St Mary the Virgin, Great Bircham
Open daily from dawn to dusk.This impressive church was largely built in the early 14th century. It is possible that the Norman doorway at the entrance to the tower was relocated from an older church on this site. It has a typical Norman zig-zag pattern around the arch but is unusual in that it forms a pointed arch rather than the more typical rounded Norman doorway. Notice the builder’s mark in one of the shields of the north porch. In front of the beautifully carved 17th century pulpit is an old ‘mensa’ stone. This could have been used as the altar before the Reformation. If you look up at the windows in the South side of the chancel you will see that one of them has a heraldic shield marked out in stained glass. This is the shield of the Clare family who were patrons of the church in the 1300s. The font is made of Purbeck marble and dates from the 1200s. It stands beneath the great west window which was fitted in 1883 and includes some beautiful images of flowers and vines along with verses of scripture. The south east corner of the churchyard is kept by the War Graves Commission and contains “The Cross of Sacrifice” which was unveiled by King George VI on 14th July, 1946. This was the first war memorial for the Second World War to be completed and dedicated, and commemorates sixty-six Allied servicemen (mostly airmen), including some from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There are also graves of one Aircraftwoman and eleven Germans here.
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