History:
St Edmund is a dramatic and satisfying ruin, just to the west of the main Fakenham to Wells road, not far from North Barsham. It stands starkly on a little mound, jackdaws flurrying around it.
Pretty much all that remains is the bottom two thirds of the tower, which is clearly early 14th century. Enough of the west end of the nave survives to show that this was at least a Norman church, and possibly Saxon.
Egmere was a sizeable settlement until the C15, but declined and the church fell into disuse, reports Pevsner, but this simply isn't true. At the time the tower was built, the combined Lay Subsidy roll for Egmere and adjacent Quarles was just 31 tax-payers. This was before the Black Death, but many Norfolk villages had recovered by the time of the 1524 Lay Subsidy roll, when Egmere returned just 3 tax-payers.
The fact that the tower was built at a time when the settlement was so small is a reminder that our medieval churches were not built for congregational worship, but for the greater glory of God, for Mass to be celebrated, the people to take part in their private devotions, and prayers said for the dead of the parish. The nave would also be useful for secular purposes. Because of this, the size of the population didn't really become a factor in the survival of a church until the Reformation. St Edmund was in the patronage of Walsingham Abbey, so the Reformation dealt it a double blow, being sold with the Abbey lands to the Bacon family. It became a barn, the lower of the two rooflines on the tower probably being from this time, and the graveyard was used for grazing sheep.
Explore:
Quite easy to find, although access was a bit of a mission thanks to how overgrown it was around the ruin. I tried to disguise myself on approach to avoid being detected by the land owner, as it sits on farmland with the house sitting behind it. Once inside it's clear to see it is a shell of it's former self. Wasn't expecting the spiral staircase to be in existence still! Although I'd advise any future explorers to take caution climbing them, as they were crumbling under my feet. I feared for my life at one point but made it to the top and back down safely thankfully. Yea nice ruin, seen better but an explore is an explore. Here is what I captured, enjoy.
Thanks For Looking
St Edmund is a dramatic and satisfying ruin, just to the west of the main Fakenham to Wells road, not far from North Barsham. It stands starkly on a little mound, jackdaws flurrying around it.
Pretty much all that remains is the bottom two thirds of the tower, which is clearly early 14th century. Enough of the west end of the nave survives to show that this was at least a Norman church, and possibly Saxon.
Egmere was a sizeable settlement until the C15, but declined and the church fell into disuse, reports Pevsner, but this simply isn't true. At the time the tower was built, the combined Lay Subsidy roll for Egmere and adjacent Quarles was just 31 tax-payers. This was before the Black Death, but many Norfolk villages had recovered by the time of the 1524 Lay Subsidy roll, when Egmere returned just 3 tax-payers.
The fact that the tower was built at a time when the settlement was so small is a reminder that our medieval churches were not built for congregational worship, but for the greater glory of God, for Mass to be celebrated, the people to take part in their private devotions, and prayers said for the dead of the parish. The nave would also be useful for secular purposes. Because of this, the size of the population didn't really become a factor in the survival of a church until the Reformation. St Edmund was in the patronage of Walsingham Abbey, so the Reformation dealt it a double blow, being sold with the Abbey lands to the Bacon family. It became a barn, the lower of the two rooflines on the tower probably being from this time, and the graveyard was used for grazing sheep.
Explore:
Quite easy to find, although access was a bit of a mission thanks to how overgrown it was around the ruin. I tried to disguise myself on approach to avoid being detected by the land owner, as it sits on farmland with the house sitting behind it. Once inside it's clear to see it is a shell of it's former self. Wasn't expecting the spiral staircase to be in existence still! Although I'd advise any future explorers to take caution climbing them, as they were crumbling under my feet. I feared for my life at one point but made it to the top and back down safely thankfully. Yea nice ruin, seen better but an explore is an explore. Here is what I captured, enjoy.
Thanks For Looking
