Medieval Norfolk Church | Exploring St Mary’s Church, Barton Bendish

[00:00:06]Hi all, AG here from Hunts and Johns. As always, thank you so much for clicking on the video. I'm in deepest, darkest Norfolk and I'm at a church called St. Mary's in a little village called Barton Bendish. It's actually a redundant church and it's under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Only a tiny little place, got a lovely thatched roof, so let's go and have an explore.

[00:00:32]Hidden away in the Norfolk countryside in the small village of Barton Bendish stands St. Mary's Church, a quiet medieval church with a long and fascinating history.

[00:00:44]The church's west doorway here originally came from the nearby church of All Saints, which no longer exists.

[00:00:51][music] Now, the doorway was moved here after All Saints Church fell into ruin and today it's considered to be one of the finest Norman doorways in Norfolk.

[00:01:01]Dating from the 12th century, it's covered with classic Norman carvings, zigzags, [music] geometric patterns, and deeply cut stone. Now, it's amazing to think that nearly 900 years after it was made, this detail is still incredibly sharp in places.

[00:01:19]Today, the church is cared for by the Churches Conservation [music] Trust, which preserves historic churches that are no longer used regularly for worship. Now, although Barton Bendish is only a small village today, [music] in the Middle Ages it actually had three churches, St. Mary's, All Saints, and St. Andrew's. And that tells us that the village was once far more important and populated than it is now.

[00:01:46]Over here I found some broken pieces of stone, which I assume came from somewhere within the church. [music] I thought I'd have a quick browse at the visitors book. I'd love to see how far and wide people have come from.

[00:02:01]Apologies that it's not quite in focus here, and it was lovely to see that somebody had come all the way from Albuquerque [music] in the US.

[00:02:12]One of the most important surviving features inside here is a medieval wall painting, [music] and it's believed to represent St. Catherine, and it dates from the 14th century.

[00:02:23]Medieval wall paintings were once common in English churches, but many were destroyed or covered over after the Reformation, and surviving examples like this are relatively rare, especially in small rural churches. And although it's faded, the painting still gives an idea of how colorful medieval church interiors once were.

[00:02:46]On the wall directly opposite are a couple of memorials, and I love the one on the bottom in memory of Matthew William Go to Bed. Is that really his surname?

[00:02:57]Who knows, but he was a farmer here from 1933 [music] to 1953, and his personality remains a happy memory with all who knew and loved him.

[00:03:10]Really nice.

[00:03:13]Inside, you know it's that the church is simple and peaceful, with whitewashed walls and a largely uncluttered interior. Although it does look like it needs some TLC, [music] but these are actually 17th century pews that are still in place. Absolutely mind-blowing.

[00:03:33]One of them is actually carved with [music] the date 1637, and I will show you that on the way [music] out. Now, these details may seem small, but they provide such a direct connection to the people [music] who used this church centuries ago. And as I head up towards the chancel on the right here.

[00:03:53]>> [music] >> Um again, apologies as I'm sure some of you already know that been watching [music] the channel for a while. I'm not at all musical and I'm not sure if this is a piano or a harmonium.

[00:04:06]Just giving you a quick wave there.

[00:04:09]And I just had to open the lid here.

[00:04:11]Bear with me.

[00:04:12]To give it a bit of a wiggle to get it to go in.

[00:04:17]Here we go.

[00:04:19]The keys are still there and then it was lovely to see that embellishment still [music] on the pedals.

[00:04:27]There was also a hymn book here.

[00:04:30]And it said it was [music] hymns that were ancient and modern. So, I thought I'd have a quick look through it.

[00:04:41]I'm not sure if this is original or if it's a later edition.

[00:04:47]It's been put here by the Churches Conservation Trust.

[00:04:50]But it was lovely to see it.

[00:05:13]There's not much stained glass here in this rather humble parish church. But on the right-hand side, we have a ornate sedilia.

[00:05:23]Quite an unusual design, I think. And this is where the priest would have rested [music] during the long services.

