the destruction of monuments of idolatry and superstition".[2][6] He was to carry out a Parliamentary Ordinance of 28 August 1643[7] which stated that "all Monuments of Superstition and Idolatry should be removed and abolished". These were specified as "fixed altars, altar rails, chancel steps, crucifixes, crosses, images and pictures of any one of the persons of the Trinity and of the Virgin Mary, and pictures of saints or superstitious inscriptions." In May 1644 the scope of the ordinance was widened to include representations of angels (a particular obsession of Dowsing's), rood lofts, holy water stoups, and images in stone, wood and glass and on plate.
A 17th century memorial was destroyed by the bombs and just the top half remains and was put on a shelf in the Sanctuary. It remembers Samuel and Thomasina Sayer
Brass memorials on the floor have often been removed but there is one remaining here
Another unexpectedly interesting church, thank you
ReplyDeleteA very plain church , sparse but elegant . I like the effect of the light on the lovely encaustic tiled floor & the contrast of the dark wood beams . The exterior has the look of three buildings stuck together , the bomb I guess , but it works . Lovely , thank you .
ReplyDeleteWendy in York
I love the simplicity of the church interior and the unusual porch. It looks like a wonderfully cool place to wander around on a hot day. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThe second picture from the font is St Catherine on her wheel (you can see what looks like a bicycle tyre behind her left leg!) I think the church received a huge grant a few years back to pay for the font to be restored.
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