St Mary’s, Ditchingham
Open daily dawn to dusk.St Mary's Church has a noble tower reaching up 100ft, with four stages and a repeating carved motif of the Sacred Heart encircled by thorns along the base course. Large figures in canopied niches each side of the west doorway have been very lucky to survive the iconoclasts. Enter through the 15th century doors in the south porch. Ahead is one of Norfolk's grandest war memorials. A life-sized bronze effigy of a soldier lies in front of a black marble tablet which rises about 8ft high and bears the names of the dead. The font dates to the 15th century and features eight columns with alternating carved shields and roses around the bowl. In the 1870s an extensive project resulted in a new north aisle, arcade and chancel arch. Don't miss the unique window in the south east corner of the nave. The names of the rectors from 1609 to 1802 are each surrounded by a laurel wreathed roundel under the inscription 'may their Names be written in the Book of Life.' Other panels depict Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and his wife Lady Margaret Beaufort, the parents of Henry VII, and knights. There were no workshops in East Anglia capable of producing such high-quality stained glass and the window's origin is unknown. There are two sets of brasses to the Bozard family dating to 1490 and 1505. Margery wears a butterfly-style headdress and Philip wears a fur-rimmed robe. A window in the north east corner of the nave is dedicated to the successful author Sir Henry Rider Haggard. The design incorporates vignettes of his home in South Africa, the Pyramids and Bungay. Mrs Frances Scudamore, wife of Revd William Scudamore, decorated the chancel roof in the 1860s. William played a fundamental role in the founding of the nearby Community of All Hallows. The gravestone of Mary Randalsome (d. 1840) in the churchyard confirms a Ditchingham legend that she was drowned by her husband.
Incorrect information? Update this entry