[00:05:38]Now, that recess may well have been [music] an aumbry where they would have kept books and oils. They would have kept them locked away. And high above here on the wall is a couple of carved wooden pieces, two figures. I can't quite make out what they are. [music] I couldn't find any information out about these. I don't know if they came from that other church that was knocked down where [music] the doorway came from, or maybe they were part of the original rood screen.

[00:06:27]This stunning communion table dates from 1633 [music] and survives from a period shortly before the English Civil War.

[00:06:38]Absolutely beautiful, but I found [music] this on the top.

[00:06:45]They It's April the 2nd, 1782.

[00:06:50]Maybe he restored it. I don't understand why that was on there. But anyway, um this [music] black slab ledger stone is dedicated to the Tiffin family with the latest year on it being given as 1743.

[00:07:06]Now, it has a sunk relief of a skull with crossed [music] palm branches and ribbons. And weirdly, the church guide describes this as an octopus.

[00:07:18]On the other side is a worn limestone coffin cover, possibly from the 14th century, and that has a wheel cross with ribbons and shallow [music] relief. But to the right as well, you can see at the top there, it looks like a an iron cross. And I did read that in the 18th century [music] when they were doing restoration work, some coffin lids and other items were found, so I'm guessing that [music] they put them here for safekeeping.

[00:07:51]The Victorian vestry is on the north wall, and it has a hooded single light window in each side wall. But what looks like a window >> [music] >> from the outside is actually a hooded niche containing a wooden board painted to [music] resemble a window, and you'll see that on the outside. Why they did that, I have no idea.

[00:08:24]I found another memorial on the wall here to Reverend Stephen Reed, who was the reverend here at this parish for 59 years.

[00:08:43]Places like St. Mary's are important because they preserve layers of English history in a single building. Medieval craftsmanship, post-reformation changes, local village history, and centuries of everyday community life.

[00:09:00]And there is the one stained glass window in the church. [music] And then over here on the right, you will see the extraordinary pew with the date 1637. [snorts] The churchyard and surrounding landscape add greatly to the atmosphere of the building. St. Mary's sits quietly on the edge of the village [music] surrounded by fields and open countryside, and it feels quite separate from modern life.

[00:09:52]That sense of isolation is probably one reason the church [music] remains so memorable to visitors today. If you pause it here or just rewind it and pause, you can see that piece of wood that was painted to look like a window on the vestry there.

[00:10:10]No idea why they did that. If anyone knows, let me know in the comments. I just had a quick walk around this rather beautiful and peaceful graveyard. There were some lovely headstones.

[00:10:24]I managed to read a couple, but many, as always, were lost to weathering and the hands of time.

[00:10:35]Without the work of the churches conservation trust, many churches like this would gradually disappear. Instead, St. Mary's remains open for visitors, allowing people to experience a small but significant part of Norfolk's history.

[00:10:53]It may not be one of the largest churches in the county, but what makes St. Mary's so special is the way so much history survives here in such a quiet and modest setting. St. Mary's Church at Barton Bendish is a reminder of how much history can still be found in England's rural villages, often hidden away from the better known historic sites. And after nearly a thousand years, it's still standing.

[00:11:31]I'm going to wrap the video up here. I do hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, if you could please hit the like, [music] subscribe, and the high button down below. It doesn't cost you anything. It's absolutely free, but it really does help my channel out, and I would really appreciate if you would do that. And [music] as I say, it's completely free of charge. If you would like to help the channel out a little bit more, you can hit the buy me a coffee link down below, as that helps me make a donation [music] to the churches.

[00:11:58]This particular place is looked after by the Churches Conservation [music] Trust, and I'll pop their link down below if you want to look at some of their other churches, or have a look at some of the amazing uh work that they do on these buildings.

[00:12:12]So, absolutely amazing. Loved it. Really charming. Loved the touch roof. Thanks again for watching, and I'll see you for the next one. Bye for now.