All Saints, Hethel
Open daily from dawn to dusk.All Saints' Church is situated down a winding lane in an idyllic, peaceful setting. In the adjacent field is the Hethel Old Thorn, a hawthorn tree believed to be over 700 years old and therefore one of the oldest in the country. The church has a rare Norman square tower. Look closely and you will see that the flints have been carefully graded in size. The chancel was restored in 1737-39 by the Rector, Revd John Reddington. The mausoleum was built in 1730 for the Branthwaits who had a large number of children but only three were buried here. The blocked windows were made as we see them with spaces on the inside for inscriptions, but were never used. The real gem of this church is the Miles Branthwayt monument in the chancel, created by the finest craftsmen of the time. Miles Branthwayt died in 1612 and he is depicted with his wife Mary and three children. A war memorial in the churchyard commemorates the 389th Bombardment Group which was stationed at Hethel Aerodrome during the Second World War. 321 missions were completed with the loss of 116 aircraft.
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