The small parishes that cluster either side of the River Yare as you head south-east of Norwich give it the densest concentration of medieval churches in northern Europe, but the villages tend to be unspectacular and quietly agricultural, their churches small and unassuming. Bramerton and its church are good examples, a typical country church in a working village. The churchyard hides behind an impressive thatched lychgate, built in 1925 in memory of Mary Florence Blake. Claude Messent in his Lychgates and their Churches notes that it was the work of a villager, John Shingles, and the oak is said to have been grown in Bramerton. Beyond, the church unfolds westwards from the street. Curiously, the diminutive tower rises from within the west end of the nave, or perhaps the nave has been extended backwards to enfold it. There's something similar nearby at Thurton. And yet the tower must be older, and its western face has been partly rebuilt, so it isn't easy to understand what has happened here. There will be more puzzles inside.

When I tipped up in the spring of 2022 the parish meeting was just beginning inside, but they were very happy for me to wander around and even expressed a hope that they wouldn't disturb me. It was the third time I'd been here over the course of about twenty years, but if I am honest I didn't really remember much about it. But again, this is a typical East Anglian country church, a medieval exterior enclosing a substantial 19th Century restoration, albeit clearly bankrolled more enthusiastically than most. The restoration was in the 1860s, and so before preserving medieval details became a priority for the restorers, but it was well done and the parishioners must have been very proud of it when they stepped into it for the first time. But there are medieval survivals, for when you step beneath the tower you can see that the spaces to north and south form transepts, and there are elaborate traceried altar squints from these transepts into the body of the nave. It seems intentional, and Pevsner thought it might be the result of a bequest to building work in the 1460s. The contemporary font between them has a blank-faced bowl, but a carved frieze hanging down from it. Was it never completed? Or was it intended that that it would be painted rather than carved?

The chancel with its austere reredos and deep windows dominates the view eastwards, and is typical of an 1860s refurbishment. A small transept was built on the north side, and the furnishings were renewed, feeling rather as if they have been shoehorned in to such a small space. They incorporate at least one old quality poppyhead, bearing two double-headed eagles back to back, and the top of the piece has a candle prick. The glass includes an 1870s memorial window by Ward & Hughes to another member of the Blake family, Adelaide Mary Blake, and it depicts her as Mary of Bethany seated listening at Christ's feet while he explains to her sister Martha that she is doing the right thing. Nearby is a memorial plaque placed in 1925 by Florence Nightingale Hardiman to members of her family, a reminder of the Victorian practice of naming children after virtuous figures of the age. All in all then, this is a pleasing period piece that still feels well-loved and looked after.

Simon Knott, December 2022

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