Thornham Parva

Thornham Parva

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Thornham Parva

Visited 24 June 2023.

Thornham Parva church is one of the few thatched churches in East Anglia. One of the reasons for the visit was the thatch the other was that there are wall paintings, these were both features that were of local interest to us.

In addition to the thatch and the wall paintings we were nicely surprised to find the Retable for which the Church is famous. Not only that the Retable had been documented by Dr. Paul Binski of "Medieval Death" fame.

The Church Guide also points out the the depiction of St. Edmund's martydom is one of two paintings know to have survived on Church walls the other being at Belchamp Walter

Our route to Thornham Parva was a little circuitous and resulted in a chance visit to St. George, Shimpling, Suffolk. This is particularly confusing when you try to find information on the Internet for St. Geroge Shimpling as there is another closer to Thornham Parva further up the A140 not far from Diss Norfolk. This St George having a round tower looks like it is also worth a visit. The Suffolk, St. George was a pleasant find for us as can be seen on my page. Our journey to Thornham Parva took us through the heart of South Suffolk due to a turn to avoid a learner driver! Taking us through Glemsford and then across county until we finally found the road to Stowmarket then taking the route to Thornham avoiding the A140 even though time was running short.

Many other churches were not visited and will necessitate further day-trips

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Simon Knott says:

From the moment that you see it across the fields, you know that Thornham Parva's little church is something special. At first the silhouette perhaps, or a stain of gold that resolves as you approach into a solid little Norman church. At night it is floodlit and floats above the darkness. On winter days, the low light catches its honeyed walls across ploughed furrows. In summer, the entrancing trees gather, a setting for a diadem. There isn’t really a village, and St Mary sits lonely in the fields. The thatched roof is charming, and set against it is a small square tower, also crowned in thatch. There is a stubborn timelessness about it, a silent witness to long centuries.

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