St Peter, Lingwood

Lingwood is a largish workaday village not so very far from the eastern edge of Norwich, and yet far enough away to be one of that group of parishes that form a peninsula between the Rivers Bure and Yare, with the marshes beyond. Similarly, the church is not so very far from its village, but it is set apart, seeming remote and, if I am honest, a bit sad, as if the daily business of its parish is now beyond its sight. The church presents its south side to the road, and your first impression is that a lot of work went on here as the 15th Century became the 16th Century. However, looking more closely you can see that the chancel and tower are at least a century older, and so this church was probably once pretty much all of a piece, the nave being reroofed and having the newly fashionable large Perpendicular windows put in at the end of the medieval period, the top of the tower crowned in flushwork.

Lingwood church used to be open daily, but the nice lady who came to open up for me on this day in July 2022 explained that they now keep it locked 'since Covid'. I'd come here from its sister church at Strumpshaw on the other side of the village, one of the very few churches in Norfolk that I've still never seen inside. A sign on the porch there indicated that you needed to make an appointment if you wanted to use the church 'for private prayer', saying nothing about other visitors. But here at Lingwood the notice made it clear that you could ring for the key even if you only wanted to have a look around.

You step into a church which feels disproportionately long, a result of there being no chancel arch, just a tympanum marking the transition from nave to chancel. The nave roof is the original of the late 15th Century, the chancel roof a curious later beamed ceiling affair. Up on the west wall above the tower arch is a set of royal arms for George IV, which must once have been set on the tympanum, explaining their size and shape. The east window is an oddity, a 19th Century replacement that seems too tall and narrow under the low roof. All in all though, these unusual features give the interior a bit of character. The furnishings mostly came as part of the same restoration, but there are a couple of older bench ends including a man holding a rosary. On the north wall of the nave is the upper half of a St Christopher wall painting, in poor condition now. It was uncovered in 1965. A sturdy octagonal font, now reset on 19th Century pillars, and some medieval tabernacle glass also survive from before the Reformation, but not much else. However, as compensation there are some lovely hanging oil lamps. I wonder if they are ever used?

I hadn't been back to Lingwood church since the first years of the century, and I must confess that I didn't really remember much about it. But I was pleased to see the new kitchen, meeting room and toilets that have been built onto the north side of the church. They had just begun work on these when I first visited. As well as being of benefit to the worshippers, it also means that Lingwood church can be host to concerts and other performances, a blessing for the people of its large village. Hopefully in time the Church of England's Covid panic will be behind us, and Lingwood church, and perhaps even Strumpshaw church, can go back to be open daily to strangers and pilgrims.

Simon Knott, August 2022

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