The Horrible Histories of Norfolk Churches

Ketteringham Exhumations

In 1853 a scandal unfolded in Ketteringham. Sir John Boileau of Ketteringham Hall ordered the six bodies buried beneath the chancel of neighbouring St Peter’s Church to be dug up in the middle of the night and reburied in the churchyard, effectively usurping the occupants to make way for his sick wife. Worshippers soon noticed the smell, as noted in the diary of Reverend Wayte Andrew: ‘the stench in the church was insufferable. The long-pent odour of death, released after so many years, hung about the pews like a miasma. The matter could not be hid. Before many hours had passed, the entire village knew what had been done.’ Relatives of the uprooted complained and the Dean of Norwich ordered Sir John to put the remains back. He then built a mausoleum in the churchyard, which houses his body and that of his wife. The sanctuary is considered to be the holiest part of the church and to be buried in this area was particularly desirable. The book ‘Victorian Miniature’ by Owen Chadwick combines the diaries of Sir John and Reverend Andrew and highlights the clash of personalities. It provides a fascinating insight into the power dynamics of rural Norfolk life in the 19th century. The church is overflowing with interest, its walls bedecked in elaborate memorials. One memorial commemorates Drury Lane actress Charlotte Atkyns and states she was a friend of Queen Marie Antoinette of France and made several attempts to rescue her from prison. Her efforts were in vain and the Queen was executed by guillotine in 1793.

Black Death Inscription

On the north wall of the chancel of St Edmund’s Church in Acle is a chilling Latin inscription which conveys a grim terror. The translation is as follows:

Oh lamentable death, how many dost thou cast into the pit!
Anon the infants fade away, and of the aged death makes an end.
Now these, now those, thou ravagest, O death on every side;
Those that wear horns or veils, fate spareth not.
Therefore, while in the world the brute beast plague rages hour by hour,
With prayer and with remembrance deplore death’s deadliness.

From the reference to ladies’ horned headdresses we can assume that this inscription refers to the bubonic plague or ‘Black Death’ which swept across Europe in the mid 14th century and resulted in the deaths of over 25 million people. It descended on Norfolk in 1349. In Norwich two thirds of the clergy died, and Great Yarmouth and Bishop’s Lynn (now King’s Lynn) were also devastated. Typically a victim would suffer from painful swollen lymph nodes in the groin and a fever, with 7 in 10 of those affected dying within 2 to 3 days. The disease is now understood to have been transmitted to humans by the rat flea. The writer of the woeful inscription remains a mystery. Perhaps it was the parish priest, driven to desperation by the decimation of his flock?

The Effigy of Sarah Hare

Open up the door of Sarah’s mahogany cabinet in the Hare Mausoleum at Holy Trinity Church, Stow Bardolph so that she can take a good look at you. She may be horrifyingly lifelike with her warts, double chin and all but don’t be alarmed, she enjoys meeting visitors. Sarah Hare was a gentlewoman who died in 1744 aged 55, supposedly from blood poisoning from pricking her finger whilst sewing. She left detailed instructions in her will for the unusual life-size memorial. She is clad in her own cream silk gown and scarlet satin hood, with her real hair framing her face. Sarah was not alone in there as mice found their way in through the opening at the back, making nests and chewing through the fabric, not to mention the moths, spiders and beetles. She became dusty, dirty and damp and in need of some TLC. In 1984, Sarah was lifted from her cabinet for the first time in 240 years and returned 2 years later following conservation work. Wax funerary figures are exceptionally rare and she is the only survivor outside Westminster Abbey.

The West Tower of Wymondham Abbey

Kett’s Rebellion began in July 1549 in Wymondham. The rebels protested the enclosure of common land which people relied upon for foraging food and fuel. Fences erected by local landowners were destroyed. Yeoman Robert Kett was targeted but was sympathetic to the demands of the rebels and decided to lead them in their struggle. Kett’s forces grew to 16,000 and a camp was set up on Mousehold Heath to the north east of Norwich. The city was taken by the rebels who were later defeated by a royal army sent to crush them. Robert Kett was held in the Tower of London, found guilty of treason and hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle. His brother William was hanged from the west tower of Wymondham Abbey. The bodies were left on display as a warning. Beside the B1172 near Hethersett is a tree known as Kett’s Oak. According to local tradition this was the meeting point for the rebels. Nine rebels were hanged from the tree.

