1. The History
A small place with a well-documented history and a lovely backstory. This shrine, named Porta Maria chapel, was the project of Czechoslovakian native Paul Hodác. How he came to settle in the UK is a story in itself. Paul was born in Czechoslovakia in 1918 to a Catholic parents. After a relatively uneventful life things drastically changed when he was just 20 years old when Germany annexed Austria in March of 1938. Paul was one of the many young men who signed up to defend their country. Predictably Germany brushed aside the local resistance when they invaded the country and Paul fled over the border to Poland, linking up with the Czech countrymen. However, in September 1939, Poland was also overrun, and he fled to Romania and then onward to France via Beirut. He’d risen to the rank of Sergeant-Major when France fell in June 1940, so fled one last time to England.
An archive picture and old news cutting from back in the day:
After the war was over in 1945, he settled in Britain and married an English girl called Monica, settling down in Leamington Spa, close by to the Jaguar car factory where he worked for the rest of his working years. Norfolk became a popular holiday destination for the couple in the early 1960s. Then, in the early 1970s, he purchased a 10-acre plot of Norfolk woodland known as Spread Oak Wood, near Dereham. At weekends and during his vacations, he camped in a caravan. It wasn’t long before he turned his attentions to building a Catholic shrine by way of giving thanks for finding refuge from the Nazis. Built on the Roman road, it was officially consecrated Rev Fr Rochla on 24th September, 1975, who was a priest from nearby Dereham. The shrine opened in 1983 with plaque above the altar dedicated to his wife. Sadly, she passed away on the 10th October 1997, aged 73. Paul passed away five years later, aged 82, in 2022 and the shrine has since been left peacefully forgotten in this quiet corner of Norfolk.
2. The Explore
This place has been on my radar a while. Sometimes small Is beautiful and a nice change from sprawling industrial spaces. This place is simple – just a single room but the location tranquil and the atmosphere peaceful and it’s easy to spend an hour’s quiet contemplation as I did on this sunny but crisp December morning. Things have gone walkies since it was first reported on here. Fortunately, though, the idiots haven’t been in and smashed the place up. Not too sure who owns the land and shrine currently but you’d like to hope it gets the TLC it needs to stop it slipping into wrack and ruin.
3. The Pictures
Explorer at the gates of dawn:
The back:
And the front:
Detail above the door showing the date stone of 1982 and the name:
Sadly, the roof of the lean-to storage area to the right has collapsed:
In we go:
As the sun shafts through the windows:
The altar table:
.
This is such a beautiful organ:
A few close ups:
Maker’s name:
And the beautifully decorated pipes:
Good-bye little shrine:
A small place with a well-documented history and a lovely backstory. This shrine, named Porta Maria chapel, was the project of Czechoslovakian native Paul Hodác. How he came to settle in the UK is a story in itself. Paul was born in Czechoslovakia in 1918 to a Catholic parents. After a relatively uneventful life things drastically changed when he was just 20 years old when Germany annexed Austria in March of 1938. Paul was one of the many young men who signed up to defend their country. Predictably Germany brushed aside the local resistance when they invaded the country and Paul fled over the border to Poland, linking up with the Czech countrymen. However, in September 1939, Poland was also overrun, and he fled to Romania and then onward to France via Beirut. He’d risen to the rank of Sergeant-Major when France fell in June 1940, so fled one last time to England.
An archive picture and old news cutting from back in the day:
After the war was over in 1945, he settled in Britain and married an English girl called Monica, settling down in Leamington Spa, close by to the Jaguar car factory where he worked for the rest of his working years. Norfolk became a popular holiday destination for the couple in the early 1960s. Then, in the early 1970s, he purchased a 10-acre plot of Norfolk woodland known as Spread Oak Wood, near Dereham. At weekends and during his vacations, he camped in a caravan. It wasn’t long before he turned his attentions to building a Catholic shrine by way of giving thanks for finding refuge from the Nazis. Built on the Roman road, it was officially consecrated Rev Fr Rochla on 24th September, 1975, who was a priest from nearby Dereham. The shrine opened in 1983 with plaque above the altar dedicated to his wife. Sadly, she passed away on the 10th October 1997, aged 73. Paul passed away five years later, aged 82, in 2022 and the shrine has since been left peacefully forgotten in this quiet corner of Norfolk.
2. The Explore
This place has been on my radar a while. Sometimes small Is beautiful and a nice change from sprawling industrial spaces. This place is simple – just a single room but the location tranquil and the atmosphere peaceful and it’s easy to spend an hour’s quiet contemplation as I did on this sunny but crisp December morning. Things have gone walkies since it was first reported on here. Fortunately, though, the idiots haven’t been in and smashed the place up. Not too sure who owns the land and shrine currently but you’d like to hope it gets the TLC it needs to stop it slipping into wrack and ruin.
3. The Pictures
Explorer at the gates of dawn:
The back:
And the front:
Detail above the door showing the date stone of 1982 and the name:
Sadly, the roof of the lean-to storage area to the right has collapsed:
In we go:
As the sun shafts through the windows:
The altar table:
.
This is such a beautiful organ:
A few close ups:
Maker’s name:
And the beautifully decorated pipes:
Good-bye little shrine:
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