St Michael, Stockton

This is an attractively-set round-towered building down a winding lane off of the Beccles to Norwich road. The church sits in a hamlet with a couple of large houses for company, the road narrowing beyond here to disappear completely. As with a number of churches around here the thatched nave and chancel are all in one, the chancel probably a later extension of a Norman nave, with a number of 13th and 14th Century windows finishing it off in a pleasing manner. The Norman tower is rendered, which isn't a great look, but is counterbalanced a lovely 17th Century south porch.

St Michael is one of just a small number of East Anglia's medieval churches that I haven't seen inside, because it has been locked on each occasion I've visited. The keyholder had been out on previous occasions, and when I came back in October 2021 there was no longer a keyholder notice. This is a shame, not least because there is what looks like interesting 15th Century glass on the south side of the chancel which, thanks to the narrowness of the chancel, can be viewed through the windows on the north side.

These photographs taken from that vantage point can't do it justice, but give some idea of the subjects. It all appears to be 15th Century, and the most striking panel is the figure of the Blessed Virgin and Christchild. A demi-angel has been set above a shield depicting the Five Wounds of Christ, which unfortunately makes it look as if a squat figure was holding out its hands, which may well have been the intention. A fragmentary royal figure dressed in ermine holds what looks like an orb, or could it be a pomegranate? It would be nice to be able to take a closer look.

It seems daft locking St Michael. The houses around and the narrowness of the lane are good custodians, and the only thing of value inside the church appears to be the medieval glass. There are no stone protectors installed, so this could as easily be damaged from the outside as from within. Indeed, it is much worse than that, for as Ecclesiastical Insurance reminds us, a locked church is twice as likely to be vandalised as an open one, and is even slightly more likely to have something stolen from it.

Simon Knott, October 2021

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