A Saracen’s Scalp

Commanding a prominent position next to the River Thet, St Peter & St Paul’s Church is one of the finest in Norfolk. It is brimming with interesting memorials. In the south aisle chapel is a grand memorial dedicated to Sir Thomas Lovell (d. 1604) and Lady Alice, his wife, who lie in their magnificent alabaster tomb. The canopy rests on three Corinthian columns and the chest is bedecked with coats of arms. Sir Thomas’ head rests on a helmet and his wife’s on a cushion. However, if you look closely you will notice a particularly unnerving carving. At Lady Alice’s feet is a macabre Saracen’s scalp complete with black curly hair held up by a pair of arms. Why is this here? Well that is a bit of a mystery. It is possible that Alice’s family were involved in the Crusades. For example, the crest of the Walpole family features a Saracen’s head, symbolising their participation in the struggles in the Holy Land. At Houghton Hall the first owner, Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, placed a Saracen’s head everywhere you look including on the ceilings, newel posts, drainage hoppers and pediments.

The Crypt of St Bartholomew’s Church

Winding stairs lead from the chancel in St Bartholomew’s Church down to the crypt. It is thought to have originally been used as a charnel house (or ossuary) for the storage of bones. When there was no space left for further burials in the churchyard, older remains were exhumed and placed within the charnel house. Did you know that the average English churchyard contains at least 10,000 bodies? The height of the churchyard compared to the surrounding land is a good indication of its age and the number of burials. Most churchyards are even older than their church building. Sometimes the charnel house took the form of a separate structure within the churchyard. It is now rare to find a charnel house complete with bones as the majority were cleared and blocked up permanently in the 19th century. There is a slit below the east window of All Saints’ Church in Swanton Morley and an iron grill in the south wall of the chancel. Look through and you will catch a glimpse of the chamber below. This was very likely used as a charnel house. The crypt in St Bartholomew’s Church served another eerie purpose in the 18th and 19th centuries. Prisoners were held here overnight on the journey from the King’s Lynn Assizes to the gallows in Norwich.

William of Norwich 

On the most northerly panel of the 14th century rood screen in Holy Trinity Church, Loddon is a depiction of the crucifixion of a young boy who became known as William of Norwich (d. 1144). The Peterborough Chronicle, a first-hand account of the period from 1070-1154, states that the Jews of Norwich tortured a Christian child before Easter and crucified him. Thomas of Monmouth wrote a detailed account of William’s life explaining that he was apprenticed to a skinner and tanner and was last seen alive entering the house of a Jewish man. His mutilated body was discovered on Mousehold Heath. The local Jewish community was quickly blamed for his death and members were summoned by the Bishop of Norwich to a trial of ordeal. However, the ecclesiastical court had no authority over non-Christians and the trial did not go ahead. The local Norman sheriff housed the Jews in Norwich Castle for two years for their safety; they were French speaking and had close ties to the Anglo-Norman community. In English cities it was common for the Jewish quarter to be situated near the castle for protection. The Bishop of Norwich tried to establish a cult surrounding William as a martyr to no avail. Matters were exacerbated by the monk Theobald of Cambridge who alleged that Jews sacrificed a Christian on Good Friday each year. Following William’s death, rumours circulated that the Jewish community was responsible for other unsolved child murders across the country, which resulted in a spate of pogroms. This ritual murder conspiracy theory became known as blood libel and spread throughout Europe. In 1290 Jews were expelled from England by King Edward I and only allowed to return in 1655 under Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. William of Norwich also appears on the rood screens in St Mary’s Church, Worstead and St John’s Church, Garboldisham, which depict him holding nails, and on the screen from St John Maddermarket, Norwich which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. William is thought to have been born and baptised in St Peter’s Church, Haveringland.